Katsuko enters the shop, careful to keep her jumperskirt, made voluminous by her numerous petticoats, from knocking anything over. A pensive expression marks her face; her brows drawn inwards and pale lips curved into a slight frown. But once she gets to the counter, her features soften and she finally allows herself a smile as she holds out a calligraphy-decorated card to Sunako. On it are two words printed in kanji and Russian. "Thank you. For the birthday present, I mean."
The bell above the shop door failed to draw Sunako’s attention, her focus trained on the pile of Myrtle Pepper stacked on the counter. She held a small strip of paper on one hand, a jar in the other, scooping the dried berries off of the counter in carefully-counted bundles of fifty. It wasn’t until Katsuko spoke that her attention was pulled away -- face lifted in surprise at the sound of a familiar voice.
“Oh!! You didn’t have to travel all the way just to say thank you.” Her hands are wiped on her apron before it is tossed to the side, still dusted with the scent of Mytrle Pepper as she reached for the card.
“But since you’re here, how about we read this over a cup of tea?”










