Chapter 1.3

By the time she woke up, all groggy and disoriented, a day had passed. She realized that because she was not using the same clothes from before. Thinking that one of the brothers had actually changed her clothes made her blush again. Luckily, this time, no fever followed.

Outside was noisy, with Felix and Joseph's arguing yet again. By the sounds of it, they were disagreeing about food. After all, it was lunch time.

While preparing the meal, Felix talked about a thousand and one things at the same time, nonstop and without coherence about ingredients and burned food. He would, then, received a rap on the head and a scolding from Joseph to silence him, who in exchange would be glared by Lucas, and the matter would 'peacefully' settle for a moment.

Then, Felix would start the cycle again when he pandered to Lucas and demeaned Joseph. Of course, the sharp-eyed young man would not take that sitting and would hit the teen again. Lucas would then send a withering glare to Joseph who would complain about Felix but would otherwise behave.

Rinse and repeat all that drama until lunch was finally cooked.

The woman walked out of the house to Lucas putting two bowls on the table, followed by Joseph with other two bowls. Felix almost bumped with her on his way to the main room.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry! Was about to call you to eat. You hungry? Come!" Once again, the teen led her towards the table and sat her beside Lucas, who put one of the bowls in front of her. Felix handed her a spoon and eagerly waited for her to eat.

She was surprised at the level of kindness people of low resources had compared to… Where did that come from? Who was she comparing the brothers to?

Ducking her head, she saw that the meal consisted of tender wild chicken soup with almost no herbs or vegetables. She daintily dipped the spoon in the soup and took it to her mouth, drinking the liquid in a very quiet way while remaining silent; contrary to the loud slurps and lively conversation from the brothers.

It was not the best soup she had had in her life – not that she would remember with her amnesia – but, at least, Felix could make it edible, so she was not complaining about the flavor. The boy had talent. What would he do if he had more and better ingredients? As she pondered that, the soup in her bowl disappeared.

However, her grumbling stomach asked for more. She was a bit ashamed of her bodily reactions, yet her stomach took a higher priority and she asked for seconds. Like a whirlwind, Felix quickly grabbed her bowl, headed to the kitchen and returned with it fuller than before. That, too, went into her stomach without any problem.

Satisfied and with a full stomach, she energetically volunteered to do the dishes together with Felix while Lucas and Joseph headed to their patch of land to do some tree pruning.

"Hey, pretty Sis. It's true you don't remember anythin'?" Felix asked as they did the dishes by the well at the back of the house. Joseph had relayed the news that she was amnesiac to his other brothers while she was battling her last fever.

While eating, she had felt Lucas and Felix's gazes full of pity, though they did not comment about it and kept their conversation on other matters. Which she was thankful for.

On another note, after spending an amiable morning with the brothers the day before and a meal that day, she noticed how she was promoted from nameless 'you' to nameless 'pretty sis' by Felix. After hearing the moniker, she had looked at her reflection in the clear water, and she could say she was not that bad.

A small face with shapely brows, button-like nose, round limpid eyes, and small pinkish lips.

Though, perhaps what could actually make her a 'pretty sis' were the powerful curves up front and back there. Up front bounced and back there jiggled a bit whenever she took a step; the loose big shirt coming from the biggest second brother did not help in hiding the curves either. Her plumpness also contributed to her beautifully curvaceous figure.

If she could humbly describe herself, then maybe she could be called cute due to her facial features and alluring due to her body. An interesting combination. Or, was it the shirt that gave the alluring effect? The shirt barely covered her body, leaving little to the imagination. Whatever happened to also lending pants?

"Mhm," she nodded, replying to the teen's question about her lack of memory. "Not even a name, where I come from, my family, nothing." It was sad, really. It was even sadder considering she was actually abandoned with a heavy injury in a mountain with wild animals roaming around.

Was someone looking for her? Or had nobody noticed her disappearance? Should she look for her family? More importantly, would she ever be able to recover her memory?

"Although, I am more interested in knowing how you found me. Or, well, how your brother found me." She asked as she dried the last bowl with a rag Felix gave her.

"He didn't say much, but basically…" Felix began.

Apparently, she was found unconscious behind some bushes in the middle of nowhere. There were no roads nearby, just forest and a prairie past that. Someone had made sure she would not be found. At that moment, she was wearing a very elaborate and layered dress; which was sadly torn in a few places, rendering it unwearable as it was. Probably from being dragged.

Her heart rapidly beat imagining the traumatic event that led her to that place and decided to focus on another matter, like… the dress! From the description – as she had not seen it yet – perhaps the cumbersome dress could be made into clothes with the intact fabric. 

With an idea in mind, she asked about the dress. "Where is it? Can I see it?"

"Huh? Oh, inside… I was plannin' to wash it…" Felix said and suddenly flustered. "Pretty sis! I, um, well, my brothers were nice while… Lucas would never do somethin' to you! Can't say the same 'bout Joseph, but he wasn't there when ya were changed! 'twas only Lucas and Ethan!..." Felix tried to explain that despite her state of dress, nothing untoward was done to her.

She only nodded to his words, barely understanding his point, but having no complain whatsoever.

If I were a man, I would also claim a woman with such curves as mine was pretty, beautiful even, to start making advances on.

Was she looking for an excuse to make them take responsibility? Maybe. With their looks, it would be a dream come true.

"Le us got get the dress, then." She prompted.

"Wait, I've to fill up the vats in the kitchen." Felix said, grabbing a rope laying by the well. One end of the rope had a hook, which he threw over the beam above the well. Then, he hooked the bucket's handle on it and let it drop down. Planting a foot on the well's wall, he pivoted and pulled the rope to rise the filled bucket.

Then, he would unhook the bucket and carry it to the kitchen. Of course, while he did that, he did not remain silent and started to overshare his family's situation.

The woman could only helplessly listen to his gushing, from which she got an important piece of information: none of the brothers were married. Was that not a marvelous piece of news? Marvelous and intriguing, too. Actually, men and women could marry and start their own families quite early in life, even in their teenage years. Lucas, Joseph and Ethan were past their teens.

And going by that logic, she surmised she might have been single, too – before her calamity. Seeing the brothers, she had no problem with hooking up with them if they wanted to. With such free thoughts, she must have been single, right? Though, all the single and married debate thing brought another question.

How old was she? Since she could not remember, she guessed her age based on her appearance. And she got to the estimate age of eighteen, nineteen or twenty. No more than that. Probably… 

So, why were they not married?

The only reason that could explain why the brothers were still single despite their fetching looks was due to their poverty. According to Felix, the chatterbox, their parents died when they were very young, so they had no education, or a chance to be taught a craft that could provide them with a stable income. Those points easily overshadowed their good looks.

Certainly, to some women, attractiveness not only came from the physical appearance, but from how bulky the wallet of a man was, their possessions, their manners, their speech, etc. Things the brothers seemed to lack, especially money.

Ethan, the oldest, only did random jobs in town, providing the most – if still low – income. He was also in charge of buying necessities they could not get from nature, like clothing, tools and such. The second brother, Lucas, had the dangerous main job of hunting, besides helping around the house and tending to their patch of land.

On a good day, hunting provided the most income by selling the game in town. If days were bad, then it only sufficed for the brothers to eat for a couple of days. Still, no woman wanting a stable life would like for their Husband to have such a job that could render her a widow in the blink of an eye.

The third brother was in charge of their acre of land. He should have been the most sought-after brother, as being a farmer was the job that could easily provide for a family. However, he had two drawbacks. One, he looked too menacing and spoke crudely. No decent woman dared to approach him due to his frightening countenance. Two, ironically, had to do with his job as a farmer.

Seeds were a bit expensive, so what they could sow and reap were root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, parsnip, and beet in the sandy soil that mostly occupy their land; tomatoes, onions and peppers in the small parch of loam soil; and fruits from trees that were already planted in the land.

It may sound abundant for a family of four, yet the problem was that not all the soil could be cultivated at the same time, all year round. So, the harvest was irregular at best. The only upside was that their land was near the river, so watering was not hard.

It was a wonder how these guys remained relatively strong, and looked kind of healthy despite the limited intake of vegetables and messed up diet.

Felix was in charge of miscellaneous chores: cleaning, doing the laundry, gathering firewood, cooking, patching whenever they tore their clothes, etc. Whatever needed to be done, he did it.

Due to all those circumstances, the Wife business had been postponed for twenty-six years for the eldest, twenty-two for the second brother, and twenty for the third brother. The youngest, with sixteen and still growing, had the age to marry IF he found a good candidate. Their conditions were too lacking to attract any good and honest woman though.

Truthfully and technically speaking, they did not need a Wife in the house as they took care of everything. The only reason they were looking for one was because they really hoped to form their own families, to have a caring partner by their side and a couple of children running by their feet. After all, with their lifestyle, they would need support when they grew old.

"I see. You have a big problem there." She nodded in understanding. "Now, I really feel bad for imposing on you like this. You already have things occupying you, and here I am: homeless and a burden." She wryly commented.

"It's not like that, pretty Sis! You can stay with us for however long ya want! That's… if ya want to stay." Felix stuttered, flustered, after realizing he was forcing his idea on her and that he was deciding things without consulting his brothers.

She smiled at him. The teen was really kind. "Might as well. I have nowhere to go, and I still have to repay for the doctor that treated me." She promised. Furthermore, the place was not bad. It was lacking, yes, but she could not be picky in her situation. Besides, it all directed her to start anew with the brothers.

Or, even if not with them, at least in the same village.

She had no idea if she was once a picky woman who fussed about everything and anything, or if she had nary a care about luxury and could easily adapt to any situation. Though, she was leaning more towards the second option because her quick decision to start a new life did not sound that brain-scattered in her head.

She was actually looking forward to it!

Just thinking of living an idyllic life in the house together with the brothers did not sound so daunting.

Yes! I will stay with them!

She quickly decided that. And no! It was not because the brothers were handsome. Well, maybe a bit. Any woman with good taste, and who did not mind to go through some hardships with their significant other, would make the same choice.

Or perhaps that was just her.