When Nora woke up, her head felt groggy, and her stomach hurt intensely, as if she hadn't eaten anything for days.
What was she doing just a moment ago?
Ah, right. She had forgotten to turn off the faucet before plugging in the food processor.
When the wet plug entered the socket, Nora knew that she had just casually thrown away her life.
"If I knew opening a shop was so dangerous, I might as well have remained employed," Nora thought to herself.
Before she could even start regretting, she realized something was off.
Hadn't she felt pain all over her body just now? Why was it only her stomach that hurt now?
What... was happening? Was she not dead?
With a puzzled mind, Nora slowly opened her eyes, only to behold a desolate scenery.
The sky was filled with yellow sand, the land was parched, and as far as the eye could see, there were only a skinny boy and a wickers basket in front of her, along with two menacing grown men.
"Eat me instead. I have more flesh than my sister," the boy standing in front of the basket spoke first.
"Big brother, let's eat this young lad. The lass in the basket, we can trade her for a couple of pancakes later. No one will suspect a thing," one man suggested.
Despite not knowing where she was or what era it was, Nora understood one thing very clearly: Cannibalism. They were probably in the midst of a famine!
For some reason, this boy in front of her seemed familiar. A jumble of fragmented memories raced through her mind.
Before Nora could think in detail, she grasped one crucial point - This boy seemed very important to her, she had to save him!
There was a boy standing in front of them, so the two men didn't notice that Nora had already woken up.
Nora looked around and saw a long wooden stick not far from her on the ground. While the two men were discussing who to eat first, she had already gripped the wooden stick in her hand, and then hit the taller man on the head as hard as she could.
People in times of famine are naturally unable to eat enough, and have hardly any strength. After taking a hit from Nora like this, the tall man staggered and fell over.
The boy was shocked at first, but then quickly rushed over to wrap his arms around the thin man's legs, immobilizing him.
Then another blow from Nora, and the thin man was knocked to the ground, unable to get up.
Only after the two men were both down did the boy run to the place where Nora had been lying, pulled out a basket, and looked inside.
"Mother, let's go quickly," he said.
Mother? Nora was utterly befuddled. Was the brat referring to her?
Seeing that Nora did not respond, the boy ran over and tugged on her hand, "If we don't leave now, the two of them will wake up soon."
"Ah, okay!" Nora took the basket and put it on her back, then grabbed the boy's hand and quickly left the dilapidated temple.
Regardless, since the kid had called her 'mother', she would play the part to the full and take them home first.
Just after they had started walking, a severe headache struck her. Nora abruptly released the boy's hand and squatted on the ground.
"Mother? What's wrong?" asked the boy, somewhat anxiously. The little girl in his backpack also started crying.
As Nora clutched at her head, a surge of memory that didn't belong to her flooded her mind.
Turns out, she'd transmigrated
The term "transmigrated" refers to the act of moving from one state of existence or place to another. Specifically, it often describes the movement of a soul from one body to another after death
. She had become Nora, the young wife from the old Jacob family of the Great Zara Kingdom.
Speaking of which, the original host led quite an unfortunate life. When she was little, her father was often drunk and took his anger out on her and her mother. Her older brother wasn't much help and often idled away his time outside.
The original host was sold off to Old Jacob's family at the young age of fourteen by her father. She became the second wife of the eldest son of the Jacob family, Jacob Jasper, and was expected to play the role of a stepmother to two children.
When she got married, Jacob Jasper was away at war. Not only did she never meet her husband, but she was also thrust directly into the Jacob household without even a traditional wedding ceremony.
Who could have foreseen that less than a year into her new family, a once-in-a-century drought would strike. No rains fell for half a year making it impossible to grow crops. The villagers had no choice but to abandon their homes and seek livelihood elsewhere.
The Old Jacob's family was part of this exodus. However, because of the overwhelming mass of people, the original host and the two children got separated from the larger group. They were spotted by some ill-intended men who saw a young woman with two children and plotted harm.
These men first knocked her unconscious with a stick and intended on eating the children. Fortunately, Nora crossed over in time to prevent their evil intentions.
Having assimilated all these memories, Nora’s splitting headache slightly eased. She stood up, with Jacob Sebastian worriedly supporting her, "Mom, don't blame Zelda for her tantrums. She's just hungry and will stop crying when she's tired."
As he explained, his eyes filled with compassion.
Looking at the frail Jacob Sebastian before her, and hearing the sobs from little Zelda in the cradle, Nora's heart ached.
Enough. She must make the best of the situation. She cannot abandon these children heartlessly.
Right now, survival is the most paramount. As for the rest, she'll take one step at a time!
"Baby-girl, don't cry. Let's go home." Nora cradled little Zelda, soothing her gently. To make it easier to talk to the children, she decided to call them by their nicknames, Bash and Zaza.
How heartbreaking to see such a young child suffering from hunger. If only they could have some milk. As Nora thought this, a box of packaged milk suddenly appeared in her hand.
With wide eyes, she gasped: Where... Where did this come from?
