I Remember Nothing, But I Have Four Husbands

When Joseph arrived at their patch, he proudly looked at the lush greens coming out of the ground from the beets, onions, potatoes, carrots and parsnip he had planted at the beginning of winter last year and had carefully taken care of, even during the coldest nights so they would grow.

Thanks to his hard work, the Spring harvest would be very abundant as the winter was not that harsh, only killing a few parsnips and onions. It was better than past years or even when they began planting. Those were really dark years.

Back then, they luckily got all their planting vegetables from the neighbors. That was all the help they got from them. Nobody had time to teach orphan children how to prepare the land, when to do it, what to plant, how much water the plants needed, if they had to look out for plagues. Nothing.

Food was scarce, and the meager amount they had was brought by Ethan from the income he would get for a day's work. If he was not able to get a job that day, then they would skip meals to give the leftovers from the previous day to Felix as he was a baby. And many times, they had to beg the villagers for a bit of milk for their baby brother.

There were many days the older brothers starved to feed the youngest. Joseph hazily remembered all the times he cried and threw tantrums at Ethan because there was no food. Ethan would just silently watch him, unable to do anything to appease his younger brother. Then, they would all go to sleep on empty stomachs.

Planting started when they were very young.

Ethan was in town looking for jobs, or working if he got one. Lucas and Joseph had to stay at home to take care of baby Felix. Joseph had scattered memories of that time. He only remembered he once followed Lucas with Felix on his back and visited each house in the village.

At that moment, the third brother had no idea what was going on, only that the neighbors either closed the door on them after saying some harsh words, or sent them off with an old vegetable.

Back at home, Joseph thought those vegetables would be for eating, as it was not the first time they begged for food. But the truth was that they were for planting. Ethan had swallowed the meager pride he had as a 10-year-old and told Lucas to ask the neighbors for help, unaware that his younger brothers had been begging for quite a while.

However, it was thanks to Ethan's words that Lucas dutifully asked the villagers for things that could be planted to secure their sustenance in the future.

After that, the stay-at-home trio, or better said Lucas, spent some days looking at the neighbors working the land, with Lucas sometimes being asked to help in exchange of a few vegetables.

Their home had some tools their mother used to sow in a small space in the patch; and that was what Lucas used to dig, then plant all the vegetables he was given. As simple as that. He did not forget to water them, though. Needless to say, his experience was insufficient and his messy planting bore almost no fruits; only a few potatoes miraculously grew.

They spent almost a year like that, relying on the potatoes – as they were the only hardy vegetables able to grow under Lucas' inexperienced thumb – and what Ethan bought in town.

It was not until the new Chief in the village was appointed that their lives took a turn for the better.

The brothers still lived alone, fending for themselves, but the old man carefully taught the older boys, Lucas and Joseph, how to sow, what to do, what not to do, what to be careful of, and how to harvest. Everything they knew was learned from him. All the planting materials were given by him, too. That was why they held great respect for their Chief.

Of course, the man was busy with other matters in the village and could not focus on them all the time. But his little help was enough for the brothers to survive.

With Lucas and Joseph having more experience, it was no longer hard to pick up the planting business. The only problem was that they could not plant in the whole land, only using a quarter of it since they were kids who tired easily.

Nevertheless, that took a burden off their hardworking eldest brother, who tended to use part of the money he earned on buying medicine for their sickly Felix who terribly suffered those years.

If he was not afflicted with high fevers, he had stomach problems, or some allergy or did not eat whenever he was introduced to new food. The changing of seasons was the hardest for Felix, as he would always come down with a cold. And more often than not, they had to call for a doctor to prescribe some medicine.

Whenever they could not afford the medicine, they asked the Chief to share a bit of his with them. Thankfully, not only the Chief was a good person, his Wife was, too. In the eyes of children, colds were great disasters; to adults, it was quite normal and somewhat easy to cure. So, the Chief's Wife would always take care of Felix whenever the latter caught a cold.

That saved them the money from the doctor and only bought medicine according to what the woman suggested.

Ironically, it was a cold that took the woman's life years later. She was already aged and got some other maladies that did not allow her to recover. 

Felix was ten-years-old when that happened. And even when he sported a high fever, he went to pay respects together with his brothers. All four deeply felt the loss of the kind yet strict woman.

"It's been more than six years o' that, huh…" Joseph mumbled as he watched Felix's strained expression while carrying a bucket of water.

And it had been more than fifteen years of hard work for Joseph and Lucas to see their patch grow. So many tears, sweat and blood they left in it. So, it was natural that he felt very happy to see the results of his efforts in those green leaves.

"Go back, Felix. I'll finish here. Lucas' just returned, go help 'im." Joseph said as he took the bucket from Felix's hand. The youngest's red face from the sun and the exertion made Joseph feel bad for him.

He would actually never leave all the work to Felix if it was not because he was busy with the herbs. With that matter done, he could go back to occupy himself with what he was good at: taking care of their patch of land.

Seeing his job was taken away from him, Felix stood there panting and relieved. Watering was very tiring for him, but it was equally satisfying for him to see the results of his labor. More so, when his labor was limited due to his fragile body. And it was his fragile body that made him remain there fidgeting.

"Say, Joseph… I… um…" Felix stuttered, not knowing how to voice his question.

"What's the matter? You're too tired to go back? Want me to piggyback you? You've been eating well these days; you can't be this weak." Joseph slightly teased after he poured the bucket of water on the beets. He crouched and noticed they could soon be harvested. Probably in a few days.

Felix shook his head. "I… it's just… my body…"

"Hm? You feeling unwell? Hurt somewhere? Dizzy? You want to throw up?" It almost was like a reflex. Whenever Felix mentioned something about his body, not only Joseph, but the other brothers also were instantly on him, asking him all sort of questions.

Felix turned red, but his upset expression revealed he was frustrated more than anything. "No! I wanna know if I'm actually attractive! You and Ethan have muscles even if you're thin, and Lucas… well, Lucas always looks good. But I'm just thin and weak and… and just not manly enough… maybe Belle won't like me like this." The teen said in a loud voice.

Joseph remained motionless for a couple of seconds after hearing Felix's tirade. Then, he paid close attention to his brother's frame. It was true that he was very thin. More so because it seemed Felix was going to be as tall as Lucas despite not eating much in his childhood.

He was already as tall as Joseph, who was actually the shortest of the brothers. So, Felix, being a growing teen, looked lanky and awkward at best; probably not his best age to be called attractive. Joseph just never thought Felix had started paying attention to that.

Granted, at that age, Joseph was already rolling on the sheets with married women. But that was another matter. The point there was that Felix wanted to look good for his future Wife: Isabelle. It seemed asking for his own time to spend with her gave him more pressure than he let on last night.

And seeing how Isabelle was very attentive to Lucas, attractive and strong and perfect Lucas, then maybe Felix became self-conscious after comparing himself with his second brother. Joseph considered that comparing oneself with Lucas was just asking to die out of shame.

"Yer thinkin' too much. D'ya think Isabelle is that superficial to only pay attention to yer looks? Yer thin, yes, but Ethan and I ain't that better off, so don't go around spouting that you look unattractive because of that. That's the same as sayin' I'm ugly. Am I ugly, Felix?" Joseph asked with a threatening tone.

"Well, a bit…" Felix trailed off because he started running away from his mad brother. The teen laughed at Joseph who could not catch him and returned to the house with a big smile on his face.

His mood, unknowingly, improved thanks to his third brother.

Felix slowed down his steps the closer he got to the house. The nerves he had ignored while talking with Joseph returned with a vengeance, never wanting to leave. And they spiked to a new height when he saw Lucas comfortably sitting beside Isabelle.

The two looked quite well together; her with her curvy body and very feminine countenance, him with a stalwart and protective air. Felix was deeply amazed by the perfect picture that he halted by the entrance, not daring to disturb. He had never before been so self-conscious than at that moment, while looking at the two.

He never had cared if he was as skinny as a twig. He knew it was due to not eating well in his younger years and being a sickly baby and toddler. He was actually quite thankful his brothers did their best to take care of him; even if that meant they had to skip meals to feed him.

He had seen a couple of teens around his age in the village who were also thin but healthier. Felix never compared himself to them as they were all gangly and awkward, like him. However, he somehow started comparing himself with his brothers…

Especially Lucas…

Lucas was his brother; he had taken care of him his whole life, so there was no need to be jealous. Out of the four brothers, Lucas was truly the most attractive. Not only was he tall, he had a nice body, and was very gentle if a bit taciturn and maybe slow. But even like that, there have been more than a couple of women looking for him to start something.

Though, unlike his eldest or third brother, who would have jumped at the chance of embroiling themselves with a new woman to land a Wife, Lucas always kept them at arm's length. Or farther than that.

Felix was of the idea that if Lucas ever got interested in a woman, then that woman would be the luckiest one in the world. And it resulted that said woman was Isabelle, the person who everybody in the house was interested in. Of course, the brothers were willing to share, and Isabelle had hinted she was willing to be with them.

However, that did not stop the sour feelings in his heart. He was the youngest, the unattractive one, the one without experience. So, he was unsure if Isabelle would even look at him.

Clenching his hands into fists, Felix let out a gust of breath and moved towards the house. There was no point in overthinking. He just had to do well in his time alone with her. Whatever happened during the day between her and his brothers was not something he could control, anyway.

Knowing she was embroidering, a very delicate job, Felix waited until she stopped moving her hands to speak, "Belle, whatcha want for lunch?"

His sudden question still startled both Isabelle and Lucas, making Felix snort. His brother was a great hunter, not even a sound would escape his hearing. But being able to sneak upon him because he was so into Isabelle was kind of cute. And Isabelle… well, she even squeaked in fright.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya." He apologized with mirth in his voice, trying to hold back his laugh.

"No, it is fine." Isabelle said patting her generous chest, which rippled with the force. Neither Felix nor Lucas ignored the action, and both swallowed to moisten their sudden dry mouths. "Have you not thought of today's meal?" She asked, taking Felix out of his sudden gutter thoughts.

"Ah, no.. well, Lucas brought meat and…" Felix trailed off, remembering they had no more vegetables to even make a stew.

"Mushrooms." Lucas helpfully added. Knowing very well their situation, he picked up handfuls of mushrooms in the morning on his way back. It could last them until they harvested the vegetables.

"It is too bad we do not have more vegetables; we could have made something very delicious with the meat." She mused while picking the thread for the next handkerchief. She was itching to cook, but she truly needed to finish her job on time. And if she was done earlier, then that was even better.

"You don't wanna eat meat?" A shocked Felix asked.

It was a bit of a tradition to eat meat as soon as Lucas brought game to the house. It was one of Felix's favorite days! He always looked forward to his brother's hunting! To hear Isabelle hinting of not cooking the meat saddened him as he had been looking forward to eating fresh meat the past few weeks.

Isabelle paused in her picking and took in the brothers' expressions. They looked as if what she had said was a great sin. "I did not say that. I just… well, there is this recipe I got from my coworker that included meat and vegetables and I wanted to try it. As in, I would like to cook it for you all. I also thought you needed some nourishing with bone soup, or broth…"

She ignored if she was imposing too much on the brothers' lives with her way of doing things. She had accepted being their future Wife, but she was unsure how much they would tolerate her bossing them around. They have been accommodating so far, but any man would do that while pursuing a woman.

Only after finally tying the knot, she would know for sure what their true nature was. She really did not want to think badly of the brothers, even if she liked them, but that was the truth of the matter, right? That was why many of her ideas remained unvoiced.

She was obviously thinking too much. Rather than being offended, both Lucas and Felix were extremely moved at that moment.

It was no secret the brothers thought she came from a rich family; the dress she wore when found was very telling. She must have been a very important lady of society with many suitors behind her, of grand prestige behind a grand surname, and hundreds of delicacies to enjoy brought by a line of servants at her beck and call. She must have lived a good life, and someone must have truly hated her to attack and leave her to die in a forest with wild beasts.

But there were always good things following misery.

Maybe it was the amnesia, or maybe she had always been like that, but she had wholly accepted her situation and was trying hard not only for herself, but for the brothers, too. To even think ahead and plan their meals; neither of the four brothers had thought to do so. To them, anything they got in their hands that could be eaten always ended in their stomachs.

That was the way they had lived for over a decade, a habit deeply ingrained in them. It was the way of the poor. Not every day they could afford to eat more than two meals, so, they had to eat whatever they were lucky to obtain.

"I-I wanna try it!" Felix suddenly exclaimed. "The soup you mentioned, I'll do it! Just tell me what to do and I'll cook it for you!" It felt good to be spoiled by a woman, a Wife. But to Felix, who had always taken care of the household chores, he suddenly felt he needed to spoil this woman.

To not let her raise a finger in the house!

Isabelle had no idea how to react to Felix's sudden exuberance but she still gladly relayed the bone soup recipe Jean had told her about. After all, she still needed to keep embroidering, no matter how much she itched on cooking. Maybe she chose the wrong job and should have become a chef.

Well, she could still do it and do embroidering as a side job. Pay was good, and she could choose big orders when in need of money. Better yet! She could start a business! Be her own boss…

As she daydreamed of her entrepreneur self, Lucas and Felix started toiling in the kitchen.