No smoking!

A few days have passed since two intruders turned up in my yard.

When a new day comes, I check through the window to see if they are still outside. Today wasn’t any different. There she was on the grass with the rabbit snoring on top of her.

They keep on sleeping while I get up and prepare myself. As soon as I put bread in the toaster, the tiny devil becomes wide awake.

He’s already inside the room, his eyes shining and his front paws scraping the floor like a bull preparing to charge ahead.

I put on my American football gear and crouch, facing him. Right before the toaster timer rings, he comes sprinting toward me.

Grabbing him between my legs, I yell, “HUT!” as I send him flying over the kitchen counter.

He catches a toast in mid-air and rushes back outside. I pick up the fallen one, remove the helmet, and sit down to eat.

It was of no use trying to stop him from stealing my food. Remembering the day he burned my most cherished books to distract me only fills me with anguish. How was he even able to pull off such a feat?

As a result, my mood was a mess, and my mornings were ruined. So, I decided to cut my losses short and try having some fun with it.

Since it’s time to leave for college, I’ll change into proper clothing. I have classes in the morning, and my part-time job at the pastry shop starts after lunch. Usually, at the end of my shift, there’s some leftover cake and bread that I can bring home with me.

When I return, the sun is about to set. They are exactly as I left them. If I’d taken a photo before leaving and one right now, the only difference would be the color of the sky.

While preparing dinner, I leave some cake I brought next to the girl. I’ve discovered that she leaves regular meals untouched but can’t resist sweet things.

“Don't you want to go back to your place?” I re-attempt today.

“No!”

Same as always. The only time she said something else was on that stormy day. I hoped to get her to talk after that, but it never happened. I still don’t know her name, much less the rabbit’s, provided he even has one.

My dinner is almost ready, so I better get inside. After I’m done eating, I take a chair outside and sit down near her, reading until I confirm she has eaten what I left her.

Honestly, I wouldn't care if they stayed here in the yard. If only I weren’t constantly worried that she might be dead.

This feeling of responsibility makes me anxious. I prefer staying in my cocoon, caring for myself, and forgetting everything else.

Now, it’s like I have two new pets I didn’t ask for. She would pass for a giant tortoise. It’s a pretty low-maintenance animal, at least.

Soon, I finish my book and light up a cigarette.

“No!”

“You occupy my yard and still have the nerve to make demands? Besides, it is just a single one! It isn’t like I’m smoking over you all day long!”

I move away from her and sit on the porch until I finish smoking.

My anger fades. I must admit that spending more time outside lightens my temper, and reading here is particularly pleasant.

It’s a shame the yard looks horrendous. The hedges are overgrown and need considerable trimming. There are unwanted plants everywhere, and the trees barely have any leaves. I’ve neglected it since I didn’t use it until now. Perhaps I should do something about it.

On weekends, I have a shift in the morning, and I’m free the rest of the day. There is a gardening shop located not far away from the bakery, across a small bridge. I’ll go there and ask for advice.

I’m standing in front of it. A tremendous rock sign on the roof carved with “Niwashi’s Garden Shop” replaced the modest plastic one they had before. The name's a little redundant.

It seems a relatively small place, but once you enter it, you realize it has endless room, although it is mostly packed. Ivy covered the wooden walls, and giant plants towered over you. There were miniature cute ones on shelves, too. Gardening tools were hanging, sacks of fertilizer and vases of every shape and size were stacked on the floor.

Trying not to break anything, I reach the lady at the counter.

“Good morning! I’m Niwashi. How may I help you?” asks a cheerful maiden with dirt all over her hands, face, and overalls.

“Good morning. Unfortunately, I’ve neglected my backyard for far too long. Where should I begin to bring it back to life?”

“Let's see… You should definitely start by pulling out all of the weeds. Now would be a good time to start because it has rained recently. First of all, you need some durable gardening gloves! Can’t do anything without them!”

She pulls a green pair from under the counter and continues her explanation with a wide range of gestures.

“When pulling weeds, you have to make sure you completely remove the root, or they’ll grow back sooner than you think. For that, I recommend using a hori-hori knife. This one here is made from stainless steel and has a nice handgrip. It will help you remove the most persistent roots!”

“Thank you for your recommendations. I’ll gladly take those items, please.”

“Perfect! That will be 4500 yen. By the way, do you have any pests?”

I pause for a second.

“Actually, I’ve seen two big ones…”

“Why not buy some pesticide, then? We have a limited-time sale going on. Would you like some?”

“I’d rather have something to drive away some mammals. I don’t want to hurt them. Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with that?”

“Oh, you mean like rats? The best way I can think of is to lure them with bait into traps. We have some at the back. I can get them for you if you want. They’ll be stuck inside, and you can release them in the woods afterward. It won’t harm them!”

I don’t think they’ll fit inside those. Although, what she just suggested made me want to try something out.

“I think I’ll just take the gloves and knife for now. You were a huge help, thank you!”

“Thank you! Feel free to come again if you need anything else after you’re done with the weeds!”

At home, I get to work straight away. Starting at one end, I begin pulling out the weeds. Since the soil is still humid, most of them come out pretty easily.

Others broke in the middle even after pushing my muscles to the limit, and the root remained buried in the soil. Using the hori-hori knife to remove them made the whole process much smoother.

Moreover, the rabbit is eating some plants, which unintentionally helps with the cleanup process later on.

After an hour, I managed to pull out everything I could except for the area in the middle where the girl was resting.

“Could you just move a little bit so I can pull out the weeds under you?”

“No!”

As expected. It’s time to put the plan conceived at the store into motion. It probably won’t work, but no harm in trying.

From my pocket, I take a bag of gummy bears. I drop several in a straight line up to the other side of the yard and wait.

Nothing.

I should have known better.

As I’m giving up, the girl starts crawling and eating one after another like an alligator.

I can’t believe it worked! I can now take care of that patch!

All done!

After putting the weeds in trash bags, I go to the storage to put the gloves and knife away. I find a dusty yet intact bean bag.

Why not take it outside to rest now that the yard has been taken care of?

As soon as I sit down and relax, I feel a heavy gaze.

It's her. What's her deal?

She looks gloomy at me and angrily turns her face away.

I get a feeling she wants the bean bag. Why should I give it to her?

I’m exhausted from all that work, and she even made it worse! She never talks to me. She never moves. She never does what I ask her. She has just been a huge burden!

…

…

Ugh! Fine!!

“If you want it, take it!” I blurt out as I fiercely drop the bean bag next to her.

The second I blinked, she was already face down, lying on the bean bag.

She turns her face, beaming at me with gratitude.

I unwillingly blushed.

“Oh well…” I pull out a cigarette.

“No!”

On second thought, maybe it’s time to quit smoking.