“What!”

Quinn ran out so fast he didn't even get the apron off his waist.

The moment he saw that small body, his legs buckled and he broke into loud, wailing sobs.

“My boy, you can't even swim. What were you doing down at the river?”

The villagers who'd found the child crowded around, shaking their heads and sighing.

“There was something off about him. He walked straight toward the river, cradling something the size of an egg.”

“A few of us called out to him. He wouldn't listen.”

“The look on his face, like a ghost had gotten hold of his mind.”

Hearing that, Quinn threw himself into another fit of howling, clutching his son's body and refusing to let go.

In the end it was Quinn's own brother, arriving back, who pried him loose.

Once everyone had gone, the mother came out of the room too, trembling on her feet.

Her cloudy eyes were brimming with tears.

But I couldn't say if it was just my imagination.

Somehow the white hairs at her temples seemed fewer than before.

Seeing her come out, Quinn, so heartbroken a moment ago, suddenly lifted his head and scrambled to her feet.

“Ma, I've got such a hard life.”

“All these years, and Simon was the one child I finally managed to have.”

“Who could have guessed he'd treat the golden egg like a toy and carry it down to the river to play with.”

“Now he's gone, the golden egg is lost too, and I don't even have the money to bury my own son!”

Aching for him, the mother helped him up, and she understood exactly what Quinn was getting at.

“Don't grieve just yet, Quinn. Looking after your own health matters most.”

“Simon was a devoted boy from the day he was born. As his grandmother, I certainly can't stand by and do nothing.”

“Once the hen lays another egg, I'll bring it over to your house.”

“Whatever else happens, let's see the child properly buried first.”

The sudden, terrible news swept away every trace of the joy the hen's golden egg had brought.

I sat blankly on the bed, turning it over in my mind for a long time, getting nowhere.

A hen laying golden eggs. An ox speaking like a man.

Things this impossible, and yet every one of them had happened right in front of my eyes.

Still in a daze, I heard the ox in the yard start butting its head against the fence in a panic.

“A child's pure life-force is the richest of all.”

“The old woman's had a taste now, and she's coming for your daughter. Go and look, quick!”

I jumped, terrified, and shoved the door open at once.

At the back gate, the mother was pressing a golden egg into Emma Abbott's hands.

“Emma, your school fees are due soon, aren't they?”

“Grandma knows you've been the most devoted child since you were small. How could I bear to watch you miss out on your schooling?”

“It's only that Simon's accident happened today, and I didn't want to hurt your uncle and aunt's feelings.”

“So Grandma's giving this golden egg to you. You have to hide it well, and never let anyone else see it!”

The tenderness in the mother's eyes was no different from before.

For all that she'd favored Quinn's family these years, she'd always been wonderful to both children.

When Emma fell ill, the mother would sell her own blood to scrape together the medical fees.

When Simon felt unwell, she'd sit up all night at his side.

How could a plain, honest old woman like her suddenly turn a murderous hand on her own grandchildren?

While I hesitated, the old ox in the yard thrashed harder still.

“Men die chasing money, birds die chasing food.”

“One golden egg for one life!”

“This little girl's fortune was weak to begin with. The moment she takes that golden egg, she'll be dead by tonight, no question!”

Simon's death was still fresh in my mind, and I wasn't about to gamble.

I rushed forward and pushed the golden egg back into her hands.

"Ma, you should keep this egg for yourself."

"Emma's just a child. She can't take something this valuable from you."

The mother's face darkened at once.

In the pitch-black night, it looked all the more grim and terrifying.

"Are you looking down on me, son? Is that why you don't want Emma getting close to me?"

"Or do you think I favor your brother's family, so you're picking a fight with me?"

"If you won't let Emma take this egg, then don't ever expect another one!"

My daughter looked confused too.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?"

"You and Mom haven't been paid in ages. Grandma's only doing this because she feels for us."

"Why are you being so harsh with her?"

I didn't know how to explain any of it to Emma.

All I could do was force out a smile.

"Ma, don't be angry, I didn't mean anything by it."

"With one thing after another going wrong in this house, my heart's heavy, so my words came out too sharp."

"I just think this egg is too valuable. Better to save it for something that really matters."

The mother ignored me and turned to stroke Emma's hair.

But behind that tender gaze, there seemed to hide a bloodthirsty greed.

"Emma's schooling, that's the thing that matters most."

"Take it, good girl. Don't let your grandma's love for you go to waste."

Emma nodded obediently.

Just as she reached out to take it, Quinn's voice came from behind me.

"Ma, what are you two doing out here in the middle of the night?"

The moment he saw the egg in her hand, his eyes lit up.

He shoved his way between me and the mother without a care.

"Did our hen lay another egg?"

"Ma, how could you do this? Simon's funeral still isn't paid for, and here you are slipping the egg to your eldest on the sly."

"They're all your grandchildren. You can't play favorites like this, old woman."

The mother's gaze kept sliding between Emma and Quinn.

As if she were choosing which one made the more satisfying prey.

It was only a golden egg. Not worth gambling my daughter's life on.

I steeled myself.

And beat him to it, pressing the egg into Quinn's hands.

"Quinn, you've got it wrong."

"Ma knows you're grieving. She didn't want to disturb your rest, so she had me pass this egg along to you."

"Simon met such a terrible end so young. His funeral can't be done halfway."

"Take this money and give Simon a proper, decent send-off."

Quinn looked the egg over carefully.

Once he was sure I hadn't tampered with it, he turned and left, well satisfied.

After he was gone, an uneasy feeling wouldn't leave me.

First, I was worried about Emma's tuition next month.

Second, I was afraid there really was something strange about that egg, and that I'd gotten Quinn killed by passing it on.

But day after day went by, and nothing happened.

Quinn's family was bouncing around, full of life, and had even gone and bought a new car.

Instead, it was during the wake that I happened to overhear the couple talking.

Quinn was cradling Simon's funeral portrait, his eyes crinkled with a grin.

"Wife, thank god you're clever, coming up with the idea of having Simon play dead."

"That fool Thomas Gray actually handed the egg right over to me."

"Now the hen, and every egg the hen lays, all of it belongs to us."

"A sum this big, no way we're just letting your brother's family have it for free!"

My heart lurched.

Simon wasn't dead.

This was a show Quinn had staged on purpose, so he could grab all the golden eggs for himself.

Two golden eggs. Over a hundred thousand.

And I'd just handed them over to someone else, free and clear.

Anger and regret churned in me at once.

I looked up and saw the mother standing a little way off, staring into the dark.

She glanced around, then crawled into the henhouse in some twisted, hunched posture.

When she came back out, there was a golden egg in her hand.

I was about to step forward and expose Quinn's scheme.

But somehow the mother was suddenly at my side.

"Thomas, what are you doing here?"

She came a few steps closer, a cold air rolling off her whole body.

"You're not here to sneak off with one of my hens while my back is turned, are you?"

"Mom, what are you talking about? Am I that kind of man?"

The tightness in my chest only got worse.

"I just couldn't stop worrying about Quinn and his wife, so I came to check on them."

The mother's suspicious eyes ran over me, up and down.

At last she let out a long sigh.

"These years haven't been easy on you."

"Working away from home to earn money, and still carrying the worries of this family."

"All those years your father was paralyzed, you were the one wiping him clean, emptying his bedpan."

"By rights, I ought to give you a golden egg too."

The mother opened her hand and held the golden egg out to me.

"Take it. Pay Emma's tuition first, then buy yourself a few new sets of clothes."

"I'm not one to play favorites. Everything you've swallowed all these years, I've seen it."

Her words made my eyes sting.

At my age, with the old above me and the young below.

I stretched a single dollar until it nearly split into eight.

And now here was a golden egg gleaming right in front of me. How could my heart not move?

On top of what Quinn's family had just been saying.

Before I knew it, my hand was already reaching out.

Right then, the old ox's voice came again in my ear.

"Don't take it. Don't take it."

"Quinn has protective dark energy shielding him. It carried the disaster away from him that time. But you don't have that kind of luck."

"If you die, your daughter is next!"

Sweat beaded in my palms.

For a moment I honestly couldn't tell.

Were these words Quinn's trick, or a warning from heaven itself?

The mother seemed to see me waver, and she sighed.

"Take it. A hen doesn't lay eggs forever."

"Take one, and there's one less."

"Miss this chance and who knows how long you'll wait for the next."

As she spoke, she swung the golden egg back and forth in front of me.

Each swing sent ripples through me.

While I hesitated, the phone rang.

"Is this Thomas? It's Bruno."

"Your wife got her leg crushed on the construction site a while back. She was afraid it would cost her the work, so she never dared say anything."

"Now with the heat, the wound's gotten infected and she's in the hospital."

"The doctor says she needs surgery right away, or her life could be in danger any minute."

"We pooled what we could, but it's still not enough. You need to get fifty thousand to the county hospital as fast as you can!"

Afraid I wouldn't believe him, Bruno sent a video of Nadia Gilbert lying in a hospital bed.

Watching Nadia's pale face, my heart jumped straight into my throat.

The mother fretted right along beside me.

"Simon just left us. Nothing can happen to Nadia too."

"She went to break her back on that site to help pay off your debt. We're the ones who've wronged her all these years."

"If something really happened to her, I couldn't face your father even in death."

"Thomas, my old legs won't carry me. Take this golden egg to the hospital right now and bring Nadia back to us!"

The sound of our voices woke the people inside.

Quinn's whole family and Emma all came running out.

Quinn's eyes clung to the golden egg, unable to let go, but all he could do was mutter, grudging.

"Saving a life does come first."

"Big brother, you take this golden egg. I won't fight you over it this time."

Emma cried even harder, tears streaming down.

"Dad, let's hurry and go save Mom."

"I can't lose my mom…"

Only the old ox kept shaking its head and sighing.

"Last time you stopped the old woman from feeding on a child's pure life-force. She hates you to the bone for it."

"If you take that golden egg now, your whole family will die without so much as a grave to lie in!"