Chapter 44: Mother

They arrived at the Village Hall a while later. Multiple episodes of Simon getting scared could be seen along the way.

Nile was at the rear of the group, behind the four horsemen.

The moment they step inside the Village Hall. Dozens of eyes stared at them.

And like ants getting attracted to a sweet candy. The people rushed towards the trolleys that were full of goods.

They took every food they could until they could not take anymore.

Not a minute later, the four trolleys full of goods are emptied.

'Just how famished can these people be?' Nile thought upon seeing the scene.

Ombit and the others stared wide eyes at the people in disbelief.

The worker ants bring home the food for the colony. But the entire colony took all the food for themselves, not leaving anything behind for the worker ants.

The people here are greedy. Ombit, Goryo and Polonyo, even the four horsemen realize this.

Ombit could not hold out his anger anymore as he stomped his feet on the ground with significant force. The ground cave in with that stomp.

The greedy people stop what they are doing, and they fix their attention towards Ombit. Still, they hugged the foods they scavenged earlier just like it was their newborn baby.

Ombit calmed himself. He walked and stepped into the stairs leading to the 2nd floor of the Village Hall. Goryo, Polonyo and the four horsemen followed behind him silently.

Nile was also about to follow them when he saw something in the corner of his eyes.

There, he saw a woman on the corner of the room crying silently; she seemed to be staring at something on her hands as she cried.

Nile came close to the woman. Actually, it was not only the woman in this corner of the room. There are others like her that also gave a grief expression. But unlike her, they are not crying. They only stared in the void.

Nile understands something at this point. These people are those who could still not adapt to the state of the world.

Nile stared at the hands of the woman. It was a picture of a family of three. Nile could tell that it is wetted by the tears coming from the woman.

Nile stared at the picture for a long time as he felt guilt. In the middle of the picture is a boy riding an arcade ride happily. The boy in the picture is the boy zombie he just killed earlier.

He stared at the woman. She is the mother of that boy. Nile could feel the grief and sorrow from those tears that keep on falling in her eyes.

As if sensing the eyes staring at her, the woman looked up and her eyes met Nile. In that eye, she could tell that the man in front of her felt pity and guilt for her. She could understand the reason for the pity, but how about the guilt?

She wiped the tears on her face. She made a forceful smile and said, "Uhmm, do I know you?"

She is sobbing while she asks the man.

The woman had messy hair that had reached up to her shoulder. Dark circles formed underneath her eyes. Her face is skinny, just like her body. She thinned a lot compared to the woman in the picture. The smile she showed while asking could not hide the sorrow and grief on her face.

Nile shakes his head. He took off his mask and sat beside the woman.

"Who is that in the picture?" Nile asked as he pointed at the picture. Even though it was quite obvious, he could not think of anything other than that to start the conversation.

The woman started to cry again, hearing the question.

While sobbing she said, "We were just having fun for my boy's birthday, you know. He really loves to ride that arcade ride in the Department Store. We brought him there to have fun. We left him riding that arcade ride as we sat on the bench watching him having fun."

Tears continued to flow out in her eyes just like a river. "But… but we suddenly collapse on the ground. When we woke up, it was chaos. My husband saw our boy and grabbed him. Could you believe it? My… My boy bit his father on the neck."

"The last thing I know is that my husband keeps on screaming for me to run. When I came to my senses, I was already outside the Department Store." She stared at the picture and wept.

"Why? Why did I leave them? I should have just died together with them. Wu..wu..wu."

Nile patted her back. He did not know what to do. On one hand, he felt pity for the woman. In the other, he also felt guilty.

"Don't worry, they must be happy in heaven seeing that you're still alive." Nile said. He knew it wouldn't help her but he just wanted to tell that to her.

"On the other hand, you should feel grateful. They were no longer here to experience this kind of life we're living now." He said as he stared at the distance, towards the other people.

After the woman calmed down a little, she said "Thank you.".

She felt a little better after hearing that.

Nile pondered a bit and said.

"How about this, do you want to go to your son? Though you might not want to see the state he is in."

"No, it's dangerous. But if I could really see them again. No matter if they are already zombies or not. That would be great. They are my family, after all."

"Then come with me, I will lead you to your son and husband. You need not to worry for your safety, I will protect you."

The woman thought that she had nothing to lose, anyway. If she could just see her son and husband again, even if she will get bitten, that will be worth it.

"Alright, but I don't need you to risk your life while protecting me. You should prioritize yourself alright?" The woman looks at Nile, nodding his head.

"Oh yeah, my name is Sissa. You can call me by my name or you can also just call me sister, I know you're younger than me, so… " The woman smiled. This time it was not a sorrowful smile. Nile could tell that her mood had brightened a little.

"Okay, sister is it then. My name is Nile." Nile stood up and said.

He wears his mask again as he reaches his hand towards Sissa.

Sissa smiled and grabbed Nile's hand. Nile pulled her up. Sissa then fixed her hair, tying it like a bun. Sissa is still young, her age must be at 27-30.

She staggered a bit while walking. Maybe because of sitting for too long?

Nile assisted her as they came out of the Village Hall.

Dozens of eyes stared at them while they walked. But they did not mind them.

Nile assisted and guided Sissa towards the tree where he buried the boy zombie.

Along the way, Nile could tell that Sissa is scared and alert with her surroundings.

She was confused at first as she remembered that they had strayed from the direction of the Department Store.

After more than ten minutes, they arrived at the Acacia Tree.

Seeing the engraved words on the tree, Sissa teared up. She kneeled on the ground that was clearly had just been dug. She grips the soil and weeps loudly.

Nile could only stand at the back while staring at the weeping Sissa.