After the day she first met the furry ball, many changes occurred in the girl’s life.
Among the small yet significant changes, the most notable was the arrival of a new presence in the girl’s shelter, which had previously been her solitary abode.
It was none other than the furry ball.
Since receiving food from the girl, the furry ball seemed to have grown attached to her, never leaving her side as time passed.
The girl, too, accepted the furry ball happily into her new home instead of shooing it away.
“Hehe, Myaung,” the girl affectionately gave the furry ball the name “Myaung,” inspired by the sound it made while barking when she called it.
“Myaung! Myaung!”
At first, the furry ball didn’t understand its new name and merely tilted its head in confusion. But after being called a few times, it began to recognize the name and would bark back in greeting.
Now, the inhabitants of the shelter went from one to two.
With this change, one of the most noticeable differences was that instead of one mouth to feed, there were now two.
“Are you hungry?”
— Myaung!
Myaung had hurt its eyes and couldn’t see.
It had lucked out once before by bringing back a dead rat, but typically, it struggled to find food due to its condition.
As a result, the girl began sharing the food she found, splitting it in half with Myaung.
On fortunate days when she found plenty, they enjoyed a large meal together. And on days filled with bad luck where she hardly found anything, they still shared whatever little they managed to scrounge up.
Naturally, the amount the girl could eat was halved compared to before, but she didn’t feel a twinge of disappointment.
That’s because Myaung was not merely a consumer of food.
Not long ago, shortly after Myaung started living with her, the girl had dug through a trash can, feeling the need to look for food not only for herself but also for Myaung.
When she returned to the shelter that day, ready to share her findings, Myaung notably rejected the food.
It refused to eat even when it only sniffed it; it recoiled in disgust at the smell.
At first, the girl thought maybe something undesirable had mixed in, but Myaung didn’t seem to be reacting alone.
— …!!! Myaung! Myaung!
As the girl attempted to eat, Myaung started barking and tugging at her clothes, preventing her from having a meal.
The girl couldn’t understand Myaung’s strange behavior.
However, as the night wore on and she kept trying to take a bite, Myaung would tug harder at her and whine, leaving her with no choice but to throw the food away and go to bed hungry.
The next day, she found dead rats frothing at the mouth where she had discarded the inedible food.
Unsure if the owner of the restaurant had mixed something dangerous in as a warning for her rummaging through their trash, Myaung had recognized the smell and tried to protect her.
After that incident, the girl completely trusted Myaung.
She had discovered its remarkable abilities.
“Myaung.”
— Myaung
Poking its head out from under the girl’s clothes, Myaung appeared as the girl set out to find food.
From then on, every time the girl ventured out to forage, she always brought Myaung along.
It was to benefit from Myaung’s abilities.
— Myaung!
While the girl rummaged through the trash for food, Myaung quietly let out a small “Myaung,” immediately alerting her to something.
The girl swiftly stopped searching and moved aside.
“…What was that? I’m sure I heard a clattering sound. Was it a rat…?”
Just then, the restaurant owner appeared.
“Hehe. Myaung, good job.”
— Myaung!
The girl watched with a smile as the owner, looking perplexed, disappeared, ruffling Myaung’s fur affectionately, which yelped joyfully in response.
Though Myaung couldn’t see, its sense of smell and hearing were much sharper than the girl’s.
That’s why, when someone approached, it was able to alert her like this.
Lately, Myaung had been a great help for the girl in finding food.
So sharing half of her food with Myaung didn’t feel wasteful at all.
Of course, even if Myaung didn’t help, she would share her food without a second thought.
“Myaung, did you eat it all?”
— Myaung!
Upon returning to the shelter with food, the girl would share it with Myaung.
Holding Myaung close, they’d share bites together.
The warmth radiating from Myaung was invaluable to the girl.
“Myaung, come here.”
After finishing their meal, the girl would have storytelling time with Myaung.
The girl was learning to speak using a book she found in the trash.
Perhaps due to her eagerness to learn, her language skills were improving rapidly.
“Myaung, there’s a smell of alcohol. It’s dangerous.”
— Myaung!
“Earlier, that person was dangerous too.”
— Myaung!
The girl had decided to learn to speak in order to share things with Myaung, who couldn’t see.
She wanted to convey her knowledge to Myaung, even if it was just a little.
Though that wasn’t the only reason she was learning.
“Myaung, today, I saw the sky on the way. The clouds were beautiful.”
— Myaung!
“I wish you could see them too. It would make you happy.”
The girl wanted to share the scenery she saw with Myaung.
Despite the city being rife with dangers, the sky and the clouds she saw on that path were beautiful.
She thought it would be wonderful if Myaung could also appreciate the breathtaking scenery she had come to know.
So that every time they encountered a similar view, she could reminisce about their time spent together.
“Myaung, are you sleepy?”
— Myaung…
“Yeah, let’s sleep.”
As they talked, if Myaung began to nod off, she would snuggle in and sleep together.
Cradling Myaung close, she picked up a book before dozing off.
It was to learn words she wanted to share with Myaung the next day.
The page she opened had a good word.
Family, meaning precious ones who live together.
“Myaung, are we a family?”
— …
“Hehe.”
The girl asked gently, but there was no reply.
Yet, she didn’t mind, gently rubbing the neck of the now-sleeping Myaung while smiling.
Around its neck rested a small flower-shaped decoration that the girl had made for Myaung.
In truth, the girl had never seen an actual flower.
She only thought the drawing she saw in a book was pretty and crafted this shape with her meager skills.
Thus, though the shabby flower decoration she stitched from rags couldn’t be called beautiful, she found it beautiful.
It was because the same shape of decoration adorned her own clothes.
That flower truly represented the bond between Myaung and the girl as family. To the girl, the tattered flower blossomed from the trash was the most beautiful flower in the world.
She thought while feeling Myaung’s warmth as it slept in her arms.
If only they could continue like this.
While lost in such thoughts, the girl suddenly recalled a phrase she learned that would fit this situation.
What was it?
Ah, yes. It was definitely…
“…Haengbogada.”
It seemed to be the word for ‘happiness.’
The girl was happy with the days spent alongside Myaung.
And perhaps that was why she no longer felt as hungry as before.
*
It rained.
“Myaung, guard the house well.”
— Myaung!
That day, the girl had no choice but to leave Myaung alone in the shelter and venture out to find food.
In the rain, Myaung’s exceptional hearing and smell would be rendered useless, and most importantly, the girl didn’t want Myaung to get wet.
So, she had left Myaung behind to search for food.
Due to the rain, her destination was the usual restaurant where food could be easily procured.
“Oh.”
Today, fortune smiled upon her, allowing her to gather a considerable amount of food quickly.
Recently, as she avoided the restaurant owner, it seemed they thought she might have died from the poisoned food since there were no interruptions this time.
Having gathered food swiftly, the girl excitedly began her journey back, looking forward to returning to Myaung and chatting while listening to the sound of rain.
But what awaited her upon her return was…
“…Huh?”
A completely destroyed shelter.
The girl felt her previous joy plummet to the depths of despair.
Had it collapsed due to the rainfall?
What had once been disguised as a trash heap was now entirely crumbled, looking like actual refuse.
While it was unfortunate that the shelter, where she had spent so long, had fallen apart, her real concern wasn’t that.
“…Myaung!”
The shelter could be rebuilt.
But Myaung couldn’t.
With a pale face, the girl called out for Myaung and began searching through the debris.
“Myaung! Are you okay?! Myaung!”
In a panic, the girl searched through the remnants of the overturned trash pile, ignoring her bleeding hands in her desperate effort.
Yet no matter how much she searched, there was no sign of Myaung, nor its body.
“Ah…”
Finally, the girl considered that Myaung might not be here.
Knowing its cleverness, it must have sought safety from the rain somewhere before the shelter gave way.
It was alive; she was sure of it.
Feeling relieved that Myaung wasn’t among the wreckage, the girl sprinted into the rain, calling for Myaung.
“Myaung! Where are you?! Myaung!”
But no matter how loudly she shouted for Myaung’s name,
“…Myaung.”
Myaung was nowhere to be seen.
Where could it have gone?
Had it perhaps abandoned her?
While the girl pondered such thoughts,
“Ugh, I’m drunk…”
She stumbled upon a drunken man laying under a tarp in an alleyway, warming himself.
Initially ignoring him as she searched for Myaung, but upon seeing what the drunkard held, the girl felt rooted to the spot.
“…Ah.”
The clothespin, which the drunkard was idly poking at his teeth, had a ragged flower decoration dangling from it.
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