It was the first night after Aldo returned home. Iris was preparing to sleep on the floor with only a blanket.
“Iris? Hey, what are you doing?”
“Huh?”
Iris flinched. Aldo’s tone wasn’t angry, but being asked, “What are you doing?” by him made Iris nervous, fearing she’d get scolded.
“There’s a bed here; you should sleep there.”
“But… Father said I shouldn’t sleep in the bed.”
“I… did?”
A memory Aldo didn’t have. Before he lost his memory, Aldo never allowed Iris to sleep in the bed. He’d forced her to sleep on the floor without even a futon, allowing her just one blanket as a slight kindness.
“No, from today on, sleep in the bed. As for everything up until now… I’m… sorry.”
Aldo lowered his head, apologizing for the horrible things he’d done to Iris, even if he couldn’t remember them. Iris looked at him, wide-eyed and surprised.
“Really… I can use the bed?”
“Yes.”
The house had two beds. Iris used one, and Aldo took the other.
The bed was a bit hard, but it was much softer than the floor. It embraced Iris, allowing her to sleep peacefully.
◇
“Yawn…”
With the morning sun shining in, Aldo woke up. Iris still seemed to be asleep. He went to the washroom to wash his face, and just as he was doing so, he heard a scream from the bedroom.
“Iris! What happened?”
Aldo rushed over without even wiping his face. Iris was trembling, and as soon as she saw Aldo, she repeatedly muttered apologies.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
“Iris, calm down! What happened?”
Aldo’s voice rose involuntarily, startling Iris. Realizing his mistake, he stood there, mouth half-open.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Iris, could you calm down? Can you tell me what happened?”
“Sniff… sob… I’m sorry. I… I woke up later than Father.”
Iris’s tears fell onto the blanket. Aldo let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh, that’s all? You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Huh? Father… you’re not mad?”
“I wouldn’t scold you just for waking up later than me.”
“But…”
Iris hesitated, and Aldo understood. She had been living in fear of being scolded if she didn’t wake up before her father.
“It’s alright, Iris. ‘Father’ won’t do that anymore.”
“Really?”
Iris looked up at Aldo, her expression a mixture of half-relief and half-doubt.
What had the old Aldo done to this child? He couldn’t forgive himself for ever having hurt such an innocent girl.
From now on, he would protect Iris. Resolving to do so, Aldo came up with an idea.
“Iris, how about we go outside?”
“Outside…? Are you sure?”
Iris asked, a bit taken aback. Aldo smiled warmly, trying to ease her concern.
“Yes, let’s go on an outing today.”
“But, Father, don’t you have work…?”
Today wasn’t a rest day, a day when adults usually worked.
“Oh, work starts tomorrow. The doctor said I should rest until then, and my workplace confirmed it.”
Aldo had suffered a severe head injury, so his workplace had given him time to recover.
“Iris, is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
“Uh…”
“Hmm, hard to think of something on the spot, huh?”
“Sorry…”
“No, it’s fine. I’m not blaming you. In that case, how about I escort you around today?”
Aldo took Iris’s hand and led her outside. They walked through the slums as Aldo checked the map, heading to a certain place.
“Welcome!”
The worn-out clothing store in the slums. A female clerk called out to Aldo as they entered.
“I’d like to buy some clothes for this child.”
“Huh?”
Iris was surprised by Aldo’s words. Since her mother left, no one had bought her clothes.
“Alright, understood. We’ll take her measurements here.”
“Iris, be a good girl and listen to what the clerk says, okay?”
“Yes…”
Iris was taken by the clerk to have her measurements taken, and Aldo patiently waited.
When she returned, the clerk showed her various fabrics.
“How about this outfit?”
“Um… I think it’s good.”
Iris answered somewhat vaguely, not sure what to say in this situation.
“Iris, don’t hold back. Choose something you really like.”
“Yes, Father. Then… this light blue dress…”
“This one? Alright. Let’s try it on.”
The clerk led Iris to the fitting room, where she changed. She emerged wearing the light blue dress.
“How do I look, Father?”
“It suits you well.”
Aldo had her change out of her tattered clothes and bought her proper ones.
After leaving the clothing store, Aldo and Iris headed to a barber’s next.
“Welcome!”
“Could you cut her hair, please?”
“Her hair is pretty damaged. Would you be okay with cutting it short?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Iris answered nervously. After all she had been through, she had a lingering distrust of adults.
“Alright, little lady. I’ll make you look cute.”
The barber began trimming her damaged hair. Since much of it was damaged, they had to cut quite a bit.
“Her hair was really damaged. Maybe she didn’t have a place for proper care?”
In the slums, it wasn’t unusual for families to lack proper care, so the barber didn’t find Iris’s condition too surprising.
“Well, to be honest, my wife left, and it’s just us men now. I really don’t know how to care for a girl’s hair.”
Aldo made an excuse, and the barber looked at him sympathetically.
“Ah, sorry to bring up bad memories.”
“No, it’s alright.”
“Here, I’ll give you some shampoo for her hair. Use it to take care of her hair.”
“Really? That’s great, Iris! Oh, how much…?”
“No charge for the shampoo; it’s a gift.”
The barber laughed heartily. Aldo, looking grateful, said, “Thank you very much.”
“Now, Iris, thank him as well.”
“Oh, yes, thank you very much.”
Prompted by Aldo, Iris thanked the barber.
“Such a sweet girl. She’s going to be beautiful someday.”
With her hair cut, Iris went from having long hair to a shoulder-length bob. Removing the damaged hair changed her look significantly.
From a rather gloomy girl, she now looked a bit more lively.
“Oh, you look wonderful. You’ve become even cuter, Iris.”
“Really? Thank you, Father.”
Iris blushed and looked down shyly.
