Chapter 3

``Good evening.''

Rei, who had just returned home, did not put her schoolbag down, and opened the door of the adjacent house.

``Ara, Rei-chan. Okaerinasai.''

Yoshino's mother, Rei's aunt, appeared in the entranceway in a cooking apron while waving. She had been cooking potatoes, and the smell wafted over to Rei. Today Yoshino would probably eat her favorite meal.

``Has Yoshino returned from the hospital?''

``Yes, about thirty minutes ago. Because in her checkup they drew a lot of blood, she went to sleep after.''

Rei's aunt looked up at the second floor and said. From her facial expression, it seemed that Yoshino had gone to sleep, but she was not feeling too bad. For many years now, after Yoshino would go through checkups, she would become very tired.

``Is there some message you would want me to deliver to her?''

``No, it's alright. Because I hadn't come to the hospital with her, I was just worried whether she had come back or not.''

``Is that all?''

She knew everything up to Yoshino entering the tax, but she didn't know what happened after. If she knew that Yoshino had returned her rosary and had left the school as if she were cutting off ties with Rei, she would get angry enough to have a heart attack.

``Rei-chan.''

She had turned to leave, but her aunt called out to her to stop.

``What happened between you and Yoshino?''

Her heart rang.

``Why? What did Yoshino say?''

Turning around, Rei asked.

``That girl hadn't said anything, but somehow I think something happened.''

Her aunt was a clever mother. Even though Yoshino had not said anything, she was able to guess that something had probably happened.

``It was just a small argument. It's fine, we'll soon make up, so don't worry.''

Because Rei had not made sense of her feelings yet, it was difficult talking to her aunt. Even though it will be cruel, when she would next meet with Yoshino, she would carefully ask Yoshino her true feelings about herself.

``So ......''

``Ah, Rei-chan.''

This was the second time her aunt had called her to stop after she had turned her back.

``Rei-chan, uh - -''

She waited but, her aunt did not say any fiery words.

``Aunt?'' (Me: Saying ``Obaasan'' in Japanese is polite, which is roughly ``Aunt'' in English, but of course there is no last name attached, which is impolite in English.)

Maybe her aunt thought that something had happened to Yoshino's body? But that seemed too suspicious. When her aunt finally said the long awaited words, Rei felt as if she had tired herself out.

``Since I made a little too much beef and potato stew, would you ask your mother to let you come and pick it up?''

Her aunt's beef and potato stew was a little too sweet for the tastes of the Hasekura family.