It Feels Like I Forgot Something
It feels like I’m forgetting something.
Simon’s medicines are famous throughout the area for how well they work. People suffering from all sorts of symptoms visit the pharmacy countless times a day. The academy students—our city’s pride and joy—make up the largest share of customers. Naturally, adults of all ages, including the elderly and middle-aged, come often as well. Every now and then a child will stop by to run an errand, but in those cases you can usually read the words “I’m only here on an errand” written clearly across their faces. Anxious eyes, tense expressions, slightly flushed cheeks.
The little visitor who arrived that day, however, was different.
It was still early morning, long before Simon and Eve had come in. The moment Caramel opened the pharmacy door, an unfamiliar young girl was standing there. As soon as she stepped inside she began scanning every corner of the shop. To anyone watching, it didn’t look like she had come for medicine.
Caramel crouched down to meet the child’s eyes and asked gently, “Are you looking for something?”
“Yes,” the girl answered with a small nod. Her voice held no hesitation, and Caramel thought to herself what a mature child she was.
“What kind of medicine do you need? Tell big sis and I’ll find it for you.”
“Um…” The girl hesitated for a moment, then stared straight at Caramel. She’s not here for medicine after all, Caramel realized. The moment that thought crossed her mind, the girl asked boldly,
“Is Eve here?”
“A friend of Eve’s stopped by?”
“Yes~ Remember when we visited her school for the observation day? She said they met there. Her name was… um… oh! Nina, she said.”
We arrived at the pharmacy later than usual that day, not until late afternoon. There had been a small urgent matter to handle in the morning. As Eve and I walked in at a leisurely pace, Caramel greeted us and immediately told me what had happened.
Eve’s friend… I watched Eve brush the snow from her coat with her small hands and asked, “Eve, do you know a girl named Nina?”
“Yes.”
“Is she your friend?”
“……”
Eve tilted her head, thinking for a moment. “……… I’m not sure.”
Well, that was fair. Deciding someone is a friend after meeting them only once is the sort of thing only someone like Caramel would do.
“Still, it’s surprising. It’s already been a whole month since the school visit. What made her come looking for Eve now?”
“What do you mean, why? Obviously she came because she wants to play with Eve~”
“With Eve…?”
“Yep. The kids who live nearby decided to get together and play. Someone suggested inviting Eve too. They must have heard she lives at the pharmacy.”
“They’re kind, considering they’ve only met once.”
“Right~ Kids really do have the cutest way of thinking, don’t they?”
I turned to Eve. “Eve. What would you like to do?”
“……”
She didn’t answer right away.
“Take your time. They simply invited you to come play.”
“…… Yes.”
“Drawing pictures and helping around the shop are both wonderful, but it might be fun to go outside and play with your new friends sometimes too.”
I had recently realized that simply waiting quietly wasn’t always the best approach with a child like Eve, who often hid her true feelings and watched others’ moods. For a girl who still struggled to say what she wanted, perhaps giving her a gentle push was also part of my role as her guardian.
After a long pause, Eve finally whispered, “…I want to go.”
“Good. I’m glad you decided that. The friends who invited you will be happy too.”
I tightened Eve’s scarf once more. Winters in this region are long, and the wind at the tail end of the season cuts like a knife. Eve was from the north, so the cold might not bother her much, but it was still better than catching a chill and regretting it later.
“Have fun. If anything happens, come straight back here.”
I stroked her hair and forehead lightly as I spoke.
With Simon and Caramel’s farewells behind her, Eve headed toward the meeting place. The city’s public order was excellent; after all, the academy was its only real claim to fame. Even near the pharmacy at the edge of the bustling district, guards and patrolmen passed by regularly. It was the reason Simon reluctantly allowed Eve to deliver medicine when she begged.
It was about a ten-minute walk at Eve’s pace. Even before she reached the open field reserved for children, bright laughter reached her ears. Among the voices were some familiar faces.
“Oh, look—Eve’s here too.”
“Hoho! Do come along, commoner!”
“Lucia, Eve isn’t close enough with you yet to play along with your jokes.”
The first to greet her were Nina and the girl with the drill-like roll buns, Lucia. Lucia was one of the friends Eve had met at school. She was the young lady of a nearby baronial family and lived in the city with her older brother, who attended the academy.
“Hmm? And who is this?”
This time it was an unfamiliar boy’s voice. When Eve turned, she saw a boy she had only passed by at school before—the same one who had briefly stared down Nina. Eve didn’t know his name. Should she greet him first?
Half-hiding behind Nina, she said softly, “…My name is Eve…”
“What? Ebeu?”
“Eve…”
No matter how carefully she tried to correct her pronunciation, her northern accent remained. It was something Eve had only learned after leaving her homeland: the refined northern speech used by high nobles was often treated like a stereotype and became an easy target for teasing. The boy’s playful giggle showed he was poking at exactly that.
When a flustered Eve couldn’t find words, Nina frowned and shot the boy a glare.
“Eve is Eve. Stop saying stupid things. If you’re going to bother Eve, just go home, Chris.”
“I-I wasn’t teasing her…”
Nina sighed and gave a quick explanation. “Eve, this idiot is called Chris. You don’t have to remember his name. Even I’d rather forget it.”
Her tone made it clear she was only introducing him out of obligation.
“And… it doesn’t suit him at all, but he’s the only son of a family of musicians.”
“Hey! Why am I the only one getting the sloppy introduction?!”
“Because with a personality that only causes trouble, it’s questionable whether you can even play music properly.”
“I’m going to become the greatest performer like my mom and dad one day, you know!”
Nina snorted at Chris’s declaration. “They say the real greatest performers are already giving recitals at our age and being called geniuses. Haven’t you ever performed properly in front of anyone, Chris?”
“…My father said my skills aren’t ready for outside performances yet, so I should just keep practicing! But I’m good enough to crush the noses of those arrogant so-called geniuses!”
“Oh, really? I hope so.”
When Nina shrugged indifferently, Chris’s shoulders trembled with barely contained frustration.
“Hohoho~ Do not worry too much, Chris,” Lucia said with a triumphant expression, patting his shoulder. “If you kneel and beg from now on, even if you become a mediocre musician our family shall sponsor you! This is precisely the mercy befitting nobility, is what it is-wa yo!”
“I don’t need charity from some noble brat.”
“N-noble brat?!”
“I plan to earn money with my own talent.”
“Now listen well, Chris! Our baronial house is a prestigious family with five hundred years of tradition and—”
While Lucia launched into her family history, Chris turned to Eve.
“You’re Eve, right? I heard you live at the pharmacy?”
Eve nodded. Strictly speaking she didn’t live at the pharmacy itself, but it was close enough.
“Then are you the pharmacist’s daughter?”
“Simon? Simon… isn’t my dad.”
“Then?”
“We’re just living together right now.”
“So he’s basically raising you.”
“……”
Eve had no response. She reluctantly nodded.
“Then isn’t that the same as being your parent?”
“…But Simon isn’t my dad.”
“The pharmacist would be sad if he heard you say that.”
At the mention of Simon being sad, Eve’s face went pale. “…Simon would be sad?”
“My dad said even if blood isn’t connected, you can still raise someone with your heart. If he knew you felt that way, of course he’d be sad.”
“…… Simon is…… but if Simon becomes my dad…… then I… with Simon……”
Eve fidgeted anxiously with her coat, completely at a loss.
“That’s enough, Chris. You’re making Lady Eve uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, stop it. Eve looks like she’s about to cry.”
“W-what? Don’t make it sound like I’m bullying her!”
After Nina and Lucia scolded him, a flustered Chris backed off. In the end, the two girls took Eve’s hands and led her away, leaving Chris behind.
“Let’s go play now, Eve.”
“Once she gets closer to her friends, don’t you think there’ll come a day when Eve asks to go to school first?”
The empty space where Eve would normally have responded to Caramel’s endless chatter felt surprisingly large.
“Maybe so.”
“What should we get her as a school entrance gift? A schoolbag? Writing supplies? Or maybe just allowance money? I wonder how she’ll react~ What if Eve says, ‘Caramel unnie is the best! I like Caramel unnie the most! I want to live with unnie!’ What would you do then?! Teacher? Huh? Huh?! Heuk… I just imagined it… ugh… Teacher, maybe I should just adopt Eve. Should we do it today? Tomorrow? When exactly are you planning to hand over custody to me? Huh? Huh?”
“……….”
Since her dramatic rambling showed no signs of stopping, I did what I always did and smoothly changed the subject.
“Speaking of school, I realized that strangers often assume I’m Eve’s parent.”
“That makes sense. …Ah, are you upset because you think you’re not old enough to be a parent yet?”
“Not at all.”
If we were being technical, I was certainly old enough to have a child or two.
“Parent…” I stared absently at the ceiling and murmured, “If I could truly become her parent, maybe Eve could live a little more comfortably…”
“Wouldn’t that be rather difficult?”
Caramel said it so matter-of-factly that my heart nearly sank.
“Why?”
“Well, Eve is……”
She trailed off, then simply shrugged. “Um… It’s still just my gut feeling. Forget I said anything.”
“How dull.”
I let out a small chuckle.
…Still, that word—gift. For some reason it kept catching in my mind.
Gift… gift…
…What is this subtle, uneasy feeling? It’s as if I’ve forgotten something I absolutely needed to do.
Was there an occasion when I should have given Eve a present?
If Caramel meant a school entrance gift, Eve was still hesitating even to attend school in the first place…
Well… it’s probably nothing.
At the time, I didn’t think much of it.