"Josie, bring me that bottle of seasoning."
In the kitchen of the Harvey Inn, everyone was preparing dinner for the evening's customers. Mrs. Harvey had both hands buried in flour as she worked on the bread.
Quite a few small bottles of seasoning stood on the table beside her. As she kneaded the dough, she kept adding seasonings to the bowl and working them into the flour to give the bread the best possible aroma.
At the most crucial moment, she suddenly discovered that one of the seasonings had run out, so she turned and called out.
"Coming!" A clear voice soon answered from another room. Moments later, Josie walked in carrying a tub of seasoning, an apron tied around her waist as well.
"Here you are, Mother."
"Yes, put it here."
"All right."
"Josie, what have you been doing? I haven't seen you for a while." Mrs. Harvey glanced at her daughter and asked curiously, a little surprised.
There was a smile in her daughter's eyes, as though she were thinking about something happy. Flour covered her face and hands, and even her lovely hair had flecks of white in it. Mrs. Harvey could not help reaching out to wipe the flour from her daughter's hair and face.
"I... I'm making pastries," Josie said softly.
"Pastries?"
Mrs. Harvey nodded in approval. "The pastries in the inn do sell quickly, but don't you usually stay out of the business?"
"Mother, I just wanted to help!" A faint blush spread across Josie's pretty face, but she spoke confidently.
"Oh, really?" Mrs. Harvey had now noticed something unusual about her daughter. Ever since Josie had returned two days ago, something had seemed a little off.
At first, she had assumed her daughter was simply weak after recovering from her injuries.
Now, however,