Kuru's Dish

Trigger warning: This story contains the following sensitive content: Gore, abuse, and mental health. Please read with caution.

The Home was the same as it was when I grew up there. The old wooden floors creaked beneath my heels as I walked inside, the building eerily quiet. But this certain thickness of the air implied that the children were here, they just simply were elsewhere in the house.

I shrugged, and brought in my groceries for my feast tonight. Given that I was the Secretary of Agricultural Affairs of Cardimal, I had access to any supply of food in the city. So, I figured to celebrate my success and to give back to the place that raised me, I would provide a huge feast for all the children.

I started preheating the oven and marinating the veal, separating a portion for myself. I also started cutting up vegetables and getting prepared to make all the sides for this meal. Before long, I could detect the soft footsteps of the children that inhabited the Home.

The first was a girl that couldn't have been older than five, her little white dress already dotted with little embroidered runes.

"Hello," I greeted, putting down my utensils to crouch down. "Your dress is very pretty. I see you're loyal to the church, aren't you?"

She nodded eagerly, it was almost off-putting for her timid nature.

"I put in a new rune every night, see?" She said, pulling at the hem of her dress to show me.

Forty-three.

She's been here for a month and a half.

She glanced around the room, as if looking for something, and then whispered, "Miss?"

I leaned in close to hear. "Yes?"

She paused, and asked, "Where is Mother Agatha?"

The house seemed to flinch.

"She will be back when we start eating, so it'll be a while. Come, why don't you accompany me while I cook?"

Her face almost lit up, but she retreated back into the hall she came from and sputtered, "I, I have to finish my studies!"

Before I could think of what to say, she was already swallowed by the gloomy dimness of the interior.

Ah.

Of course. Some of the children here were caught up in their church and primary studies. I recalled some nights I would be up until very early hours trying to complete it.

I resumed my work, throwing the veal into the oven and setting the timer before I started mashing potatoes, sauteing corn, and whipping butter. I got so invested in my work that I didn't hear another inhabitant trek the stairs and sit at the table behind me.

This girl was much older, perhaps thirteen? Her eyes were wide and buggy, constantly darting left and right between brief eye contact. Along the bare skin of her arms and collarbone, there were small purple stripes. Her body was stiff, beside the minor vibration of her entire body. I noticed that she tapped her foot vigorously under the table.

"Hello, how are you?" I asked.

She was quick to answer, "I am good, Miss."

Her white dress was almost completely covered in little blue runes, making it look like it was covered in blue sprinkles of various shades. It was quite pretty, and I could easily guess that she had been here for a few years.

"I'm Eleanora. Ellis for short, if you'd like." I added, trying to break the silence as I threw the butter into the icebox to chill.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Eleanora. I am Yvette."

As a part of the city cabinet, I was used to more formal mannerisms from my coworkers and associates, but this was stiff. I know it took me a while before I could smooth out that cutthroat speech. 

It seemed like Yvette couldn’t contain herself much longer. She quickly looked around the room before whispering, “Where is Mother Agatha?”

I turned around and checked the veal, noting that it was taking longer than I thought. These appliances are the same ones from when I lived here, she I didn’t doubt that they were beyond the time of their best performance. For all I knew, they could be decades older than me. 

“She isn’t quite there yet. But she should be here in time for dinner.”

I shut the oven door and turned back to Yvette, and-

“Don’t try to sneak in on me. I know all the quiet spots in the floor.” 

A small group of three crept around the corner, all wide-eyed like deer. They were around the same age as Yvette, their dresses covered in those little runes. 

“I am so sorry, Miss.” The three said in unison, their shoulders almost as high as their ears.

“It’s fine.” I had empathy for them, and I tried to keep my irritation to a minimum. “I am Eleanora, Ellis for short. It’s very nice to meet you all.”

The three of them introduced themselves, all in the same manner as Yvette, even refusing to use the simple nickname I had offered. Was I really this cold at their age?

I tried to remember, but most of those years were a blur until I started Preperatory Academy and had to move out of the Home.

“Is there anything you need help with, Miss Eleanora?” Yvette asked, the three other girls sitting beside her at the long dinner table. 

I glanced around the kitchen, but everything seemed to be in order. All the sides were already made and we just had to wait on the veal. 

“We need to set the table, I’ll need your help to make sure that I have enough plates for everyone.”

Once we finished, more of the girls began to trickle into the dining room and kitchen, the group progressively easing as they realized that I was the only supervisor. They began to talk amongst themselves, but all together it didn’t amount to anything louder than a whisper. Some of the older ones could lipread, and I refrained from trying to understand their conversation. 

I called Yvette over to help me set the side dishes on the table, and the tension noticeably began to settle back into the room. But it wasn’t until I withdrew the veal from the oven that the room was cast into complete silence. 

I set it on the table and began serving portions, making sure to get the reserved part on my plate first. Some of the girls had barely noticeable skepticism on their faces, questioning what I was serving them. Others stole glances to the front door, anxious. 

Once everyone had filled their plate, I led the evening prayer before they began to dig in, slowly and with tense shoulders. Nobody uttered a word, and there was even the absence of silverware clicking together and utensils grazing plates. 

The room was so eerily silent. Not even the house dared to make a peep. 

I took my steak knife and cut a bite from my veal, the meat soft and cooked to my liking. I stabbed it with an old metal fork and shoved it into my mouth, relishing the flavor before a giggle left my mouth. All the girls whipped their heads towards me. 

“Mother Agatha is here with us.”

Some of them fearfully glanced around, expecting to see her behind them, but as confusion made it’s way onto their faces, their gazes slowly made their way to their plates. 

A few turned to me for confirmation, muttering prayers under their breath that their guess was wrong. But as I took the last bite of my veal and wiped my mouth clean, their eyes widened to a degree that was terrifyingly uncanny. 

“Mother Agatha was good to me tonight.”

Yvette’s scream was so shrill it filled the air, jammed into my ears, and seemed to shake the entirety of the Home. 

The girls frantically threw their plates across the room and ran out of the Home, their stampede like vicious thunder. I was sure that the Saints above could hear them as they fled the Home and into the streets like lunatics. 

I scoffed, and rose to put my plate in the sink-

The plate shattered on the floor, my left hand being sent into a fit of intense shudders. I grasped my wrist, trying to stop the shaking as I crouched down to clean up the mess. 

Was this a sign from the Saints?

I had done them a service today, I had done the girls a service.

I simply made this feast to reduce the waste and give them the best meal they’ve seen in years. 

Once I had gathered some of the larger shards, I tossed them into the wastebasket before making my way out of the building. I found the trapdoor under the carpet in the corner of the commons area and slipped inside, making sure that the entrance was concealed before I shut it. 

This floor consisted of a long hallway with a few rooms branching off. Everything was made from cement, trapping a bothersome chill in the room. 

I walked quietly down the hall, passing by heavy metal doors that I knew led to empty rooms. Purposefully empty rooms. 

And at the end was a sight that I couldn’t bear, even after witnessing it hundreds of times. 

Wood, metal, and various other materials were thrown together to create a countless number of tools used for malicious intent. She had taken great pleasure in instilling the Faith in us in the most violent ways possible, ways that left rough patches all over my body that remain to this day. 

I had to stare at the floor and force my mind to remain blank as I reached the hidden sill. 

From outside the building, you wouldn’t normally notice it. But it was just big enough for me to crawl through, and the window faced the alleyway behind the Home so nobody would see me leave. 

I quickly unlatched it and pulled myself up, climbing through and shutting the window behind me once I was in the alley. I checked to make sure I was alone before making my departure. 

My mouth then began to salivate again, desperate for a particular craving.