She Came From the Forest (James and Tera: book 1)

15

Mr. Garrison, a local farmer, use to live here before dying a few years back from old age. He was a pioneer in this town from what I was told. He always kept his produce of fresh and clean. When there were pesticides, he would never use them and would work extra hard to have his produce come out on top. He took pride in his work.

I rang the doorbell once and waited on the porch. After a moment of observing the pretty violet flowers around areas of the porch, Tera answered, wearing a casual dark blue sundress. She had on some eyeliner, but other than that, she didn't need makeup because her face was just as beautiful as I've seen any woman, with or without makeup. Her appearance was just so flawless.

She smiled at the look of me. "You look nice. You didn't have to go as far as coming in a dress shirt." She reaches and unbuttoned one of the top buttons, and cool air hit my chest. She winked at me. "That's better." She grabbed my hand gently and turned. "Come in."

The house was well modernized. There were pictures on the wall that I'm guessing were of family. The living room had a full furniture set of a round leather couch with a leather recliner and to the side and a glass coffee table in the middle. A flatscreen stood on a shelf with speakers hooked to it. The wall to the left had a stereo set. And to the other wall was a fireplace that didn't look like it had been touched since the previous owner died.

We entered through the doorway and she invited me to sit down with her. I sat on the side of the couch that faced her. There was some sort of music playing from the other doorway. I saw a counter and decided that might be the kitchen. The words weren't familiar and were in a different language.

She noticed me looking around in awe and smirked. "It's nice, right?"

I nodded. "It's really nice." I looked at the shiny wooden floor and saw a mat that was obviously made out of fur that lay next to the fireplace. It was huge. "What was that?"

"Yak." I heard a voice answer. I looked and saw Charlie, who was wearing a black tee that had white stuff all over it. "Killed it myself back in the Himalayas."

"You've been to the Himalayas?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Been just about everywhere." He put his finger to scratch his head. "Not Africa though. Too hot for a wolf." He turned hot on his heels and headed back inside the kitchen when there was a ding sound.

Tera giggled at the sight. "Guess that's the dessert he was making."

"Food is ready!" He called from the kitchen.

I stood and followed Tera to the kitchen and got a good whiff of spiced meats and cabbage. The smell was a strange mixture, and wasn't exactly the best smell but not the worst.

Charles took off the black shirt and threw it in the basket that was next to the black washing machine and dryer. He had on a green tee underneath it. "That's better." He exclaimed and stretched a bit before turning. "This old dog knows how to cook still." He has a look of confidence on his face.

"Dad, I love your cooking, but what the hell even is this?" Tera asked. I didn't want to say anything but I was curious too. There was a plate filled with something wrapped in what I'm guessing was the cabbage we smelled.

"Right." He said. "This right here is what is called punjeni kupus. Or sarma as it's called."

"In English?" She asked.

"Stuffed cabbage. The cabbage is stuffed with rice, pork and beef." He smiled. "We use to love this stuff back when I was a kid."

Tera got a plate and gave it to me before getting herself another one. We filled our plates with the rolls and took a seat at the round table where I noticed the small radio was playing the music I was hearing. It wasn't English. It didn't sound like anything that was from Asia, either.