episode_0002

When she first set foot in the mansion, I felt both a sense of wonder and, on the other hand, worry.

She was someone who came to such a large house for the first time at a very young age, and I couldn’t imagine how unfamiliar and awkward this place would be for her.

But Mother didn’t think that way; she approached her and said calmly,

“This place is large and can be a bit complicated. It will be difficult at first. But you’ll get used to it over time, so don’t worry.”

Those words were actually words I was telling myself as well. The mansion was truly large, and even for me, who had lived here for so long, it sometimes felt too vast and lonely.

It was clear that it would take time for a young child to adapt to living in such a place.

However, I was curious how quickly she would be able to adapt here.

Walking around each room of the mansion, I explained each one to her.

Mainly, the wide corridors and large living room, and the beautiful sunlight coming through the large windows, helped to calm my mind a little.

But her expression was still awkward, and she often looked around even while following me. I couldn’t tell what kind of burden the size and grandeur of the mansion would be for her.

I could read the look of unease on her face.

“This is your first time staying here, right? This house is quite big, so you’ll feel better as you gradually get used to it.”

I tried to approach her a little more comfortably, but she still felt a bit distant from me.

Perhaps she thought I was still unfamiliar to her.

To ease that feeling even a little, I suggested taking her to my room.

“You can rest comfortably here. The room is spacious, and the bed is big, so you’ll like it.”

She seemed a little flustered, but she still nodded. It was as if she had seen so much upon arriving at the big house that she didn’t know where to start.

During the days in the mansion, she spent a lot of time alone.

I had a busy schedule to follow, and Mother was teaching her various things.

From then on, I became interested in how she would adapt to the mansion and how she would live her life here.

As days and nights passed, I could see her gradually getting used to the mansion.

At first, she stayed only in her room, but now she would walk around the corridors and read books in the living room. Her smile, which had felt awkward at first, gradually became more natural, and that smile reassured me little by little.

Of course, she was still somewhat clumsy and occasionally flustered, but I could increasingly see signs of her adapting in her appearance.

One day, before evening came, I went out to the garden with her.

The garden was a quiet and peaceful space.

When she first came out to the garden holding my hand, that sight felt a little special. The flowers and trees in the garden, and the cool air—I wondered if it offered her some comfort too? I observed her expression for a moment.

“Isn’t it really beautiful here?”

I spoke, and she nodded for the first time. [Yes…]

I could feel a little relief in her voice. At that moment, I felt somewhat reassured.

I had the feeling that she was properly settling in here. Of course, she wasn’t completely used to it yet, but I could feel that this house was becoming a little more familiar to her now. Seeing her like that, I felt a growing joy in my heart.

As she gradually adapted to the mansion, I felt something else. She was quietly creating her own space amidst the mansion’s tranquility.

In the morning, it became natural for her to first tend to the small garden or sit in the living room reading a book.

At first, everything was clumsy and unfamiliar, but now I felt that she was becoming a part of the mansion.

“Are you okay now?”

One day, I asked her that.

She smiled slightly and said, [Yes, now… I’m okay.]

I felt relieved in my heart. I was happy that she was naturally integrating into this house. And I started to realize that this fact was perhaps much more precious than I had expected.

————————————————————–

When I first set foot in the mansion, I felt my steps trembling.

It was a place completely different from the world I knew. The walls stretched high, and the sound of my footsteps echoed emptily with each step.

In that vast space, I felt like a tiny speck of dust.

I knew well why I was here, but I had no idea what I should do in this house or how I should live here.

He approached me and spoke. At that moment, I looked closely at his face.

His face didn’t give off a particularly kind feeling, but to me, it felt warmer than any words.

He explained to me how I should stay here, describing the structure of the mansion piece by piece, and as he showed me my room, he said,

“It will be unfamiliar at first, but you’ll get used to it little by little, and it will be better. I also felt awkward when I first came here.”

There was an intention to give me confidence in his words. But I still had questions.

“Why is he treating me so well? Do I deserve this kind of treatment?” Anxiety rose deep in my heart.

He was someone I had just met, so why was he caring for me like this? Such thoughts made me confused.

On my first day at the mansion, I was slightly flustered each time he approached me. He always took meticulous care of me.

In the morning, he would wait outside my room and quietly watch next to me until I ate the food that was prepared.

When I asked a question, he would always look at me first before answering.

“Is there anything uncomfortable?” was a question I heard frequently.

But every time I answered that question, I still couldn’t understand why he was being so considerate towards me.

One day, as evening approached and I was walking alone in the garden, he suddenly appeared beside me. That day was one when I specifically needed time alone, which is why I had gone out to the garden.

Spending time alone in the garden was a comfort to me. But I felt uncomfortable at the fact that he had sought me out. He stood next to me and silently gazed at the garden for a moment.

[“Beautiful… really,” ]

He nodded and said, “Yes, spending time here makes your heart feel peaceful.”

His voice was a little softer than usual.

Unconsciously, I thought he was getting too close to me. The question, ‘Why is he taking care of me like this?’ kept lingering in my mind. This was because I didn’t know the reason why he was treating me so well.

Every time he spoke, I wondered why he was treating me so well, what the reason was. He seemed to care about me, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“Why is he treating me so well?” the thought kept circling in my mind.

The words I heard often were, “We will treat you like family.”

But every time I heard those words, while I felt grateful on one hand, I also doubted their sincerity on the other.

Could there be someone who would treat me so well without any reason? In all my experiences, I had never met such a person. I wanted to know why he was paying so much attention to me.

As a few days passed, I gradually opened my heart to him.

The consideration he showed me seemed to be for my well-being, but I still didn’t know why he was treating me so well.

At first, his actions made me uncomfortable, but as I gradually learned that he was a kind and gentle person, I felt increasingly comfortable in my relationship with him.

The longer I spent talking with him, I couldn’t tell if the kindness he showed came simply from a caring heart for me, or if he had a bad intention.

But I was gradually building trust in the way he thought about me.

Nevertheless, the question, “Why is he treating me so well?” still remained unanswered. I wondered why he was taking such care of me and trying to tell me what I should do.

Each time that happened, I felt gratitude for his words, but at the same time, I also felt a little flustered.

One day, he said to me, “Are you living comfortably here?”

Upon hearing that, I thought for a moment and then wrote in my notebook [“Yes… awkward at first… used to it now.”]

He smiled contentedly. “Yes, it’s important that you live well here.”

At his words, I once again harbored a question in my heart. Why was he treating me so well, what was the reason? I wanted to believe that he was truly thinking of me.

Nevertheless, the doubt about why he was treating me so well still didn’t disappear.

However, at that moment, I realized. Perhaps his consideration was so natural that I was afraid to accept it. Was I perhaps too doubtful and anxious?

He was kind and gentle to me, and the thought that he was someone I could trust and rely on grew stronger and stronger.

But still, the question of why he was treating me so well remained unanswered.