Page 51 of Tiger's Trek
He filled the bowl to the brim and cleaned the spoon as best he could on one of his own shirts that he pulled from his hunting bag, then passed both to her the with a tiny bow and a flourish.
“Priyatnogo appetita, my lady,” Danik added with a grin that widened in appreciation when she offered a smile in return.
“Spasibo”
“Pozhaluysta.” He turned away to stir the stew and picked out a large piece of meat, placed it in his mouth, closed his eyes, and chewed with a sigh. “I had no idea you possessed such talents.”
“I don’t,” Veru replied, sitting back in her chair, shoving spoonfuls into her mouth. “I think the cat made it.”
Raising his eyebrow, Danik mumbled, “The kotenok? How?”
“Dunno. Maybe he’s made of magic, like his mistress.”
“I suppose it’s possible. If the house is magic, why not those who live inside it too?”
“Why not?” Veru twirled her finger over the knob on the chair. “Danik?”
“Hmm?” he murmured while going through his bag.
“The lady of the house left for a bit and asked me to clean up and do laundry. The thing is... I’m out of water. Do you think you might be able to sing the door open and get more? I can’t seem to turn the knob.”
“I see,” he said, setting down his bag. “Thing is... even if we did manage it, the well’s afar off. Don’t think we’d be able to find it at this point. I suspect Yuga wanted me to lose my way back. The only reason I didn’t was because the house didn’t want me to go.”
“The house?”
“Yes. In fact, I wonder if the reason the door is locked now is the house is trying to keep you, or perhaps us, in on purpose.”
“Do you think?”
“She likes me. Or both of us, maybe.”
Veru thought about it and considered if maybe Danik was right. “The stew did appear out of nowhere. Well, someone likes us. I wouldn’t count on it being the old woman. That leaves Max or the house. Either way, it couldn’t hurt to ask for help, I suppose.”
Danik tilted his face up and said to the dark ceiling, “Well, pretty house, I promised I’d fix you up today, didn’t I? It might be very hard to do such a thing if we can’t get you clean first, so I can see what needs to be done, wouldn’t you agree? We’ll be needing more water, soap, brushes, and cleaning cloths. Also, a bit more light might be nice.”
At that, they heard the creak of hinges, and a hidden closet popped open. Inside, they found buckets, shelves full of fresh cleaning cloths, a mop, cleaning brushes, a broom, and several lanterns with oil and wicks. There was also a key hanging on a hook. Danik took the key and found it opened not the locked door to the outside but a hidden door inside the closet.
When Danik glanced at Veru with eyebrows raised, she shrugged, indicating his guess was as good as hers. Twisting the key in the secret door, he turned the knob, and it opened easily. They were greeted with a warm breeze and sunshine streaming into the little closet. Marveling, they peeked outside at the new landscape. Max darted out first, and the two young people followed, stepping onto a wide porch overlooking a lush wheat farm ripe with grain ready to harvest—a stark contrast to the wintry blizzard outside the kitchen window.
Danik noted a heavy-duty water pump attached to the porch and began filling bucket after bucket with sweet, fresh water. He drank his fill while enjoying the fragrant summer air and then headed back into the small closet and stepped into the dark little cottage, carrying the first of many water buckets.
As much as they preferred the summer breeze and pleasant day, they knew they owed the little house a debt, so Veru and Danik worked together scrubbing and cleaning the cottage well into the evening, and by the time they decided to stop, they had cleaned and polished all the furniture in the front room, and Veru had washed and hung out to dry the first batch of blankets and sheets. They flapped on a line Danik had strung on the summer porch.
Maxsim, having found his way to the warm floorboards of the magic porch, sunned himself there all afternoon long, lazily flicking his tail back and forth, back and forth as he dozed. As Veru worked, she would often glance at him, feeling slightly jealous, remembering the time when she, too, would take long catnaps in such a way.
In the evening, the cat reluctantly returned with them into the house and hopped up onto the table expectantly. Veru was happy to fill his bowl with another helping of the cooling stew, and she and Danik took turns finishing off heaping bowlfuls, as they were famished with the amount of work they had done. They only left a little in the bottom of the cauldron for their breakfast in the morning and fell into a deep sleep as only those who are hardworking are able.
* * *
The next morning was crisp and frigidly cold once more despite the fact that they’d thrown half of their remaining logs on the fire, and they rose with muscles aching in places they weren’t accustomed to having hurt. Veru groaned, unused to sleeping in a chair and unwilling to sleep on the old woman’s rickety bed. She pulled a thin sheet over her head and shivered, hoping the blankets outside were dry.
A furry paw sneaked its way beneath the sheet and batted her nose, willing her to get up and fix a meal. “I know, I know, you’re hungry again, aren’t you?” she said as she pulled herself out of the chair. “Let’s see if there are any good bits left for you.”
Heading to the dark fireplace, she picked up the poker to stir the ashes when her arm brushed against the cauldron. It was hot! This time the lid was in place. Grabbing a towel, she carefully lifted the lid and peeked inside.
“I don’t know if this was you, Maxsim, or your house, but thank you! Danik? Wake up. It’s kasha!”
Picking up the bowl, she spooned a generous portion of buckwheat porridge, caramelized onion, crispy bacon, forest mushrooms, and soft-boiled eggs, their yellow yolks oozing and mixing into the fresh cream and dill dolloped on top, then handed it to a still sleepy Danik. Next, she prepared a bowl for Max, spreading out the tasty bits so they cooled quickly, and placed it on the table, choosing to nibble pieces for herself right out of the cauldron.
