Didn’t pass quite a lot of time and a maid appeared in my door and told me that launch is done and they’ll serve it. I went out of the room sighing because I absolutely didn’t want to eat with them. I didn’t have the mood to watch their sniffy look… I was wondering about this as I followed the girl. In the dining room, which I saw for the first time, was my father and the little girl already there. Whose name I didn’t know yet. She was just smiling and took her place beside mine.

"I hope you calmed down." my father looks at me and I nod.

"Yes, I did." I answered which surprised him abit. 'Your precious little son helped me in it...' I added it in myself.

"Do you always wear that thingy?" looked at me the little girl with wide and interested eyes whereupon I gazed up at her.

"This?" I point to my noseband, whereupon she nods and starts swinging her legs on the chair.

"Uhuh, that..."

"Yes, I always have this on!" as soon as I answer, my ’nice’ step-mother enters then takes her place at the other side of the table, in front of my father. After some seconds my still insulted brother comes in. In that moment everyone’s eye widen and I have to really hold myself back not to start snicker.

"Oh my god!" swoons the Witch. "What happened to you, my son?!" she touches his face.

"I wanted to take a book off the shelf and I accidently pushed another off." he says and I disguise my laugh as a cough. And he immediately looks at me.

"Sorry..." I clear my throat. "Sometimes my throat sores..." I look at the girl instead.

"Next time be more careful, Sweetheart!"

"Okay." he says then we start eating. The maids because there are now more than one... are bringing the plenty of food out and I almost can't get enough of the sight. However I eat a little... recently I didn't ate that much so just my eyes wants so much food. Yesterday at Tora's I didn't take much but I did eat it all. 

"Thank you." I put down the chopsticks whereupon everybody looks at me because they were still eating. 

"Why don't you eat more?" aks father.

"Because I'm already full." I answer and start to watch the little girl who's stuggling with the chopsticks because she can't hold them properly yet.

"Jesus! Ayumi! Don't be such clumsy... oh god!" sighs the Witch but her sentence was full of reprehension. The girl lowers her head then tries one more time. "God!" shakes her head the Crone whereupon the girl lumps down from the chair and sniffing with teary eyes she rushes out of the room.

"You shouldn't talk like that to her, Yoriko!" I look at the end of the table and my brother doesn't do anything just continues eating. 'How much of -kickers they are! My father not to go after her! Or this Silk boy!' I shake my head then stay up from the table.

"Nobody said you can leave!" says indignantly the Crone.

"Nobody asked either!" I talk back whereupon the chopsticks fell out of the hands of my father and the Silk boy gapes too. I then go out of the dining room before someone could say anything. As I go out I glimpse the old man so I walk to him.

"Excuse me, but didn't you saw..."

"...Ayumi?" he asks back and I start nodding. "She ran towards the garden." he says whereupon I head off that direction where he pointed. "But the Young Master won't find her."

"And why?" I turn back.

"She hides everytime so good that nobody ever have found her if she didn't wanted to."

"I see, but I try it anyway." I respond whereupon he nods and we both would leave.

"And..." I turn back, he stops and looks at me.

"And?"

"Er... please don't tell anyone that I went after the girl."

"I didn't saw anything." he bows then leaves. And I go towards the backyard. As I exit I immediately gape. I don't even see the end of the garden. Mostly because there's wooded part. 'God! How many unnecessary money does he have!' I amaze. 'I knew that this is the beauty of the city... but not so...' I go down the stairs then randomly I go towards the forest. 'If I were hurt little girl then where would I hide?' I ask myself. 'Damn! But I'm not a little girl...' I sigh then I go into one direction. I'm just roaming between the trees for a half an hour now, when I become aware that I lost between the all same trees.

"This can't be true!" I sigh. "This is just what I needed! I hope there's a watchdog here too which doesn't like strangers, then I'm sure I'll be dinner..." I sigh.

"What are you doing here?" I hear a familiar voice suddenly whereupon I jump. I put my hand on my heart while I turn around.

"Do not fighten me, okay?" I blow out a bunch of air and go closer to her. "And I'm looking for a sweet little girl!" I crouch in front of her and her nose whereupon she laughs. "Nah, you see! Laughing fits you better!" On this she starts smiling again,

"You're not that as mommy described you..."

"Why?" I sit down on the ground cross-legged. "What did mommy say?" I ask.

"Well that..." she starts then from a sudden though she sits in my lap. "That you're a very bad boy and you come here to..." she starts to think for a second, meanwhile she reaises her index finger to and looks upwards. "to... to... embitter our lives." she blinks innocently at me.

"Did she really say that?"

"Yes!" she starts nodding proudly that she could remember and tell what the Crone said. 'So I'm a bad boy who wants to embitter her life? Uhuh...' I start to nod.

"Why are you nodding?" she blinks at me.

"I was just thinking." I smile at her. 'She's so different... what could the reason be that that woman treats her that rough?' I muse.

"And about what?" 

"About why your mother's so mean to you..." I look in her eyes whereupon she grows sad. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you sad!" I her head.

"I don't know why she's like that... she always scolds me whenever I don't know something..." she says sadly.

"But the mother's role isn't about hurting her child... my mother for example always told me a tale when I was little. And she rocked me on her legs when I was as old as you now and when I couldn't sleep she my back."

"Really?" she astonishes.

"Yes." I nod.

"My mother never did these... she always have something else to do... she always so nice to my brother..."

"Hm... I don't know what it reason could be but I'm sure that she likes you as much as him!" I say however I don't feel like so. From what I saw today I can clarify that she likes her older child more and she would do anything for him. The way she looks at her son and calls him... she doesn't have any bad words to him. She didn't even scold him when he was late two days ago... I think he needed to be at home when I was brought here... but just a 'no problem' was the answer, not a reprehension. Poor little girl get called down for not being able to hold the chopsticks right. I wonder for what other things gets she decried. I think this type of man isn't a mother...

"You think?" turns her head a little and I nod. And she starts to smile. Smiling fits much more better to a girl cute like her, than mopeing. 

"Do you think I'm a bad boy?" I question her.

"What? No! You're not bad at all... I think your very nice. Much more nicer than my brother..." she says and suddenly put her hands over . "Oh! I-I... didn't want to... I..."

"It's okay!" I take her hands from . "It doesn't matter if you say this. You can say anything before me." I smile at her whereupon she looks back a little bit timidly. "You know what?" I look in her eyes.

"What?"

"If something bothers you then you can tell me! I won't be mad or reprove you!" I her face.

"Really? Can I?"

"Of course you can! I don't hurt you and I hear you with pleasure!" I smile at her reassuringly whereupon she smiles too. "And you know what? Be this place both of our secret! If something will bother you, we'll talk it here, okay?"

"Okay!" she starts jubilating. "I haven't had common secret with anybody!" 

"Well you'll have now!" 

"And... will you tell me what bothers you?"

"Yes, I'll tell you." I nod and she becomes happier.

"Then, why are you sad?" she asks and I'm taken aback.

"What?"

"I could see that you're sad... and you don't get along with daddy. Moreover! You dare to tell him your opinion..."

"What do you mean? I dare to tell him my opinion?"

"Well... many don't dare to contradict him..."

"I see..."

"But! you still didn't tell me what bothers you!" she says and I sigh. Then I start to tell her a story. A story about a woman who fell in love with a rich man. She married him and gave a birth to a child, but the man wasn't satisfied with his then life and searched another woman's favor... and turned her adrift. A tale about how the left-alone woman worked for what she had and how she raised her child. How much she did suffer meanwhile her child's father lived in the biggest comfort, luxury and peace.
I know that she doesn't understand all of the details since she's still young. But with the help of a tale she understands easier the happenings and things. A tale to a little girl like her is more than reasoning or reproving. I know about myself that my attention could kept busy with a story. If mom wanted to teach me something, if she wanted to tell me something important, she always told me a story...

"Woww... how evil was that man. And poor mother..." she said sadly. 

"You know... my mom went through the same thing."

"What? No! It can't be!"

"Yes, she did." I start nodding. "It's not even a week that she's with the angels." I say whereupon she starts crying and falls on my neck. I didn't have the intention of making her cry. I didn't want to... but as her little body was shaking I felt more that she could be the only thing for that I need to stay here. For her and nobody else. This little girl wouldn't deserve to be hurt by that evil Hag. No... a little girl doesn't deserve this. Nobody would deserve harm... those not who does just good to the world.

After she calmed down, I tired to make her happy and I played with her. She enjoyed it so much. We played hide and seek and tag. She laughed so self-abandoned that it made me smile too and for a while all of my problems was gone, I forgot what is really going on around me. I forgot that mom died, that I got to a new surrounding, that how lonely I was... That little girl was surrounded by so much life, spirit, pure love and honor that for a short time it stickedon me too.

"Ayumi!" I crouch in front of her in the shadows of the trees. "Then it stays our secret, right?"

"Right!" she pretends that she zips and hasps then throws the key away.

"All right!" I smile at her and I do it too for her sake. "Then it's our secret!"

"Yes!" she says proudly.

"Can I ask you something else?" whereupon she starts to nod.

"Of course! What?"

"I'd like to ask you not to tell anyone that we were together this afternoon."

"Okay! I won't tell anyone!" she says happily.

Chapter 5!!!!!!!!!

I hope you'll enjoy it!! m(_ _)m

Next time! BYE!! ＼（^０＾）／