Outrun The World

Chapter 7

"Hey, wake up."

Mo Guan Shan grunted while swatting away the finger that kept on poking his cheek. He's having a dessert feast in his dream and an army of cookies bled Nutella when they went to war against the tribe of sour gummy worms. It was a silly dream but he was the one making the strategies and he wanted to see through it until the end.

"Pretty boy. . ." He Tian's voice trailed just as his cold fingers traced circles on his leg, inside his pants. After a while, he's scratching gently on his underpants, startling him. Mo Guan Shan bolted right up but his eyes were still closed. "Should I wake the little one first?"

"What the hell is wrong with you? It's fucking dark out." He should know. Inside the hut when the windows are shut, light gets in like punctures on the walls, like it's filled with daytime stars. Light beams poke through everything and burn holes on the blankets if they could.

Mo Guan Shan grunted and rolled on the bed again, his back on the pesky dream ruiner.

"A cow is giving birth. You wanna see a newborn calf?" He Tian whispered, like he's trying to convince a child.

"Ugh, no. I've seen that stuff in Youtube," Mo Guan Shan mumbled and scooted farther from He Tian. Hoping that he gets to continue his good sleep.

"Aww. But the real thing hits different." He Tian said but the other guy pretended to snore loudly. "Don't you wanna start a farm?"

"Does farming require you to wake up at 3 am?"

"Yeah?"

"Count me out."

"Aww, c'mon," He Tian crawled towards the curled up Mo Guan Shan and perched his chin on his shoulder as his hand crept inside the guy's shirt to tickle him. "The Mama cow wanted to see you. She said she won't push until you watch her do it. What if the baby cow suffocates because Mama Cow refuses to deliver her baby?"

Mo Guan Shan grumbled like a grumpy old man as he marched on the dewy carabao grass while wrapped in a small gray blanket they got as a freebie from the plane. He's making a clear show of annoyance but He Tian only walked with a bounce on his feet, celebrating his victory over him.

He looked up at the coconut trees and huffed, warm puffs of air mingling with the fog. Somewhere, a gentle smoke was rising up to the sky. Must be making breakfast.

When they arrived at the neighbor's shed, almost two kilometers away, the orange cow was still pacing around with a part of the baby protruding from its behind.

Rica excitedly beckoned them. She's already dressed for the day and her father and mother were also there to help the cow if it shows any difficulty giving birth. She shone a big flashlight at the cow's behind and Mo Guan Shan's sleepiness quickly left him.

"Is she gonna be okay?" he asked.

"Oh, she'll be fine. This isn't her first time so it'll be all right," Rica answered. He Tian chuckled when Mo Guan Shan shot him a dirty look.

Rica's mother went around with a tray of steaming coffee and sticky rice wrapped with banana leaf, shaped in a triangle. Mo Guan Shan picked a cup and a piece of the oily rice triangle, took a bite. It's oily, but not greasy, smells like cooked coconut, tastes a bit salty, but sweeter too and smells like ginger. It's a pleasant piece of food. Like an onigiri but so much more. The smell alone made him finish the whole thing.

He wrapped his cold hands around his cup as he blew the thick smoke into the dewy morning.

The old, plump woman stared at him with a smile so he brought the cup to his mouth and his brows furrowed when he tasted the coffee.