"Me, me!"
She repeatedly says "me" and holds out the toothpick she is holding, as if pleading for something.
"Cherry... Did the young lady just speak?"
"Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, he said 'me'."
I don't know why she spoke now, but I can guess what she's trying to say. "I'm out of candy, give me another one." But the last one is the last candy, and a new one needs to be made.
"Maybe... She's saying, 'This isn't enough.'"
"Do you understand what the girl is saying?"
"There's no proof. It just seems that way."
"I see... It's true that candy won't fill you up. We can share our dinner together. Okay, girl, just wait a moment!"
Grampa heads into the kitchen to prepare a rather late dinner, but she still demands candy.
"I!"
"We're out of candy. I'll prepare a proper meal now, so please wait a little longer."
I knew perfectly well that my message wasn't getting through to her, but not knowing any other way to communicate, I decided to just accept it and continue the conversation as normal. Of course, the only reaction she got from my words was to tilt her head in confusion.
First of all, what does she mean by "I"?
In this country's language, "I" is the word used to refer to oneself, but since she cannot understand any other words, it's normal to think that the connection is slim...
-- Thinking about it isn't going to solve anything. I guess I'll give it a try and say something.
"Listen? The 'I' you're talking about refers to 'me' in this country."
I pointed to myself and told her. I could tell from her expression that she was listening to what I was saying with interest.
"So... if you want to assert yourself in some way, use 'I' ! Understand?"
I wonder what I am seriously trying to teach someone who doesn't speak the same language...
To make it as easy for her to understand, when I say "I" I point to myself and when I say "you" I point to her. Even high school student me knew that it wouldn't go that smoothly, but the situation took an unexpected turn.
"...I...?"
Clearly she was imitating my pronunciation and said "I"
"Haha! That's right, it's me!"
I couldn't help but smile, realizing how happy I was that my words could be understood.
"I... I... I!"
Perhaps she sensed that my expression, which had been tense up until then, had relaxed, as her eyes sparkled and she repeated the words she had just learned with a big smile.
One of the major problems in protecting her was the inability to communicate , but if she continues to learn our language as she is now, there are signs that this problem may be resolved .
Hearing our commotion, grandpa peeked his head in from the kitchen.
"What are you all fussing about?"
"Grandpa! This girl might be able to understand!"
"Me! Me!"
"You understood what we were saying in such a short time?! What a clever girl..."
As Grandpa was surprised to see her pointing at herself and repeatedly saying "I," a gurgling sound echoed through the living room. It was not coming from me or Grandpa, as is often the case in anime, but from her stomach.
"Hahaha, you must be hungry, young lady. Hold on, it'll be ready soon."
She shows no sign of embarrassment about her stomach growling, and has a puzzled look on her face as she touches the spot where the sound is coming from.
Soon after, a fairly late dinner was served on the table. Today's menu was Indian food, but as I had imagined, she was probably not from this country and didn't seem to know how to use hands. I prepared a spoon and fork for her, but she didn't seem to know how to use them either, so she ended up trying to eat with her hand messily.
"Oh come on, you don't even know what a spoon is?"
That being said, I felt uncomfortable about allowing her to continue eating messily with her hands. So I switched from hand to spoon and started eating, hoping that by showing her how to use spoons, she should be able to use the spoon by watching me.
Her appearance is by no means graceful, but watching her as she diligently puts the dinner into her mouth, despite her unfamiliar hands, and the look of delight on her face, somehow makes me feel warm inside.
--Is this what a parent feels like? I'm still in high school though.
After we finished eating dinner, which took longer than usual, and had finished cleaning up, grandpa made a suggestion.
"Cherry, I was thinking, instead of calling her 'Girl' forever, why don't we pick a name for her while we're here?"
It's true that it would be inconvenient to spend a long time with her without even giving her a name.
"That's true... What name should we give it?"
"You decide, Cherry. If I choose the name it will probably sound old-fashioned."
Still, he wasn't about to suddenly become her godfather, so he folded his arms and tilted his head. Even if it was only temporary, he was thinking about something as important as a name. There was no way he wouldn't be careful.
At a time like this, instead of creating something from nothing, wouldn't it be better to use something that could be associated with her as the origin? However, it's only been a few hours since I met her... there's almost nothing that I can associate with her.
The fact that she had eaten the candy and that she was not from this country came to mind, but I didn't know how to connect that to her nickname.
As I turned around, still troubled, I saw her dozing off on the sofa, full and satisfied, holding something in her hands.
--That was the white flower that led me to find her.
That's right. Speaking of her, this is it!
I had so much to think about that I forgot, but when I started thinking of a name that would be derived from this mysterious flower which looks like a white Tsiniya, the only thing she had, a name suddenly popped into my head,
" ... Tsiniya .....Niya "
The words that came out of my mouth unconsciously were not missed by my grandpa.
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
" How about Niya ? It's same as the "white flower" in her hand.White Flower Tsiniya"
It's nothing special, but I tell myself it's better than putting too much thought into it and coming up with a complicated name.
"Niya.. isn't that nice? It's like her."
"Okay, that's it!"
Grandpa also agreed. I turned to face her again and tried to tell her my name, but she was already asleep on the sofa.
"Oh dear, you fell asleep."
It's no wonder. It must have been a hectic day for Niya, and she must be bloated and exhausted. I feel bad about waking her up, so I don't move her, but cover her with a blanket and leave her there.
The hectic day was finally over.