Sigh!
Yuna returned to her room, stood by the door for a moment, lost in thought. Then she let out a sigh.
"What's wrong, Yuna?" A weak voice asked.
Yuna glanced at the man lying in bed by the window. Most of his body was wrapped with cloth bandages.
She walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and let out a breath, "Our son has grown up, Jack."
Jack looked at her with a questioning look instead of asking as it was difficult for him to speak.
Yuna told him what happened when she went to ask Dan to have dinner.
"...Not only was he willing to go hungry for my sake, he even lied to me about Eric bringing food for the next few days so I wouldn't worry." She said, a smile on her lips and her eyes misty with tears.
Jack watched his wife for a moment before saying, "It's a good thing that he has become sensible. No need to feel sad about it."
"Mm." Yuna bit her lower lip and nodded. "I know it's a good thing, but… I didn't want our troubles to be the reason for his growth. My poor baby."
Jack inwardly sighed, slowly reached out and held her hand to comfort her.
…
Dan woke up early in the morning despite sleeping very late in the night. After checking and not finding his mother in the living room, he took Jack's hunting blade and left the house quietly.
…
Eric was sleeping soundly in his room when suddenly, he heard a loud shout that threatened to rupture his eardrums: "Wake up!"
"What?!" He was jolted awake and almost fell out of his bed.
After regaining his bearing, he glared at his younger sister, who stood there, looking at him with an anxious expression on her face.
Seeing this, he forgot his anger and asked, "What's wrong, Sil?"
Silvie glanced at the door and said in a hushed voice, "Dan is here. He brought his father's hunting knife. He wants to go with you to hunt in the forest."
"Is that right?" Eric's eyes lit up which made Silvie glare at him, "This isn't good. He is too weak and might die if he goes out there. So, tell him you won't take him along. Also, tell him you'll take care of food for him and his family until uncle Jack recovers."
Jack stared at this younger sister of his, speechless.
Did she not know how hard it was for him to keep just his family fed from hunting? She wanted him to take on their responsibilities too?
Of course, if need be, he wouldn't mind helping them, but he felt it was high time Dan began pulling his own weight.
Looking at his sister, Eric shook his head, and sighed dramatically, "I had heard that women often forget about their family after getting married and are only concerned with their husband and his family's wellbeing. You haven't even married him, but you have already forgotten about us. Aish, how heartless!"
Silvie's glared at him, her round, crystal clear eyes almost blazing with fire. She then reached out her hand towards him, "You dare tease me, Big Brother?"
Eric glanced at her hand, knowing she was about to give him a dose of her brutal-pinching, he gulped and nervously laughed, "Ha-ha, I'm not, Little Sister. Now, let me go and talk to Dan. If I make him wait longer, he might grow dissatisfied."
Hearing this, a hint of panic flashed in Silvie's eyes. She immediately retracted her hand and quickly said, "Hurry up and go."
Eric suppressed a grin, got down the bed and left the room. Silvie followed after him.
Eric wanted to go wash up before meeting Dan, but feeling Silvie's gaze on him, he sighed and arrived in the living room.
Soon, Dan and Eric were sitting facing each other.
Eric glanced at the two-and-a-half feet long iron blade placed beside Dan and asked, "So you have decided to go out and do some hunting?"
"Yes," Dan nodded. "However, I'm not familiar with the forest or its dangers, so I want to accompany you like you had offered me last time we talked."
Eric watched the determined expression on his face for a moment, then under Silvie's anxious gaze, he said, "Alright. Let me grab a quick bite. Then we'll go."
He then turned to Silvie, who was glaring at him. Acting as though he couldn't see her expression, he smiled and said, "Sil, get us something to eat. I'm sure Dan hasn't eaten anything yet."
Hearing this, Silvie glanced at Dan and seeing his slightly sunken cheeks and pale complexion, she nodded and hurried towards the kitchen.
Only when she was busily preparing some meat jerky and soup that she remembered her brother had tricked her again and she gnashed her teeth in anger.
"What is it, Sil? Why do you look angry?" Suddenly she heard a familiar voice behind her and saw her mother enter the kitchen.
She surreptitiously glanced at Dan and Eric in the living room and in a low voice, she complained, "Mom, Dan wants to go hunting. I told Big Brother to convince him otherwise, but he didn't and agreed to take him with him."
Julie looked at Dan, then at her and sighed, "I know you are worried he'll encounter some danger in the forest and might end up like his father, or worse, like yours."
Silvie lowered her head, her eyes reddening and tearing up.
"Mom, why don't you try to convince him? I'm sure he'll listen to you…" She looked at her mother hopefully.
"You don't understand." Julie shook her head, "He is a man, Sil. Sooner or later, he would have to shoulder his responsibilities and start to earn a living."
"But he isn't strong enough to hunt the beasts yet." Silvie shot back.
"You are right and he knows this." Juiie nodded, "But he still wants to do it. Why? Because he has realized what he needs to do. We shouldn't try to stop him, instead, we should support him."
Silvie wasn't convinced but she didn't argue further.