"Celia?"
"CELIA?" An old lady called out. She wore thick fur-lined clothes and snowshoes, walking carefully in the snow among a thick cluster of pine trees.
"Celia! The sun will set soon, let's wrap it up and go home."
A girl appeared in the corner of the lady's vision, emerging from the shadow of a thick bush. She wore similar clothes, but had a bag on her back and held a gun in one hand, while the other held the ears of two white rabbits.
"... Gran, I could catch more if you give me just a little more time." She pouted.
The old lady put her hands on her hips and shook her head.
"If we left any later, we'd be walking in the pitch black. You already have experience doing that and I'm sure you don't want to do that again."
The girl sighed, handing her grandma the two rabbits, then held her hand as they walked towards the path they had came from. "That's true. But last time was when I was 10. That's over 8 years ago and obviously, I'm way more mature than back then." She winked.
The old lady chuckled and gave her a nudge. "Sometimes you are. But I think you're more childish than when you were a babe." Her eyes twinkled.
"I just can't win against you." Celia smiled. "So, what are we going to have for dinner?"
"Well, I was thinking we turn the rabbits you got today into stew. We also have some of that elderberry jam we made during the summer that we can eat. There's also some gravy that we can cook with the potatoes in the storage."
"I really like the sound of that."
The two took their time as they walked the winding path in front of them, passing frozen streams, icy cliffs and braving the cold that nipped at their noses. They talked about the news in the paper, the things they needed to buy from the town, the fact that the town was too dangerous to go to during this weather, and even about the turkey they had seen this morning on the road. They talked and talked, admiring the snowy landscape.
The sun shone warmly at their faces as it turned into an orange, pinkish hue. A sunset was close, but luckily for them, the two were close to home; at the end of the snow path and nearing the edge of a large lake, sat a wooden cottage.
Beside it was a storage, set ontop of a structure that looked like a table with incredibly long legs.
"Look! We're almost home." Celia cried in joy. Her face was already numb, and she knew her eyelashes were caked with ice. Her grandma was no different; her striking blue eyes were framed by crystalized ice that stuck to her red headscarf and the few strands of exposed hair outside of her hat.
"Yes... Finally. This old lady needs to get out of the cold." Celia's grandma bent down, rubbing her knees, then slowly but surely waddled her way to the cottage with her granddaughter.
As they unlocked the front door, Celia quickly ran to the fireplace, grabbing a few pieces of dried wood and opening the damper. She placed some tinder, kindling and then finally the wood before using a flint and steel to start a flame. It grew slowly, but eventually began to crackle and pop and jump and soothe the cold in the room.
On the other side of the room, Celia's grandma took off her jacket and placed the two rabbits on a wooden slab in the kitchen. She grabbed an apron, tying it with a knot on her back, then re-tied her headscarf.
With a knife, an incision was made along the rear of the first rabbit, and then the skin was peeled off. The belly was opened next, avoiding the organs, where all the entrails were removed.
Celia's grandma then rinse the cavity thoroughly with cold water, before cutting the front legs at the shoulder joint and hind legs at the thigh joint. She then separated the saddle, saving the ribcage and neck for making stock.
"Celia? Can we eat rabbit tomorrow? I don't think I can finish making the rabbits today, without it tasting gamey." She called out, looking towards Celia who was now sitting by the fire with a book.
"Of course gran." Celia paused. "Or, I can help you clean the rabbits?"
The old lady shook her head. "Let me do it this time!"
The old lady washed her hands, then took out a wooden bowl from a cabinet. She shook some salt into it, then poured some water from a pitcher, before placing in the rabbit pieces. She covered the bowl with a cloth, and let it rest near the window.
Then, she went down to the basement, scouring through the storage bags, then finally digging through one. She picked out 3 large, yellow potatoes, one carrot, and one turnip. She put them into the pocket at the front of her apron, before climbing up the stairs, and shutting the basement door.
As she sliced up the carrots, turnips and put them in a bow, the old lady asked Celia to grab some venison from the storage outside the cottage, which she later browned in a pot with salted butter. Once the meat had colour on all sides a good crust on the edges, she poured water into the pot and placed it in the fireplace to boil. She also put the cut vegetables in.
The old lady stood up, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"Gran, it smells really good." Celia said, sniffing the air greedily. She sat nearby on the couch that faced the fireplace.
The old lady laughed. "Why of course! It's your birthday after all. You have to have a taste of your old grandma's cooking on your birthday."
Celia looked cheekily at her grandma, closing her book. "Do I also get a present this year? For my eighteenth birthday?"
The old lady smiled, but not as bright as Celia hoped she would, and nodded. "Yes. You're getting an important gift this year."
"Do I get a spoiler on what it is?"
Celia's grandma's face flickered with a grim expression. "No honey. It's a surprise."