Amber Scales [Jeon Jungkook] UNEDITED

Chapter 1: The Unexpected Meet

"Ella, could you please collect wood from the forest. We ran out of them this morning?"

Out of a kitchen nook came an ageing voice. The person was seated at the dining table on the ancient oak chair that belonged to her late lover.  Her weak eyes stared on her wrinkled hands, picking only fresh green leaves and putting them in a dish for the stew that would be served later for supper. Her huge round old spectacles perched on the small slope of her nose-bridge.
When the greens were done, the carrots were the next.

The young lady in question, Ella, peered through the partially cracked window at her grandma from the backyard of their modest home. She carefully set the heavy pail of well water before hurrying inside. She wiped the little beads of sweat that had formed around her forehead because of the intense heat of the noon with her palms by the edges of her apron. Ella said gently, "Yes, Grandmother," and grabbed for the basket in the nook of the little kitchen. She had crafted it from wild grass.

"Dear, be cautious while you go.  And hurry back before dark, not staying any longer than necessary. Even if you are familiar with the wild routes, the forest will always be hush and wild." the old woman sternly admonished, her narrowed eyes throwing a warning stare through the area over the rim of her glasses.
"What mysteries are concealed inside is unknown to us. Always be on your guard." She was serious.

Ella sighed softly. She kissed the old woman's creased cheeks and murmured, "Don't worry, grandmother, I'll be back before you know it," and hopped out happily from the front door with a beaming smile.

The woman giggled to herself, "What will I do without her?"

*＊✿❀✧❀✿＊*

Ella was gathering broken, dry twigs as she hummed the tune her grandma taught her. She didn't mind her loosened raven waves lightly swinging in the wind as they cascaded over her shoulders and up to her lower back. Few smaller draped across her eyes.

Even though she had no recall of her parents' faces because they passed away before she could crawl, her grandma often reminds her of the feminine traits she acquired from her mother. It made her feel proud and special.

There were days when the piercing pain sidled out from the deep fissure that had been left open in her heart since childhood, but her grandmother was always there to cuddle little Ella to her bosom and reassure her, "They are always watching over you, my child,"until little her fell asleep.
The elderly lady meant everything to her. She couldn't have asked for anything more.

Ella's concentration was broken by a little butterfly beating its wings on her nose tip then landing on her knuckle groove. She gave the small bug a kind look and used her fingertip to lightly stroke its wing much carefully. She was concerned that the teeny insect might be broken by her delicate touch.

Butterflies...Despite their little size, she has always been inspired by their perseverance in overcoming difficulties in life.

Strength is comparable to courage. She learned it from them.

The butterfly flies away from her soft hands and towards the new destination, her brown orbs pursuing it in the sky.

Maybe life is more valuable to animals than to us. Her restrained grin turned into one of disappointment. When her diversion flew out of view, she picked up where she left off and resumed counting the sticks.

*＊✿❀✧❀✿＊*

As the sun bid its brief goodbyes, falling to the horizon, the once humid air of the afternoon gently started to embrace the crispness of the evening. In the utter calm, a thin, almost undetectable layer of mist was forming close to the earth's surface, enhancing the alluringly untamed aroma of wild foliages in the atmosphere.