>>5623701Old street ー Aunt Jintana’s Duck Noddles
The mostly empty restaurant is manned by an old woman who seems to be in her eighties.. or nineties.. Warin is not sure. The math sounds about right. Twenty years plus forty means she must’ve had given birth somewhere between twenty to thirty years old.
She orders an order of duck noddles. Might as well have lunch.
A small portion of egg noddles and slices of duct meat are served in a concave bowl. The faint yellow broth seems to made from chicken stock, giving a slight saltiness to the dish. The fat of the duck makes swallowing the noodles easy. It’s a well put together meal, although a single dish maybe be too small for most.
..
…
After paying for (and complimenting) the duck noodles, she asks her about Mister Jittigorn and says she wants to talk to them privately.
・Ah, sorry, dear, we.. do not have an interest in business deals. ・
“It’s not about that.”
Warin whispers.
“I found a letter from your son, Pike. Just came across it a day ago. He wanted to deliver the letter but was unable to.”
・.. he’s alive?・
“No. He passed away. Nearly twenty years ago. I prefer to continue this elsewhere.”
・I- I see.. thank you, dear. Let’s talk at the back of the restaurant. My- my husband is there. He deserves to know this too.・
The words of the previously easygoing old lady becomes more somber and neutral.
She opens a door and walks to a large room where utensils are cleaned by an old man sitting on a stool ー Jittigorn.
..
…
Pike didn’t want his parents to find out about his current state, and instead ask Warin to transcribe his words into a letter.
The letter briefly explains Pike’s life after he severed contact with them, his immoral actions as a merchant, and his regrets and reasonings behind it all. He saw how the honest, legitimate life was not working out. He saw the things the mercenaries had done, had gained, and wanted some of that as well. He eventually became wayward and lost his way, becoming little more than a thief or a murderer. It was partly because of that, and the thought of his parents seeing him in that state that he never tried to contact them. He apologizes about it all and wants to be truly honest for once. He does not ask for any forgiveness, but says that they don’t have to worry about hi-
・Are you.. truly sure that this is real?・
“Yes?”
・Sorry, dear, but this.. this does not look like him. The.. the writing feels off. The ways the letters are wrote.. I don’t think that this is truly him.・
- Come on, Jintana, what would anyone have to gain from faking this? -
・Swindlers, thieves, sick bastards that are just messed up in the head. Both of us have seen too many of those in here. It’s probably the same in Cinderpath. If that is truly where he died. ・
dammit. I guess my copying wasn’t good enough. I should have hired a scribe to copy his handwriting. 