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Rising rents. Grocery bills. Inflation. The cost of living crisis is hitting the Anhane household hard. In this economy, every penny counts. Kohane knows this. An could care less.
Usually Kohane does all of the grocery shopping for the two of them. This is probably for the best. She is careful and meticulous. She checks the receipt before leaving the supermarket. She price matches. She is a coupon queen.
Unfortunately, this weekend, Kohane is very ill. Equally as bad… they are out of eggs.
“Kew kew,” Kohane is lying in bed with An by her side. She lets out a raspy cough and sniffles. An passes a box of tissues to her.
“Oh you poor thing Ko-chan,” An coos. “To think you would get sick because you got wet after giving your umbrella to Minori…”
Kohane whimpers pathetically before blowing her nose. “I will be okay, An-chan. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m sorry that I will miss practice today.”
“It’s okay, I will let Akito and Touya know that we will skip today,” An replies. “I’m sure they’ll understand.” She reaches over and pats her head comfortingly. It would be wrong to say that An wasn’t worried sick for her.
“Is there anything I can do for you to make you feel better? Anything at all?”
“Yes, I’m sorry to trouble you,” Kohane says weakly.
“What is it? You can tell me,” An urges. She grasps Kohane’s hand tightly.
Kohane whispers meekly, “...eggs”
An blinks owlishly. “Eggs?” She cocks her head to the side. “What do we need eggs for? Will it make you less sick?”
Kohane chuckles. “An-chan, it’s just that we are out of eggs. Please pick up a carton from the corner store. Can you do that for me?”
An replies, “Of course! You can trust me. I shall return with the best eggs in all of the land.”
An squeezes Kohane’s hand one last time before letting go. She turns and runs out of the room to embark on her quest.
Her hair is disheveled and she’s still in her pajamas, but her unruly appearance will not stop her from obtaining eggs. She rushes down the street, tote bag in hand. An rounds the corner and the grocery store comes into view. The first leg of her journey is almost complete.
Out of breath, An is relieved to finally be inside the air conditioned store. She is greeted by a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables and is overwhelmed by the vast expanse of the store. She encounters her first obstacle. Where in the world are the eggs?
She whips her head around, lost and confused. An begins to aimlessly walk around the store. She encounters aisle after aisle of a variety of different household goods, but no eggs in sight.
Defeated, she turns to a clerk who is busy stocking shelves and asks, “excuse me, do you work here?”
The clerk deadpans back at her, “yes. I work here”. The nametag and apron should have already given this information away.
“Fantastic! Could you tell me where the eggs are?” An inquires.
The clerk gives her an obviously annoyed expression and points behind her, “they are right there in the fridge behind you.”
An whips her head around, and lo and behold, a mountain of egg cartons sit neatly inside of the fridge. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I don’t know what I would’ve done without your help!” An exclaims gratefully.
The clerk pays no mind, and returns back to stocking the shelves.
An faces her next hurdle. Which eggs to choose? There are so many options for such a simple product.
“Organic eggs? Free Range?? Omega-B fortified??? What?!” Her mind is blown by the amount of choice available to her.
After playing a quick round of eenie-meenie-minie-moe, An gives up and picks a random carton blindly before heading to the checkout. “This will have to do, I guess.”
At the checkout counter, the clerk from before scans her eggs and says, “will that be all miss?”
An nods her head.
“Do you need a bag?” the clerk asks.
An shakes her head and lifts up the tote bag that she is carrying. “No, I’ll be okay! Gotta save the turtles, am I right?”
The clerk does not appear impressed. He deadpans, “that will be 650 yen”.
An slams down a fistful of loose coins onto the tray. The clerk gives out a sigh and begins counting. He gets her change and hands over the receipt. “Thank you for your patronage.”
“Thank you for all of your help!” An skips out of the store, eggs in hand.
An leisurely strolls down the street on her way home. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. The flowers are blooming. Today is a beautiful day.
She bursts through the door and loudly proclaims, “Kohane!! I have successfully returned with the eggs!”
A disheveled and sickly Kohane emerges from the bedroom, rubbing her eyes. “Thank you so much An-chan. I really really appreciate it.”
An proudly plops down the egg carton on the kitchen counter. “There were so many eggs, but I managed to pick one out all by myself!”
Kohane picks up the carton, perplexed. “This is interesting. I’ve never bought this brand of eggs before.” She takes a look at the receipt.
Kohane’s eyes pop out of her head. Her jaw drops to the floor. She slams her hand down on the counter and stands up abruptly. She lets out a blood-curdling scream.
“An!! What the hell! Why are these eggs so expensive?” she asks incredulously.
An looks at her puzzled, “but, aren’t these just normal eggs? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Kohane is outraged, “No! These are the fancy organic free range kind! They are so expensive! We can’t afford this!”
“Kohane, it’s fine! It was just 650 yen. It’s no biggie.” An reassures her.
Kohane stares blankly into An’s eyes. “An-chan. We will never financially recover from this.”
An opens and closes her mouth like a fish, speechless. She drops her head in shame and stares at the floor. “I’m sorry, Kohane. I have failed you. I just wanted to help you and make you feel better,” she says sheepishly.
Kohane’s expression softens and she reaches up to stroke An’s arm. “It’s okay, An-chan. You’re right, it’s not a big deal. I’m sorry for freaking out. I know you were just trying to help and I really appreciate it.”
An looks up at Kohane and stares into her eyes lovingly. She strokes Kohane’s cheek with her hand and leans in for a kiss.
Kohane blocks her kiss with her hand. “An-chan. I am sick. This household requires at least one functional person.”
An protests, “but… but.. Kohane! I’m not a functional person without you!”
Kohane laughs out loud, “oh An-chan, you’re so silly. What would I do without you?”
“Umm… You would have bought lower priced eggs?” An replies.
Kohane dodges the question and says, “I love you, An-chan.”
“I love you too, Kohane.” An tries to lean in again for a kiss. She dodge’s her kiss.
Kohane pecks her on the cheek instead and turns around to go back to bed.
“But I’m never letting you buy groceries ever again.”