MEN'S FOOD

"Hold this and try to break it!" The woman in her forties sitting on a couch said calmly. She handed a pencil to the girl seated on the carpet at her feet. The latter was about six or seven years-old. The child and the woman had the same light brown skin and the same dark eyes.

The little girl smiled broadly before grabbing the pencil which she broke with a simple snap of her fingers. She proudly held out both ends to the woman.

"Now, try to break this," the latter resumed, handing a bunch of pencils of all colours tied tightly with a blue string.

The child grabbed the bunch of pencils and tried to break it.

"Try harder!" The woman insisted calmly when she saw that the little girl was struggling to break the pencils. The latter pressed them against her stomach with all her might, grimacing.

"It's too hard, Grandma," she finally exclaimed, raising small, desperate eyes to her grandmother.

"You see Nina, that's what makes a pack strong," the latter retorted, smiling tenderly. The child was listening, curious and silent. "Alone, we can be agile and intelligent, but we remain vulnerable. However, together, we become stronger," she began. "Always remember that when you hunt or defend yourself. Only attack your prey or your assailant when they're alone, weak, or sick."

Nina's grandmother sighed sadly before continuing: "Find yourself a pack, be strong and smart for them, and they'll become your pack; they'll follow you wherever you go; with them you'll be unbreakable just like this bunch of pencils. Do you understand Nina?" She asked seriously.

Nina took a deep breath as if to suck in the words before nodding in agreement. The grandmother took the pencils from her hands before exclaiming: "Alright. That was your meal for today, now go to bed. Tomorrow, I might have some fruit or vegetables to give you."

The woman gently ran a light hand over Nina's face. The little girl looked weak and tired.

The child jumps up to go to her bedroom while her grandmother watched her walking away before turning her gaze to the flat screen in front of her. She didn't move an inch, sitting on her large leather couch like a queen on her throne, her gaze lost in the large, dark flat screen that reflected the extent of her pain.

Lying on her bed, Nina contemplated the hunger in her belly, her gaze raised to the immensity of the blue ceiling of her bedroom. The little girl imagined lying outside on the grass on a sunny day with clear skies. She had noticed that she felt less hungry when she lay on her back, so she always lay in this position when she hadn't eaten for several days. She put her hands on her hollow stomach as if to calm its grumbling. She was churning on her grandmother's words. Soon, she wouldn't feel any hunger or even fear anymore. One day, she would grow strong and smart to find her pack.