No sisters!

A run-down electric scooter, producing clanking noises as if it would shatter at any moment, is being parked at the pastry shop’s entrance. It’s our first customer for the day and seems to be in a hurry.

“I’d like a bag of bread, quick!” requests a freckled girl wearing a lab coat, pointing to the shelves behind me and wiping the sweat from her brow.

“Of course,” I pick up a paper bag and start stuffing bread. “Want me to fill it to the top?”

“Yes!”

“All right, here you go! Is that all, or would you like some more?”

“Yes!”

I take another bag and fill it up as well. However, that wasn’t enough. I kept asking, even repeating if she was sure, but she kept saying she wanted more and more… Until we ran entirely out of bread.

“That will be a grand total of… 50,000 yen,” I conclude after counting and adding up the price on the register.

“Here! Bye!” she replies as she tosses five bills on the counter, stacks the bags around her arms, and darts out of the store.

Luggage was already hanging all over the bike. She tied down her new acquisitions wherever else she could fit them. Putting on a helmet over her vibrant blue hair and goggles to protect her eyes, she tried twice or thrice to start the engine, and off she went.

I've dealt with some sketchy characters here at the bakery, but this one tops the list. The manager sent me home early because we had nothing left to sell.

No leftovers today, I'm afraid.

As I’m about to get home, I notice a person sitting in front of my doorstep. It was hard not to recognize who it was after such a striking first impression. The girl was sobbing, her head between her legs and arms around her knees.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“Yes…” she answers as she stands, looking dreadfully straight at me. “But my sister… My sister is missing!!”

She starts crying uncontrollably.

“Calm down… I’ll help you find her. Where did you last see her?”

Wiping her tears, she points to the house next door.

Oh…

“Does your sister resemble a zombie?”

“Yes…”

She was light enough for me to lift her so she could look over the fence.

“Sis!” she cries in relief, seeing the girl lying on the bean bag. I set her down and searched for the keys in my pocket.

“Come on in,” I say as I open the gate.

“No!” asserts the sleepy girl.

“Okay!” responds her sister, walking away from the door.

“Stop! Don’t mind her. It’s my house! You can come in.”

“Okay!”

“No!” she insists.

“Okay!” And yet again, her sister backs away.

“Wait!”

This pattern kept repeating for an eternity until I finally managed to get her inside the house.

“I can’t thank you enough for taking care of my sister! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!” she bows down on the floor. “Could you tell me your name?”

“I’m Neru, but most people call me Ru.”

She obviously doesn’t remember meeting me earlier today and that I was the one who sold everything next to her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ru! My name is Hai, and the one over there is my sister, Yada. I usually stop by to take care of her, but I was prevented from doing so this week. An advertiser knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to embark on an adventure tour that included bungee jumping at Niagara Falls. Despite being terribly afraid of heights, I ended up going along anyway. I have an awful tough time turning anything down...”

“Let me guess: Your sister is your polar opposite.”

“Yes… But she wasn’t always like that… And now we don't even get along that well. I feel she doesn't even like me anymore!” She rubs a tear in the corner of her eye with her finger. “Oh! I almost forgot! I bought her bread!”

“Too late.” I point to the rabbit. The bags filled with bread she had next to her were long stolen by that rascal.

“Baba!! As a vet, I can't let this slide! You have to watch your diet!!”

She appeared behind him in a flash, and with a single sweep, she picked him up. She’s fast and has amazing reflexes! If only I had half of those skills, dealing with him would be much easier.

So the name of my nemesis is Baba, huh?

“He’s been eating junk all week long.” I snitch on him.

“You can’t let him do that! It's not good for his health! He needs plenty of veggies and hay!”

She begins to examine his belly with the tips of her fingers. But soon, he manages to escape from her lap and hides under a cardboard box.

“I need to check on my sister too!” she voices as she jumps on top of the girl and initiates her examination. Shining a flashlight while lifting her eyelids, sniffing her ears, and checking her gums and teeth, every area is meticulously inspected. Employing a stethoscope, she thoroughly listens to the front and back of her upper body.

“You’d better see if there’s something wrong with her bowels and bladder. She's always lying in the same spot. I've never seen her move to relieve herself.”

Anyone who heard me would think I was talking about my dog.

“Don’t worry about it! Do you know when grizzly bears hibernate and go months without urinating or defecating? She’s just like them. She has reduced her metabolism to the point she doesn’t need to worry about those things.”

“If you say so…”

It didn’t make much sense, but who am I to say?

“Look at the time! I planned on going to the gardening store, and now it’s almost closing. You can make yourself comfortable until I get back. It shouldn't take too long!“

“Okay!” answers Hai, grinning ear to ear as she tests her sister’s patellar reflex.

“No!” her sister pleads, extending her hand for help while I’m closing the yard’s door.

I'm on my way back and am so pleased with my purchases. I bought a pair of long pruning shears, and Niwashi suggested that I use seeds to bring my lawn back to life. I’ll have to try it out later.

When I entered the yard, it looked like the aftermath of a war zone. Yada was huffing loudly, and Hai was crying in a corner.

“Why don't you like me, sis...?”

Oh well… Perhaps I should try to keep her mind busy so she forgets this incident. It might even come in handy because I can’t take care of that old ginkgo tree alone.

“Hai, can you help me with something? I need someone to hold on to the ladder while I cut some branches from that tree. They have grown too big.”

“Yes…” she exhales and drags her feet toward me.

Yada is lying under the tree, and her sister, next to her, holds the ladder so I don't fall off. With the pruning shears, I can cut even the most distant branches, and the tree is getting much livelier. With enough luck, it might even bear fruits this year.

But in the middle of a cut, a chunky branch slips away and is falling straight into Yada's face.

“Watch out!!” I try to warn her.

Instantly, Hai gets on top of her and deflects the branch with her back.

Her reflexes are no joke!

“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt, sis...” she chuckles and lets the branch fall to the side.

“I'm so sorry!! Are you okay?” I ask, regretting not being more careful.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine… I’m a tough nut to crack!” she hides her pain as she gets up.

“No!” Yada pulls her sister down, and she falls beside her on the bean bag. Both lying on it, Yada hugs her.

“Sis…? she expresses in shock. “So… You still like me after all! I’m so happy!!” she hugs her back.

Seeing her this gleeful, I let them be for a while.

I took the time to trim the much smaller apple tree while Baba made me dizzy by franticly spinning around the base of the trunk, wishing for apples to fall from the sky. But I still needed help with the aged tree.

"Ahem! I don’t want to intrude on your bonding time, but can you help me finish this first? It’s almost done.”

“Okay… I would... But I can’t… She fell asleep, and her grip is too tight. I can't escape…”

I had to finish the work later as she was stuck there until nightfall.