The Power Enthusiast

MINERVO 92: Choking

"Ohuk!" Elena coughed as her eyelids opened. When it was wide open, Elena could see that there were two familiar people in her room, sitting on the sides of the bed, watching her lying on the bed. Elena smiled when she found out that the two people whose presence was blurry were Koko and Paul. They looked like they were waiting for Elena to wake up from her sleep. And that guess is true, Paul and Koko look happy to see Elena who woke up. "Paul?" Elena slid her ass to the edge of the wall and raised herself to sit on the bed while leaning her back against the wall of her room. "You're home, huh? Then, where are Cherry and Naomi? Did they come home with you?"

"Don't say anything!" sergeant Paul with a serious face. "Don't say anything, Mom!"

"Eh?" Elena was confused when she heard Paul's strange words. "Why is that?"

"From Mom nyerocos not clear! Better," Paul took a bowl of porridge that was already available on the nightstand near the bed - it was Koko's porridge which was the first meal he made in his life, accompanied by a self-taught way-and Elena accepted it slowly. "Eat this!" paul said, continuing his words. "These porridge are still warm and may taste good! So eat fast, Mom!"

Elena held a warm bowl of porridge that was still hot, she smiled as she looked at Paul and Koko. "You guys are so considerate. I'm happy." Elena touched the available spoon over the porridge, and she began to move the spoon to take a pile of porridge to put in the mouth. "It feels good, who made it?"

Koko, timidly, brandished her right arm. "That's what I made it. I'm glad it tastes good. Though.it's still in the experimental stage."

"Experiment stage?" Elena smiled hearing that. "What does that mean?"

"I've never cooked anything in my entire life, so I'm still a total stranger to the kitchen world. But. Seeing Aunt Elena is sick, I can't keep quiet. Only with compressed water, I think it is still not enough. So, I try to think of the food that people who are sick usually eat. And.. I remember about the porridge," Koko paused for a moment. "But I don't know how to make porridge. So. I was forced to do an experiment to make porridge. I poured this, put it in, stirred this, melted it, until finally, the first porridge I made. And actually, I'm still worried, I'm afraid the porridge is not good and makes Aunt fever so worse. But after hearing Aunt Elena say the porridge was good, I was so. very happy."

Koko put on a thin smile that was so warm to Elena and Paul, showing that she was really happy right now.

"It's good of you, Koko," Elena swallowed the hot porridge into her throat with a smile on Koko. "I'm really grateful to you. Thank you very much."

Koko raised her two eyebrows in shock. "E-Eh? N-No need to thank me. I still don't deserve to get gratitude from others. Because my efforts are not worth the efforts of others. I'm nothing."

"No, you're wrong" Elena said in a voice so soft and soothing. "You deserve my gratitude, because your hard work in healing me, is incredible" Elena whispered to Koko from her place. "Even Paul is nothing compared to you." The sound of his whispering was clearly heard by Paul.

"I can hear it!" Paul kicked the surface of the mattress in annoyance, Elena giggled at the reaction of her son, and Koko simply lowered her head, hiding the happy smile engraved on her face, by letting her strands of purple fall on the bed.

"Huh?" Paul followed Elena's line of sight and found a packet of plastic tucked away on the nightstand. "That's not mine!"

"That's..," Koko said as her head was raised again. "... Jeddy's."

"Jeddy?" Elena furrowed her brows, puzzled. "Since when?"

"I think since Aunt Elena was sleeping" Koko said, explaining what she remembered about Elena and Paul. "Soalah... when Jeddy just came home, he immediately entered here because he smelled the aroma of the herbal plants that I put into the compress water. He entered with his hands carrying the plastic. And when Jeddy said he was hungry, he put the plastic on this nightstand and went to the kitchen. That's it."

"Basic," Elena shook her head. "Then give it back to Jeddy. It could be that inside it is a precious item."

"Good, Auntie." Koko nodded and got up from the side of the bed, then she picked up the plastic that was on the nightstand and said excuse me for a moment to Elena and Paul to get out.

After Koko goes out to deliver the white plastic-wrapped item to Jeddy, the occupants of the room leave only Paul and Elena. A mother and a child who seem to love each other, although sometimes the feeling is not clearly shown by them.

"So morning, where did you go, Paul?" asked Aunt Elena, breaking the silence that had been created in the room. "Lately, you've been bringing new people home. Actually, I'm glad to see that you were alone before, being able to make friends with people your age. But," Elena's face became serious from before. "From day to day, their numbers continue to grow and increase. To be honest it doesn't matter, during their stay for a day or two, but the thing is, to this day, none of your friends come home. I'm sorry Paul, but I'm not denying their existence, it's just, you know," Elena's face looked gloomy. "The availability of groceries at home is getting thinner, and if it runs out, what will you use to feed your friends?"

Suddenly, Paul was surprised to hear the words of his mother who was quite surprising. Elena's words manage to slap Paul, resuscitating the boy about the imperfect condition of his home. Finally, Paul became gloomy.

"I-I," Even Paul seemed nervous. "I just got home from Luna City, and like Mother's guess, again, I brought a new person home, and this time a woman," Hearing that, Elena sighed with a frown. "I'm sorry, ma'am," said Paul with eyes that glanced the other way, not daring to look at his mother's face. "Because it has been easy to bring new people home and make the burden on Mom's shoulders increase. I didn't realize it. What a jerk I am," Paul grimaced. "But!" Paul began to look at his mother's face. "This time is different! I've discussed with some of them! And we agreed! That we would rent a hotel to serve as a temporary residence!"

In an instant, after hearing Paul's words, Elena suddenly choked on the porridge she had just swallowed.