Morning In The Countryside

The roosters crowed across the wide, open fields as the first rays of sunlight touched the hills. Dew sparkled on the rice paddies, and the soft scent of wet earth drifted through the small wooden house.

Light had already been awake for hours.

Not because she had to be—but because she loved mornings like this. Quiet. Peaceful. Steady.

She sat at the old table, reviewing a worn-out textbook while waiting for breakfast. Her mother stood by the stove, stirring a pot of porridge.

"Light, don't study while eating," her mother said gently without turning around.

"I'm not eating yet," Light replied, eyes still fixed on the page.

Her mother let out a small laugh. "Always with your books... just like your father."

Light froze for a moment.

Her father. A man she had never seen in person. He had died from an illness before she was even born—gone before she ever opened her eyes to the world. All she knew of him was a single photograph hanging on their wall. In it, he was smiling like he had never known sadness.

After his death, Light and her mother moved in with her father's parents—her grandparents. They lived just a few steps away in another simple wooden house. They were kind, quiet people who spent most of their days tending to the fields. They treated Light's mother like their own daughter.

But when it came to Light's mother's side of the family... there was nothing.

No names. No stories. No visits.

Whenever Light asked about them, her mother would simply say, "You don't need to worry about that. We're fine as we are."

So Light stopped asking.

"Breakfast is ready," her mother said, placing a bowl in front of her.

"Thank you," Light answered softly.

They ate in comfortable silence. Outside, dogs barked in the distance, and neighbors called out to one another as the town slowly came to life. It was the same every day. Simple. Warm. Familiar.

This was home.

And for the first time in her life, Light was afraid.

She didn't know that soon, her peaceful mornings would come to an end.

She had no idea that everything she knew was about to change.

After breakfast, Light rinsed the dishes and stepped outside. The morning breeze brushed against her skin, warm and familiar. She could hear her grandparents talking near the field, their voices muffled by distance but comforting all the same.

Every corner of this place held a memory.

The old mango tree where she used to climb and hide whenever she didn't want to study.

The creek where she washed vegetables with her grandmother every afternoon.

The narrow dirt path that led to the town's only school—a path she had walked thousands of times since she was six.

She stood there quietly, watching the sunlight scatter across the paddies like glittering shards of gold. Most girls her age dreamed of city lights or crowded malls, but Light... she had never wanted more than this.

A simple life. A peaceful one.

But deep inside her chest, beneath layers of contentment, there was something else—

A pull.

A quiet, persistent whisper telling her she was meant for something beyond this small town.

She didn't know if that whisper was ambition... or guilt.

Because although she loved this place, she also knew her mother deserved more than endless days of labor under the sun. She wished she could give her comfort. Security. A better life.

And if she had to leave everything she loved to make that happen...

Then she would.

Light took one last look at the fields before going back inside. She didn't know why, but something about today felt different. As if the air itself was holding its breath, waiting.

She brushed the thought aside.

There was still water to fetch. Laundry to do. And later, she promised to help her grandfather patch the chicken coop fence.

Just another ordinary day.

Or so she thought.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***