"You two, what are you still doing? Come eat!", Mom called out.
Ethan quickly shook the water droplets off his hands and hurriedly went around Mom, who was just about to block the kitchen doorway, and headed toward the dining table, afraid that if he was even a step slower, he'd be trapped in the kitchen.
Seeing that she couldn't escape anymore, Riyana could only stall for time, desperately rubbing soap over her hands as she said, "Mom, you… you and Bro eat first. I'll come over as soon as I've washed my hands."
"Anna, hurry up, or the food will get cold."
"Okay, okay. I'll be quick."
Sitting at the dining table, Ethan saw that Riyana's back was trembling.
Mom didn't go into the kitchen again. Instead, she smiled and returned to the dining table. This time, Ethan's heart gave a sudden thump.
"Ethan, let me ladle you a bowl of soup."
Mom smiled as she picked up the bowl in front of Ethan, then took the large soup ladle from the table and stirred it around in that pot of hair soup.
Ethan really wanted to say he didn't want any, but he was afraid of provoking this "strange" mom. He was terrified that she'd pull out another large kitchen knife the next second, so he could only swallow the words "I don't want any" back down his throat.
Gurgle~ Gurgle~
The large soup ladle scraped against the edge of the bowl, making a gurgling rubbing sound.
The entire dining table was silent, and Riyana had already stopped washing her hands. She watched the dining table from a distance, hesitating over whether she should come over.
"All right, hurry up and drink it! It'll taste bad once it gets cold."
Mom placed the bowl of soup in front of Ethan, and at the very moment she set the bowl down… Ethan saw a white, round object emerge from beneath the mass of black hair in the soup. The white sphere, about the size of a coin, rolled over, revealing a gray-black dot on its surface.
'An eyeball?'
Thump!
This was already the second time today Ethan felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest from fright.
But Mom was still smiling beside him and urging him, "Drink it! I've been simmering this soup with pork bones all morning. It's really good. Have a taste."
"Uh…"
Ethan could only pretend to stir the strange soup with his spoon, "I was just waiting for Riyana, wasn't I? We're a family, so we should all eat together. What kind of family eats soup with alone?"
"That's true!"
Mom nodded in agreement.
Then she turned toward Riyana and called, "Anna, why are you taking so long to wash your hands? Your brother is waiting for you to eat. Come over quickly."
Splash!
The moment Mom turned her head to call Riyana, Ethan immediately poured the soup back into the soup pot.
Then, the instant she turned her head back, he quickly raised the empty soup bowl to his mouth, pretending that he'd just finished drinking it, "Phew! Mom's soup is so good. I couldn't resist!"
"Is it good?"
Mom turned around and, seeing that Ethan had actually finished the whole bowl of soup, immediately smiled so widely that her teeth showed.
Ethan nodded repeatedly, even sticking out his tongue to lick his lips, "It's good! Really good!"
"I'm glad you like it."
After finishing the soup, Mom looked at her daughter, Riyana, and said, "Come, Anna, have a bowl too!"
"Okay…"
Riyana's smile looked worse than crying.
But she'd just seen her brother's little trick, so naturally she couldn't back down either, "Mom, could you get me a bowl of rice? I'm hungry. Just drinking soup isn't enough."
"Sure!"
Mom seemed very happy that someone was willing to eat the food she'd made.
Riyana also planned to pour the soup back into the pot while Mom turned around to get the rice. But unexpectedly, Mom had only walked a couple of steps with the bowl before suddenly turning around and saying, "How much rice do you want… Anna, what are you doing?"
"I… uh…"
Riyana's soup bowl was already over the soup pot. Caught red-handed by Mom, she could only freeze in place and stammer, "I… I just saw that Bro seemed to really like it. I wanted to give him my bowl!"
"Holy shit!"
Ethan really cursed out loud on the spot.
Hearing Ethan swear, Mom's expression immediately darkened as well, "Ethan, no swearing at home!"
"Mom, I said 'I wiped it,'" Ethan forced himself to explain, "I wasn't swearing. I just saw Riyana spill a little soup, and I said I'd go get a rag to wipe it up."
"Mm," Only then did another stiff smile return to Mom's face.
"Anna, hurry up and drink the soup," This time, Mom didn't even turn around to get the rice. Instead, she stared fixedly at Riyana, "Your brother wants more. He can get it himself."
"Y-yes…"
Riyana silently swallowed, then could only brace herself and slowly stir the soup with her spoon. But after a long while, she still couldn't drink a single mouthful.
Mom didn't urge her either. She simply stared quietly at Riyana and said, "Why aren't you drinking? Is the soup I made not good?"
"N-no… it's good!"
Riyana shook her head repeatedly, and in the end, she could only scoop up a spoonful and reluctantly bring it to her mouth.
But in the spoonful she'd scooped up, Ethan saw a white eyeball in the middle. Its gray-black pupil was faintly visible, as if it were looking sideways at Ethan and quietly saying…
'Soon, you'll be just like me!'