Approaching to Toma, Kaia said softly, "Hello."
But seeing this beautiful sight made him freeze.
Seeing him like that, Kaia looked confused and said loudly, "Hello!"
Hearing this, Toma came to his senses and said, "Sorry, I just spaced out… because of something."
She asked, "Because of what?"
He replied, "It's nothing important. But… why are you here?"
She said, "I was running away from home. Please hide me."
Hearing this, he said, "Why me? We've only met twice. And why are you running away from home?"
She replied while starting to walk, "You're the only one I know around here. The reason I ran away is because my parents are very strict. They don't let me do what I want—they only try to shape me into what they want."
Toma stood silently, listening to what Kaia had to say. She continued, "Are you going to help me hide or not?"
Scratching the back of his head, Toma said, "You ran away from home, but I see you didn't bring anything with you."
To this, Kaia said, "When I ran away, I was in the middle of a quarrel with my parents. I strongly disagreed with what they were saying, and I ran out. That's why I have nothing."
While saying this, her face looked like she was about to cry.
Listening to this, Toma said, "You can stay at the orphanage where I live—if Ms. Saint agrees."
Saying this, he started walking and said to her, "Follow me."
Hearing that Toma was an orphan, Kaia felt bad about what had happened that day. She silently followed him from behind.
Looking at Toma from the back, he looked like someone you could trust… someone you could follow.
After ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a small house. It was unclear when it was last painted, but it was clean—there wasn't any dust or anything dirty around the house. Nearby, there were many types of plants—vegetables and flowers—making this otherwise ordinary-looking house appear perfect.
As they reached the house, Kaia could see an old lady sitting on a chair outside, cutting vegetables.
Seeing someone come home with Toma, she stood up.
Before the lady could say anything, Kaia quickly said, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Saint. I'm Kaia, a friend of—"
She stopped, realizing she didn't even know the boy's name.
To save her from the awkwardness, Toma said, "You forgot again—it's Toma. Don't forget this time."
Hearing this, Ms. Saint turned to Toma and asked, "Who is this girl?"
Toma replied, "A friend I made this week."
Hearing this made Ms. Saint very happy. She said to Kaia, "Thank you for being friends with our little Toma."
Kaia was confused after hearing this. She had expected Ms. Saint to get angry—to yell at Toma for bringing a friend, and even worse, a girl, into the orphanage.
She said quickly, "It's nothing. I'm just a friend. It's not a big deal."
To this, Ms. Saint replied, "It is! Before you, the only person he ever brought home in the name of a 'friend' was Nana. This is the first time I've seen him with a child his own age. And it's a girl. Our Toma is really growing up."
Hearing this, Kaia blushed and said, "It's not like what you're thinking. We're just friends!"
Toma added, "Stop teasing her. And I have a small request… Can we let her stay at the orphanage for a few days?"
Ms. Saint agreed without any objection and said to Toma, "Take her inside."
Hearing this, Toma led Kaia inside and showed her the small house.
Through the main gate, there was a small hall with a sitting area. Past that was another hall. On one side was a dining table, and four doors: one led to the kitchen, one to Ms. Saint's room, one to the children's room (where Toma lived alone), and the last was a door that led to the bathroom and toilet area. At the end of the hallway, there was a backdoor.
After showing her around, Toma took her to his room, had her sit on his bed, and said, "Rest here. I'll be back in a bit."
He left Kaia alone in his room.
Looking around, Kaia noticed the room didn't have many things. It was very simple—not very decorated. It was the simplest room Kaia had ever seen.
In the room, there was a bed (which she was sitting on), a trunk under the bed, a table and chair beside a window.
From the window, she could see the garden filled with many flowers.
As Kaia took in everything, there was a small knock at the door.
She said, "It's open."
Ms. Saint came inside, sat beside her, and asked, "Why are you friends with Toma?"
She wasn't joking. Kaia felt tense at the question.
After taking a deep breath, she answered, "Toma is the first person who talked to me like a normal human being—not like anyone else. Even my own parents never gave me the chance to speak my mind. But Toma… he says what he wants to say. Like when he gets annoyed with Nana at work, he just says it—and they argue. But me? I don't even have the choice to get annoyed."
Listening to this, Ms. Saint gave Kaia a warm hug.
And to that hug, Kaia thought,
"It's warm."