7 July 2020

Another among these 11 people is Hugo, and he is having a hard time financially.

"Let me cook today, dear. " Hugo looked lovingly at his wife.

"You look differently happy today. You took the kids to the park and now you wanna cook. Any good news?" Mrs. Hugo was satisfied just at the sight of him being happy.

"Nothing special. I just feel like cooking today."

"Ok, Mr. chef, I would love to taste your cooking every day. I'll enjoy the food sprinkled with your love."

"Then wait with the kids outside."

"Yes, sir!" Mrs. Hugo was an easygoing, cheerful lady; the reason for him going on till now.

But now he just can't bear the sight of his wife working so hard. She always pretended that everything was alright, but he is aware of how alright everything has always been for her ever since she married him. Now he has found a way out of these all difficulties of their life. He decided that he'll just end this miserable life of everyone along with his own.

He cooked very delicately and then secretly took the poison bottle out of his pocket. He looked at it for a while and then, collecting courage, he opened the bottle. These were long moments; he felt every single step he took so clearly, while his life slowly replayed in front of his eyes. There were some beautiful moments as well, but now it is decided he will...

"Yes.. yes I am chef Hugo's wife." Mrs. Hugo said while talking to someone on the phone.

Chef? Did someone just call me chef? He can't even remember anyone calling him like this except his wife.

"OK, thanks, thanks a lot. He'll be happy to hear it. Yes yes, thanks. Have a good day, Bye sir."

She came running to the kitchen. She was so fast that Hugo almost got discovered with the bottle. He quickly put the bottle in his pocket and looked at his wife.

"What's the matter, dear?"

"Guess what? Kiddos come here everyone." All their three children came running to them.

"Yes, mom? What's it?" The oldest son, about 10 years old, who saw what his father was about to do, asked curiously. Although he is just 10, he is more mature than most of us. He decided not to tell anyone else yet because it was quite obvious that Hugo will not do what he was about to do anymore.

"Exactly, who was on the call, and what did they say?"

"It was a call from the Riverside Resort."

"Mom, is it that resort where father used to work at when he was younger?" Her youngest daughter said, moving in all directions like little kids usually do.

"Yes, my dear."

"What did they say?" Hugo was unable to handle this suspense at all. This is the place where he started working as a starter before opening his own restaurant. Riverside Resort used to be a normal restaurant back in those days, but now it is one of the well-known resorts in the province.

"They want you to go and work there. Yeah!!!!! Finally, you will get what you deserve." Mrs. Hugo's eyes were overflowing with happiness.

Mr. Hugo was basically on his knees at this movement.

"Are you sure this is what they said? They didn't mistake me for someone else, right? It is not a dream, right?" He was so happy that the call had just come in time. It was an eye-opener second for him. He just realized what a sin he was about to commit.

"No, it's not a dream, and they asked you to join them tomorrow. They are in need of the staff right now."

Both the younger kids had no idea what was going on, but they were dancing around when they saw their parents happy. Hugo almost cried at that moment.

"Ok kids, go prepare best of luck cards for your father."

After sending the kids away, Mrs. Hugo helped him up and hugged him tightly.

"Finally, I'll be back on my feet again, and you are the reason for that. How can I ever repay you?!" Hugo's words are all sincere. This is how he felt the entire time, but now he is finally saying it.

"By getting those suicidal thoughts out of your brain and staying happy." Mrs. Hugo said it so casually that it seemed like a small deal.

"You knew it? Then why didn't you stop me?"

"I knew it and I also know that you can never harm us."

Hugo just kept looking at her.

.....

8th July 2019

Hugo got up early in the morning. This hotel was about 20 km from his home. It's not an immense distance, but that distance of 20 km is full of ups and downs. It is difficult to get there.

That area is hilly. And it is a tourist attraction because of its beautiful and natural forestry. There's a lake nearby which attracts so many tourists.

This resort used to be a normal restaurant back in old times and he used to work there at that time. Later that area lost its value and most of the people abandoned their properties and came to the city where he lives now to have a better lifestyle. But that restaurant owner never left that town.

Of course, it would have been better if those people could sold those, but there were no buyers. After some years, a group of foreign investors came there. They bought most of that area but that hotel owner didn't agree to sell it, so they just gave him a loan to renovate his hotel.

Slowly, almost in a few years, that abandoned place became a huge tourist attraction.

This area was about 8 square km with almost no folk permanently living there. Hills surrounded this area on all sides. Tourists used to be there in May and June. It was already July now so the population there won't be a lot, but still, he was happy.

He was finally going to work after so many years. Yes, you read it right. He was going to work after many years. His career was all ruined thanks to some random guy he met on the street.

...

11 years ago

Hugo has been a skilled cook since childhood. He belonged to a rich family. His family, even in those old times, supported his passion for cooking. Hugo had everything one can imagine. He lived a life of dreamland. He didn't have to worry about his future, so he carelessly started working at a restaurant. His family's farmhouse was near that restaurant, so he now lived there alone.

When he started working in a restaurant. The owner of the restaurant was a little bit younger than Hugo's father. He had a great personality and he supported Hugo's inventional way of cooking. After Hugo joined him, his restaurant got famous in no time. Hugo started getting offers from many other places to join them, but he wanted to open his small little restaurant, but the problem was that he had no idea about handling customers and staff. He lost his temper easily and was bad at accounting, so he just halted his idea and continued to work where he always worked.

One day, he accidentally invented a new dish, and that tasted pretty good. So he decided to pack it and bring it back home. He was on his way silently walking to the home all alone, looking at the hills around. Sun was slowly setting and on the other side, one can easily see the moon slowly starting to glow. Suddenly, he felt something slippery under his feet. Even before he could have reacted, he was on the ground. He saw his package slowly going up and then coming down. It was slow to see but too fast to react. Suddenly, he saw a pair of hands catching the package.

He slowly looked up to see that person's face. Although it was growing dark slowly, still that setting sun's rays revealed the outline of his face. It was a boy almost the same age as him. He had a friendly smile on his handsome face. That boy stretched his hand towards him with a smile.

"Are you planning to keep on sitting on the ground?"