60 Morning Walks

It was a cool morning with nothing but the chirping of the birds to accompany Lia and Tamara in their morning walk. Tamara discovered a wide range of plants near their house and had been trying out ways to use them, ranging from cooking to the making of salves. Harvesting them has become Tamara's morning routine. Lia decided to join as part of her studies.

"We should not always treat people." Tamara wrangled a root from the soil, forehead beaded with sweat.

Lia remained silent, cocked her head to the side as a response, forgetting that her mother could not see her. She asked instead, "What do you mean?"

"Being healthy and keeping yourself healthy starts with the way you live, with what you eat."

"Is that why we're picking up these grasses?" Lia stared hard at the green leaves that looked a lot like the normal grass found around their house.

"That grass is not only delicious but also healthy. You can check by its smell." Tamara laughed when Lia continued to stare at her mother as though she had lost her mind. "You're too skeptical. That's a good trait but not too much or you'll miss the best things in life. Come on, try this one."

Lia humored Tamara, and it had a distinct menthol smell like what her mother said. "So I can just tell people to be wary of what they are eating?"

"That's one thing. But another is that, when treating them, you should look at what they eat. Most of the time, that's the cause of their illness."

Lia continued to poke around the greens and get all these shepherd's purses that she could get. Tamara watched her from the sidelines.

All of a sudden, Tamara spoke, "I wish I could give you more than those grasses."

Lia gave her mother a quizzical look.

"I can only try and give you a healthy life because..."

Lia stood straight from crouc&ing on the ground. "Alright, stop. You've given me more than enough."

"But it's your birthday and all I'm giving you is these," she gestured at the plants around them, "and lectures." Tamara gave her a wry smile.

"And I'm happy with that. Those are priceless gifts."

"I just..." Tamara shrugged. "I guess I just don't want to lose another child if I can help it."

After a moment of hesitation, Lia spoke, "Will you tell me what happened to your son?"

She held her breath, waiting to be brushed off. She knew that she was treading on dangerous waters here. Her mother never really told her what happened to her family. She only made inferences based on the things that were mentioned here and there.

Tamara sighed, sat under the shade of a big tree, and patted the spot next to her. Lia obeyed.

===================

"This morning, they gather herbs for, if I may assume, Miss Lia's studies."

Eldric nodded, his eyes glued to the map in front of him. "Thank you. Go back to your post and report if something important happens."

Joaquin was about to leave when he paused, turned back, and said, "It seems that today is Miss Lia's birthday."

Eldric picked up his canteen and drank before placing his drink down carefully. When he did not say anything else, Joaquin left the room.

Tim raised his brow at his friend. "Do you plan on giving the lady any present?"

Eldric pretended to busy himself with the reports. "Why would I even do that? I'm not courting her."

Tim snorted, and Eldric did not pay his friend any mind.

"Sure you don't. So what is she, a suspect? Unknown's accomplice? A possible victim?"

Eldric massaged the bridge of his nose. They just went the entire night receiving reports and planning their next move. He did not have energy for Tim's questioning. "She might as well be everything that you mentioned."

Tim sat up straight across Eldric. "Now we both know that you're lying. She's just a normal girl trying to live her life. That much should have been evident after weeks of shadowing her."

Deep down, Eldric knew that his friend made sense. After their last meeting, there was something about Lia that made got under his skin, and it had gotten stronger when they spent the time together. He was sure that she might be hiding something or else he would not be feeling this way, whatever this was.

"If anything, she might as well be Unknown's target," Eldric said, eager to finish the conversation.

But he also knew now that she was innocent. She was in no way related to the Unknown. And that was concerning for Eldric too.

"I'm tired. Wrap this up." Eldric stood up and left. There were a million things he needed to do and thinking about someone else's birthday was not one of them.