Member-only story
An Unlikely Hero
The old woman who cooked
The villagers huddled together for the warmth and the news. The news was being delivered by a man from a neighboring village who had just arrived. The news was not good.
The enemy was quickly approaching and was currently destroying the man’s nearby village. He said they would surely be in this village by the next day. The enemy was well-armed and they were killing everyone.
The village elders held a quick meeting and it was decided that the only chance for survival was for everyone in the village to leave their homes and hike northward into the forested hills where they would scatter and hide.
The exodus began immediately. The villagers gathered food and tools and other necessities and headed north into the hills.
But there was one plump, gray-haired old woman who refused to go. Her name was Esmeralda and she was considered the best cook in the village. Her family pleaded with her to come with them but Esmeralda vehemently refused, saying, “I am an old woman and I’ve lived a wonderful life. I choose to stay here and meet my fate.”
When all the villagers had left except for her, Esmeralda went to work. She dragged her kitchen table out of her home into the village square and then she dragged out several other tables from the homes of her…
