"...erry!"
What's going on? It's so noisy... Is someone saying something...?
"Cherry!"
Who's calling me?
"Cherry! If you sleep in a place like this you'll catch a cold!"
A familiar voice... that voice is Lina.
Oh, I guess I fell asleep on the sofa before I knew it. I feel like I had a strange dream, but I don't remember what it was about.
My sleepy brain gradually grasped the situation. In front of me were Lina and Niya, looking at me, but their clothes were different from before.
That's right... Lina was giving Niya a bath.
"Ah... Are you done with your bath? Thank you, Lina. Was there any problem?"
"Hmm. She was a bit surprised at first by the shower, but she got used to it quickly so it's fine!"
"I see... so Lina is in too?"
"I didn't intend to do that at first, but Niya didn't seem to know anything about how to take a bath, so I thought it might be easier to teach her if I tried it myself! So... I took the opportunity to take a bath with her!"
"That's fine, but... the fact that he doesn't even know how to take a bath makes me even more curious about his hometown..."
While Lina and I were talking, my grandpa came out of the kitchen. It seems he had been preparing dinner while I was sleeping.
"Let's eat! Would you like to join us, Lina? We're having chicken today."
"Really?! I love eating it! I love the Gramp's roasted chicken!"
"Okay then, Cherry, help me out."
"Yes."
I left Lina and Niya waiting in the living room, and prepared dishes and food for four people on the dining table. The amount of food Grandpa had made was much larger than usual, and he must have planned for Lina to be there.
After completing the preparations smoothly, Lina and Niya sat down at the table. Lina , who loves our roasted chicken, had her eyes sparkling like a child.
After the two of them, I sat down, and then Grandpa sat down, and the three of us, excluding Niya who was ready, all put our hands together.
"Well then, I'll eat."
"Thank you!"
Lina joins in enthusiastically as grandfather gives his pre-meal speech.
"I'll enjoy having this"
After the two of them, I greeted them, picked up my chopsticks and brought the food to my mouth.
"Delicious! I'm so glad I came to Cherry's house today!"
As Lina munches on her favorite roasted chicken and looks happy, she says these words, and even though I know it's not enough, I feel relieved that I've been able to show her some gratitude, even if just a little.
However, as we continued eating, Niya was the only one who still hadn't touched her food and was glancing around the three of us.
"Niya, what's wrong?"
"You haven't even had a bite yet."
As the three of us looked at her with worried eyes, Niya put down the fork she was holding, put her hands together, and opened her mouth.
"I, I'm here... I'm here..."
With that, Niya picked up her fork again and started to bring food to her mouth. Grandpa seemed very happy with her actions as he replied back.
"Ahh! Enjoy!"
"That's amazing, Niya! So you watched us and copied us, right!?"
"I guess so. Niya really is a smart girl..."
Surprised and excited by Niya's actions, Lina's plate is piled high with chicken, but it is disappearing from the plate at an alarming rate.
"As always, you eat a lot..."
"Because it's delicious! This texture... this roasted chicken is the best, better than any of the famous restaurants!"
"Well, as the cook, I'm happy that so many people are eating the food I made, so it's worth making it. There are still refills available, so please don't hesitate to help yourself."
"thank you!"
Next to Lina, who is happily stuffing herself with a huge amount of chicken, an amount that is surprising considering her slender body, Niya is also munching down one piece of roasted chicken after another with gusto.
Niya's plate was also piled high with chicken, an amount not inferior to Lina's.
"Niya! You don't need to imitate that!"
"Oh Niya you can do it!"
The two of them gobbled down the chicken at incredible speed, as if they were in an eating contest. However, their expressions were filled with happiness, and watching them made us feel warm inside.
Anticipating that Lina would eat a lot, a considerable amount of food had been prepared, but in a short time, everything was gone except for the plates.
It makes cleaning up so much easier when your guests eat their food so neatly.
I head to the kitchen to wash the dishes while Lina and Niya were watching TV together in the living room.
I'm glad Lina became friends with Niya.
Even though it was only for a short time, the burden on Lina was considerable. On top of that, if Niya had not gotten along, the stress Lina would have endured would be incomparable to the stress we would have had if we were simply providing her with food and a place to stay.
Of course, I am well aware that I am causing you a lot of trouble even now. Next time, I will prepare a bigger and more substantial way to thank you.
As I was thinking about this, washing the dishes one by one, I heard a voice call out from behind me.
"Cherry, can I help you?"
It was Lina's voice.
While continuing to wash the dishes, she turns her head slightly to reply.
"What are you talking about? I'm fine on my own, so Lina, you should rest."
I don't want to put any more strain on Lina. We've known each other for a long time, so I know that if I asked her to help me, she would accept with a smile and no complaints.
However, as I have said many times before, the burden on her at the moment is great.
She must be tired even now, having seen almost everything about the life of a girl in a foreign country where she doesn't speak the language.
I still hadn't heard Lina's reply to my response, but as I continued washing the dishes in silence, I suddenly heard her voice, which I had heard from behind me earlier, now coming from my left.
"Yes, give it here."
Looking to my left, Lina was holding a dish towel and holding out her hand, ready to take the dishes from me.
"Take a rest."
"It's okay, it's okay~"
She was probably planning to help me even if I refused... Realizing that it would be pointless to refuse in this situation, I obediently handed him the dishes.
"Well then... I'll leave it to you."
"That's fine! Oh, by the way, are you free tomorrow or the day after?"
"Oh, that reminds me, school is closed. I don't have anything in particular to do either of us."
"Well then, why don't the three of us go for a walk? Come on, Niya doesn't know the area well, so let's go somewhere while I show you around!"
"...Well, Niya feels a bit awkward about staying inside all the time. So, let's go around tomorrow."
"Yay!"
As soon as I had my plans for tomorrow decided, I finished washing the last of the dishes.
"Thanks. I finished quickly thanks to you."
"If only we had done it together from the beginning without being so stubborn, it would have been over much quicker."
"Hey hey, by the way, where's Niya?"
"I thought she was watching TV...huh? She's not here!"
When I returned to the living room with Lina, Niya was gone and my grandfather was inside.
"Niya fell asleep on the sofa again, so I carried her to her room."
"I see! Well then, I guess it's time for me to go home too."
"Thank you again for today, Lina. "
"Don't worry about it! See you tomorrow then. Sorry for bothering you!"
With that, Lina returned home, and after seeing her off, I got ready for bed in my quiet home.
Get in bed and close your eyes.
As my consciousness faded, I couldn't get the dream I had just had out of my head, and I couldn't even remember what it was about.