The Last Chance

18. The Alluring Smell of a Soup

Shen woke up with headaches. He groaned and sat up slowly. His head was spinning and he lay down again.
He sighed deeply. Dozing he tried to order his thoughts. It had happened so much. He felt a little helpless and he hated that feeling. That panda had him in his grip. How could he be so stupid? When he had seen him the first time he seemed to be like an idiot. That should be the one who should defeat him? What a joke.
Suddenly, he lifted his head. There were footsteps on the wooden stairs. He tensed his muscles. His bandaged wing on the blanket and his right arm lifted. Who was there? How long did he sleep? Was the panda coming back?
He winced when a head was appearing.
"Oh, you are awake," Mr. Ping said and climbed up the last step. In his wings, he held a bowl.
"You slept so deep I didn't want to wake you up, but now... I think you are hungry."
He put the bowl on a little chair. Shen looked at it. The bowl had filled with steaming soup with a spoon inside.
"Enjoy your meal," Mr. Ping said friendly and went away. "If you need something more, call me."
He walked down the stairs. Shen sat on the bed and didn't know what to say or to do. Just staring at the soup. He sniffed mistrustfully. He had to admit it didn't smell bad, but maybe it was poisoned.
Did Po tell him that he had murdered his parents?
Shen grimaced. His stomach rumbled because of that smell. He pushed the bowl aside and lay his head down on the pillow again. But the smell which filled the room tempted him. It wandered through his nose and through his head and let come pictures of delicious food.
His wings cramped. He couldn't stand it anymore.
What should he do? Maybe tipping away.
With an effort, the lord stood up. He wrapped the blanket around his body, picked up the bowl carefully with his good wing so he didn't spill it on the floor, and hobbled with it to the window. He looked down. Nobody was in the yard. He raised the bowl and wanted to tip it away, but suddenly...
He winced. A pig in the neighboring house, who was watering his plants, looked at him with big eyes.
Shocked Shen threw the blanket about his head and stumbled back.
Did he recognize him?
Impossible, nobody had seen him before here. But there were not many white peacocks in the world. Sometimes the through he was the only one. He wrapped the brown blanket closer around his body, still not knowing what he should do with the soup.
His glance wandered back on the still filled soup bowl. Why didn't he eat something in the morning?
He put the bowl back on the little chair, sat himself down on the mattress and looked grimly at the damn soup and philosophized.
Was it poisoned or not? Why should the gander do that? Revenge or not? It would be logical, but otherwise, honestly, he couldn't imagine.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
"Hey! Come over here!"
He didn't wait long.
"You called me, sir?" Mr. Ping asked.
Shen didn't answer his question and pointed at the soup. "Don't you think pepper is absent? Or salt?"
Mr. Ping became pale. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know... sorry, I didn't want to offer you. I will correct it."
With these words, he took the bowl and ran down the stairs.
"No! I..."
But Mr. Ping was already gone.
Shen growled angrily. He wanted that the gander tasted it in front of his eyes. Now he couldn't control whether he was going to taste it and he wouldn't fall dead.
No long time and Mr. Ping came back. "So, sir. I hope it was made for your entire satisfaction."
Shen hissed. Now he wanted to know it.
"Taste it," he ordered.
Mr. Ping looked at him in surprise.
"Why should I, sir?"
Now Shen became more distrustful than before. "Taste it now!"
"I should taste it before you eat? Why didn't you tell me that in the first place? Oh, of course, it has to be practiced in your family. You have to be very careful, don't you? Well, sir, it will be a pleasure for me to serve you."
He took another spoon, filled it with soup and let it disappear in his beak.
"Tastes delicious," Mr. Ping said happily.
Shen narrowed his eyes. "Well, then, disappear."
"Oh, for sure. Enjoy your meal."
With that, Mr. Ping left him. Shen was still unsure. Why didn't he take the same spoon? Or took the gander an antidote?
Shen sighed when his stomach rumbling became louder.
Maybe he could test a very little drop. He took the spoon. He sniffed the soup in the spoon, but he couldn't smell a kind of poison.
He took a deep breath. "Well, then..."
He opened his beak and a very, very little drop dropped on his tongue. The peacock closed his mouth and tasted the soup drop very intense.
He swallowed. He waited for an effect. Nothing happened. He wanted to wait longer, but the aftertaste in his mouth infatuated his mind. It wandered through his head and his eyes became bigger for more.