Chapter 18: Equals

Nanami woke first, in a bed that was not hers.

It was the fourth-floor room with the lantern, and a futon on the long tatami, and the smell of cedar and cold tea.

Pale morning light came through the paper screen.

Ria slept curled against her side, with one hand fisted in Nanami's shirt and her wine-red hair in a tangle across both their pillows.

She looked softer in sleep, and Nanami knew exactly how old she was.

Nanami lay still for a long while.

Then she slid her arm free, kissed the top of the red head, and went to run the bath.

The big hinoki tub on the fourth floor took twenty minutes to fill.

She found the cedar oil on the shelf where she had seen it in October, and tipped a capful into the water.

Steam rose and the whole room smelled of forest.

She sat on the wooden stool by the tub and waited with her elbows on her knees.

It was the first morning in five years that she had nowhere to be.

"What are you doing?" said a sleepy voice in the doorway.

Ria stood there in Nanami's oversized work shirt, with it hanging to her knees and her hair a haystack.

She was blinking at the tub.

"Running your bath," Nanami said. "Come here."

"I do not take baths in the morning."

"Today you do."

Ria crossed the wet floor on bare feet, and Nanami took the shirt off her over her head.

She folded it on the stool and held out a hand, and Ria stepped into the water with a long, shuddering sigh.

Nanami climbed in behind her.

She sat down on the wooden bench built into the side, and drew the small body back against her chest.

The water came up to their collarbones, and it was exactly hot enough.

She took the soap and a cloth, and she washed Ria slowly.

She washed her shoulders and the long line of her back, her arms one at a time, and the palms of her hands.

Then she washed her feet.

She lifted one out of the water, and rested the heel in her palm.

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