"What!"
Daisy Gray didn't even stop to untie the apron at her waist. She bolted out the door.
The moment she saw that small body, her legs gave out beneath her, and she broke into a wailing howl.
"My boy, you can't even swim. What were you doing down by the river?"
A few villagers who'd found the child gathered around, shaking their heads and sighing.
"There was no telling with this one. He walked straight to the river holding something the size of an egg."
"A few of us called out to him. He didn't listen."
"The look on his face, like something had gotten into his head."
Daisy let out another round of shrieking sobs and clung to her son's body, refusing to let go.
In the end it was Nolan Gilbert, hurrying back, who had to pull her off.
Once everyone had gone, the mother-in-law came out of her room too, unsteady on her feet.
Her clouded eyes were brimming with tears.
But I couldn't tell if I was imagining it.
It seemed like the white at her temples had thinned.
When she saw the old woman come out, Daisy, until then torn apart with grief, suddenly lifted her head and scrambled on her hands and knees to her feet.
"Mom, my life is cursed."
"All these years I've been married in, and Wyatt was the one child I finally managed to have."
"Who could have guessed he'd treat the golden egg like a toy and take it down to the river to play?"
"Now he's gone, and the golden egg can't be found either. I don't even have the money to bury my own son!"
The old woman helped her up, aching for her, and she understood well enough what Daisy was getting at.
"Don't grieve just yet, dear. Taking care of yourself is what matters most."
"Wyatt was a dutiful boy from the day he was born. As his grandmother, of course I can't just stand by and do nothing."
"When the hen lays another egg, I'll bring it over to your house."
"Whatever else, let's give the boy a proper burial first."
The sudden, terrible news swept away every trace of joy the hen's golden egg had brought.
I sat blankly on the bed, lost in thought for a long while.
A hen that lays golden eggs. An ox that speaks like a person.
Things this impossible, and yet every one of them was happening right in front of me.
While I sat there dazed, the old ox in the yard suddenly began butting its head anxiously against the fence.
"A child's pure life-fate is the most nourishing."
"The old woman has gotten a taste of it, and now she's coming for your daughter. Go and see, quickly!"
I jumped, startled, and pushed the door open at once.
At the back door, the old woman was pressing a golden egg into Yvonne Acevedo's hands.
"Yvonne, it's time to pay your school fees, isn't it?"
"Grandma knows you've been the most dutiful child since you were little. How could I bear to watch you unable to go to school?"
"It's just that Wyatt had his accident today, and I couldn't bring myself to hurt the second household's feelings."
"So Grandma's giving the golden egg to you now. You have to hide it well, and whatever you do, don't let anyone else see it!"
The tenderness in the old woman's eyes was no different from before.
All these years she'd favored the second household, but she'd been wonderful to both children.
When Yvonne was sick, the old woman would sell her own blood to scrape together the money for her medicine.
When Wyatt felt unwell, she'd sit up all night keeping watch by his side.
How could a plain, honest old woman like that suddenly turn on her own grandchildren?
While I hesitated, the old ox in the yard struggled harder still.
"Men die for wealth, birds die for food."
"One golden egg for one life!"
"This little girl's birth-fate was weak to begin with. Once she takes that golden egg, she'll be dead before the night is out!"
