Chapter 31

While our garden was not that wide, it had enough space to dry the laundry and plant some flowers and vegetables.

In the past, our mother had created the flower bed at the edge of our garden. Next to it, we grew vegetables. Eggplants and cucumbers were planted as well.

Since Kaede watered them everyday, none of them were withering. As for me, I didn’t even know exactly the kind of flowers were they.

Opening the window1 and changing to sandals for garden use, I went towards the wooden bench our father created while we were small. Sitting on it, I gazed at the flowers one by one, from the left side.

There were still plenty of water droplets on the leaves. I wonder if Kaede went to water them today as well, before waking me up.

“…I also use to grow them with mother, during childhood.”

That reminds me, I also used to water the flowers alongside mother. At that time, Kaede was still very young. I feel it was around the time I had entered the elementary school. Every morning, I used to check if they were budding.

While I was recalling such nostalgic memories, I could hear some sounds of rustling coming from the house next door.

“…Na～”

“…What, it’s you.”

The owner of that voice was Muku, the white cat being raised by the house next door.

It was a white variety of cat with short tail. Since it was lazier than other cats and had a peculiar cry, it was a popular cat from the time we were kids.

This cat would occasionally come to our garden to bask under the sun and then return back to its home.

But this time, instead of lying on the garden, it jumped on the bench and curled up its body next to me.

“You look as unmotivated as usual, huh.”

“…Na～”

“It’s not Na～”

While gently stroking the body of Muku, I finished my observation of the flowers. I decided to leisurely gaze at the sky for a short while, alongside the cat.

Since Muku had been coming to our house from the time it was a kitten, it had no form of vigilance towards Kaede or me. While enjoying the sensation, it closed its eyes.

Usually I would put it on my lap but since I had to go out after this and I would not like cat hairs sticking on my body, I stopped myself.

Surprisingly hair fall during this period and it would become pretty troublesome afterwards.

While Muku and I were relaxing, half running footsteps could be heard approaching from inside the house. It turned out to be Kaede, who came out in the garden while holding the laundry basket.

“Ah, Muku has also come.”

Changing to pink sandals, different from my blue ones, Kaede approached Muku relaxing next to me and brushed its head.

Opening its eyes to glance at Kaede for a second, Muku once again closed it to return back to sleep.

“It is so cute.”

While grinning at such reaction, Kaede quickly started airing the laundry from the basket.

Western clothes, school jerseys, towels, our nightwear; watching her figure airing them at their fixed places in succession, I admired my sister’s wife-like skills. Suddenly, Muku rose up next to me.

1. The window doesn’t seem to be the smaller kind but instead a window door. 2. Basically the student council will stand at the front gate of school and greet every student that comes.