Laughter is wonderful. It lights up the room no matter if only one person is laughing or the entire group. It brings happiness from the heart into the world.
They laugh when they’re happy. They laugh when they’re sad.
That sad, lonely laugh.
That is what sounded through the hall as they walked. The lamps were unlit and the moon unmasked.
“Misaki, are you sure you want to sneak around?” Shugo asked his sister.
She squeezed their hands which were already held tightly together. “I haven’t done this before. I want to sneak around after dark,” she whispered.
“But mother and father—”683Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDgn4Orw2Z
“—Should be asleep as well,” Misaki replied stubbornly. “And they’re not. So, I want to know what they’re talking about.”
Shugo gulped. What was he to do? Both of them were just six, and still young in this aged, greedy world. But Misaki seemed to know a lot more than him. They crept towards their parents’ room, their bare feet making no noise on the squeaky wooden floor. The hue of the lamp told them that as she guessed, their parents were still awake. Not asleep.
“Mother doesn’t sound happy,” Shugo said upsettingly. “Her laugh was sad.” Their mother had the most beautiful laugh ever and it was rare to hear her so unhappy.683Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPar4VQ8rG
Misaki hushed Shugo. “They’ll hear us if we’re loud,” she said, though she too worried for their mother. The two of them crouched down, their backs to the wall opposite their parents' room. They quieted as they listened to what their parents had to say.
“As if we can ever do that,” they heard their father whisper. The twins shared a confused look and waited for them to speak again.
“They will take away all our fortune if we don’t agree to it…if we don’t do as they say. But I am not about to give my own daughter away.”
Shugo tightened his grip on Misaki’s hand as the young girl tensed and strained to hear. What were their parents talking about? She really wanted to lean closer but knew her shadow might be seen through the paper walls.
“At least we can thank kami-sama that he is not twice her age. The Migayoshi family didn’t have that luck,” their father said. Their mother snorted.
It sounded as if they had to give Misaki away…Shugo sneaked a look at Misaki and saw that the quick-witted head of his sister must have realised that, too. Now, the question Shugo pondered over was who were they giving her away to? And why do they want Misaki? His brain wouldn’t comprehend.
He felt a tug on his hand as Misaki stood, pulling him to his feet. They stood there for a moment with Misaki quivering. She was biting her bottom lip with a confused, frustrated and scared look. They walked away quietly.
Shugo finally spoke when they neared their rooms. “I don’t think we have to worry about what they’re talking about until a few more years.”
She turned on him. “Do you even know what they were talking about, Shugo?” She demanded of him. She lowered her voice, remembering that the servants’ rooms weren’t that far off.
“Chi told me," Shugo said, referring to the young woman who was their nanny. "She told me that families marry off their daughters to wealthy families to create con-connections and to improve their repu-reputation." He stumbled over some words. “But mother scolded Chi so badly when she told us that.”683Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdEdHUlKme
“But it’s true! Families do do that! What if father decides later to do it too?” Misaki asked, bursting into tears. Big, fat drops rolled down her chubby cheeks.683Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1DGMxn8EN
Shugo held Misaki’s other hand as reassuringly as a six year old brother could.
“But we are a wealthy family, Misaki! They won’t need to arrange a marriage for you,” his six year old common sense told him.683Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZRXei2n29
Misaki’s black hair bobbed as she nodded. She let go of her brother’s hand and slipped into her room.
He stayed outside a moment longer, wondering if it was true that she won’t have to have an arrange marriage. He sure hoped so. And he went into his own room across the hall.
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