In a shabby apartment room, Chinatsu, who had come to visit me unexpectedly, and I were sitting across from each other, drinking tea together.
Saki-chan was lying down and colouring.
After some conversation, I found out that Chinatsu was a nursery teacher and was 22 years old, two years older than Mika.
Today, since she had just joined the school, hadnāt seen Saki-chan in a week, and she was worried, so she decided to visit.
Maybe it was because I was now Mika.
(Oh, I forgot to check if she went to preschool or kindergarten.)
After taking a sip of my tea, I spoke to the child care worker sitting in front of me.
āI see, so youāre here to check if Iām being cruel to Saki-chan?ā
āYes. Oh? So, have you become an aggressive person? Or have you become an aggressive person at heart?ā
āā¦Iām giving Saki-chanā¦ā
āYou donāt have to rephrase yourself. I understand that youāre a bit rough around the edges.ā
Even though I didnāt do anything, I got a lot of verbal abuse from the toxic nursery teacher because of Mika.
But even though she hadnāt been there for a week, Saki-chan said, āCh-check?ā when she saw Chinatsu.
She may have seen that I was taking good care of her, as she immediately said,
āI was surprised. I thought that we would definitely have to contact child and that our daycare would have to be pursued for responsibility by the publicā¦ā
The reason why she came to my house in such a hurry was because she was very worried about Saki-chanā¦
I was thinking that Chinatsu was a passionate nursery teacher, but then she said something disturbing.
What kind of reputation does this person, Mika, have in her mind?
āHuh? Was it really that important?ā
āItās obvious. You know what? What did you eat in the morning, Saki-chan?
If you ask her, she says, āBencho,ā then what about at night?
If you ask her, sheās still the same. Furthermore, if she listens to her mom, such a small child has her body trembling. Itās natural to wonder if youāre being violent!ā
Hmm, isnāt there something terribly wrong with this person?
Sure, Iām not okay about the lunch thing, but if they ask her about her parents, but she would remember the accident and get scared.
āItās you, anyways. Iām sure you didnāt cook today, and youāll probably just pack a lunch anyway. You need to be a better parent. ā¦It smells good, doesnāt it?ā
āOh, itās almost dinner time, so when I was preparing tea, I prepared dinner as well. Iām going to go finish it.ā
āItās a lie⦠Thereās no way this gal can cook. This is the smell that came from a different house, isnāt it? Iām sure Iām right, arenāt I?!ā
āNo, itās from us.ā
āLet me have a bite!ā
When Chinatsu grabbed me by the arm and shook my body, I felt someoneās stomach growl.
āā¦Did you hear that?ā
āā¦Chinatsu, would you like to eat a plate, not just a bite? Weāre having curry today.ā
āā¦Iāll take,ā
āKari?!ā
āSaki, thatās right. Curry.ā
āEat it!ā
Saki-chan, who was engrossed in colouring, looked up the moment she heard the word ācurry.ā
There were two shadows following me to the kitchen, as if they couldnāt hold out until dinner was ready.
It was Saki-chan and Chinatsu.
(Weāve got one more kid.)
After stroking Saki-chanās head for some reason, I went with the flow and did the same for Chinatsu, and she didnāt say anything.
Maybe her appetite won out, but would she be okay with that?
āKari!ā
Saki-chan, who was pacing around my feet as if she couldnāt wait to eat the curry, looked so cute like a cat.
I guessed this meant the two of us were getting along better, right?
āKari is good!ā
āItās delicious.ā
āThank you very much.ā
āWow, I canāt even cook, how can this galā¦ā
If it was not authentic, couldnāt anyone at least make curry? Could it be that it came in a box?
āAnother!ā
(Oh, I canāt believe that Saki-chan just held out her plate and asked for seconds.)
Happy, I smiled and went to the kitchen to plate her curry.