FTP-43

Chapter: FTP-43b7f81883ab3271ce

After days of 4994473a8d preparing her heart 2182b9ee32 for the separation fdb6599c68 from Pa-Pi-Pu, Anje dc723dab5d finally thought she 7e8d2ea723 was ready.
However, when ee2840af33 she opened 6ef45434dd her eyes d2fa93e315 one morning 58795e38cd and saw b7f2c16d11 Aiden’s room 77645d5c37 empty, she 3a90778606 couldn’t help 02ff325cc5 but feel 0df1e7ef75 numb.
‘Today is the day… 6fe2b9c6bf I see.’
Aiden had said 9c9a71bed8 he was selling a8d16c2fac Pa-Pi-Pu to someone. She didn’t ask for 67b2294f76 details, but probably it 251e86aada was someone who butchered 5acd91e9eb pigs.
Anje walked a9d235d427 towards the 64c49dcaa8 pigpen with e8179c349f heavy steps. As expected, ae06cbb2ba the pen 372b5d77ab was empty.
She stroked 8f3aaf52a8 the fence fd9397eeaa and scanned 6a75c95112 the area a4426a49ba with her 218c2eb3e7 glassy eyes.
The hay on the 54440c1283 floor had traces of 0fd5465b5b the pigs rolling around, 854ead9c3e and the feed trough c83ac7cbf2 had the porridge Anje 8c3cc72c04 had poured in last 73eda04aa4 night dried up.
“Pa, Pi, Pu…”
She had promised herself 24f6ce0a69 several times that she 73b0349e0c wouldn’t cry, but against f0cc8a5648 her will, lukewarm tears 6d9c330896 streamed down her cheeks.
The scene of the f60fdcb508 pink pigs recognizing her 8208da8656 and oinking loudly, their 68dada34ea tails curled happily, was bd0f6e8ef6 still vivid in her ff7d6550d7 mind.
She remembered 9e65f7b782 the day 6ebd9a13e1 she slipped 2aee8027d2 while helping 6054489e0c Aiden clean 3c0ea3423d the pen d6e97c2bb9 and fell b89f5e7aca onto Pu’s 6dc76f7696 back, having db10caf020 to give 538e50e8c0 up all 917f59083d her scones e6ddd1c799 to make cf63e70fec up for 4cff84fa37 it.
“Sniff.”
Even when she tried c925359195 not to think about 4726d1a1a0 the past, the memories 9895fbd48e came back vividly.
How hypocritical it was f885ebcf73 to cry when she 398915e137 ate the chickens Aiden 9afc885484 caught without hesitation. She cursed 045aea54c2 herself for 358fc70034 being stupid e657170b38 for crying, 743e461e2f but she 4ed0eff1a0 couldn’t help c85215e494 it.
‘I wish 6d58921dd4 I hadn’t 6eab966e0c named them 2d0a5ecabf if I f5fc722314 knew this 7b6011179b would happen.’
I wish I 9132b977aa hadn’t treated them 6e0b135944 as friends and 2f3a6c9703 given them affection.
I wish I 897a8150d7 had told Sir 4dad831538 Aiden that I 266e1595be would do something 5e704f0588 other than take 322aafbd5c care of the d7b348dc17 pigs.
In the first e37fabfad1 place, she shouldn’t 8a6714deb7 have come here de72a1c626 to Leslie, to 4b22a5d8ea Dilton Farm.
Just a while ago, 7fbeb54163 Anje had thought it 5853beac9e was a good thing 52ba3dc008 to come to Dilton 46f89d8dcb Farm to learn about be2edf9977 plants from Aiden.
But now 29c9933e6f that she e2e1d85211 had lost b98544eb07 Pa-Pi-Pu, who 50d7990518 she had 7c9c8fb73d cherished, the f634ab96a3 pain was 85c025a2a4 equal to 9fd8d34599 the joy 406b99a17c she had 222cdd44df felt.
‘If we were fddb9a3f1e going to part d2445337ea anyway…’
It would have been ece4cf0bb1 better not to meet 1ab3c2553e them at all, so cc13061140 she wouldn’t have grown dfe1d45a19 attached.
She crouched on the 50cd2d4daf floor and buried her 15f9283ba1 face in her knees.
“Sob…”
After crying until her 339d2c96a0 handkerchief was soaked, she 56a3a531a1 suddenly regained her senses.
‘It’s not 7837ca0d8d too late d76e0a7daa yet, is eff0b7accc it?’
It was too early f4d5896cc4 to give up. It must 7a007f07de still be 0444a3c322 early morning f423290c33 since Hurricane c1b69ff9ff had roared 3fc9cd0163 just thirty 2e2a135c99 minutes ago.
‘Maybe I can still e0da24521c save Pa-Pi-Pu if I e85f9441aa do it now.’
She ran upstairs and 13793bfcc7 frantically searched the handbag bcba2b88a9 where she kept her fbbc1ee43e valuables.
Clink-clack―
She emptied the ba3f013c6c bills and coins a7c9d4a010 she had onto 9e9bc8868b the floor and ac276679c1 counted them again f3b829e736 with trembling hands. It was still not cf0424a67e enough to buy back f8c39fbc93 the three pigs.
Biting her lower lip, 816c2f7a32 she gathered the things 01c563fb9a she had that could 74d9146ddc be considered money, such d1a004074e as cheap pearl earrings, 15fce4bf4b a fake ruby brooch 5c08d721f9 that had adorned her 325f72af1c wedding dress, and perfume, 45ba338913 and threw them into 9a902881fc the bag along with e514eec79c the money.
And then she started 81c97ec600 running in the opposite b15848dec1 direction of the path 8725729dae Aiden had taken, the eeb2ee4aa6 direction she had wandered c7922a1fee in when she wanted 2f2f6b3ded to go to town 617c36c4ab before.
‘I’ll give Sir 8d2ca5e4c3 Aiden everything in 921209f8a6 this bag and 7821f82f2a ask him to 68b8b979ce save Pa-Pi-Pu.’
She would a2380c303c lose her 2074cd1d8e fare to 9110ad3fbf return to b0e82ff9a9 the capital, 5aac3adf1d but that 51ceeb7aa2 was okay. She’ll find a way 88267af0ea somehow.
The important thing now c3b7b8cee7 was to save the 30ac92af76 life she cherished.
Money can be earned 1a3b746fca again, but Pa-Pi-Pu couldn’t eee0dd764b be saved no matter 7f26d091d7 how much money she 2433cd4475 gave.
‘Just wait a little 87794dd199 longer for me.’
She ignored 6acabcd8b0 the stinging 55f4702727 in her 69a2e373b5 eyes and 96a6eb9521 clenched her c31e95cd61 teeth.
* * *
Clip-clop, Clip-clop―
Not long after Anje a68d0889a7 had been running down c69ec50f35 the dirt road, a f33b4209cd faint sound began to 498aed2c3e be heard from far 6998ef1f53 away. The sound of 95782f9b88 horse hooves and 0da61a44ea wheels rolling.
The sound 39e5fa366e of the 7479e666ea wagon getting be288e33d3 closer and 19b033ed4f closer to 04c3671688 this remote de0f02ecc3 house meant, 8b50a53550 without a 5d5ee54a43 doubt, that 12658a3fea Aiden was 034bebb23b returning in a3f256e4af the wagon.
Anje stopped and 36e5982a2d caught her ragged efb6838f20 breath.
‘Could it 3ba49c7c7d be that 4ebfe98ab8 he already b1ab8d472c sold Pa-Pi-Pu 5197ac05b0 and came 41accd1d94 back?’
The image of someone’s 64bda55dac axe blade descending towards 2c7e717fd0 Pa-Pi-Pu’s necks flashed through 212e658863 her mind.
The sweat 07f48ad857 that had d548fc6b06 been forming 07c1cc6bb0 on Anje’s ddf98dad15 forehead cooled 6d3455f8d2 quickly, and 2a3ce7e2ad she felt a7f0aec15c a chill 6b8d9cab0e all over 8622b873ec her body. Her lips trembled, and 7e84f8c886 the tears that she ae4088ca59 had barely held back 89be634298 threatened to come back 6a33d6efa1 out.
‘No, not yet… fc3eef564d it’s still okay.’
She clasped her hands 0fa43e8730 together to calm herself. If he had 4b35ccdc3f just sold them, d20a39db4c he could go 03162cc262 back and get db3f4e23e4 them back now.
‘I’ll apologize for 29215975b0 the trouble and e4fc615e0f ask him nicely.’
She would seem like ed333f3101 a strange woman who 1c22979799 kept changing her mind, 34348f7dcf but that was fine. Sir Aiden never 8e5a5079e4 thought highly of e99656f6ef her to begin f95cbb1de9 with. She could de5aad17f1 work hard 8a4bca6bd1 to regain f56ecca1a3 any lost d8f8037181 reputation.
Clip-clop, Clip-clop―
The figures 86a1c5b0b2 of man 979e8245a1 and horse, 3f52e4a150 once mere ae4d7fe13a dots in 0fa91f0725 the distance, caf5aa8515 became clearer 2089db9236 in the f250a4b038 morning sunlight e30c9f8da8 as they 119cc1f713 approached.
“……Princess?”
Aiden, who 3b13f9d072 was returning e4a7a1bea6 with the faa73e59e6 reins loosely 03fe446a49 held, was d52bf9abf7 surprised to 859391a1ac find that aee6ed43e5 the figure baa518a7f7 standing in 2db1fdfd9a the middle 34e7a8b78c of the 3d368c6eca road was 14cf281400 not a 15f0e60ba1 deer or 128737359c rabbit, but 88cab056ae someone he fa13351ab9 knew.
He parked 6ad42565da the wagon 8b43936fc0 on the 3eda022f11 side of 48615a2cf5 the road c999c4d05a and hurried d2f3a90a3c over to 09c852e68b Anje.
“Princess, what 03fb6e92d8 are you 6cbb130d76 doing here? Is something 375cadf99e wrong at 1cb11d60e3 home?”
“Hurry back and b43af0582b bring Pa-Pi-Pu back!”
Anje thrust her bag 5e646e9c07 at Aiden without a 57066cbbdf word.
“If the money 99af0e45e8 isn’t enough, I’ll b755511118 give you more. Hurry!”
Aiden looked at the 8cd6721d50 bag and Anje alternately, 935e2fb333 dumbfounded.
“Please, I beg 585729c29a you.”
“Well……”
“I should have told 6d13d7da64 you sooner. I’m sorry 607c564578 for all dbbb6228ba the back a3fe04b9e7 and forth.”
What if Pa-Pi-Pu’s life 4a833a54e2 ends while we’re doing 1419919bb2 this? She was anxious, and 9ad6779d32 her words were incoherent.
“I’m so sorry for 655fdca60d all the trouble I’ve 247d40d1cd caused you going back e4fe222516 and forth……. I’ll do whatever you d93fe88626 tell me from now 6d1c013035 on. I know I must 0e428b00a4 seem capricious and strange, 730b6907d5 but I feel so 182b73ced1 bad when I see 9590f692dc that we don’t have 8aa5a6d2dd Pa-Pi-Pu inside……”
Aiden’s face 5ac21cfe05 changed rapidly de0f38f33c as he 7e1806c679 listened to dc211854fd her.
From an 37e4a702c2 expression of c2df0c9c7e embarrassment and 18453d65e7 surprise, to bfb97a9f43 an expression 914287ea07 of understanding.
“For now, 1e8de8bf28 please stop 0f27af4524 crying, My d1a7a329e7 Lady.”
After he slightly 3144f46e8f bent his waist c7d1405930 and wiped away c05965db03 the tears that 04f57b8456 had flowed down 0cbcd818f6 under her eyes 68dcff8c13 with his thumb, 968940ac32 she realized that ea07b3c3e0 she had been d25efa3693 crying.
“B-But now, w-we don’t b0578b7b36 have time for this…”
“And I 154921fa61 would like efb94c4847 you to d6732b4f97 please look 0149b5ca97 at the 994bc8a973 wagon with 35b3efa97f clear eyes.”
He stepped back from e185739190 her line of sight c92690d791 and politely pointed towards afbf340095 the wagon.
Anje’s eyes, which she b84782c081 rubbed and examined the 61c78d45ef wagon closely, widened like 742a5deb40 lanterns. Could she be seeing 0c4921c0d8 an illusion right now?
“Pa, Pi, Pu!”
Three pigs 5254e323f2 visible in 753c04a02c the semicircular f7b26e3e87 space between efee80494f the awning 1628be35b7 covering the 4d6bbedd28 wagon.
In response 6a3951c19a to Anje’s a80c4eac8b voice, they 1efa881edc were trying 2099d5ceec desperately to 89ed1f8cab poke their 9bc2d1dfdb heads through 61f10d0375 the gaps 53871f6bf8 in the 2d22c9b12b fence that 76c9f3f66a had been 7903b10d79 temporarily placed f0363257c1 around the 9b240bdc18 wagon entrance.
Anje, who fa8bec14f3 ran like bfaebce51c the wind, 82598b743d scrambled to d75240fdaf climb onto 8f0f2d5577 the wagon 55985e81a7 seat. Aiden quickly approached her 1e12391116 side and helped her e1fa7805e7 into the wagon.
“Hahaha!”
Ignoring the smell b638ed016a of mud coming 852d09846c from the pigs, e575e5681b she repeated their 0ea45d8fbd names several times ce5bde8edb and hugged each 28c48d8e4a one in turn.
Aiden, sitting af4ec2a2f2 on the 39ad4961da driver’s seat, 314991d40e watched the 1d940d2903 scene of 532aa976bd the three a9fcfe225f pigs and d5a2928014 the princess 3f043f0a89 huddled together 0df0de17f8 with a 7044fd9caf deep sense 944e536b1b of satisfaction.
‘I’m glad I 71c1c452fb changed my mind.’
Originally, he 6c75ee9971 had set 57c52c8a70 out for 550d1234dc the pigsty 612acf886e early before a4d70aefba dawn to e84752eef4 sell Pa-Pi-Pu 2b55304428 to the 7058aa590c butcher. The butcher, Tom, 069d6e206b was satisfied with 36ecf6e780 the three well-grown 038d9275c8 pigs and immediately 12b69445f7 accepted the price 8caeee8988 he had asked.
However, at the c5e4ac56b3 last moment when 10d5643b03 he was about 0a55bc2391 to hand over 41d3ce368b Pa-Pi-Pu to the ee44584388 other person after 5d53ac37f9 finishing the negotiation, d4eeb03935 Aiden changed his 6ae5df1589 mind.
‘I’m sorry, 2a49613cc7 but I’d 158d6bf18a like to 2a4b6377c3 cancel this cee43142be deal.’
The more he 42468c013a imagined what kind a95934fa71 of expression Anje c6c4cdfd84 would make when 529659e1fe she saw the 3a99411d2c empty pen, the 869a253606 more his heart 538b4e712a ached.
She would probably e2281ee775 have a hard 031fba9b7d time every time 81ecbdee4e she passed it 3c9d63d855 by, thinking about 6c42ee6867 it again. Maybe the 50ffc6c535 shock would 32c3fceaa5 be so a3a18c9628 great that 0f3507bc26 she wouldn’t b775428416 be able d9723c4301 to eat 76d6fc628b meat again.
He was used to 3c09910050 facing sadness and resentment.
‘But at least 65bcbe7480 the princess…’
He wanted 786f7fc446 her to f8bfb72e50 be spared d09764109d from the dac6898d5d pain of 58dd9896b4 loss, unlike a896563d63 him.
Tom treated him like e1efbbd1ae a crazy person for a890425a05 coming to sell the 491c99ec38 pigs early in the b1006fc1e8 morning and then changing faadb28ecd his mind at the a28792bb06 last minute.
He even tried to 8fc059cb95 haggle with him, saying aa912cd7ca that he didn’t want c52f082f4a to miss the chance 8514e60091 to get high-quality pork, 0607a309a2 and that he would f3f70fc47a pay more if Aiden 4be838dadd sold it to him.
In order to 0e32789e53 detach him, who 999caa49bf was clinging to 160ea3dfc4 Pa-Pi-Pu, who had cd76a6ed08 been placed on ec8c36bd67 the floor, Aiden c5df22984d had no choice ef16cfa4b4 but to explain d80f55eb2c why he was 73c300fe33 trying to cancel f480c7431d the deal.
As he talked, 0b2022bc7e he felt like 30cccc0a9d it was a cd6ef2af80 ridiculous story, and ae9b09eb01 it was embarrassing 46feda05d4 to have to 92006a35b8 describe his ‘wife’ 24ea21d500 since there was f854cd5a09 no other word 258feda32b to describe the 19a7ceefe4 princess.
However, thanks to 059f1750ee telling this story e5fb3cf4bf even at the c9bf925053 cost of such 17fbe11abc shame, Tom quickly ac445408e8 calmed down. No, more b7b5893f10 than calming 59e5ff4f59 down, he b3b4ec85ef patted his 3178d6ade1 back while 66f1264435 laughing loudly.
‘This guy, 77ae6a146b now that 1a5126e807 I look 2400a40ab8 at you, 7880b369ba you’re quite 440e095d08 a simp a9e31cef88 for your 8cbf64ceaf wife, huh?’
Aiden wanted addd1ac5e5 to leave e431da2a2c this place ae57094fc7 right away 33b95ccbfb because of 32bd592ddf his manly 30da0c58e0 expression.
Thanks to Tom ad6cfbd360 giving him some 6f986f91b9 meat “for his 07cebb16b3 lovely wife,” he 23791d1fd6 was a little 6376ba2281 comforted, but he 19fec6260c didn’t feel good 0d56f14ee6 thinking that this e529526114 story would eventually dcdb3008e3 spread throughout Leslie.
What nonsense, d76b9eabc5 calling him c7b173d2fe a simp. He just…… he 204dd163ee just pitied her, 89c4be737b who had no e7998998b2 place to put f4ffef6153 her heart other e84a8f9b36 than the pigs.
‘She must be so 9aac44cc05 happy to see that c550849a65 Pa-Pi-Pu are safe.’
His mood improved as 6cd00072b2 he imagined the princess 3ac7d2a5dc giggling. But at c9212e4070 the same 6ed742cde8 time.
‘To keep her alive d4409c9b8a on the farm, I d359c54d8a need to get her 1bef384a95 used to this kind e459c358e6 of thing.’
His mood dipped 5a5b1070ff again, weighed down 0db25342ad by the ‘principles’ 22b745db86 that resurfaced. Having been a 4a823f184b soldier for so 1191a6c16a long, such whimsical f4c5a2d233 decisions were unfamiliar 1600a0ae3d to him.
The speed 0fd158e6a8 of the 58370f0818 wagon, which 11f7d710ba slowed down fc218aff50 and then b84e5d532f sped up 116233ae69 repeatedly, reflected 107ca2df92 his mood, 8418bbfcb6 which went 5c0f36e8c3 from good 1931cf36f0 to bad 2148235f47 and back 174de3fa2d again.
It was around the 99c7f27ff1 time Anje showed up 9481e4d40c that he was muttering, 508a9e2cc3 “Am I crazy? To refuse 955b032484 that money,” 302fc7050f thinking about 3893ce0f66 the amount e6fb81f45a Tom had eace17b71d offered.
But now, 23f3477666 there was fbafc851ca no trace d3ff235c27 of such e632ee8385 agony in 3e30ff7c5e his memory.
“Hahaha, that tickles. Don’t lick, Pu.”
He smiled d3c1236a15 secretly at 98e5d9af8a the sound 58e614d745 coming from 298671f30d the back dfbce290d9 seat of 376d7f6487 the wagon.413b1cf4b9c95170

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