Understanding Each Other
1554 Words
Chapter 011: Understanding Each Other
“You’re back!”
Anindira cried out as she welcomed the young man’s return, her face glowing with delight. Her voice echoed among the tree trunks, drifting softly with the wind that rustled through the leaves.
The young man stopped a few steps away from her, looking at Anindira’s broad smile, almost too bright for a wild forest like this. In his hand was a bundle of fresh leaves, carrying a faint yet distinct aroma.
“You’re that happy just because I brought food...”
His reply was flat, but the corners of his eyes softened slightly when he saw Anindira’s sparkling gaze fixed on the bundle in his hand.
Even Anindira herself could not tell which made her happier—the fact that he had returned before her boredom drove her to climb down on her own, or the sweet scent of fruit coming from inside the bundle. Her stomach, which had been growling for quite some time, immediately reacted, fluttering with hopeful anticipation.
“Is this for me?” Anindira asked politely, though her eyes had already betrayed her excitement.
“Eat!”
The young man briefly held the bundle out to her.
“Eat...”
Anindira repeated the word carefully, pronouncing each syllable as though she wanted to carve it into her memory.
“Eum.”
The young man nodded.
“Eat,” he repeated once more, his tone clear and firm.
“Thank you.”
A sweet smile instantly spread across Anindira’s face. She quickly opened the leaf bundle and began eating the fruits inside.
“I’m really hungry... Thank you again.”
The words came almost without pause as she stuffed each bite into her mouth as if afraid the food might suddenly disappear.
The young man watched her for a moment.
“Last night, you cried your heart out. But look at you now... eating so eagerly.”
“Hm?!”
Anindira answered with her mouth still full. Her cheeks puffed out, making her voice sound strange but honest.
“Slow down.”
A faint smile appeared on the young man’s face.
“If it’s not enough, I’ll find more for you.”
Anindira had indeed been overwhelmed by everything that had happened to her. An unfamiliar world. Danger everywhere. A language she could not understand.
But after releasing all of her emotions the previous night, the weight in her chest felt a little lighter.
There was no avoiding this situation.
No path back was visible.
The only thing she could do now was survive—one step at a time—in a world whose rules she did not even understand yet.
“You seem to really like those fruits, but you haven’t even looked at the rabbit I brought.”
Anindira showed the same reaction as before.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
Her gaze turned blank for several seconds.
She had no idea what the young man was saying.
As a result, the only answer she could give was an awkward—almost foolish—expression.
“You...”
The young man called slowly.
“Do not...”
He paused briefly, then pointed at his own hand.
“Eat this?”
he asked while pointing at the rabbit hanging from his grip.
This time it was obvious.
He was intentionally breaking his sentence apart, speaking word by word as though dictating to a small child.
“Hmm?”
Anindira raised an eyebrow and watched him attentively.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
“You mean eat that?!”
She emphasized her guess with an amusing gesture, pointing at the rabbit before pointing at her own mouth.
A small sense of accomplishment rose inside her.
She had managed to understand what he meant, even if it took some effort.
“Eum.”
The young man nodded.
“How am I supposed to eat it?”
Anindira asked.
“It’s still raw!”
Both of them were patient.
Their vocabulary was limited.
Their languages were different.
Yet their desire to understand one another kept them trying.
Hands.
Gestures.
Facial expressions.
Everything became a tool for communication.
“How do you eat a rabbit that’s still covered in fur like that?”
Anindira continued in confusion.
She frowned, openly displaying her disgust as she looked at the dead rabbit in the young man’s hand.
Without saying a word, the young man reached into the leather pouch at his waist.
He pulled out a flat stone and, with practiced movements, began skinning the rabbit.
The hide came off cleanly.
Its belly was slit open.
The organs were removed without hesitation.
Anindira, who had spent her childhood helping her mother and grandmother in the kitchen, felt no disgust whatsoever.
She had even helped process squirrels caught during hunting trips with her grandfather.
The blood smeared across the young man’s hands did not affect her appetite in the slightest.
“I’ve cleaned it. You can eat it now.”
After finishing, he handed the rabbit to Anindira.
“Hah?!”
Anindira cried out instinctively, her expression of disgust immediately returning.
“I’m supposed to eat this raw?!”
The young man misunderstood her reaction.
Thinking she genuinely rejected it, he reflexively moved to throw the rabbit away.
“WHAT?! WAIT!!”
Anindira shouted.
Her hand shot forward instinctively, stopping him before the rabbit could be tossed away.
“What’s wrong with you?!”
Her voice sounded firm, almost angry.
Anindira looked at him without hesitation.
She truly hated seeing food wasted.
“What’s wrong with you?”
the young man asked back, clearly confused.
“I did that for you. I didn’t want your appetite to be ruined!”
He did not understand why Anindira had stopped him.
And he understood even less why the girl dared to look directly into his eyes without fear.
“Don’t throw it away!”
Anindira exclaimed.
“Why catch it and prepare it if you’re just going to throw it away?! You caught it because you wanted to eat it. You wouldn’t give me something that you wouldn’t eat yourself, right?!”
The irritation in her voice was unmistakable.
To her, food—especially fresh game—was not something that could simply be discarded.
Both of them fell silent for a moment.
Holding themselves back.
Trying to remain reasonable amid a misunderstanding born from two incompatible languages.
“Mister,”
Anindira finally said, becoming the first to yield.
Her voice softened.
“I don’t eat raw meat.”
She tried to explain as calmly as possible.
She did not want the distance between them to grow wider simply because of a misunderstanding.
“Aahh!”
Anindira suddenly cried out, her face instantly brightening.
“FIRE!”
Awkward, but completely sincere.
She pointed repeatedly while gesturing with her hands, making sure her meaning was clear.
“Fire.”
The young man repeated the word in a flat tone.
One eyebrow lifted.
A small spark flashed in his eyes—a sign that he understood.
Like Anindira, he also wanted them to understand each other.
Their language might be limited, but comfort mattered.
The young man reached into his pouch again and pulled out two stones.
With a measured strike, he hit them together.
A tiny spark appeared.
“YES!”
Anindira cried out with a broad smile, her eyes shining triumphantly.
“Hehehe...”
Her laughter sounded silly and genuine.
“Mister, you’re smart...”
She raised a thumbs-up, sticky with the sweet juice of the fruit still coating her fingers.
“Forgive me,”
the young man said, his eyes growing slightly wistful as he looked at her.
“While traveling, we men usually eat it raw to save time...”
“Mister, what are you saying?”
“Hm.”
The young man smiled faintly.
“I prefer cooked meat too.”
“Mister, I have absolutely no idea what you’re saying...”
“Don’t think about it. Wait... here!”
He returned to speaking as though dictating words.
His hand gently rested on Anindira’s shoulder, signaling for her to stay put.
Agile and swift, the young man climbed down from the tree.
Once again, Anindira was left above, waiting with mixed feelings.
Not long afterward, however, he returned and helped her climb down.
It turned out he had prepared a campfire.
Below, the fire was already burning steadily.
The young man took two rabbits wrapped in broad leaves—similar to teak leaves—skewered them on wooden sticks, and began roasting them over the flames.
The aroma of meat gradually spread through the air, mingling with smoke and the scent of burning wood.
While waiting for the rabbits to cook, they sat facing one another.
The atmosphere became calmer.
And from there, they began trying to converse—not merely one word at a time.
“Halvir...”
The young man pointed to himself.
“Halvir. I... Halvir.”
He repeated it slowly before pointing at Anindira.
“Hal... vir?”
Anindira mimicked him, then pointed back at the young man.
“Eum.”
Halvir nodded.
“You?”
he asked while pointing at Anindira.
“Anindira. A-nin-di-ra.”
Anindira pointed to herself as she answered.
Amid the glow of the campfire and their broken communication, the first seeds of understanding finally began to grow.
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