Ivan opened the door and hung his coat on the hook behind it.
He sniffed, and a smile appeared on his somewhat weary face.
"What delicious food did you make?"
In the kitchen, the girl poked her head out. There was a smudge of ash on her face, and her hair was tied messily behind her. She smiled when she saw Ivan.
"Father, you're back. Where's Ken?"
"He went to pick some fruit on the way back." Ivan glanced into the kitchen, where fish simmered away in the pot.
"Where did the fish come from? Haven't they banned people from going out to sea recently?"
"I picked them up by the shore this morning. There were lots of razor clams too, so I made soup. Oh, right!"
She turned and brought out a wooden bowl from inside, containing four plump, round eggs.
Ivan glanced into the bowl. "Gaia, you climbed a tree to steal bird eggs again."
The girl's eyes widened. "How could I? I... I picked these up by the shore!"
Ivan sighed theatrically. "You're not that young anymore. Who would want to marry a girl who climbs trees all day?"
"I'm only fifteen!" the girl retorted loudly, hands on her hips. Just as she was about to say more, she caught sight of the smile at the corner of Ivan's mouth. With an irritated stomp, she turned and ran back into the kitchen.
The door opened again. Ivan turned to look and saw a teenage boy squeezing in sideways, holding his coat in his hands. It was stuffed full of fruit.
"Dad, look how much I picked!"
Ivan saw the blades of grass tangled in the boy's hair. He had wanted to put on a stern face and say something theatrical, but he simply could not suppress the