Lake

There was once a boy named Luke. He was frail and frightened by the world around him.

But that changed when he met an old lady who made him feel the warm and cozy feeling he had never felt before. And throughout his journey, he met a girl by the lake — the color to his monochrome life.

“Hey Luke! Go feed the pigs, or you won’t eat dinner tonight!” his foster mother shouted.

Luke had no choice but to go to the pig pen and feed the pigs.

Luke’s biological mother had abandoned him and left without a trace. That’s why he was now living in a cruel home where everyone treated him like trash.

“If only I could escape this place,” Luke whispered to himself.

But those words stuck in his mind — repeating again and again — until something inside him snapped. He packed his things and escaped through the forest in the middle of the night.

While walking through the darkness, he saw a glimpse of light by the swamp and got distracted. Suddenly, he slipped, hitting his head on a rock, almost falling unconscious.

Little did he know, a snake was slithering closer — ready to bite.

This snake was no ordinary snake. It was cursed. Anyone bitten by it would have only a 5% chance of surviving the curse.

Before he could lose consciousness, he felt the snake bite him. But just before he blacked out completely, he saw an old lady appear — she scared the snake away, her lantern glowing faintly in the night. Then, all Luke could see was pitch black.

“This poor boy,” the old lady said softly, kneeling beside him. “He has so many bruises all over his body, and he’s so thin… it’s like he hasn’t been fed. I’ll take him to my cabin and heal him.”

The woman’s name was Mary Rose — a kind, gentle healer who could cure curses, poisons, and other strange ailments.

While Mary was preparing soup for the boy, hours passed. After eighteen long hours, Luke finally opened his eyes.

Where am I? he thought. Why does this feel so warm and cozy? I’ve never felt this before…

Mary noticed he was awake. She smiled and approached him, holding a bowl of soup — but as she got closer, Luke panicked. He flinched, knocking the bowl from her hands, spilling soup all over the floor.

“S-sorry, it was an accident! I’ll clean it up right away!” he stammered, trembling in fear.

“No, please sit down and rest,” Mary said softly. “I mean no harm. Let me do the cleaning — after all, it was just an accident.”

Luke stared at her, speechless. No one had ever spoken to him so kindly before.

“What’s your name, little boy?” Mary asked, preparing another bowl of soup.

“M-my name’s Luke,” he said quietly.

Mary smiled. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Luke. My name is Mary Rose — but you can call me Mary, or Auntie Mary if you’d like. It reminds me of my late niece.”

Her niece? I wonder what happened to her… but maybe it’s too early to ask, Luke thought as he continued eating.

He was so thankful that Aunt Mary had taken care of him and let him stay at her cabin. After a while, she told him to wash up and get some rest.

The next morning, Luke woke up and went outside. He saw Aunt Mary harvesting vegetables and fruits. She noticed him too.

“Oh, hi Luke! I’ve prepared breakfast for you — help yourself!” Aunt Mary said joyfully.

Aunt Mary had never been this happy before Luke came into her life. She’d never thought someone would be so thankful to her.

“Thank you, Aunt Mary, for preparing breakfast!” Luke smiled.

He sat at the table full of delicious food and began eating. Mary came inside, washed her hands, and joined him.

“Is your snake bite feeling better?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah! I feel a lot better now,” he replied.

“That’s good,” Mary said calmly. “You know… that snake was a cursed one. I’ve only slowed down the curse. It may take a long time — or be impossible — to remove it completely. I’ll need to find the right ingredients to cure it.”

Luke paused for a moment, thinking, then smiled. “If it’s that serious, I can help find the ingredients — while I still feel strong enough.”

Aunt Mary just laughed softly and continued eating.