Chapter 712 Strange Village
Clarissa's last meal was before she went out in the morning. So much had happened between then and now. It was already dark outside and the woman was holding a torch, so she knew it must be night.
It would be strange if she was not hungry.
As she was thinking, she unconsciously licked her lips, and her tummy rumbled. Embarrassed, she rubbed her tummy, and asked, "Will that be too much trouble?"
"Oh, no trouble at all. The food is all ready. Come on! If you can get out of bed, we'll go out to eat."
Clarissa nodded. Although her body ached all over, she could still get out of bed by holding on to support.
Painfully, she ambled along behind the woman outside, only to discover that outside was the living room. The living room was pitch dark, with a solitary oil lamp on the table illuminating a small perimeter.
The woman led her to the table and Clarissa sat down. She said, "Wait here, I'll get you something to eat."
Then, the woman walked to the other side of the hall.
Clarissa sat there and looked around with the light from the oil lamp.
The house was not big. The floor was not cemented and was uneven raw earth. The table was made of wood, with a layer of black lacquer on the top. Most parts of the table were covered with red lacquer as the surface layer was peeling.
There was an old cupboard next to the table. Inside the cupboard were some junk and daily necessities vaguely visible under the dim light.
She did not know where she landed but it was probably a remote and backward village.
Besides, the oil lamp was a good indication that electricity was not available.
This sobering reality made her heart sink.
Not long later, the woman came out with two bowls in her hands.
One bowl was brown rice, the other was vegetables and a few slices of meat mixed together.
The woman smiled and said, "It's leftovers from dinner tonight. Hope you don't mind it."
Clarissa smiled and took the fork. "Thanks. This is good enough."
She could not afford to be choosy. Although she never tried brown rice before in her life, the food still looked unappetizing.
Clarissa understood that in a difficult situation, the most important thing was to eat and preserve her strength.
Furthermore, this food offered a token of the woman's sincerity.
Seeing that she began to eat, the woman was relieved, so she walked to one side to sit down on a low chair. Out of nowhere, she took out two long needles and a ball of yarn and started knitting a sweater.
Clarissa watched her, and hesitated for a while before finally asking, "Madam, where exactly is this place?"
The woman looked up at her and said with a smile, "This is Laenteglos Village. It's a remote village. You probably haven't heard of it."
Clarissa searched her memory but she had never heard of this name.
Puzzled, she asked, "Is this in Ashax Country?"
The woman nodded. "Yes, but we are very far south near the border with Ogruze. Further south, there is a war going on and the situation is bad. These days are difficult for everyone."
Clarissa was perplexed with her explanation.
Near the Ogruze border? This was nowhere near the route back to Ascijian!
On second thought, she understood what happened.
The flight path must have been altered, and the passengers on the plane did not notice at all.
This thought made her felt depressed. After a couple of spoonfuls of rice, she continued, "Madam, I see you're using oil lamps. Don't you have electricity?"
The woman sighed.
"How come we don't have electricity? We did have it before, but we lost it after the war. There was a big explosion, all cables on the other side were broken apart, as well as ours. For convenience and to reduce cost, we use oil lamps instead."
Clarissa nodded.
She knew that in this world, there was no real peace anywhere.
We lived peaceful lives, not in a peaceful world but in a peaceful country.
The woman was agitated by her question, and she continued with a sigh, "Not only the electricity but all forms of communication have also been cut off. Well, it's good in a way. We stay here nice and quiet. We don't leave the village; outsiders won't come in. We'll just go to the village chief's house some thirty miles away if there is anything important, and he will pass the message to the outside."
Clarissa fell silent, lost in her thoughts.
There was no electricity or communication.
These two facts were undoubtedly very bad for her.
After all, in a place where there was no electricity, there would not be any cars.
It looked like it was almost impossible to leave here.
Without communication, she was cut off from people outside. Her own cell phone was lost when she parachuted down. There was no way that she could contact anyone now.
This really made her despair.
Anderson was currently in the country, so he should have received reports of her plane's accident.
She was not sure how he would react. Would he be concerned about her?
The two children were still at home, and Anne was waiting for her to celebrate her birthday.
All these thoughts added to Clarissa's confusion and despair.
As she was thinking all these, she toyed with her food, finding it hard to swallow the unfamiliar brown rice.
She took a few more bites and laid down her spoon.
When the woman saw that, she asked with a smile, "Oh dear! Is the food here too coarse for your taste?"
Clarissa forced a smile and replied untruthfully, "No, I just woke up and my body still feels very stiff. So I can't find my appetite."
The woman smiled and replied, "Don't worry. While you are asleep, I brought the doctor here to check on you. He said that there isn't any serious injury. You'll be fine after a few days' rest."
Clarissa did not know what kind of doctor the woman was referring to. She guessed that he must be a rural doctor or paramedic.
In any case, she could not care less and nodded.
"Thank you, Madam. Can I ask you something else?"
The woman stood up to help her with the dishes and asked, "What is it? Tell me."
Clarissa asked, "Does Uncle Jasper that the little kid mentioned lives far from here? I want to look for my friend tomorrow. Is it convenient to travel there?"
The woman was surprised and then replied with a smile, "No hurry. Uncle Jasper lives more than 30 miles away from here. I'm sure your friend is safe and resting there, don't worry. When you recover, I'll take you to see her."
Clarissa replied immediately, "No, Madam, what I am trying to say is..."
She bit her lips and stopped. Then, she continued, "I'd like to be together with her."
After all, both of them were ambushed and forced to parachute from the plane. Even though they survived, she was worried that those people would come after them again.
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