"Cough, cough" she put her hand over her ribs feeling the hard bone underneath the thin layer of skin. She felt drained after all the movement of barely sitting up. She was going to die soon, one way or another, no matter what she did.
Her baby was sleeping on her bed, so she took an uncomfortable position on the chair trying to sew some clothes for him while also not collapsing from the strain.
The adrenaline had gone out of her making her feel hallowed out. She sewed some brown fabrics together making it a little shirt for Oliver, when she cut the last string with a tiny pocket knife.
If she was going to provide food for Oliver then she needed supplies she thought to herself. 'I need to go to the village.'
*************
2 days had gone by as Oliver enjoyed his time with his mom the best he could, and helped her out in many ways like helping her with standing up, and helping her fold the laundry.
Oliver noticed his mothers growing fatigue and weakness though and was very worried for her. He had just gained a loving mother and she was being taken away!? He thought to himself.
Oliver's mother suddenly came into the house with a basket full of strawberries, taking them off from her back, she fashioned it on a bag full of the most valuable things they owned and some bandages in case someone got hurt.
It also had two camping bags rolled up on the bottom of the bag, one smaller than the other. "Alright. Let's go to the village!!" She said. She took his hand and took him out the door in a rush.
Oliver didn't know the path that they were going so he asked her where they were going. "To the village dear. We have to go get supplies for ourselves if we want to live happily!"
A gust of wind came from the back and Mother fell.
'The walking was taking its toll on mother' Oliver thought. "Mommy do you need help?" He asked. "No honey it's alright. Mommy's all better now."
Oliver looked down at his mothers knees and saw a small scratch on them.
"But mommy your bleeding! You should put a bandage on it!" He said with a concerned tone. "No mommy wants to save these for a bigger boo-boo okay!"
She looked at him with a smiling face, and started to walk along the path again. They had already been walking for 2 days.
They had been sleeping in the sleeping bags at night and ate almost all of the food rations that they had packed with them.
They had to find the village before it was too late. After a few more hours of walking, they saw the village. It looked like heaven to Oliver's eyes who had not seen civilization for weeks.
There were children running around with one another playing soccer, and another group of children all under the age of four he was guessing with a string that they held onto to not loose each other, with the mother or teacher of some sort trailing behind them.
He saw all of the different street foods placed in random areas and tiny houses that a one child family would adore.
He saw the cats strewn about as their delicate walking left different areas freely and some on roofs, in houses, or just on the ground sleeping.
As Oliver and his mom got closer, he saw the vibrant toys that were on display for the little children to fawn over.
Oliver saw one child being pulled by the mother to walk away from it. Oliver looked up to see his mother looking at it with a sombre expression.
As the wind picked up, Oliver's cape flowed with the wind. He had to hold it in place to not reveal anything that would catch the eye.
Mother took Oliver to an empty spot along the trail of people, and set up a worn wooden stand, using a big peice of cloth to cover us from the immediate snow.
She took out a few items from the big backpack that she had been carrying around and quickly putting the items on display for the passerby's.
There were six items on display. The first one was a cup with a golden rim. It looked a bit expensive. No intricate design on it.
The second was a necklace. It looked like a sapphire, the blue radiated off of it in a radiant display of light on the rough wooden stand.
The third was a doll. It was a porcelain doll with the hair curled in a petite fashion with a blue dress that had little cute designs on the bottom. The doll looked like it came from generations before passed down carefully.
The fourth was a plate this time with a golden bottom that had a swirling motion on it. It wasn't as pretty as the doll or sapphire necklace but it did catch the eye.
The fifth was a painting. The painting was a family having a picnic under a beautiful oak tree. The family had one mother, one father, two twin brothers that looked to be no older than ten, and a little girl around the age of five playing with toys right beside them.
The sixth item was a ring of pure gold with intricate designs swirling to form a hole in which a diamond was placed. It was a pretty good diamond as it was around the size of a pinky nail.
It looked to be a wedding ring from some nobles family. It made Oliver wonder where she got it.