“A… Love… why are you home at this hour? I… I was just having lunch…
I didn’t say anything. I reached out and snatched the bowl from him.
And the moment I looked inside…
I felt my heart stop.
There was no normal food inside.
It was spoiled rice mixed with dried heads and fish bones, something that wouldn’t normally even be served to a person.
My whole body froze.
So…
Why did my wife have to eat something like that, in secret?
At that moment, a terrifying thought began to form in my mind…
The silence in the kitchen became so heavy that I could almost hear my own breathing.
I looked at the contents of the bowl again. The rice was dry and slightly yellowish. The fish heads had dull eyes and the bones protruded like small white needles.
That wasn’t food.
It was… garbage.
I slowly looked up at Hue.
“What is this…?” My voice came out lower than I expected.
Hue didn’t answer.
His hands trembled on the table. Her eyes were filled with tears that refused to fall.
“Hue,” I repeated, this time firmer. Why are you eating this?
She lowered her head.
“No… it’s nothing,” he whispered. I was just a little hungry.
I felt something inside me begin to break.
“Don’t lie to me!”
My voice echoed in the kitchen, louder than I intended.
Hue was startled.
The baby, who was sleeping in the next room, made a small sound, but fell silent again.
Breathed hondo.
“I send you money every month,” I said slowly. A lot of money. Mom is here to take care of you. There is food in the house. So why are you eating this?
Hue pursed his lips.
For a few seconds he said nothing.
Then, finally, a tear fell.
“Because…” his voice was barely audible. because that’s what they let me eat.
I felt the world stop.
“What…?”
Hue closed his eyes.
“Your mother says that after childbirth a woman should not eat too much. He says that if I eat good things, my milk will become “too strong” for the baby.
My mind went blank.
“So… she keeps the good food,” Hue continued in a trembling voice. He says it’s for you, because you work hard. And for her… because it is greater.
My throat closed.
