An Eternal Debt

He had followed the trail of the scent to the kitchen and saw a bowl of steaming hot porridge on the counter.

It was way too irresistible that he scooped a spoon of it and delivered it to his starved mouth without a thought. He had just chewed it and was relishing the delicious taste before swallowing when he heard heavy footsteps behind him.

"And what do you think you are doing?" a deep voice thundered, every word coated in anger. He froze on the spot, not daring to complete his action of swallowing the food in his mouth and didn't need to look back to know who that voice belonged to.

Like someone controlled by a remote, he turned around like a robot to face the one person he dreaded the most in his life.

"Come here," the voice barked another command.

With faltering steps, he walked towards him, not daring to lift his head to look at his foster father.

"Can you tell me the punishment for your disobedience?"