Matsuse, nestled in the warm and cozy quilt, curled up like a docile kitten. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her slightly tossing body gradually quieted down. Her breathing became steady and even, and before she knew it, she had entered a sweet dream.
Grandma sat quietly by the bed, her hands, marked with years and wrinkles, gently placed on Matsuse's forehead. Her hand trembled slightly, as if carrying endless worry and concern. Grandma carefully felt her granddaughter's forehead temperature, and only after confirming there were no signs of fever did her heart, which had been hanging high, finally settle back a little.
Grandma stroked Matsuse's hair with loving tenderness, her movements as gentle as a breeze over a lake. She whispered softly,
"Matsuse, Grandma only has you as a relative now. You must not let anything happen to you! As long as you can grow up safe and healthy, Grandma would willingly give up everything..."
As she spoke, Grandma's eyes gradually welled up, and tears sparkled faintly in the corners of her eyes.
It was unclear how much time had passed; the surroundings were so quiet that only the occasional sound of raindrops hitting leaves could be heard.
"Mmm~~" A lazy and confused sound broke the silence, and the sleeping Komatsuse slowly woke up. She squinted, gazing vaguely at the ceiling, her eyes empty and unfocused, as if still immersed in the dream she had just had, unable to extricate herself. After staring blankly for a while, she gradually came back to her senses, and her consciousness slowly began to clear.
Komatsuse rubbed her sleepy eyes with her hand, then shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake off all the lingering drowsiness in her mind.
Immediately after, Komatsuse, as if suddenly remembering something important, sat up abruptly from the bed and nervously muttered to herself,
"How much time has passed? Where is Yoizumi? Nothing bad happened, did it?"
At this thought, her heart instantly leaped to her throat. She quickly jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and hurried barefoot around the room, searching for Grandma and Yoizumi.
"Grandma! Grandma, where are you?" Komatsuse called out anxiously, scurrying through the rooms like a headless fly. Just then, she suddenly heard Grandma's familiar voice from the kitchen.
"I'm here!"
Upon hearing this voice, Komatsuse let out a long sigh of relief, then unhesitatingly dashed towards the kitchen. As soon as she rushed in, she eagerly asked,
"Grandma, how long have I been asleep? And Yoizumi, has he come back?"
Grandma was hunched over, sitting by the stove, adding kindling to the fire. The pot gurgled with the sound of boiling water. She turned her head and saw the barefoot Komatsuse, immediately asking with concern,
"Oh, my dear little one, you're not even wearing shoes! What if you catch a cold?"
Komatsuse then realized she hadn't worn shoes and had run out. She scratched her face a little awkwardly.
"Grandma, don't worry about that. Has Yoizumi returned?"
"You, you've only known him for a little while and you're already so concerned about him. Don't worry, you've only slept for a short while."
Hearing the teasing in Grandma's words, Komatsuse's face instantly turned red, and she quietly defended herself,
"I didn't..."
Her voice clearly lacked much conviction.
"Go quickly and put on your shoes. Grandma has made you some porridge; it will be ready to drink soon."
"Okay, Grandma."
...Having put on her shoes, Komatsuse stood at the main entrance. The rain was still falling steadily outside, and the air was filled with the smell of earth. She stared into the distance for a long time, but the person she hoped to see did not appear. Feeling a little disappointed, she squatted on the ground, resting her head on her hand, muttering,
"Why isn't he back yet?"
Suddenly, an unsettling thought popped into her head.
"He wasn't abducted by someone, was he?"
Komatsuse merely thought this, and her anxiety grew even stronger.
It wasn't until Grandma's call that she snapped back to reality. Komatsuse slowly walked into the kitchen, and at a glance, she saw that the broken ceiling was still dripping water continuously. The drops splattered on the ground, making some parts of the formerly dry floor wet.
A faint aroma of rice and fresh vegetables filled the kitchen. It turned out that a pot of rice porridge was cooking, mixed with many vibrant green vegetable leaves. The rich aroma was like an invisible hand, gently stirring the hunger in Komatsuse's stomach.
"Grumble~" Komatsuse's stomach grumbled uncooperatively.
"Child, are you hungry?"
Grandma heard the sound, turned around, and asked gently. As she spoke, she picked up a spoon, scooped a large spoonful of porridge from the pot, and carefully poured it into a bowl. However, there wasn't much rice in the pot to begin with, and after this one scoop, the already thin porridge instantly lost nearly half of its rice grains.
"Here, this is for you." Grandma smiled and handed the bowl full of porridge to Komatsuse. Afterward, she served herself a bowl, but what was in her bowl was more like rice water than porridge, as there were hardly any rice grains, only a few scattered vegetable leaves floating on top.
"The rest must be saved for Yoizumi."
Grandma gently blew on her own steaming rice water while affectionately telling Komatsuse.
Komatsuse looked at the full bowl of porridge in her hands, then at Grandma's almost empty bowl of rice water, and couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion and a pang of sadness.
"Grandma, I really don't need this much!" Komatsuse said, stirring the full, steaming porridge in her bowl with a spoon, then made to scoop out half of it and share it into Grandma's bowl.
Grandma quickly reached out to stop her, smiling as she said, "Child, Grandma is old, and my appetite isn't as good as you young people's; this much is enough for me. But you are at an age where you're growing, so you must eat more, so you can grow tall, strong, and healthy."
Komatsuse felt a surge of emotion at Grandma's words, but still insisted on sharing some with Grandma. However, Grandma gave her no opportunity. She picked up her own bowl, carefully blew on the steam floating above it, and then began to slowly sip the thin rice water, one small mouthful at a time. Each sip seemed so slow and content, as if this simple rice water was the most delicious delicacy in the world.
"Don't just stand there, hurry and eat while it's hot, otherwise it'll get completely cold!" Grandma urged, looking at the still-dazed Matsuse.
Matsuse then came back to her senses, nodded, and also slowly savored the sweet and delicious porridge, mimicking Grandma's manner... Grandma had raised her alone, always saving the best things for her, while she herself had never enjoyed many good days. Komatsuse ate the steaming porridge in her bowl, the slowly rising mist blurring her eyes, tears welling up and dripping into the porridge.
Grandma, I will definitely make sure you live a good life!