---
The space was blank.
We walked along the sidewalk toward the apartnt.
The school form was still in my hand.
At the bottom of the second page was a small box.
Ergency contact other than guardian.
Other than guardian.
---
Yuna walked half a step beside .
"Yuna," I said.
"Yes?"
"If there’s an ergency at school, who do you think they should call besides ?"
Her footsteps slowed for a fraction of a second.
Then returned to normal.
"What kind of ergency?"
"Fainting. An accident. A fight. Or if you start crying."
"I’m not a crybaby."
"You never know."
She stared straight ahead.
The pedestrian light turned red.
We stopped.
---
Traffic flowed past on the street in front of .
"Can your parents be reached?"
She didn’t answer right away.
Usually, she was quick.
Not this ti.
---
The light turned green.
We crossed.
Halfway across the street, she said quietly,
"There is one person."
"Who?"
She gripped her bag straps a little tighter.
"Soone."
We reached the sidewalk on the other side.
"Your father?" I asked flatly.
She didn’t nod.
She didn’t shake her head.
"He... cares about ... probably," she finally said.
---
Probably?
Who.
Her mother?
Her father?
Or
A relative.
---
I looked at the form again.
The empty box didn’t look very big.
But it felt like a single point connecting far too many things.
"Do you have the number morized?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Write it down later."
She gave a small nod.
We continued walking.
The afternoon breeze lightly stirred the hair resting on her forehead.
---
I didn’t ask anything else.
Because the answer was already clear enough.
And for the first ti since she arrived.
Maybe.
---
I would be speaking directly with the person who orchestrated all of this.
---
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