The Wings of Dreams

scalding. The greater shock was that the bowl had been hurled at her at all.
    “W-what—did you do that for—?”
    Tears welled up in misery and mortification. She bent over and wiped the broth from her cuffs and sleeves of her padded kimono. But it was already soaking into the fabric. The live-in servants did not receive a wage. They could count on room and board, but not clothing. Twice a year, the master gave them fresh fabric, but a growing girl like Keika soon outgrew her wardrobe.
    On top of that, the manual labor done by the live-in servants day-in and day-out soon left their clothing threadbare. They patched the worn spots, sewed split seams back together, and made do. Once an article of clothing was beyond repair, it was either wait for somebody to take pity and part with a hand-me-down, or dip into the master’s New Year’s celebration allowance and have new clothing made.
    “How awful—”
    She just had the outfit made from fabric she’d received at New Year’s. Choking back sobs, she brushed off the minced vegetables and pieces of meat. Shushou grabbed her hand.
    “I’m sorry!” Shushou fetched a hand towel and wiped down her dress. “I’m sorry, Keika. Is it hot?”
    “Um, no, it’s not hot, but—”
    “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
    Keika rubbed her face. As a servant, she’d been out of place taking Shushou to task. She dried her tears and blinked her vision into focus. Kneeling at her feet, Shushou looked up at Keika apologetically.
    “I’m really sorry. I’m just not in a very good mood.”
    “No—it’s—I’m okay.”
    “You’d better take this off. Maybe you got burned.”
    “I’m fine. It was only warm.”
    “You can’t very well return to you living quarters like this. It’s freezing cold outside. You’ll catch your death. Wait here. I’ll get you a change of clothes.”
    Shushou ran to her room, banged around her closets, and returned with a pretty silk kimono. She held it out to Keika. “It’s an old thing but it should fit you, Keika. Here, take it. It’s yours.”
    “But, Miss—” said the startled Keika.
    “It’s okay. It was my fault. I’ll explain everything to your mother and father. Don’t you like it? I’ll let you pick something else.”
    “No, no, this is fine!”
    “I really apologize. I lost my temper for a moment. I never intended to do something like this. Can you forgive me?”
    Keika nodded. It wasn’t clear to her who was supposed to be forgiving whom for what in the first place. And besides, she’d ended up with such a splendid gift.
    “Um, are you sure this is okay? An outfit this nice?” She was pretty sure Shushou had been wearing it only since the New Year.
    “If you’ll forgive me, then I don’t care at all. You’d better put it on before you catch a cold.”
    “Yes, um, sure.”
    Keika undressed there on the spot. Shushou helped her into the warm silk.
    “I feel like I’m dreaming.”
    “Really? It’s a perfect fit.” Shushou picked up the discarded clothing. “I’ll wash this.”
    “You needn’t go to such lengths.” Keika hastily taking them back. She couldn’t allow Shushou to become the cleaning maid as well.
    Shushou refused to relinquish them. “If that soup was hot, you could have gotten burned. I cannot with a good conscience do anything less. Don’t worry about it. I should be good for more around here than studying all day long. Well, I hope so.”
    Shushou smiled and set aside Keika’s kimono and returned to her chair. “I apologize. The food looks delicious.”

    She accompanied Keika to her living quarters and explained the situation to her mother and father. After receiving an earful of the expected protestations, she returned to her room.
    Shushou sat in the chair and thought. Time passed. She sighed and got to her feet, held up Keika’s padded kimono, and gave it a good looking over.
    With a small grimace, she said, “I should have thrown my teacup at her.” She stared out the bars of the window. “Now it smells like soup.”

Chapter 4
    [1-4]  B ehind the main wing of the house was a group of buildings called the “cold room.” Facing the kitchen was a well and a washing basin. And then the root cellar and granary. Extending ridgepole to ridgepole, the buildings enclosed the vegetable gardens, stock pen, and a fish pond, along with a mill and abattoir to process the harvest.
    Thickly clad in a padded satin kimono, Shushou ventured out to the cold room about the time morning