The child had one foot on the bus steps and turned to look at them.
"Aren't you getting on?"
"Isn't this the bus we're supposed to take?"
Uncertainty showed on the child's face.
The two elderly people looked up at the bus number.
"It is."
They hurried onto the bus.
They gave the driver an apologetic smile.
They'd been a little distracted.
They hadn't even noticed their bus had arrived.
They had this child to thank for reminding them...
The two elderly people sat the child down in an empty seat.
The child sat alone at the front, near the exit.
The two elderly people sat farther back.
They looked at the child's back.
Their gazes were complicated.
The child's behavior was a relief, yet it made them worry even more.
As long as they didn't bring up the child's parents, the child seemed perfectly fine.
Was that all right?
Given that they couldn't resolve the problem quickly, of course it was.
They only had to steer clear of one topic to solve everything.
But...
The more normal the child seemed in other ways, the more serious and abnormal the child's behavior around the subject of their parents seemed.
The two elderly people couldn't understand it. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the child.
The child could communicate normally with others.
The child was polite, clever, and well-behaved.
Why...
Had the sudden loss of the child's parents really hit the child that hard?
At the thought, the two elderly people felt even more compassion for the child.
Since the doctor was coming over for dinner that evening, the two elderly people went out to buy ingredients for dinner after returning home and having lunch.
The child stayed at home.
The two elderly