A Day Reminiscing About Her Father
“Why do you always insist on wrapping that scrap of cloth around your head?” Ai Fa asked, I believe on the third day after I started staying with her.
By “scrap of cloth” she meant my towel. For me, it was an absolutely indispensable part of my cooking attire.
“Why? I mean, so no strands of hair fall down when I’m cooking, I guess,” I replied as I chopped up aria atop the metal lid, which I was using in place of a cutting board.
Ai Fa, who was sitting off to my side with one knee up in the air, shot me a dubious look and tilted her head.
“Why do you need to keep your hair from falling down while cooking?”
“Why? Well, because it’d be unsanitary, I suppose.”
“What does ‘unsanitary’ mean?”
“That it’d be bad if germs and stuff got into the food.”
“What does ‘germs’ mean?”
“Um, ‘germs’ refers to bacteria that are harmful to humans... In other words, they’re dirty, I guess?”
“Your hair is dirty?”
“My hair isn’t especially dirty! And I guess I don’t know if germs even exist in this world in the first place, but still, it’d be gross if hair got in the pot, right?”
“Not especially. You just have to remove it, and it’s fine.”
What was going on? It was really rare for Ai Fa to argue about something like this.
“No, but you see, I’d find it gross if there was hair in the food I was eating, so I’d prefer to just leave this thing on.”
“I see,” Ai Fa replied, the tone of her voice dropping.
I stopped and turned around without thinking, and found Ai Fa making a sort of childish, dejected looking face.
“W-what’s up? What’s the matter? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
“That’s not it. I just thought you could take off that cloth scrap for a bit before the sun sets and it gets dark.”
I didn’t get it at all.
But, well, there was still plenty of time till we ate, so I could go ahead and indulge my benefactor’s request for a bit. And I mean, I didn’t exactly feel comfortable either, seeing her so down in the dumps.
“Here, is this alright?”
I placed my knife down atop the lid and then tore off my towel. Ai Fa’s eyes immediately started sparkling and she began patting my head.
“...It’s black.”
“Yeah. That was the most common color back where I came from.”
“I see. It’s not something you see very often at the forest’s edge. If it was a bit lighter, though, it wouldn’t be all that rare.”
Pat, pat. Pat, pat.
Ai Fa had an incredibly innocent, pure look on her face. And well, I certainly couldn’t calm myself with things like this.
“Hmm, it sure is black...”
“Gyah!” I yelled out loudly without thinking.
Ai Fa had slowly gotten into a kneeling position, and then started rubbing her cheek up against my head.
“W-W-What the...?! Ai Fa, seriously, what are you doing?!”
“Hmm? I’m not especially doing anything in particular.”
After that period of doting on my head, Ai Fa quickly and suddenly pulled back.
“I am satisfied. My apologies for the interference. Now return to your work.”
“Satisfied...? I don’t get what you mean! Don’t go toying with this young man’s pure heart!”
“What are you getting angry about? If I’ve caused you discomfort, then I apologize,” she said as if it was nothing, then cast her gaze downwards.
“It’s just... Today is the day that I lost my father.”
“W-What?”
“And my father had the same color hair as you do.”
“...”
“That’s all it is. I didn’t mean anything by it,” Ai Fa stated, glaring at my face with her usual wildcat-like stare.
“With that said, I’ve gotten hungry. When will dinner be ready?”
I gave a deep sigh.
“Just hold on a little longer. The meat should be nice and heated soon...”
“Hmm...”
It was a truly peaceful day.
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