The Ranch

A "Thank You" Gift (1)

"Tih, I need your help. There's no one else I can ask. You're my only hope." This is what Tih hears Phillip says as he squeezes him to death.

Tih slips out of the embrace and faces Phillip, waiting for him to explain.

"I can't ask anyone back at the company. I'm sure they'll snitch on me and soon, the entire company will know. Ahhh, then Casanova would find out and I know he'll use it against me for the next month. And-" Phillip feels a soft lay on his arm.

He looks down into Tih's unmovable calm blue eyes. He can feel himself cooling off. Tih's eeriness can have that effect, but in this case it's helpful and not something straight out of a horror movie.

Phillip stops talking erratically about his fears. He looks into the child's eyes. This is the only person that won't eat him out. "I need your help making chocolate covered strawberries. Can you?"

Tih has no clue how to make chocolate covered strawberries. He nods.

Phillip shows a childish grin," Great! First we need the ingredients. Let's go check out the farm." Phillip takes Tih's hand and they go to the farms in the north edge of the island.

"Hello." Phillip walks up to one of the farmers. " We would like to buy some strawberries?"

The workers gives them a strange look," Strawberries? Today? You know it's Valentine's Day. You should of got here earlier. Closest thing we got now are raspberries." They sold out of strawberries hours ago.

"What? But-" Phillip doesn't have a backup plan if they can't get strawberries here.

The worker looks at the disappointed handsome guy and then looks at the kid next to him," Sorry, there's nothing I can do for ya. You know how many couples buy strawberries today? Plus the cafeteria always orders a bunch for their limited edition dessert competition between the floors. They order months in advance so we know how many fields we'll need. This time of year, strawberries take up half our fields and we still ran out." The worker shrugs. There's really nothing he can do.

Phillip tries to think of other options in his head. Maybe a different dessert? Or maybe he should buy something more practical? But he wants it to be more personal.

All the while, Tih is also thinking to himself.

~~~

Strawberry.
Red.
Shiny.
Specks.
Tastes good.

~~~~

An image comes to mind.

Tih pinches Phillip's pant material and starts walking east. Phillip follows along as he comes out of his thoughts. He follows Tih's lead this time. Whenever Tih does this, it's important. He trusts that Tih has a plan.

Tih brings him to the mountains. Tih enters the forest off the beaten path. Phillip has to be careful because there's no trail.

The ground is rocky and uneven, making it easy to trip. There's vines, branches, thorns to get attacked by. An occasional chirp from a bird or a rustling can be heard. Tih pulls down a snake that was disguised as a vine. The snake hisses and attempts to bite Tih's hand, but it's flung into the distance until it can no longer be seen.

They spend the next hour climbing up one of the many mountains. Phillip has to be especially careful. A few rocks have already crumbled under his feet and the only reason he didn't fall to his doom is the boy who's caught him by the arm, or clothes.

Tih's also punched multiple mountain goats. Oh, but only the ones that tried ramming into them first. But they're invading their territory first...they don't have time to delve into the ethics of such a thing.

Phillip sees Tih in a new light and with a newfound respect and admiration. Mostly because he's saved his life multiple times during this trip. Let's not mention that Tih is the one that brought him to this dangerous environment.

Over one-thousand, three hundred meters above sea level, Phillip spots it. Small, red fruit. Wild strawberries. They spend ten minutes picking the wild fruit before making their way down the mountain.

On the way back, Phillip spots a cacao tree. He picks off a bean, but Tih touches his hand and shakes his head.

Phillip looks between the bean and boy,"...Tih, did you eat one of these?"

Tih nods. His face has no expression but Phillip can feel the regret in the nod.

"Puhahaha!" He covers his mouth and turns away. His shoulders shake from the image of Tih eating a raw cocoa bean. He can't help but feel a little bad for laughing. The taste...he's never tried it himself, but it can't be good. It's supposedly very bitter.

They take the two ingredients out of the forest.

"Okay, now we just have to make the chocolate." Phillip and Tih look at each other blankly. Neither of them know how to cook.

Phillip thinks about it," Let's go to the cafeteria. I'll have to ask Chef Raphael for a favor."

The two head to the other side of the island. The walk up the spiral stairs that leads up to the top floor. Opening the door, a rush of chocolate hits their noses.

"You! Quickly! YOU'RE NOT MAKING A DAMN BOTANICAL GARDEN!"

"No no NO! Stop, you're BURNING it you idiot!"

"WHERE'S THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE!"

A single voice can be heard shouting from behind the kitchen doors.

"YOU! Outside, now!"

Soon after, a sweaty staff member comes into the empty dining room on the verge of crying.

Chef Raphael follows behind him," You lousy piece of- Tih?" His anger quells the moment he spots the small boy. The fat on his body wobbles like jello as he rushes to Tih," Tih, genuinely perfect timing. I need your help. Come in."

"You, follow." He sternly commands the staff member. The head chef ushers Tih into the busy and crowded kitchen. The temperature is many degrees hotter than the dining room. He brings Tih to a strawberry cutting station. There's about twenty strawberries that have been cut into roses. The uncut strawberries are six times that amount.

"You, show him how to cut it." He orders the previously kicked out kitchen staff," Then get out again."

The intricate flower takes about a minute to cut. Familiar with Tih, the staff member hands the knife after showing Tih only one cut strawberry.

Tih takes the knife and cuts a cleaner flower in five seconds. His hands can't be followed with the naked eye.

Phillip still stands at the main entrance. He hesitantly walks to the kitchen door. Opening it a sliver, he has to raise his voice to be heard over the clanging of pots and the shouts of men," Excuse me?"

Chef Raphael gives him only a glance," You came in with Tih? What do you want."

This is a better start than Phillip was expecting. Chef Raphael never asks people what they want. It's always the other person begging Chef Raphael to at least hear them out.

Phillip attempts to articulate himself,"...Would you be inclined to teach Tih and I how to make chocolate covered strawberries?" He lifts up the cocoa bean.

"Ha! You want to make chocolate with unfermented cocoa?" Chef Raphael looks like she's heard a funny joke. A few other staff also chuckle.

"IF YOU HAVE TIME TO LAUGH, WORK!" Chef Raphael shouts at them.

"And kid, have you seen Tih cook? He's a lost cause. If I can't teach him, no one can." Chef Raphael shakes his head with pity.

Once, he saw Tih down a whole bottle of nutmeg. It should've killed him, or at the very least gave him hallucinations, but Tih didn't seem affected in the least. The kid's inhuman.