The sky was just beginning to brighten.
Clara carried a hoe, stepping carefully through the muddy path toward the west end of the village.
"Mom!"
A shy voice called from behind.
Clara stopped and turned around. On the muddy road, two barefoot four-year-olds stumbled toward her, each holding a water jar. Seeing her stop, they quickened their pace, their little feet splashing mud all over.
These were the youngest twins of the Liew family, Chad and Deb.
It was early autumn. The brother and sister wore ill-fitting, thin linen clothes with sparse weaving, their fingers poking through holes. A cold breeze made their small bodies shiver violently.
"Why did you two follow me?" Clara asked.
Deb answered obediently, "Chad and I came to bring you water."
"You can't work without water. Your stomach will hurt if you don't drink."
Chad gave his sister a glare. "That's not our mom. Second brother said we're not allowed to call her mom!"
Deb pouted, whispering, "But... but I want Mom."
Clara sighed. You two little ones really said that to my face?
But Chad wasn't wrong. Clara was only their stepmother now, not their birth mother. She had just arrived at the Liew household two days ago, so it was normal for the kids to be wary of her.
She laid the hoe across her shoulder to steady it, then held out her hands for the water jars. "Give me the water. You two go home. It's a long way."
Deb nodded obediently. Her thin neck looked fragile, and the big head atop it made Clara's heart ache.
Chad glanced at Clara before handing over the water.
"Go back quickly," Clara urged.
Chad took Deb's hand and started to leave. But Deb broke free and ran back to Clara.
"Mom, please don't run away," the little girl looked up at her with pure eyes full of longing for motherly love.
Older brothers told her the stepmother would run away after seeing how poor their family was.
But Deb didn't want Mom to leave.
Their birth mother died after giving birth to the twins, so they never had a mother. That's why they envied other children with moms.
In Deb's heart, if Daddy brought a new mom home, then she would have a mom!
She would listen to Mom and help with chores. As long as Mom would be her mother, Deb would be good.
Clara couldn't resist such a warm, innocent look. She put down the hoe, crouched, and gently patted the little head. "Be good, Deb. Wait for me at home."
Deb's eyes lit up when she heard Clara would come back. She shyly grabbed Clara's finger and smiled. "Deb will be good. Wait for Mom."
"All right, go now."
"Okay!"
Chad took Deb by the hand and walked away, glancing back at Clara. Seeing Clara watching them, Deb smiled sweetly, making Clara's heart melt.
Clara watched the two children return to the village, then lifted the hoe and water jar and kept walking forward.
Mist covered the rolling green hills. The air carried the fresh scent of wet grass — a feeling impossible to experience in a world ravaged by disasters and zombies.
Clara greedily breathed in the pure, fresh air, cherishing this hard-earned new life.
Even if she became stepmother to four children, even if the house was empty and bare…
Could it be worse than the hopeless apocalypse she'd escaped?
But as memories of the original owner surfaced, and she thought of that scoundrel husband, Clara's eyes sharpened.
Clara had fled disaster alone after her family was wiped out and reached Willowridge County.
To gain household registration and follow the official arrangements, the bright 18-year-old girl was married to Lester Liew, a 23-year-old widower with four children.
She had hoped for stability, but Lester was good for nothing except his looks!
He neither farmed nor worked, was the first to join any village gossip, and wasted his days idling and stealing.
If he were born into a wealthy family, he might be a careless playboy.
But as a commoner, his behavior only brought suffering to those around him.
When the children's birth mother, Mdm Moh, was alive, she could keep him in check. Though poor, the family still had fifty acres of land, worked hard year-round, enough to avoid starving.
But after Mdm Moh died of hemorrhage giving birth to the twins, Lester became a profligate.
Hating hard work, he refused to farm or labor. Whenever food ran low, he sold the land, quickly selling off the best fields.
Luckily, his three brothers forced him to keep two acres, but those plots were all far away in the hills — at least five miles from home.
The family was so poor that the four kids went hungry often, and their survival was a miracle.
Three days ago, after the government matched Lester with Clara, he brought her home, then dumped the four skinny kids on her and left to spend his days drinking and gambling!
Clara was stunned. She knew the family was poor, the kids' life hard, but naïvely thought the couple could work together to improve things.
She never expected to find the rice bin empty, not a grain of husk to be found!
Already physically drained from fleeing disaster, with no food or water at home, and the cold winter approaching, she took up the hoe to plant winter wheat for next year's food.
But she collapsed on the field and never woke.
And Lester, the scoundrel, still hadn't come home. If Clara hadn't transmigrated here, no one would know the girl who wanted to live was dead.
"Sigh," Clara sighed inwardly, "We'll live well together."
But thinking about the Liew family's current state, Clara still had a headache.
Winter was coming, and the shabby thatched cottage wouldn't hold out.
The winters here brought heavy snow, and the roof needed reinforcing — otherwise it would collapse.
A house collapsing was one thing, but if it crushed someone, it would be tragic.
As for clothing, Clara and the four kids wore hand-me-downs that didn't fit and were very worn. They rarely dared wash them, fearing they'd tear.
Warm clothes could be made with cotton fabric and stuffing, but Clara didn't know if she could sew well — only that she could learn.
But just buying materials for winter clothes would cost a lot.
And money? Clara didn't have a penny.
Worse than all this was the hunger.
Her stomach burned like fire, as if a hole was being burned through it. Clara wanted to kill Lester just to have some meat!
She'd survived the apocalypse only to starve now — she wouldn't die in peace!
(End of Chapter)