1326 I Bet
Inside the tent, Raelle looked at the inflated bed and then at the sleeping bag. All of this was really out of her comfort zone but here she was. She opened the sleeping bag and lay down to sleep. She could hear the sound of fire burning from outside, mixed with the lowered voices of Shui Xian, Xiang Wai, Hyson, and Xiang Weimin. She closed her eyes to try to sleep.
She really thought she wouldn't be able to sleep here tonight but she didn't even realize when she fell asleep. She didn't even know when Shui Xian came to lie down beside her. She only knew that Shui Xian was sleeping with her when she woke up at the break of dawn.
She looked at his tired face and she could tell that they all must have chatted for a long time last night. She slowly got up without disturbing him and went outside. She pulled up a jumper and wore her trekking shoes as she went for a walk around the camp. She looked at the forest covered with early morning mist and it seemed rather magical.
She heard some sound coming from the bush ahead and turned her eyes to see what was it. It seemed something was moving there, she stepped over slowly and made eye contact with something.
Raelle froze and then slowly took a step back. "What are you doing?" came the voice from behind her.
Raelle looked at Xiang Weimin who appeared behind her and said, "There is something over there. We made eye contact just now."
Xiang Weimin looked where she pointed and walked over. He pushed away the bushes and found the 'creature' she made eye contact with it. With a smile on his face, he picked it up and brought it towards her.
"It's a little bunny."
Raelle looked at that small rabbit with gray fur. She looked into his red eyes and fell into thought. Who knew what she was thinking about?
"It's cute, isn't it?" asked Xiang Weimin.
"No," answered Raelle. "I don't think so."
Xiang Weimin didn't know how to respond to that. "Don't you wanna keep this little friend with you?"
"Why would I share my home with these things?" asked Raelle in return. "I am not asking him to share his home with me. It should not have such expectations from me too."
Xiang Weimin pursed his lips and wanted to put the rabbit down. Just then Justin came over, "Oh, it's a bunny!"
Xiang Weimin looked at his son with a loving smile, "Do you like it?"
Justin touched the fur of the small rabbit that was a bit scared right now and said, "I do. Can we keep it?"
"Yes, we can," replied Xiang Weimin.
"Yes, you can," said Raelle. "Later, it'll eat all your plants and ruin all your garden by burrowing into the ground, making holes here and there. Ruining the root system of all the flowering plants."
The more Justin listened, the more his expression changed and he shook his head, "No, Daddy! Let it go. I don't want it."
Xiang Weimin gave Raelle a look that seemed like she did nothing wrong. He shook his head at his sister and turned to his son, "You really don't want such a cute friend?"
"No," Justin was very decisive this time. "I can't be selfish. Just because I want a cute friend, I can't separate it from its family. That isn't nice, right?"
Xiang Weimin touched his head, "My son is so smart." And then he looked at Raelle saying, "And you are evil!"
"What did I do?" was Raelle's response. Why would she allow a red-eyed creature to live anywhere near her? Did she look like a fool? And she did not think this thing was cute at all.
Xiang Weimin set the rabbit free and held Justin's hand to take him back.
On the other hand, Raelle looked around once more and decided to go back to the campsite. She felt like she had to go to the bathroom but going to the bathroom in the wild was an experience she'd rather not have. Dying was acceptable but not this so-called experience. So, she could only hold it in now.
It'd be a bit uncomfortable but it's okay, they'd be going back after breakfast. Then she'll be home and will be able to go to the bathroom with the peace of mind and she'd be able to take a long shower to shake of the germs of all the insects living in this mountain too. That's how Raelle was convincing herself all this while.
"When did you guys go to sleep?" asked Raelle looking at Xiang Weimin who was already busy with breakfast.
"After midnight," he replied. "That's why, let the others sleep for a while. I'll handle the breakfast myself."
"I didn't say I was gonna wake them up," said Raelle. "You all can really talk. Why spend so much time talking?"
"Why can't you talk for so long?" asked Xiang Weimin in return. "We should talk more to learn more from each other. People have a lot to teach you too. Haven't you realized that last night? Have you heard all those strange stories before? I bet, you didn't even believe in them before."
Raelle nodded her head, "I didn't believe in them. That's why I never read books related to legends. It just didn't seem interesting enough because my subconscious mind won't believe it."
"But you should believe in what you heard last night," said Xiang Weimin.
"I'm not sure about that. Everything Wai said could really be just her hallucination too. Everything pointed towards that."
"But then how do you explain that she was fine?"
"Maybe the antidote pill she took kicked in late."
"What about the snake bite? There was no mark of it on her leg."
Raelle fell silent, "Then maybe she ate some kind of a fruit in that virgin forest that brought out that hallucination. And everything was just a dream. She never got bitten by a snake."
Xiang Weimin laughed when he heard that and came over to touch her head which she didn't avoid. "You are really something. Your brain can find reasons to convince you as long as your belief is strong enough."
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