Chapter 6. The Stew

Sitting back in his chair with his stomach full of the savory stew made by Sister Isha the young boy looked back out the window. Pleased with himself he finally began to notice how tired he was and how the hour had turned dark. 

He was tired and had to soon go to sleep. Thinking about sleep reminded him that he did not know if he was able to stay here for the night or if he was destined to be tossed back out on the streets.

Looking over at the four nuns eating he thought it best to assume he'd be leaving after supper and would need to find an alley to sleep in. Coming to terms with this he turned towards the window once more and tried not to think about how nice it would have been to stay.

Over at the table one of the nun twins, Maya, asked the elder Sister Isha a question.

"Sister Isha, where's the Father? Won't he be joining us?" She asked in a high-pitched voice.

Taking a break from her food she looked up at the younger woman. "He's gone to have another talk to the lord." She said letting out an irritated sound at the mention of the lord.

"What do you mean again?" The other twin Mia asked, raising an eyebrow.

The three nuns exchanged glances that spoke of information the young twin did not know. The redhead Diane took it upon herself to help the oblivious sister catch up. "Don't you know? Father David has been protesting the lord for new programs to be made. Ways to enrich the less knowledgeable and give them opportunities to be more."

A glimmer of understanding lit in Mia's voice. "Ahh, that's very Father David of him that's for sure. He's always had a sense for helping the less fortunate."

"Mhm, yes he has Mia." Sister Isha nodded with some pride knowing that Father David was the priest of the church. In her long years of service to the church, she knew how corrupt other priests could be. Preaching for the better path but then being corrupt individuals themselves. Knowing she had one of the few good priests in the system made her feel overjoyed at the fact.

"So is it working? If he has so many meetings with the lord shouldn't he have made some progress?" Mia asked.

Letting her utensil rest on the edge of the bowl, Mia's other half, Maya, spoke up, "No, it means the opposite. That stuck up Lord Ramon has rejected all his advances. He'd rather put all his energy into that new school of his and raid the southern tribes than help the common people under his nose."

"Oh right, I did hear something about that from the soldiers in town. Those young men like to talk to me so much that they tell me everything." She said with a girlish giggle, "Last I heard they were heading to a raid tomorrow night for a raid." Mia stated. 

The boy who had silently listened in on their conversation took note that Mia was surely not the brightest of the four nuns. Pretending to watch something out the window he kept his ears open and paid attention to the nuns conversing. He may not understand all that they say and mention but he was keen on trying to overhear anything about his living predicament. 

"Mia I hope you don't fall victim to those young men. Remember you're a sister of the Ocean God's church and you've promised to stay in the services of the church than to take on a husband." Isha chided the young woman, reminding her of the oath she had given to the Ocean God's name.

"Yes, yes Sister Isha I remember the oath I gave. It's just that the boys like to talk to me, I never said I talked to the boys back."

The other two young sisters giggled at her remark.

"Fine, as long as you remember." Resigned Isha.

Standing up Sister Isha took a glance at the young women still working on their bowls and moved her head to take a glance at the young visitor. 

Moving her head towards him, the young boy who had been peering at them from the side of the edge of his eyes, quickly diverted his eyes and pretended to look at something out the window. Crossing his arms in an attempt to look unassuming.

Puffing out a gust of air from her nose in amusement she walked over the young boy. 

"I notice you finished your bowl quite fast, need another?" She asked kindly.

Acting as if she had just knocked him out of thought he feigned a look of surprise to Isha and after a second reluctantly nodded his head. 

"Alright, then little one I'll get you another full bowl right away." Stepping away with the boy's empty bowl she noticed that he left the bowl virtually clean.

At the end of the dinner, the young boy ended up eating an entire three bowls of food leaving the nuns in awe at the seemingly gaping hole in his stomach. Stuffed with food the young boy made sure to eat his fill as he didn't know if this was going to be his last meal or not. He was still afraid to ask the nuns about his living predicament.

The three nuns walked to their rooms after a silent stare from Sister Isha told them to leave the two alone. When the giggles and the bickering of the women finally left earshot Sister Isha with her motherly aura sat down next to the bot who was currently rubbing his stomach.

"You sure can eat a lot." She began as she sat down with a cup of tea she made herself. "I wonder why someone would eat so much.." Casting a sideways glance at the young boy unable to make eye contact with her she continued, "Almost as if they thought they were being kicked out."

At her words, the boy's eyes which had failed to meet hers so far darted up and met hers. With the worry visible on his face Sister Isha could tell he was ready to bolt out the door at any sign, like a scared animal.

Feeling the heat boil up in his face he held back the building bile at the back of his throat, swallowing hard to keep the food down. "I-I'm sorry." Quickly standing, the boy nodded his head slightly and started past the holy woman, tears slowly building up out of the corner of his eyes before being seized by the wrist. 

Turning in surprise at the hand on his wrist he quickly tried to block his face. "Young man." The soft voice of Sister Isha rang, "I didn't say you were being kicked out did I?" She asked in an authoritative tone.

Unable to keep the tears away he felt a tear stream down his cheek leaving a cold sensation on his face. "No?" he responded as he wiped away the tear with his newly acquired sleeve.

"Well I would just like you to know that you are always welcome here. We won't force you to stay but we have plenty of empty rooms downstairs in the basement, very comfortable and clean too. You could have a warm pot of food like this everyday-"

Not allowing the kind nun to finish her speech the boy's face started streaming uncontrollably. 

With uncontrollable feelings surging forth he threw himself onto Sister Isha and wrapped his arms around her. 

Covering his face in the nuns robe his voice barelt audible and clear signs that he was grateful for what Sister Isha was proposing. 

In a weak voice in between sniffling as the mucus and tears mixed together on his face and stained the clothes of the kind elderly nun he spoke out.

"Yes."

Rubbing a wrinkled hand over the boys head she consoled the sobbing child as all mothers would. 

"Fine then, let me show you to your room. I'm sure the others will be very excited to see we have another staying with us."

Letting the boy his crying Sister Isha continued to pat his head before pulling away with a sudden realization.

"Pardon my lack of manners young man but what's your name?"

"Name?"