Chapter 399: Why Me?
Miriam looked at the plate of food in front of the little girl and couldn’t help but tsk. It was nothing more than sugar on top of sugar. Her waffle was an almost exact copy of Miriam’s with the chocolate hazelnut spread and strawberries, but Hattie was already pouring an entire fountain of maple syrup on the thing.
Combined with all the whipped cream and sugared coffee, Miriam couldn’t help but gently scold her. "Drink some water," she said, pushing the cup of water closer to the girl. "You need something to dilute all the sugar in your system. Add some bacon or sausage. You need protein if you are going to get bigger."
"What is with everyone’s obsession with getting me bigger?" huffed Hattie even as a plate of bacon appeared on the table. Nick looked at the offering with bright eyes, even as he shoveled his French toast into his mouth. "Take some. I can’t eat it all by myself."
Miriam smiled, swallowing hard around the lump in her throat. Not a day since Nicholas had been born had he ever been able to eat until he was full. Even if they were going to die when it was all said and done, Miriam might actually be able to accept it.
"You told me that there were four paths that I could take," said Miriam, taking in a deep breath. "Can you tell me a bit about them?"
Hattie nodded her head, even as chocolate spread smeared against her cheek. "The first path is the simplest... I guess," she said, cocking her head to the side and stared out into the distance as if she was actually looking at the path. "Nothing changes. You and your kids stay here and live how you want to live."
Miriam blinked, trying to work out what Hattie was trying to say.
"We’d die," she announced with a shake of her head. "If the bugs don’t get us, the jungle will."
"The jungle will not and cannot touch you," Hattie said with a wave of her hand like she was saying something obvious. "You are one of mine, and nothing in this world will be able to hurt you and your kids because of it."