Chapter 20

A few months had passed since the soba tasting event. The signs of winter were drawing near. I was in the dormitory of the farm, sharing a bed with Fran, a five-year-old girl.

Leader Kenny had told me, "Marianne, Fran hasn't been herself for a few days. She doesn't say anything, and I don't know what to do, so I'm at a loss." That's why I came to stay and listen to her.

The room, shared by four girls, was dimly lit by a lamp with a low wick. The other three girls, considerately, were quietly wrapped in their futons.

After I got into bed with Fran, I spoke to her.

"Fran, Kenny said he's worried because you haven't been yourself. Is something wrong?"

Fran blinked a few times, hesitating for a moment, then spoke in a small voice.

"Someone said something mean to me."

"I see. Who said what to you?"

Fran looked at me, then averted her gaze.

"When Kenny and I went to town to deliver eggs, a boy came while Kenny was in the store. The boy suddenly said, 'You're just a kid who was abandoned by your parents!'"

Tears welled up in Fran's eyes, one after another, and they rolled down the corners of her eyes.

The other three girls stirred slightly. They must have heard.

"That's... I'm so sorry. It's terrible that someone would say such things to my dear Fran. I've been through similar experiences, so I can understand how sad you feel."

"But Marianne, you have both your father and mother, right?"

"I was told I was disgusting by a boy I thought was my first friend."

"What?!"

"Why?!"

The other girls, who had been pretending to be asleep, woke up and expressed their indignation.

"When I was Fran's age, five, I used to go to the library with my mother every day. There, I met a boy and we started talking a little each time we met.

It was my first friend, so I was happy, and one day I told him a lot of what I knew, thinking he would be happy to hear it.

But the more I talked, the stranger the boy's face became. I got anxious and tried to explain more clearly and accurately so he could understand.

The boy seemed to think I was even stranger, talking fast and incomprehensibly. Suddenly, he said, 'You're disgusting!' and tried to move away from me.

I got even more anxious and grabbed his arm, and he said, 'You're disgusting! Let go!'"

"That's terrible! What is that!"

"Didn't you get back at him?"

The girls in the other beds raised their voices in indignation.

"I was so shocked that I couldn't say anything back. After that, I stopped talking about what I knew unless I was asked.

And... I've been called a 'monster' in a whisper that the noble adults could barely hear a few times."

"Really?!" "That's terrible!"

Fran and the other girls were shocked.

Of course, they were shocked.

"Fran, the fact that you don't have parents is not your fault. You don't need to take it to heart. Fran, there are all kinds of people in the world, and no one can surround themselves only with kind people. If you fight with every mean person, you'll get tired. So, you don't have to take it to heart.

But if there's something you can't forgive, something that hurts the people or things you care about..."

"If it happens?"

"Well, I actually don't know. I've thought about saying something that would hurt the person until they cry and regret being mean, but I don't think that's the right answer."

"Even you, Marianne, don't know?"

"No, I don't. I don't know what to do. But there are things I do know."

"What are they?"

"While you're suffering for days because of what someone said, that person has probably forgotten about you. People who hurt others easily forget what they've done. It's a waste for Fran to suffer for days or to miss out on having fun with the people here because of such a person. Besides, even if someone says something mean, it doesn't change the fact that you are a wonderful girl."

Fran seemed to be carefully considering my words, staring at my face.

"If you ever feel really down, I want you to talk to me. Then I'll tell you that you are a wonderful girl who doesn't need to care about mean words. I'll tell you a hundred wonderful things about you, I promise."

"Okay... I understand."

With that, Fran hugged me and rubbed her head against my chest.

"Everyone living on this farm, me, the lady, your mother, your father, and everyone in the house are always on your side, and you are a treasure."

Fran smiled slightly.

I whispered, wishing that my words would sink into Fran's heart.

"Never forget this. You are a wonderful girl. No words can change that."

---

Fran never forgot Marianne's words, even as an adult.

When she was feeling down and couldn't sleep, or when she was in a difficult situation, she always remembered the golden-haired girl and her words.