朝なのだろうか。僕は、覚醒して、まぶたを開けた。 まばゆい朝日が降り注いでいる。ああ、良く寝た良く寝た。いい朝日だ。 起き上がろうとすると、胸元に何か重さを感じた。 すると、人の頭の脳天が視界に写った。その脳天は「たいし～、たいし～」とむにゃむにゃと言語を発していた。そんな突然の脳天の襲来に僕は起きたばかりの夢うつつの思考に、冷や水を被せられてしまった。はて、これは一体どういう事なのだろう。昨日の事を思い出して、それから察するに、これは布都ちゃんだろう。きっと寝ぼけたか何かで抱きついているのだと思う。この状況どうすればいいのだろうか？体を密着されるととても困ってしまう。朝は、生理的に敏感なのだが。とても、太ももが、当たりそうで。結局、僕は、布都ちゃんが起きるまで、ずっと困りっぱなしで寝床から出れなかった。 暫くして朝食を、布都ちゃんととっていた。「その、今朝はすまぬ・・・」布都ちゃんは、顔を赤らめて、気まずそうにご飯をつついている。僕はいいよ、別にと答える。そして沈黙。気まずい・・・。僕は今朝方、寝ぼけながら呟いていた、『たいし』という言葉(人名だろうか？)について聞こうかと思ったが、やめた。他人である僕が踏み込めなさそうな話題だと直感したから。「お主にはとても世話になっている。本当に、本当に礼を言うぞ。」と沈黙を破って布都ちゃんは僕の目を見据え口を開いた。僕は当たり前の事をしただけだよと答えると、「お主は優しいのだな、でも、服が乾いたら、出て行くことにするぞ。お主に迷惑もかけられまい。」と布都ちゃんは柔らかく微笑んだ。少し、寂しさが含んだ微笑み方だった。僕は帰る所があるのかと聞いてみると布都ちゃんは、眉間にしわを寄せ、俯いた。昨日の様子でなんとなく判っていた事だ。昨日、あんなに落ち込んで、独りで寝れないと言った子が帰る場も無く外に放浪する事などできるだろうか？。僕は、帰る場がないなら、落ち着くまで暫くここに居なよ。というと、「・・・うむむ、だが・・・」と布都ちゃんは渋ったけれども、とりあえず暫くここに居て、帰る場を見つけたら、その時はそこに帰るといいさ。と言うと、少し、悩んだ顔をして、「・・・有難う。お主の言葉に甘えさせてもらうぞ」と布都ちゃんは申し訳なさげに僕の提案に頷いて、わっふるわっふる

Morning already? I crack open my eyelids, slowly waking up. A dazzling stream of sunlight is pouring in to the room. Ahh, I slept well. What nice sunshine. I thought about getting up, but felt something weighing on my chest. Raising my head, the top of someone else's head came into view. It was mumbling, "Taishi... Taishi...." Being abruptly invaded by this head while half-asleep was like a splash of cold water. I wondered just what was going on before remembering the events of the previous day and deducing that it must be Futo-chan. In her half-asleep state she must have looked for something to cling on to. I wondered what to do. It wouldn't be good for her to stay glued to me like this. I'm rather physically sensitive in the morning, and it looked like her thigh was about to make contact. In the end, I stayed in bed with Futo-chan, flustered, until she woke up. After some quick cooking, Futo-chan and I sat down to have breakfast. "I... apologize for this morning," she said awkwardly with a red face, picking at her food. "It's fine," I replied. And then silence. The atmosphere was heavy. I wanted to ask about that "Taishi" she was murmuring while half-asleep (maybe a person's name?) but stopped myself. I had a feeling it was a topic better left alone.

"You truly have been of great assistance to me," she interjected, breaking the silence. "I am truly, sincerely grateful to you," she added while gazing into my eyes. I told her I only did what was obvious. "You are indeed kind. But once my clothes dry, I must depart. I can not burden you any longer," she said with a gentle smile on her face. Her smile had a hint of loneliness to it. I asked her if she had a place to return to. She furrowed her brow and cast her glance to the ground. It was something I could infer from her state the previous day. Could a girl so depressed just the other day and unable to sleep alone really be wandering outside without a home to return to? "If you don't have anywhere to go, you can stay here a while until you get things in order," I offered. "Hmm... but..." she hesitated. "Just stay here for now. If you do find somewhere to return to, you're free to go," I reassured her. With a slightly worried expression, she said, "...Thank you. I accept your offer," and bowed her head apologetically... to be continued