Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I stretched and slid the disc into the player.

I had to admit, today had been pretty exhausting. First, I’d spent the day cleaning up the absolute disaster that was this house, and then I’d met the neighbor.

And just now, I’d caught a kid sneaking into my kitchen.

At first, I thought it was a cat. But when I pulled open the cabinet, I found myself staring into the massive black eyes of a girl. She was pale, wearing nothing but a simple slip, and curled up inside the cramped space.

She looked at me, and I looked at her.

Then, her mouth slowly began to curl into a grin. It grew wider and wider, stretching all the way back to her ears.

I kept looking at her.

The girl’s smile vanished. She crawled out of the cabinet on all fours like a spider. Seeing that level of flexibility, I smiled warmly; she clearly had the potential to be a star in traditional dance.

“Which family do you belong to? Where are your parents? Why didn’t they give you any shoes? Look at you-I haven’t had a chance to clean the kitchen yet, and now your face is covered in dust.”

I turned around, grabbed a random cloth, dampened it, and gave her face a good wipe.

“There! You look much more refreshed now.”

With her dark hair dampened and her bangs plastered to her forehead, the girl remained on the floor, tilting her head at me in confusion.

“Alright, alright. Big Sister will find you something to eat, but remember not to just wander into other people’s houses next time.”

Looking at the scrawny, thinly-dressed child, I felt a twinge of pity. It seemed her parents weren’t taking very good care of her.

However, the moment I turned my back to grab some bread, the girl vanished without a trace.

Kids these days, I thought, rubbing my forehead with a wry smile.

As I folded the cloth I’d used on her face, it suddenly dawned on me-this was the same rag I’d just used to scrub the floor.

Cough. I felt a prickle of guilt. I just hoped her parents wouldn’t come looking for trouble over it.