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"Mama, is Shii-chan going to be okay..?"
Lying over Shiho's bed was the girl herself, her face flushed with a cooling patch over her forehead. Shizuku and her mother stood by her side. The window was slightly ajar, and Shizuku didn't like how the sun was shining directly on her sister's face.
"She'll be fine, honey. Her fever's pretty high, but she should be better by tomorrow," her mother reassured. "Here, open wide, Shii-chan."
"Mm.." She turned her head away, avoiding the spoon containing bitter medicine.
"Shii-chan, come on.. Don't you want to feel better to see your friends tomorrow?"
"It's gross.."
She fully turned on her side, facing the wall as she pulled the blankets over her whole body.
It looks like a caterpillar..
Her mother sighed before directing herself to Shizuku. "Shizuku, would you mind convincing your sister for me?"
"Got it!"
She leaned over the bed, lightly shaking her shoulder over the blanket while Shiho attempted to shake it off.
"Mm.. Stop it..!"
"Shii-chan, you're gonna get sweaty if you hide like that."
She took the edge of the blanket and tried to gently move it down, but Shiho's grip on it was overly strong, especially considering that she was a seven-year-old kid with a high fever.
"I don't wanna..!"
"Please? I really want you to feel better so that we can play together again.."
After her plea, she stopped trying to shake her hand off. Shizuku let go, prompting Shiho to go on her back and peek over the blanket.
"You're really gonna play with me..?"
Shizuku pulled the blankets lower.
"Yeah!"
The brightness around her sister's face seemed to have sparkled in that moment, even with the sun already beaming on her.
"You can't do that if you don't take your medicine, though, Shii-chan," her mother said.
"Mmmm.." She pulled the blanket slightly up again as she groaned, covering half of her face.
"Okay, then I guess I won't be making your favorite food tomorrow."
She stood up coldly, about to walk away with zero remorse.
"W-Wait..!" Shiho quickly sat up. "Mama, I'll take it..!"
"Hehe, good." She kneeled down again, taking a spoonful of medicine and bringing it close to Shiho's mouth. "Here, say aah."
"Aah.."
The spoon went in and out of her mouth like butter. When she swallowed, her face scrunched up, followed by a prolonged groan.
"Okay — now another one."
"A-Another one..?!"
"Of course! You didn't think that tiny amount was enough, did you?"
"N-No.." Her tone told otherwise.
Instead of pouring another spoonful, however, she offered the medicine and spoon to Shizuku.
"Huh?"
"Why don't you try, Shizuku? Papa and I aren't going to be here all the time, so I want you to be able to give medicine to Shii-chan when she needs it."
"O-Oh, you're right!"
She took the medicine and spoon with determination, slowly pouring it onto the spoon.
"Make sure not to overspill."
After getting the medicine to just slightly below the tipping point, she put the bottle on the table and held the tip of the spoon handle with both hands, wobbling with the liquid as she walked to Shiho.
"Say aah, Shii-chan!"
"Aah.."
Her hands inched towards her mouth, further trembling as the distance slowly closed. With some time, Shiho’s mouth closed around the spoon, letting out another groan after she swallowed.
"Good job, Shizuku. Do you want to do the last one as well?"
"Mama..!" Her back slammed back against the mattress. "No more..!"
Her mother chuckled. "I'm just joking, Shii-chan. I'll make your porridge now, okay?"
"The yummy one..?"
"Yes, the yummy one. Shizuku, want to help me out?"
"Yeah!" She set the spoon on the table, bumping into the medicine. "Can I do all of it this time?"
"If you think you've got it all down, then of course."
She beamed at that, and so she followed her mother out the door with full confidence in herself.
"Mmm.. Don't leave me.."
At that mumble of a voice, however, Shizuku stopped and turned around, finding her sister's eyes closed with the biggest frown she had seen today.
"Shizuku, how about you stay with your sister?"
"Huh? What about the porridge?"
"Don't worry — I'll be okay on my own. Besides, did you know your sister will feel better if you stay with her?"
She turned back to her sister, still groaning with evident discomfort in her voice.
"It really works like that?"
"It sure does."
If that's the case..
"I'll stay with her forever, then!"
She sprinted back to Shiho's side and lightly called out her name, careful as to not give her a bigger migraine.
"Who..?"
"It's me, Shii-chan! I'm here with you, so don't worry!"
Shiho didn't say anything at that, and she wondered if she had fallen asleep.
However, her hands, which were resting on the edge of her bed, were slowly taken in by Shiho. There was no strength to it, of course, and her fingers hadn't even fully wrapped around Shizuku's. Regardless, Shizuku went ahead and did it for her, having a tight yet gentle hold around her hand.
Shiho's breathing settled into a steady pace, and just from watching her, she too felt like drifting off a little.
Until, a bright light suddenly appeared, followed by a shutter noise.
When she turned to see where it had come from, she found her mother holding a camera in front of her face, as if she had the thing on standby the whole time.
"Mama?"
"Don't worry, Shizuku," she whispered, taking an additional photo and creating another bright light that stirred Shiho awake. "Don't mind me."
"Mama, it's too bright.."
"Sorry, Shii-chan. Just one more, okay?"
She took another.
"I said it's too bright..!"
"Don't worry, Shii-chan!"
She took both hands and covered Shiho's eyes with them, shielding them from the oncoming flashes.
"O-Onee-chan, I can't see.."
Another photo was taken.
"Ooo, that's a good picture. Let me take a few more for Papa."
A few more pictures were taken, and the number of times the camera flashed became increasingly overwhelming. Still, with utmost resolve, Shizuku kept her hands in place.
"I said I can't see.."
"Just a little longer, Shii-chan!"
"Onee-chan.."
—
With her eyes still glued to the picture on the wall as she sat in the dining room, she chuckled to herself.
Memories, of course, were bound to come up when there was proof of them pinned across the walls and held up by old frames, like constant reminders of an intangible past. They weren’t strangers to her, and she herself wasn’t one to them as well.
In a similar fashion, she knew this present, this very moment in time, just as well, if not better.
Like a close sibling, she supposed.
She turned to Shiho, sitting diagonally from her.
"Is it good?"
Shiho, who was about to put a spoon in her mouth, stopped and looked up.
"I mean, for porridge, I guess it's good.." she said with a slightly hoarse voice, putting a portion into her mouth and swallowing.
"That's good."
The room fell into a comfortable silence before Shiho spoke up again.
"What are you making for dinner?"
"Hm? Did I tell you I was making dinner tonight?"
"Well, no, but I saw the ingredients out in the kitchen, so I just kinda assumed.."
"If that's the case, then I'd like you to guess!"
Her brows furrowed, clearly reluctant to answer as she stirred the porridge around with her spoon. She continued to stare at the bowl until she spoke up in a muttered voice.
"Salisbury steak..?"
"Hehe, correct!"
Her cheeks slightly reddened, and she took in another scoop of porridge as if to hide her emotion.
Then, her next word was quiet, so quiet that it couldn't even cut air.
"Thank you.."
Even so, she heard every syllable clearly.
"You're welcome."
For the next 5 minutes, the only sound that remained was Shiho's spoon clinking against the plate as she scooped up porridge into her mouth. When that was done, she brought her face mask back over her mouth and set the bowl into the sink before setting out into the living room.
"I'll be starting dinner, so rest for now, okay? After dinner, Mama said to take medicine again."
"Kay.." She lay down on the couch and brought the blanket over her body, already on the verge of passing out.
With that said, she would've gotten started on dinner as she said and left Shiho alone to rest. However, after that moment of reminiscence, a bit of indulgence clung onto her, and it felt like it wouldn’t let go until she asked what was on her mind.
"Do you want me to feed you your medicine?"
No immediate answer was given, and she wondered if she had fallen asleep.
"I can do it myself.."
Knowingly, her response didn’t come off as a surprise.
"Okay."
And with that, she set off into the kitchen, taking out the utensils and cookware necessary. Afterward, she started to prepare the meat in a bowl, mixing it in with the usual seasoning and spices.
Shizuku smiled.
The delay in her answer had made her think that she was seriously considering it, and though it was a shame, that was enough for her.
This moment, was enough.