Chapter Text
The rain drummed furiously against the glass, a frenetic rhythm that seemed to fill every corner of the classroom. Her elbows against the windowsill, her head on her hands, Nanami absent-mindedly watched the drops of water tumble down the glass. Her gaze, though fixed on the outside spectacle, seemed lost in distant thoughts. She sighed.
It’s raining so heavily , thought Nanami as she was looking through the window, already thinking about how it would be a struggle to go back home under this rain. Not to mention that she had groceries to do, the old lady’s fridge was almost empty. Ugh, I don’t even know what to cook for tonight’s dinner. But it’s not like she could complain, it was the least she could do after the old lady had taken her in after her father had abandoned her. Without her help, she would have literally ended in the streets. I swear to god, if that idiot shows up in front of me, I’ll-
“Kyah !” A shout came from the corridor, interrupting her train of thoughts.
“Hey look ! There’s a snake !”
She walked away from the window to see what was causing such a ruckus. In the corridor, a group of boys were hitting the ground with brooms.
“It’s a white snake !
“Wow !”
“Catch it !”
Between them was a white snake hissing aggressively at them, though its emerald gaze seemed more scared than menacing. It looked hurt, certainly because of the boys’ mess. Maybe it lost its way into the school and had the bad luck to come across those idiots. In any case she couldn’t let them keep harassing that poor snake.
“Hey.” She hit one of the boys’ back with her hand. “Stop persecuting that snake.”
“Huh ?”
“It’s said that white snakes are gods' familiars. You guys are going to be punished.”
Nanami leaned toward the white snake and held her hand gently.
“Come here little one,” she said in a soft voice, “you’re safe now. Those pricks won’t bother you anymore.”
The snake looked at her, a hint of gratefulness glowing in his green eyes. In this moment, it seemed strangely human, but she couldn’t explain why. The white snake crawled up to her and wrapped itself around her arm.
“Geh ! Momozono touched it with bare hands ! Gross !”
Ignoring their loudness, she petted its head affectionately and walked toward the closest window. She opened it and carefully let the snake go outside.
“You can go now, you’re free. Don’t lose your way next time.”
She looked at the snake crawling on the wet ground before disappearing in a bush.
“Hey, Momozono-chan, is your hand ok ?” Asked a girl in a worried voice.
“I’m fine.” Nanami smiled to reassure her. “It didn’t bite me.”
“But… Your right hand… It’s getting red…”
She glanced at forearm. There was indeed a long red mark around her arm, starting from her palm and reaching to her elbow, right where the snake coiled around her.
“D-Don’t you think you should go to the infirmary ? You know… Just in case…”
She stared at her right arm and smiled.
“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I’m having an allergic reaction, I’d better go get this checked.
===============
“I’m home !” Nanami exclaimed as she pushed the front door, her hands full of grocery bags.
She stumbled on the old lady in the hall. She was on the phone.
“Oh, sorry.”
Chie greeted her with a silent nod as she continued her conversation on the phone.
“Yes ? Oh I am happy for you, you’re a good child, Hideo-kun, I am proud of you…”
Nanami decided it was best to leave her alone. She went into the kitchen and started storing the groceries in the fridge and cupboard. A few minutes later, the old lady walked in with a smile
“Thank you Nanami for everything. Your help means a lot to me, you know.”
“It’s I who should thank you. Without your help I don’t know what I would do now.”
A few days ago, her idiot of a father ran away, leaving her all by herself with all of his gambling debts. And as if it could not be worse, she received at the same time an eviction notice, meaning she had no home, no family, and no money. But chance was upon her, as was desperately wandering in the local park, she found that old granny. She was lost, and with her old age, couldn’t find her way back home. Nanami had helped her and on the way she had told her her story. At that moment, in her great kindness, Chie offered to stay with her. Despite her age, she was living alone in her house since her husband’s death, but she had some difficulty living on her own and carrying out daily duties. Since the rest of her family was living far away and couldn’t visit her often to help her, they wanted to send her to a retirement home, where she fiercely refused to go. So she had proposed to Nanami to live with her and in return she did all the housework, the cooking and the groceries.
“Nanami, I just received a call from my grandson, you know, Hideo, I think I told you about him.”
“The one who wants to be a doctor ?”
“Yes, him. He said he’d pay us a visit this weekend. You will be able to rest a little, I know it’s not always easy to take care of an old lady like me.
“Don’t say that, Chie-san, you’re a pleasure to take care of !”
“You don’t need to flatter me.”
“I’m not ! I’m telling the truth ! I much prefer your company than my old man’s.
“Oh, you sweet child… Hm ? What happened to your arm ? Did you hurt yourself ?” She asked as she noticed the bandage around her wrist.
“Oh, this ? It’s nothing. I touched a snake and it seems like my skin didn’t really like this, it started swelling a little. The nurse put some ointment on it and told me it would be gone by tomorrow.”
“Hehe, maybe you catched its eye,” Chie laughed. “When I was a child, we used to say it was the snake’s way to mark you as his promise. Looks like you’re engaged now !”
“Haha, I didn’t know this legend, it’s kind of cute.”