Si Ang climbed very slowly along the way, taking nearly two hours to reach Grandmother's home.
They had set out from the foot of the mountain at eight in the morning.
It was now ten, and they had wound their way uphill following the marks Grandmother had left.
At that moment, Grandmother was taking a nap in her bamboo house.
When they reached the clearing in front of the house, Richie noticed a pile of supplies on the ground: food, clothes, and household items.
Si Ang slowly crouched down. Richie was running out of strength, but he put on a brave face as he climbed off Si Ang's back.
Before Richie could speak, Si Ang explained:
"I had someone bring all this up this morning. We can't just come here and eat Grandmother's food without giving anything in return!"
Richie gave Si Ang a thumbs-up.
"Nice, nice. I knew I could count on you. You really do think of everything."
Si Ang looked delighted to have been praised by the person he loved.
He did not get cocky, though. He simply stood there looking at Richie, his gaze seeming to say that it was only what he ought to do.
Richie had spent the entire climb on Si Ang's back and had recovered quite a bit of strength, but his face was still pale.
Si Ang's eyes remained fixed on Richie, and he saw him heading into the main room to look for Grandmother.
He caught Richie by the arm, letting him lean on him for support.
Richie's stamina was poor to begin with, so he was happy to have Si Ang come over and offer him someone to lean on.
With a creak, the bamboo house's door eased open.
Si Ang and Richie stepped into the bamboo house side