Frozen 3

Chapter 69

Anna

"We're dying of thirst Kristoff! Even Sven can't move on..."

"Yes, I know. What do you want me to do?" he said abruptly.

I answered nothing. We were both exhausted and ready to get carried away at the slightest spark. I crossed my arms and watched the ground pass under the wheels of the sled. A feeling of vertigo suddenly caught me. The ground became blurry and a heat wave came over me. I felt like I was pitching more and more, almost overboard. I felt a firm hand resting on my shoulder and catching up in extremis.

"Anna! Please hold on. I know it's hard but we have no choice..."

Kristoff stopped the sled, grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me gently in the hope of making me regain my mind. He wiped my forehead covered with sweat and wanted to squeeze me against him. Taking a new malaise, I pushed him away, leaned over the sleigh and vomited a yellowish liquid. The young man immediately came down from his seat and watched the trees around us. I saw him bending over and rummaging through the ground in search of something.

"What are you doing?" I murmured.

"When I was little, he began by continuing to dig, I often had to fend for myself. I didn't always have someone bring me and prepare my food like..."

He took a break.

"Never mind," he went on. Anyway, I had to learn to do with what I had on hand, and in this case, what I have on hand is this."

He rose victoriously and proudly showed me his find.

"Two roots completely dry and rotten... I sighed.

"What? If you don't like it, keep listening to your belly gurgling and vomiting. Personally, I'd rather eat that."

Kristoff removed the soil from one of the roots he held and crunched into it without hesitation. I saw him chew hard and swallow hard.

"It's not the most gourmet meal I've ever had, I'll give it to you, but at least it does something to put us in the belly, and hopefully this tree will havebe pumped the last drops of water left in this soil before Nokk disappeared, which would leave us with a few more hours of life.

" Kristoff! "

"What? It's not negligible," he said in between bites. "Well, you want some?"

I grasped with disgust the root he handed me.

"Remember to remove the soil, it's not very good for your health..."

I gave him a black look.

"If you don't eat it, give it to me. It'll do more for Sven.

"I will eat it," I said in a voice that I wanted to be as sure as possible.

"Ah, you will finally know real life!"

I carried the root to my mouth and timidly croaked in it. An acre and bitter taste then invaded my palate. Kristoff laughed at the grimaces I made.

"We will try to find better on the way but for now that is what we have to settle for."

He stretched half his root to Sven, who swallowed it without hesitation, not seeming at all disturbed by the taste of preeminent rot. For my part, I did everything to get over it and forced myself to swallow each new bite.

The young man went up to my side in the sleigh and we set off again. The sun had just begun its slow descent into a sky turning from blue to purple, then from purple to pink. A series of small white clouds formed above our heads, as if ready to cling to the top of the dead trees that surrounded us.