A few minutes later, the fish were fully cooked. Anahita glanced at the four children who had been waiting impatiently for them to finish roasting and said,
"Alright, you can eat now—just be careful, they're very ho—"
But before she could finish her sentence, all four of them eagerly grabbed a skewer and took a big bite of the fish, completely ignoring her warning.
The very next second, they all shouted at once,
"It's hot! It's hot! It's hot!"
They kept the bites in their mouths and hurriedly blew on them to cool them down. Their faces were scrunched up, yet their eyes were sparkling with excitement.
A few seconds later, when they finally swallowed the bites, wide smiles spread across their faces as they said with satisfaction,
"Mmm… it's delicious!"
"I've never eaten anything this tasty in my whole life!"
"I could eat fish every day for the rest of my life!"
Anahita watched them with a smile. Then, just like the children, she took a big bite of her fish.
The moment she did, her brows instantly knitted together and she shouted hurriedly,
"Hot… hot… hoooot!"
She started blowing on it and moved the bite around inside her mouth.
Then she quickly swallowed it and let out a long breath.
"Delicious…"
The children burst out laughing when they saw her.
Anahita laughed as well and said,
"What can I do? Everything I cook is so delicious that no one can wait!"
But suddenly, Anahita realized one of them wasn't laughing.
Rona was silent.
Anahita turned her gaze toward her and saw drops of tears slowly falling onto the skewer of fish in her hands.
The smile faded from her lips, and she asked with concern,
"What's wrong, Rona? Why are you crying? Is the fish not tasty? Do you want something else?"
Miran and the twins, their mouths still full of food, simply looked at Rona.
They knew very well why she was crying.
A calm, knowing smile rested on their faces.
With tearful eyes, Rona lifted her head and looked at Anahita. Her lips trembled, but she forced a small smile.
"No, Brother Lioran… it's the opposite. This is the best birthday I've ever had in my life. I… I'm really, really happy."
Hearing that, Anahita placed her hand on Rona's head, gently stroking her hair as a soft smile appeared on her face.
"Then enjoy it as much as you can. And don't cry while you're eating. If you cry again, I'll eat your food myself."
Hearing the playful threat, Rona quickly wiped away her tears and said with a laugh,
"Who's crying? I didn't see anyone crying!"
Everyone burst into laughter and went back to eating.
Just then, Zubi and Goba walked over and sat down beside Anahita.
Goba stared hungrily at the fish and said in a drawn-out voice,
"Hooof… I'm starving to death…"
He slowly reached out his hand to grab a skewer, but before his fingers could touch the fish—
Smack!
Anahita slapped the back of his hand—and Zubi's as well.
"You idiots. Don't touch anything without permission. This is Rona's birthday celebration. If you want to eat something, you have to ask her first."
Zubi and Goba paused. Their eyes instinctively drifted toward Rona.
They both knew that after everything they had done, there was little hope she would allow it.
Without saying a word, they pulled their hands back and sat beside the fire, staring at the fish. Only a moment passed when—
Grrrrrr…!
The loud growl of Goba's stomach broke the silence.
Embarrassed, he placed a hand over his stomach and looked longingly at the golden, steaming fish; the smell was worse than any torture.
At that moment, a shadow stepped forward.
A skewer of fish was gently held out in front of his face.
Goba lifted his head.
It was Rona.
With a small but firm voice, she said,
"Here… take it."
Goba slowly raised his head.
When he saw Rona holding the skewer out with her tiny hands, he froze for a moment.
His voice trembled slightly as he spoke,
"…Why are you giving me food? I whipped all of you… I was going to kidnap you and sell you…"
Rona paused for a moment. Then an innocent smile appeared on her face—one without even a trace of hatred.
"I still haven't forgiven you for that. But my mom always said… whenever you see someone who's hungry, share your food with them."
She pushed the skewer a little closer.
Goba froze. It felt as if time itself had stopped.
Then slowly, he reached out, took the skewer, and took a small bite.
His eyes narrowed instinctively.
In a voice barely louder than a whisper, he murmured to himself,
"…It's delicious… the most delicious fish I've ever eaten."
Rona didn't say anything. She simply watched him happily.
Then, without hesitation, she picked up another skewer and held it out toward Zubi.
For a moment, Zubi stared at Rona's face.
He understood the reason behind her kindness very well.
Without saying anything more, he accepted the skewer with a small smile.
"Thank you."
....
And quietly began to eat.
Time passed quietly.
The food was finished, the fire slowly died down, and the moment arrived that no one wanted to come so soon—the moment of goodbye.
Anahita stood beside the wagon.
All four children hugged her tightly, as if they were afraid that if they let go, the warmth they had felt would disappear.
One by one, they climbed onto the wagon, yet their eyes were still fixed on Anahita.
Goba took the reins, ready to take them close to their home.
The wagon was about to move when suddenly Zubi's voice rang out.
"Wait!"
He hurried toward the wagon with quick steps. Everyone stared at him in surprise, waiting to see what he wanted to say.
Zubi stopped in front of the wagon. He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and spoke to the children.
"I know what I did can't be made up for with any apology…
But anyway, I apologize to you... I promise I'll do whatever I can to make up for the wrong I did to you. I hope that one day… you'll be able to forgive me."
A short silence filled the air.
Hearing his words, Anahita showed a gentle smile. The others still looked at Zubi with surprised expressions.
Toncha laughed and said to him,
"The fish today was really delicious. If you bring me fish again sometime, I'll forgive you!"
Goncha immediately gave him a light punch on the head and grumbled,
"Idiot! Don't be so cheap. Sweets are way better than fish."
Zubi raised his head and stared at the children in surprise.
Rona turned to Toncha and said excitedly,
"He's right! I heard sweets are the most delicious food in the world… even tastier than apples."
Toncha's eyes widened in shock.
"Even tastier than apples?!"
"Yeah!"
Rona and the twins were already chatting excitedly, happily talking among themselves. Zubi was still staring at them in disbelief when Miran said with a faint smile,
"See? Just bring them some sweets and you'll win all their hearts."
Zubi laughed.
"Alright… I'll definitely bring sweets next time."
The children looked at him with smiles—small, but sincere.
The wagon slowly started moving.
The children stood on it, waving their small hands in the air with bright smiles. Their voices echoed through the surroundings.
"Goodbye! Goodbye, Brother Lioran!"
"Thank you for everything!"
"Mr. Soldier! Don't forget to bring the sweets!"
Anahita raised her hand and called back loudly,
"Goodbye… take care of yourselves. And don't leave the house again without your mom's permission."
Before she could finish speaking, everything suddenly went dark.
She felt the ground beneath her disappear, and in the next instant she found herself inside Lioran's inner space—dark and endless.
Lioran's calm, cold voice echoed through the silence.
"Good job."
Control of the body returned to Lioran.
Anahita drifted out of the dark space and floated beside him, her eyes fixed on the wagon that was getting farther and farther away.
Quietly, she said,
"I hope I managed to do something for them… so at least they'll have enough food and water."
Lioran glanced at her.
Anahita's body looked slightly brighter than before, as if she had recovered about thirty percent of her power.
"I didn't think you'd be able to come out again this soon."
Anahita gave a proud smile.
"If anyone else were in my place, they probably wouldn't have been able to come out for days. But I'm Anahita—the beautiful and great spirit.
When you speak to me, you should kneel before me, you foolish human."
Lioran turned and began walking toward the road that led to the city of Orestal.
"I think once you don't get dinner tonight… you'll learn how to talk to me properly."
The moment Anahita heard that, her smile vanished and she hurriedly flew toward him.
"That was a joke, Lioran… please don't take it seriously. You know I didn't mean anything bad…"