22 The Second Request

"Ah Kafi! Quickly put me down! The stew that I've kept on the stove is going to boil over!" My mom's head shot up from my shoulder once she remembered that she still hadn't finished cooking.

Seeing that the request was over, I reluctantly put my mother down and let her go over to the stove to deal with the pot that was steaming.

"Is the dinner ready, mom, or does it need a little more time?" I asked while taking out the plates from the drawer.

"It's finished, Kafi. Just let me bring the dishes over and set the plates on the table so that we can have our dinner." My mom stirred the pot and added some finishing touches to the dishes she made. 

"I already set the plates, mom. You don't have to worry about it."

"Eh? You did?" My mom turned around and was surprised to see that the plates were arranged on the dining table near the living room, and the cutlery was also neatly laid by the side.

"That's suprising...You usually hate laying down the plates and would refuse whenever I asked you to. At one point, you got so fed up with me asking you to help out that you made a plate of food for yourself and went to your room to eat. After that happened, you did the same thing every day and ate your meals in your room all alone."

My mother talked about my previous self, who was a garbage son no matter how I looked at it. And when my mom told me that I ate my dinner all alone, she was also indirectly stating that she too ate her dinner all alone, without her son like she wanted to, which I could see from the tinge of gloom in her eyes.

I could only imagine the number of nights she wished to have a pleasant dinner with her son and talk about what happened in his day, only to be rejected and pushed away by her brat of a son.

"That's all in the past, mom. Forget that even happened...From here on forth, as long as I'm in the house, I'll be having my meals at this dining table with you by my side." I said, which made my mother give a deep smile as if she were relieved, and she was grateful that she could enjoy the food she made with her beloved son.

"Oh no, Kafi! You don't need to pick that up. Let mommy do it for you, in case you burn your hands." 

When I tried to pick up the pot of hot stew she made, my mother intervened and tried to do it herself just in case I burned myself.

"It's fine, mom. I can't let you do all the heavy lifting after you've already made all this delicious food. Just go to the dining table and let me serve you once this time." I said as I blocked her from picking up the pans and carried them on my own to the dining table.

"But Kafi-"

"No buts. Just go sit and wait to be served by me like the queen you are." I said with a stern look on my face and treated her like royalty who wanted to do a commoner job, which was unfit for someone of her status.

Seeing that her son wasn't going to budge no matter what she said, she obediently followed my words and sat herself down on her table while looking over to the kitchen to see if I needed any help.

I ignored her gaze that was fixed on me and swiftly brought over all the food she made, which consisted of beef and vegetable stew, some slices of buttered bread, potato gratin that was fresh out of the oven, and a little colorful salad, which all looked absolutely scrumptious. And as someone who loves food to bits, it made my mouth water.

But before I sat down and dove into the food, I poured my mom a glass of apple juice I had taken from the fridge. And then I took my mother's plate and started to plate her dinner for her.

She looked like she wanted to stop me, as she didn't feel the most comfortable after being treated like she was in a fancy restaurant by her own son, but she shimmered down in her seat when I stared back at her.

Once I plated both our plates, I sat down on my seat at the dining table that was next to hers and was ready to dig in. But just as I was about to stick my fork into the potato gratin, I saw my mother chuckle while covering her mouth as she looked at me.

"Why are you laughing, mom? Did you put something in the gratin and are waiting to see my reaction?" I suspiciously stared at the perfectly normal look gratin, that was asking me to take a bite.

"No, of course not~ How could I do that to my dear Kafi~" My mother waved her hand, telling me that the food was safe. She then looked at me as if she were reminiscing about the past and said

"It's just that years ago, when you were a child, it was me who used to set the table and feed you your dinner while you sat on my lap and played around with your food. Now, it's been years since then, and you're the one who's arranging the cutlery and plating up the dishes for your mother...I just couldn't help but think of this and laugh about how times go so fast."

My mother then leaned over and stroked my hair lovingly, like I was still a child in her eyes, and said with a gentle smile on her face.

"My baby boy, who I used to carry around on my shoulders, is now old enough to carry his own mother like it's nothing...My little Kafi has truly grown up, hasn't he~"

Fuck me...I swear that this woman before me has the ability to make my emotions go all over the place with her words. Whenever she says anything sentimental that revolves around her son, I feel like tearing up a bit.

I don't know if it's because of the loving way in which she says it, where you can literally feel how she adores you with every word of hers, or if it's because I'm desperate for motherly love since I've never received it as a child. 

But this lady before me who calls herself my mother knows how to play my heart like a fiddle, as I'm experiencing more turbulent emotions in these few minutes I've spent with her than in my entire adult life.

I'm not even overstating it, as I don't even think that my emotions fluctuated this much when my life was on the line for those years I've been chased down.

So this is the power of a mother's love...How horrifying.

Ding~

[A message has been sent from the Gods]

[The God of Harvest Ivanova sends a request: Make your mother sit on your lap and personally feed you]

[Successfully fulfill the request and gain the Gods satisfaction and approval]

[Fail the given request and you will be turned into manure to fertilize the fields]

Make my own mother sit on my lap and feed me like I was a child...Now how am I supposed to do that?