A crisp morning dawned.Hina rose from her bed and neatly folded her blanket.Her morning always began with tidying up her sleeping area, and today was no exception.
After folding the blanket, Hina carefully surveyed her room.Her gaze ticulously scanned the space, as if etching the scene into her mind.Checking for any changes from the previous night was one of Hina’s morning rituals.
“Good morning.”
━ow.
Today, Molumolu curled up at Hina’s feet, rubbing its soft, warm body against her legs.Since Naru, who used to play well with Molumolu, left, the cat often approached Hina like this to spend ti together.
Rustle— Rustle—Hina gently stroked Molumolu’s body before opening the window.A refreshing autumn morning greeted her.The air, laden with the scent of dew, instantly awakened her senses.
“It’s a beautiful morning.”
Hina addressed the garden as well.She calmly appreciated the scenery visible outside the window.It was a peaceful, cool, yet warmth-tinged autumn morning, as always.
“Other children would be preparing for school now… They’ll soon be talking about the fall field trip in the second sester…”
Instead of preparing for school, Hina stepped out into the mansion’s corridor.Horohoro was already there, ready to greet her.
“Hina, hello…!”“Horohoro, hello.”
Hina and Horohoro embraced each other.Cariote and Brigitte, who had arrived in the corridor first and were waiting, watched the two fluffy girls hugging with warm yet sowhat wistful gazes.
Hina also hugged Cariote and Brigitte in turn.
“Good morning everyone… hello…”
Cariote and Brigitte thought Hina was such a good girl.This morning, they felt a touch of lancholy.
“That Sifnoi will surely wait for the day little Miss Hina returns… Don’t forget this Sifnoi…!”
Sifnoi shouted with determination, clenching both fists.Hina nodded with a resolute expression, saying “…Ung!”
Creeak—Just then, the door opened.Cecily appeared, rubbing her sleepy eyes.Hina approached Cecily and said.
“Last night… with the sketchbook and crayons Hina gave you… I hope you draw a lot about what happens while Hina is gone…! A promise between sisters…!”“Ung, ung! I got it!”
Cecily answered energetically.But she was also a little sad.Because soon, it would be ti for Cecily to be alone.
Ding—Just then, a bell sound echoed.It signaled that the door on the first floor of the mansion had opened.Everyone moved towards the first floor.Hina followed suit.
On the first floor were Judas and Salo, whom Hina had longed to see last night.Seeing their faces filled her with joy, but she couldn’t readily run towards them.So Hina approached her parents slowly, very slowly, one step at a ti.
“……”
Even amidst this, Hina’s eyes continued to scan her surroundings. It was as if she was trying to commit as much of the scenery to mory as possible, like soone who had erged into the world after a long ti.
“Hina.”
Finally, Hina embraced her father.His hug was big and warr than expected.When Hina was in his arms, she felt like she might cry a little.
“…Hina wishes her birthday was a little later!”
Hina threw a slight tantrum, sothing she had never done before.Of course, she quickly closed her mouth, knowing that saying such things wouldn’t change anything and would only make Mom and Dad uncomfortable.
Swish—Hina reluctantly separated from him.She and Salo stood about 1 ter apart, looking at each other.Hina thought her mother was beautiful.It made her happy that her mother was such a pretty and elegant person.
She wanted to rush and hug her quickly, but couldn’t.If she didn’t hug her like this, she might be able to stay in the world a little longer.Maybe she could even greet tomorrow.But Hina loved Mom.Not being able to hug Mom was very sad for Hina, so she finally made a big decision and rushed towards Mom.
Thump—Little Hina hugged Salo.Salo found the feeling of sothing warm embracing her to be very comforting and lovely.
“…Mom.”“Yes.”“Hina actually… likes Naru and also likes Cecily… I like Mom but I also think Brigitte and Cariote are as good as moms…”“……”“Hina actually finds playing with sisters or skipping more fun than studying… But next ti, I’ll definitely work hard as Mom says… because Hina likes it most when Mom praises her…”
Squeeze—Hina hugged Salo even more tightly.Salo also gently stroked Hina’s long hair and said.
“…I’m also new to being a mom, so I’m clumsy at various things. Still, I hope you’ll be born as my daughter. Hina, I’ll wait. Don’t co too early, don’t co too late, you must co healthy.”
Swish— Swish— Swish—Hina’s body glowed white.
Thud—When the clothes Hina was wearing lost their strength and fell to the floor, Salo stood up and covered her face with her palms.She just stood still, not moving or making a sound.When Brigitte and Cariote approached Salo and placed their hands on her shoulders, Salo collapsed into the won’s arms, finally giving in to the emotions she had been holding back.
“…Will I be able to be a good mom?”
Salo knew well that Hina was a good child.She was so good that even when she had sothing she wanted or wanted to do, she would notice adults’ thoughts first and keep quiet.She was a wonderful daughter.But Salo was now overwheld with great anxiety about whether she could be a good mother. She never knew that having a child would be such a worrying thing.
Then Brigitte gently rubbed Salo’s back.
“You have us. If the three of us work hard, don’t you think we can at least make one good mom? Cariote, you think so too, right?”“…In the plains of Iscariote where I lived, all the mothers put their children in one place and raised them communally. That way, they could manage things that couldn’t be handled alone. Usually, prides of lionesses do that. There’s a lot to learn from nature.”
Salo could tell that Cariote and Brigitte were trying to comfort her. Being comforted by soone was an unfamiliar experience.Suddenly, she felt fortunate to have them.Because Judas tends to be a bit indifferent.Indeed, won’s hearts are best understood by other won who know how to soothe where it hurts.
‘…Family, huh.’
Salo still thought it was a word unrelated to her.But there were still 10 months left.Hina would return to Salo neither too quickly nor too late, and during that ti, Salo thought she could sufficiently create a family bond.
“…I’ll think of you as sisters. But don’t expect to call you older sisters.”
Salo said softly.Brigitte and Cariote were surprised but felt a bit awkward.Sisters.It was a word with different anings for Cariote and Brigitte.But because Salo had grown up almost as an only child, she actually had a bit of a fantasy about the word ‘sisters’.
‘From tomorrow, each day will be different again.’
# # #
“Salo, did you sleep well?”
The morning after parting with Hina.Brigitte woke up and looked for Salo.Salo ca out to the corridor and shivered slightly.
“I don’t know. It feels strange.”“I felt like that for a few days too. More importantly, it seems Naru wants to et Hina.”
I felt a bit puzzled at Brigitte’s words.Although Naru was an interesting child, I didn’t think she would want to et Hina already.
Then Salo said.
“It seems Hina wants to see Naru too.”
It was becoming more and more incomprehensible.I asked everyone, “Really?”
Then Salo and Brigitte looked at and said with a slight sting.
“It’s true.”“It really is.”
Brigitte and Salo now looked at each other.And they spread their arms towards each other, just like Naru and Hina do.Were they going to hug?But their posture was awkward and uncomfortable, making feel a bit embarrassed watching.
Swish—Finally, Brigitte and Salo hugged each other.Brigitte was the first to speak.
“How is it, does it feel like Naru and Hina greeting each other?”“…I don’t know. More importantly, stop pushing your chest forward.”
It was nice to see them getting along well.Soon, Cecily must have woken up as she spread her arms towards Brigitte and Salo.
“Brigitte, hello. And hello Naru. Hello to Salo and Hina too.”
While Cecily was hugging Brigitte and Salo, I turned my head to look at the window beyond the corridor.
Whoosh—The autumn garden where the wind was blowing was quite beautiful, but it seed sowhat quiet.I thought Hina usually had no presence because she was quiet, but when it actually beca silent, her absence was quite noticeable.To think that Hina, who always drew pictures in the garden, wasn’t there.How much ti was left until Hina would open her sketchbook in the garden again?
Swish—Just then, soone ca out to the garden and sat in a spot where the morning sunlight fell well.It was the red-haired short-haired girl, Horohoro.Horohoro seed to take sothing out of her pocket and planted it carefully in the garden soil.
“Hina, I hope you grow up soon! Like the peach tree Horohoro planted!”
So she planted a peach tree.I imagined the future a few years from now.I could already envision little girls climbing the peach tree like playground equipnt.
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