"Everyone, come have some cake!"
Sister Gashara entered the room and set the bag on a table against the wall. At her call, the children playing and roughhousing around the room lit up and ran over excitedly.
"It's cake!"
“Really! Sister Betty never lets us have cake.”
"Give me one! Give me one!"
Gashara smiled kindly at the children gathered around her and handed out the cakes one by one. Ain, the girl with long sea-blue hair, got one too.
But instead of eating it, she carried it over to Kane and held it out to him.
“Grandpa Kane, you eat first!”
"Oh! What a good girl you are, Ain!"
Kane's wrinkled old face broke into such a wide smile that his eyes disappeared. He patted Ain's head and took a bite of the cake under her watchful gaze. Only then did she relax and run back to Gashara for another.
After sharing cake with the children, Gashara offered a cup of Green Tea to cut through the sweetness. It was already afternoon, and the warm sun left the well-fed children drowsy.
Seeing this, Gashara excused herself to Kane and took them upstairs to sleep in their beds.
“Arigato, Sister Gashara!”
Ain suddenly said this as the nun tucked her in. Gashara's hands paused for a moment. Then she smiled and asked, "I haven't told you my name yet. How did you know it was Gashara?"
“Because I heard what you said to Grandpa Kane!”
Ain grinned proudly. “I'm going to be a Marine like Grandpa Kane someday!”
"All right, then you'd better sleep well and grow up quickly!"
"Mm!"
Sister Gashara quietly closed the door and went downstairs. But to her surprise, the first-floor hall was empty. Kane, who had been sitting at the table in the middle of