Little Crow took a break—and stayed home for an entire week. She was practically trapped in a deadly cycle of eating, sleeping, then eating again, until even Older Sister couldn't stand watching anymore and reminded me that Vanilla's problem still hadn't been resolved. Only then did we remember that it was time to send the silly bird off to that world.
Over those days, Vanilla had stayed at home the whole time. Only on the fifth day had she gone out with Older Sister to get a look at what the outside world was like. It was hard to say how much she could become familiar with this strange new place, but at least she had learned how to use the bathroom and turn on the television. In her eyes, probably everything around her was an unsolvable mystery, so she simply stopped wasting effort trying to understand why things worked and settled for knowing how to use them. It was clear that, from the nervous fearfulness of the first day to now, the child had begun smiling happily from time to time. She no longer held this strange big family around her in such awe—perhaps she had finally realized that everyone here was kind. I still remembered the first day or two, when Vanilla's cautious little actions often left people helpless. When she sat down, she was terrified of wrinkling her clothes because they had been "borrowed." At meals, if a dish wasn't directly in front of her, she only ate plain rice, afraid that asking for anything would make people dislike her. Even when going to bed, she carefully climbed onto the mattress, afraid of crushing such a soft bed. She didn't dare touch anything or ask anything, living timidly in a completely unfamiliar environment. If Anweina hadn't patiently