Little Karin, Big Dilemma

"Mom..."

As dawn slipped through the cracks around the window and spilled across the cabin floor, Karin opened her eyes, curled up in her mother's arms, and rubbed them without thinking.

Then she froze.

She hurriedly put on her glasses, her face pale with fright. "Oh no... I fell asleep!"

"Mom!"

She turned her head instinctively.

Her mother was still asleep, though she looked utterly exhausted even in repose. Karin breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

She gently tucked the thin blanket around her mother, then tiptoed to the window and carefully shifted the board covering it aside a fraction.

The dazzling morning light made her squeeze her eyes shut.

She quickly closed the gap again.

But in that brief instant, the sharp smell of blood and charred vegetation carried on the morning Wind Release had already reached her nose...

She wrinkled her little nose.

Karin's heart pounded.

A long while passed.

Biting her lip, she shifted the board aside again and cautiously peered out with eyes now accustomed to the light.

"Huh?"

To little Karin's surprise,

the chaos outside had long since ended.

And somehow, the atmosphere in the village felt different...

There were people on the streets. Every face was filled with fear of the future and helplessness over the present.

But for some reason...

Karin saw a spark of life in their faces.

"That's strange..."

Karin scratched her head.

She was still a child, and some complicated things were beyond her.

She glanced back at her mother sleeping peacefully, then carefully took a cloth bundle from inside her clothes.

Inside was a stack of banknotes.

Karin's eyes flickered. "With everything that's happened in the village, I wonder if any shops will be open... I'll try..."

"Mom's exhausted. She doesn't need to worry about little things like this.