“Ugh, it’s still a bit cold,” said a young woman as she rubbed her cold fingertips together.
In this city, which was near the capital of the kingdom, winter was drawing to a close, and the warm footsteps of early spring were approaching. Still, it wasn’t rare to experience a few frosty days that ate away at the body.
The woman opened the door to the Drinking Goose, a small restaurant located downtown.
The owner of a tinkering store near the Drinking Goose was waiting outside the door. He laughed and called out to the woman, “Morning, Athena! Brrr! Still cold, isn’t it?”
Athena had been friends with the store owner since her parents were still alive, and the two went way back—this exchange about the weather had become a yearly greeting of sorts. Lending credence to their words, the store owner wore thick layers, something they’d never do while working.
“Yeah,” Athena agreed with a small sigh. “I hope it warms up in a couple weeks—that’d make my life a lot easier.”
Her mind wandered to the Black Forest. It wasn’t far from where she was—in fact, the road leading out of the city toward the nearby capital curved around the bounds of the forest. No doubt the Black Forest was experiencing a chilly morning as well.
What of that man—the grumpy geezer—and his family? He lived in the Black Forest, and right before winter, he’d claimed that he couldn’t provide her with much meat for a while. Simply put, there was just nothing to hunt during the cold season. I’ve heard rumors that the Black Forest is a deadly place and that no one who sets foot there ever returns. He does, though. And he always seems so...laid-back. The man consistently provided her with the highest-quality meat around, and she could do nothing but trust his words.
Athena allowed the owner of the tinkering shop to head inside ahead of her—she did a little stretch and muttered to herself, “Hmm, spring is close, but not quite here yet.”
She was busy thinking of new dishes to add to her menu using the meat from the Black Forest, but that process wasn’t going so smoothly. The man who provided the meat had once even offered to help think of a dish or two, but Athena had promptly refused.
“Should I have not done that?” she wondered.
Was it due to the cold? Athena couldn’t help but allow herself a moment of weakness before she hastily slapped her cheeks to give herself some energy.
“No, I made that decision myself!”
With that, Athena stepped inside her restaurant. The moment she set foot into her humble establishment, her frosty fingertips gradually grew warm. She glanced at the sunlight that shone in through the window, which gently illuminated the space.
“All right! I’m going to give it my all today!”
Athena slipped on her apron and headed into the kitchen. Her first order of business was to prepare some warm soup for her morning regulars. After pouring some water into a large pot, she turned on the heat, then chopped some vegetables and prepared the spices, working swiftly and efficiently. She’d learned her kitchen skills from her parents.
“Since the days are still cold, I think I’ll add an extra dash to the pot,” Athena muttered.
She tossed in her spices and stirred the soup once more. An inviting aroma soon filled her restaurant.
A short while later, she heard the door open.
“Welcome!” she called out.
When she popped her head out of the kitchen, she spotted one of her regulars—he was rubbing his nose, which was red from the cold, and he flashed her a smile.
“Morning, Athena,” he said. “Still so brisk out, isn’t it? Could I have the usual?”
“Coming right up!” Athena replied.
She ladled warm soup into a bowl and brought out some freshly baked bread for her customer.
“Hot soup’s just the best,” he said. “Eating yours makes me feel like I have enough energy to last the whole day!”
He grinned with satisfaction and took a sip of the broth while Athena smiled at him happily. She didn’t have too many customers come in after him, and when the morning rush was over, Athena went back to thinking of a new dish to add to her menu. A dish that uses meat from the Black Forest... She’d tested several ideas but she wasn’t content with any of them.
“Hmm... What about...? No, not this...”
While Athena busily tried to come up with a new addition to the menu, snow—late for the season—began to fall. She gazed out the window and saw a dusting of white on the branches of the trees lining the streets. It was a lovely sight to behold.
Just then, the door opened, and an unfamiliar face stepped inside.
“Excuse me, are you open?” the young man asked in a quavering voice.
“We sure are. It must’ve been cold outside, huh?” Athena quickly brought out a warm drink for her new customer. “Here you are. That’ll warm you up nicely.”
The man voiced his gratitude and slowly sipped his drink. “Thank you. Actually, I’m on my way to the capital, but I heard that you serve interesting meat dishes, and I just had to visit.”
Athena raised an eyebrow. The fact that she served meat from the Black Forest wasn’t well-known just yet, but she knew that the man who supplied the meat had a merchant for a friend. Perhaps word had spread from there. The man from the forest was also apparently friends with the lord of this city, but she’d assumed that had been his attempt at a joke.
“Why don’t you try some of this soup?” Athena offered.
She brought out a bowl—it was a new dish she was testing—and her customer gingerly yet gratefully took the soup.
The man tasted it, then gasped. “My word! This...is just superb! Delicious!”
His eyes sparkled with delight, and Athena’s eyes widened with shock and joy.
“Is it really?” she asked. “It’s actually a new menu item I’ve been experimenting with. It isn’t quite to my liking just yet...”
“What?! This is absolutely delectable! This’ll give me plenty of energy even during this cold snap!”
The customer’s praise boosted Athena’s confidence. Could this be the recipe she was after? The man then raised a spoonful of meat into the air.
“Is this the specially sourced meat?” he asked.
Athena nodded. “That’s right. Isn’t it absolutely delicious?”
“It really is. The flavor is a lot milder and gentler than the rumors led me to believe.”
Maybe the meat’s flavor took on the personality of the man who brought it to me... Nah, I doubt it. Yet, oddly enough, she couldn’t completely dismiss this idea.
“The one who provides me with the meat is a very gentle person,” she said.
The man chuckled, amused by what he assumed was a joke.
Snow continued to fall throughout the evening, and people swiftly walked through the streets, eager to get out of the cold. Customers in a steady stream made their way into the Drinking Goose.
“Athena, I’d like something warm, please,” one of her few regulars called out. Their voice echoed inside the restaurant.
Athena was bustling around, and though she had her hands full, her smile never faded. Little by little, she began to see more people ordering the new soup that she’d just put on the menu.
“Is this new? It’s delicious!” one customer said.
“Yeah, it warms you right up,” another added.
Athena smiled with delight. As the night wore on and the customers all left, she entrusted her tired bones to a nearby chair. Gazing outside, she watched the snow quietly flutter to the ground.
“It was cold, but today was a good day,” Athena said with satisfaction. Her new soup was a resounding success, and many customers had been greeted by a bowl of warmth. This tiny bit of happiness warmed her very soul.
As she took a break, her mind once again wandered to the resident of the Black Forest. How was the grumpy, unfriendly man doing? And what about his family? No doubt they were also crowded around a table of warm food—despite living in a forest rumored to take the lives of those who entered it.
Athena’s resolve was renewed. “I want them to try out this new soup too.”
Winter would continue for a little while longer, but the warmth of spring was beginning to sprout within her heart.