Re-Vamp

Chapter 15: Strange

The first week of work for Arnaud and Arturo at Mrs. Juana's store passed in a whirlwind of learning about the new merchandise and organizing the shelves. At night, the hunter and the little orphan diligently set about arranging the boxes and reading the labels, reviewing what they had learned the previous evening.

Arturo was a patient teacher, spelling out each word with infinite patience until Arnaud committed them to memory. The boy showed excitement and curiosity about all the new things they were discovering together.

"Look Ar, these are cans of tuna! Do you know what tuna is? Mrs. Juana says it's a very tasty fish that swims in the sea!" he exclaimed delightedly as he placed the infamous cans in the corresponding section.

Arnaud watched him with amused eyes, admiring the insatiable curiosity of his little companion. In his time, a child had no time for such trivialities, but it pleased him immensely to see the excitement these small discoveries caused Arturo.

Mrs. Juana, for her part, observed them working with an indulgent expression, although she could not help but feel intrigued by the strange habits of the odd pair. During the first few nights, Arnaud rarely removed the hood that covered his face, remaining hidden in the shadows even under the electric light of the warehouse.

And as for the matter of food... The old woman shook her head, bewildered, as she recalled how the hooded man had reacted when she offered him ham and cheese sandwiches on the second night of work.

"Don't you want to try them, son? They're freshly made," she urged, holding one out to him.

But Arnaud declined with a slight gesture, the glint in his eyes flashing behind the hood like those of a predator.

"No, thank you. I prefer... raw" he declined in his deep, ceremonial voice.

The woman raised her eyebrows but did not insist. The next day, she had the courtesy to leave him a tray with raw meat fillets, thinking he might want to cook them himself.

It was not until Arturo sincerely thanked her, taking a piece of bloody meat to offer it to Arnaud, that Juana realized that those strange habits must be a custom of hunters or people of the woods.

"They're so odd sometimes, eh?" she commented to Julio, who helped her at the store during the day. "But well, it's not so strange for someone who lives in the wilderness, I suppose."

The young man, a bit skeptical, merely shrugged without giving an opinion.

Another peculiarity that caught Juana's attention was the way Arnaud managed to leave their small dwelling during the afternoon without being seen. At first, she assumed he would be taking a nap like most who worked at night. But more than once, she noticed that there were sometimes remains of animals, despite the man not showing up anywhere.

One day she decided to wait for him and find out what was going on. She stationed herself by the back door, pretending to arrange one of the shelves, and waited patiently with a hawk-like gaze. It did not take long, just before dusk, the door of the small house slowly opened and a figure wrapped in blankets slipped out stealthily.

Mrs. Juana stifled an exclamation and crouched down, observing through the slits of the wooden shelves. The hooded and covered figure glided furtively towards the woods, returning almost an hour later carrying a rabbit. He moved so quickly and surreptitiously like a shadow, as if he were accustomed to such secrecy.

A moment later, the strange apparition retraced its steps and snuck back into the small dwelling, closing the door behind it. The old woman remained hidden for a few more moments until she was sure he would not come out again. Then she emerged from her hiding spot, shaking her head with a pensive expression.