Chapter 11: Bitter Potato Trees
OLIVIA walked through the forest with Randall and Rob. At first, she walked slowly out of consideration for Randall, but she quickly realized that consideration was unnecessary. Randall’s legs were strong, making it so Olivia was actually the one at risk of being left behind.
“This is a pleasant forest to be in,” he said. “And abundant.”
“It is. I think part of the reason my grandmother loved this region was for its abundant forests and rivers. Oh, poison cherries.”
“What? Where? Oh, plenty have fallen off.”
When Olivia started gathering the dried poison cherries, Randall joined in with zeal.
It had definitely been the right decision to bring two sacks. She’d suspected it might end up like this. Randall’s hands moved quickly as he filled the sack with poison cherries.
“There are some bitter potato trees a little farther in. Do you like bitter potatoes?” Olivia asked.
“That brings back memories. My mother used to make bitter potato dumplings all the time when I was a child. I never liked the harsh flavor when I was younger, but it would be nice to try them again.”
“How about I make something with them tonight then?” Olivia offered. “Unless you have other plans.”
“No plans more important than eating the food of my childhood.” In a cheery mood, Randall urged Olivia. “So, where are these bitter potato trees?”
Olivia changed direction so they were heading towards the river.
Contrary to their name, bitter potatoes were not potatoes at all. They were the fleshy roots of a tree rich in nutrients. The trees favored sunny spots, so they flourished where the forest was cut into by the river. The ones growing inside the forest didn’t develop the thick roots.
“I take it there were bitter potato trees near where you grew up as a child, Randall?” Olivia asked.
“Yes. I come from a small farming region farther south and often saw them. My parents sobbed when I told them I wanted to become an apothecary.”
“Oh? But it’s such a respected profession.”
“It takes ten years of training to become a full-fledged apothecary. That period is an unpaid apprenticeship. Today, apprentice apothecaries have their housing costs paid for, but my generation didn’t receive that kindness. My parents couldn’t accept that the son who’d finally grown to an age where he could work wouldn’t be earning the family money.”
Randall steadily picked mushrooms, medicinal herbs, and edible plants as he talked.
“My mother cried, and I felt I had no choice. I helped out with the farmwork, but I never truly gave up on becoming an apothecary. I honestly don’t even know why I was so set on it. But it got to the point where I was convinced my soul would wither away if I stayed at home working like that forever.”
“Oh…”
“The night before I turned twenty, I left home with just a change of clothes and some change. Thirteen years later I was finally in a position to send my parents money. I rushed home, but they’d passed away. My younger brother had become the head of the household and he struck me. How dare I come back after all that time and without shame, he’d said. I didn’t fight back. I let him hit me until he got it out of his system. I could do that much to atone, at least.”
I also ran away from home, thought Olivia, because I knew my soul would die if I stayed there.
“But you had no other choice,” Olivia pointed out. “There was nothing else you could do. Humans are the only animals where the children take it upon themselves to make sacrifices for their parents. I don’t get it. There are so many people who value the children’s sacrifice, but if I were a parent…”
Olivia’s words faltered, and Randall glanced over at her but didn’t say anything.
“There are a lot of bitter potato trees growing on that slope over there,” she said finally. “See! They cover the entire slope.”
“Oh my. I didn’t expect them to be growing in such a thicket.”
The trees coated a slope that saw lots of sunlight. They were free to grow unchecked since there weren’t many people in the area who ate them. Their foliage was dense with leaves shaped like the palm of a human hand.
“Oh, drat,” said Randall. “If we were going to dig up bitter potatoes, we should have brought tools with us.”
“Don’t worry. I have some tools hidden around here. I just leave them here since they’re heavy.”
“Huh. This forest really is like your own backyard.”
Rob was staring up at Olivia with a look of desperation. I swim? I can swim? Swim all right?
“It’s fine, Rob. You can go swim,” she said, but he didn’t even wait for her to finish speaking before he flung himself into the river. He doggy paddled through the river, huffing wildly with just his head poking up above the surface.
Olivia took out the shovel she had hidden in a pile of stones. It was wrapped in oiled paper after she’d carefully rinsed it and wiped it dry, so it wasn’t rusted.
She used that shovel to start digging out the roots of the bitter potato trees. Randall started prying them out of the dirt without Olivia having to say anything. She took a knife from her bag and started cutting off the elongated egg-shaped tubers.
They were so in sync with each other it felt like they’d worked together for years, allowing them to collect fifteen of the bitter potato roots in no time at all.