"How do you like it, Mr. Kazimir?!"
With another bite, the young man nods.
"It's very good, Khristina. I actually haven't had ice cream since my sister's death, so it's a bit nostalgic for me."
"Was caramel strawberry her favorite?" Khristina asks, swinging her legs back and forth.
"Yep."
The small girl smiles.
"So what's yours?"
Kazimir takes another bite before answering.
"My favorite is cookie dough."
"REALLY?!" Khristina screams, catching the young detective a bit off-guard. "That's Alexei's favorite, too! You both have a lot in common, Mr. Kazimir! You both don't talk much unless it's to me of course, very tall, and you both even wear the same color shoes!"
Kazimir chuckles.
"I suppose we do. Oh, here comes Dréy."
Khristina turns forward and she waves over to her older brother.
"Khrissy, what I told you 'bout making trips on your own to stores and shit?" Dréy asks, sitting down on the bench next to his sister.
"Sorry, Dréy! I was hungry and you didn't have any snacks in the house!"
The older male rolls his eyes.
"There's deadass a bag of Doritos in the cabinet, along wit' a package of cookies."
"But I didn't want that! I wanted food! And you wouldn't take me to get any! So I did what mama always said; be an independent girl and do things myself!" Khristina says, putting her a hand on her hip.
"That ain't even what she meant by that." Dréy replies with a sigh. "Don't leave the crib when I'm not watching, a'ight?"
"Okay!" Khristina says, smiling.
She takes another lick of her ice cream, before handing it to her older brother.
"I'm full, so you can have the rest, Dréy. Now, guess what?!"
"What?" Dréy asks, taking a bite out of the soft dessert.
"Mr. Kazimir's gonna go back to Japan to visit his mama and papa!"
Dréy nods.
"What part you from, Kash?"
"I'm from Yamagata." Kazimir replies.
"My folks went there to vacation once. They said it was nice."
Kazimir shrugs.
"Yeah, it's alright. I like Aomori better. Anyway, I guess I should start packing. The next flight leaves in two days."
"A'ight, I'll see you later, chief. I 'preciate you watchin' Khristina for me, too. Here, it ain' much but it's all I got on me right now."
Dréy hands Kazimir $50,000 in cash, who shakes his head.
"It's fine, Dréy. It's quite a blast getting to take care of Khristina."
"You sure, bruh?"
Kazimir nods.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"A'ight, if you say so. Don't hesitate to call me if you need it for your flight or somethin'." Dréy says, putting the money back in his pocket.
"I won't, thanks."
The young detective squats down to Khristina's height and pats her shoulder.
"If you listen to your brother, I'll bring you back a gift, okay?"
The little girl excitedly jumps up and down.
"If I listen everyday, does that mean I'll get a gift for every day you're there?!"
Dréy grabs his younger sister's arm, pulling her away from Kazimir.
"Khrissy, let that man go pack." he says, before turning to Kazimir. "Aye, you ain't gotta feel pressured to buy her somethin'."
"It's alright. Really." Kazimir says with a small chuckle.
Khristina runs over to the young man, hugging his torso.
"Have a good trip, Mr. Kazimir!"
"I will, Khristina. Goodbye for now."
"Bye bye!" she shyly says, smiling up at Kazimir.
"Aye, stay safe mane. Enjoy yourself, too." Dréy adds with a smile.
Kazimir gives Dréy a small smile back.
"I'll try my best. Goodbye."
The young detective waves at the two siblings as he walks back to his car, chuckling at Khristina's request.
"A gift everyday, huh?"
--- Two days later: Yamagata, Japan; 12:37 A.M. ---
"It's been so long, I honestly forgot about the time difference."
From the back of the taxi cab's window, Kazimir smiles as he looks up at the large buildings.
Yamagata had been his childhood hometown for about 11 years. A sense of calmness suddenly overcame him as soon as he stepped foot onto the ground from the 12 hour flight.
"Oh, this is my stop."
The cab stops in front of a small, countryside house.
Paying the fare, Kazimir thanks the driver who nods and drives off.
"I probably should've told them I was coming to visit."
Knocking on the front door, the young man steps back and waits for one of his parents to open it.
Two minutes pass and still no answer.
"They're probably in a deep sleep." Kazimir says to himself, knocking on the front door again.
After another two minutes, the young man sighs and walks over to a window, trying his best to peek in through the curtains.
*SCHWING!*
Jumping back, he puts his hands up and cocks his head slightly down to his left, raising a brow as his father pointed a large knife towards him through the other side of the glass.
"Well, shit. One hell of a "welcome home, son.""
Kazimir watches as his father rolls his eyes and shakes his head, making his way over to the front door.
"Only my son would pull something as stupid as this."
Mr. Cizetto sighs and opens the door a bit wider for his young son to come in.
"What're you even doing here this late?" the older man asks, watching as Kazimir made his way into the kitchen.
Kazimir opens the refrigerator, grabbing an apple.
"I came to visit. I just needed a break from the city, that's all."
"Nikolai, who was that at the door?"
Mr. Cizetto turns around to his wife and shrugs.
"Why don't you see for yourself, Yuriko?"
The older woman raises a brow and walks past her husband, making her way into the kitchen, her brown eyes lighting up in pure happiness.
"My Kazimirie! Welcome home!"
She runs over to her son, giving him a kiss and a large hug.
"Hey, mama. Thanks for the hug, I needed it."
The woman pulls back and smiles up at the young man.
"You're always welcome for one, Kazimir! My goodness, it seems as if you've gotten more taller than before!" Mrs. Cizetto exclaims, before turning to her husband. "Honey, I think our baby boy has even grown taller than you!"
"Yeah, it does seem like that." Mr. Cizetto replies, shrugging. "How's work treating you, son?"
"It's treating." Kazimir replies, taking a small tea pot from off of the stove. "By the way, I've met someone special that I'd like you two to see as well."
"Oh my!" Mrs. Cizetto says, clasping her hands together. "I think we might be getting grandchildren soon!"
Shaking his head, Kazimir takes out his phone.
"Well, no mama. I've taken in a little girl while both of her brothers are away at school. One has a five hour drive and the other lives an hour away. Here, I'll let you have a look."
Taking the phone from her son, Mrs. Cizetto looks down at the picture and smiles.
"She's an adorable little girl! What's her name?"
"Khristina-Bella. Her father is the late co-CEO of that one airline company." Kazimir replies, pouring himself a cup of tea.
"You mean to tell me, that you, my son, is taking care of a high-profiled child?" Mr. Cizetto asks. "I didn't expect that much from you, Kazimir. Well done."
He pats his young son's shoulder and gives him a smile.
"Thanks, dad. I've got a lot of stories about her if you wanna hear more."
Mrs. Cizetto nods.
"Yes, yes! We'd love to hear more! Let's talk some in the living room!"
For about two hours, the small family sits in the living room as Kazimir tells stories about the small adventures he and Khristina constantly took.
"Afterwards, we got ice cream. Well, Khristina did."
Mrs. Cizetto warmly smiles.
"She's quite the dessert-loving girl, hmm?"
"I'll let you both meet her one day, with her brothers' permission, of course. I know she'd like to visit." Kazimir replies, chuckling.
"That'd be wonderful. Oh, her brothers can come along too! The more, the merrier!"
"I'll tell them that, mama." Kazimir says, as he turns to his father. "Well, I guess the stories were equivalent to fairytales according to dad."
Turning to her snoring husband, Mrs. Cizetto laughs.
"I'm sure it's past his bedtime. You should get some sleep too, Kazimirie."
The young detective nods and stands up.
"Yeah, I could use it. Goodnight, mama."
"Goodnight, my sweet." Mrs. Cizetto replies, guiding her husband back to bed.
Before going to sleep, Kazimir stops in front of his sister's bedroom.
He turns the light on and sighs.
"It's still in a good state."
Making his way over to her bed, the young man sits on top of it, touching one of the many pillows.
"Hey, Camille. How have you been? I'm sure you've heard a lot about Khristina; she reminds me of you in so many ways. If you were still here, I think you'd both click."
He sighs and looks up at the ceiling for a few seconds.
"Well, goodnight."
Getting up, the young detective begins to walk over to the door, a feeling of something lightly touching his shoulder.
"What the hell?"
Kazimir turns around, only to see nothing. Shaking his head, he turns off the room light and heads towards his own room.
"I must be fucking drained."