It Will Fatten You Up | The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #10

Another summer holiday is here and I am super excited. Daddy tells me I will spend it with his mother, my grandma. She stays in the village and it's been a long while I saw her. I remember her heartwarming smile that lightens up her wrinkled face. Her coarse, strong hands that holds me to her bosom every time I see her.

I cannot wait to see her. Even more, I cannot wait to see my cousins, Chad and Evans, and we will have some adventures this holiday.

"Grandma!" I scream, drawing her attention as she slowly rose from tending to her vegetable garden. She shaded her eyes with her hands and squinted. Her smile lightened up her face as I rush into her arms.

After a three hours journey, a delicious bowl of vegetable yam porridge was a welcome sight. I gulped down my meal, wiped my mouth, kissed my grandma on her cheek and ran out to meet with Chad and Evans.

We had agreed to spend some time in the woods as part of our holiday adventure. We climbed trees, ate some mango and apple fruits, and killed a small rabbit. I know grandma will be proud.

We moved further into the woods and there was a small hut right in the centre of it. My cousins and I looked at each other. "Think anyone lives there?" I asked.

Evans sniffed the air. "Um, seems I can smell fried bacon".
"Shut up", I chuckle. "You can eat anything! Let's find out."

We walked around the hut and saw there was a fence behind it. We climbed, sat on the fence and looked in. It's a pigsty. There were about five fat pigs huddled over a water trough, grunting and drinking water. The place stank badly.

"Well, what do we have here?", a croaked voice asked. We looked towards the hut. Standing at the window and looking at us was a very old woman. She grinned and I could see the missing teeth with a few brown, decayed ones left.

She opened her door. "Are you boys farmers? Come in, come in." I was going to turn back but Chad pulled my shirt and we walked into her warm hut. There's a fireplace with some bacon frying in a pan. Evans was right.

The old woman brought us each a plate of hot freshly fried bacon that smelled good. The aroma was better than my grandma's. My cousins grinned like fools and stuffed their mouths with some bacon.

I stared at the bacon strips on my plate and looked up. The old woman's eyes were on me intently. "What is it, boy? Go on now. Eat some. You are too thin. It will fatten you up," she said.

"Yes, ma'am. Th-thank you ma'am." I took a strip and it was halfway to my mouth when Chad busted into laughter and grunted. Just like the pigs outside! I stared at him.

"What?!" Chad croaked at me. His ears had changed form and become like that of a pig's. Evans too had a snout in place of his nose.

I could not help myself. I stood up abruptly overturning the table and ran out screaming. The old woman was right behind me. The faster I ran through the woods, the faster she ran after me too. She almost touched me...

"GET UP!" I opened my eyes in shock and tried to jump out of my bed but bumped right into my mum who stood beside my bed like a rock. She rolled her eyes at me and asked, "Ready to go visit grandma?"