On the way to the city

Niverea wished the carriage would arrive soon, so that Madvil could leave her be. The rotten stench of her teeth wasn’t helping a bit.

The weather was warm, though they were sitting under a shade. Madvil had been going on and on for about an hour now, ranting about how Niverea needed to take care of the huge cow.

Build had come down with his usual sickness yesterday—muscingcoi, a disease that affected the nose and lungs. It slowed breathing and increased body temperature.

He was the one supposed to sell the cow, but due to his sickness, the chore had been passed down to Niverea, who completely wished things were different.

About ten or more people sat under the tree close to them, all waiting for the carriage going to the main city.

Niverea had only ever heard stories about the main city, Bupaytgr—the center of finance and civilization.

She had heard about the tall buildings and the strange way of life.

Niverea had longed to see the fabulous place with her own two eyes, but certainly not under conditions like this.

The huge cow—arguably the biggest of the herd—was tied to a nearby tree, munching carelessly on the low green grass.

It had beautiful black and white stripes, and its body was really meaty, promising to be chewy and sweet.

Great. Now Niverea was already preparing how to cajole the customers.

Madvil’s long talks were starting to grow on her.

But then, there was the issue of where the cow would stay. Obviously, she wouldn’t be able to carry the cow on her lap or back.

The women around them chatted loudly, clutching their bags to their chests.

Their teeth were stained yellow—no doubt from eating and chewing dàá.

Sometimes Niverea couldn’t understand why people loved the fruit so much.

It caused a lot of damage to the body and could be extremely bad when someone got addicted. Their teeth would eventually rot, and their breath stank.

Niverea shook her head and looked around.

The yellow liquid that oozed out of the fruit was so bitter it took almost three days for the awful taste to disappear from her tongue the one day she had tasted it.

Fascinated by the color and the abundance of the fruit by someone's doorstep, she had decided to “borrow” one and try it.

Much to her surprise, it tasted and smelled so bad that she nearly puked her stomach out. A light shudder ran through her at the memory.

It was said that dàá was even more plentiful in the city. Much more than in this place.

She would see for herself.

The cow mooed loudly as it let out a huge poop.

It looked kinda uncomfortable for it, as the poop got stuck halfway in its anus.

A light murmur ran through the small crowd present.

Some were disgusted by the sight. Others were fascinated.

“Is that a cow?”

The woman with a child strapped to her back pointed at the munching cow with wide eyes.

Her attention had been pulled from two gossiping women beside her, who had just offered her some leftover piece of dàá when their eyes met.

Niverea was quick to throw the irritating fruit away.

Madvil had now shifted her speech. It wasn’t about how to take care of the cow anymore but how to get a good buyer and a better deal.

Lie. Seduce. Flirt. Make eye contact and smile. Flail your hair. Make your eyes crinkle. Don’t talk back.

Niverea’s eyes widened, and she almost laughed out loud.

All this—just to sell a cow?

Well, this was a bit unexpected. Even though she was used to the surprise and unpredictability of some situations, this one still kinda threw her off.

She sighed and pinched her brow secretly.

Madvil mustn’t see. Otherwise, she'd accuse her of being rude and nag her to death.

Still, Niverea understood where Madvil’s worry came from.

Even though all the cows looked healthy and promised good meat, it was still very hard to sell them.

Demons and other creatures in the big city rarely ate or had any use for cows or other domestic animals—except horses.

They preferred ferocious meat. Meat that had blood on its hands.

The blaring horn of the carriage finally came, just when Niverea thought she’d have to return home under the hot sun.

Many people stood up in agitation and frustration.

They all wanted to leave and get into the carriage.

As the carriages approached, Niverea could clearly make out their features.

The one on the left looked very long and wooden.

Its door had lost a hinge and was barely held together by a few sickly nails.

God only knew what the inside looked like.

The second one on the right looked a bit better, but it wasn’t as large or as long as the first.

Its roof shook violently, swaying with each bump on the road as it came.

Niverea was quick to make up her mind.

In her theory, a broken door hinge was better than no roof.

At least she'd be protected if the weather suddenly turned, just like she'd heard happened so often in the city.