My name is Ayame. I live at Kamiya doujou with my family. We have good times here. I hope I'll live here my whole life.
I have two sisters, Kaoru-oneesan and Suzume-chan. Suzume-chan and I play together all the time. She's my best friend. She's younger.
Kaoru-oneesan is very pretty. I'm gonna wear clothes just like her when I'm a grown up. Suzume-chan will too. We're going to buy our own kimono fabric together at a store and sew them. I think it'll be hard but fun. Suzume-chan and I tried sewing once but it was too hard. We're waiting until we are more grown up to do it, like when we're nine.
Kaoru-oneesan works at teaching students at our doujou. But she was very sad this last week. I noticed even though Suzume-chan didn't. It's because the students all left. I told Kaoru that she will get more students and to wait patiently like I do when I'm waiting for the rice to be cooked when I'm hungry.
I was right too. Kaoru-oneesan has a new student now. His name is Yahiko. He's funny. He's just a little taller than me. He came here a few days ago. He doesn't like to be called Yahiko-chan. He and Kaoru-oneesan don't like each other. But really, I think they're pretending.
The reason we met Yahiko is Ken-nii. Ken-nii is a wandering swordsman who is staying at our doujou. Kaoru-oneesan found him and he's just stuck around. I love Ken-nii. He has pretty, long, red hair. He's very nice and my close friend. We do stuff together a lot now. He helped us make soup and onigiri. It was fun. I wonder what he'll teach us next. By us I mean Suzume-chan and me. Suzume-chan loves Ken-nii as much as I do.
Ken-nii has an upside-down sword. This is so he doesn't kill people. I think it is a very good idea.
Ken-nii and Kaoru-oneesan met Yahiko and brought him here. Yahiko likes manga.
Now Ken-nii plays with me. He chases me around on the grass and it's really fun. Yesterday we were talking about chazuke. It's my favorite thing to eat. Well, with miso and sushi and onigiri and fish. Ken-nii likes it too. Ken-nii likes to drink tea because it is so warm and soothing. I've decided to drink it more now too. We also like to go to Akabeko. It's a resturant and Ken-nii usually gets hurt there, but he doesn't mind. It's Kaoru-oneesan who hurts him. But she isn't being mean. Ken-nii just doesn't pay attention to some things and she gets mad. It's pretty much just an accident with her temper.
Ken-nii, Suzume-chan, and I made a little boat two days ago. It was a small wooden one and Ken-nii stuck it in a barrel of water. It floated so we pushed it around with a stick and Suzume-chan told us it was the boat of a tiny person. Ken-nii said he thought so too. I know they are right. I wonder if we will meet her someday. I know it's a girl. A little tiny princess. Ken-nii said we might see her so we've been keeping an eye out. Ken-nii is too. If he sees her he'll get us right away, and we'll do the same for him if it happens to us. He was pretty relieved when I told him so.
Ken-nii doesn't know how to play with dolls very well. Ken-nii is taking some instruction from Suzume-chan and me. Ken-nii is being Ayami-chan, one of my dolls. She's named after me, sort of. Suzume-chan is always her doll Yuuki-chan, and Kaoru-oneesan's old doll is the one I use now. I don't mind; I like to share. Anyway, Kaoru-oneesan's doll has a beautiful face so I like it too. I'm calling her Momo-hime. Ken-nii would be a boy doll if we had one but he is having fun just learning to play. He didn't have dolls when he was a boy. That's because boys don't get dolls. I'm glad I'm a girl.
I like to give hugs to Kaoru-oneesan. She likes to hug me too. Her skin is pink and soft so it feels nice besides being a nice thing to do. Her arms are long enough to hug me and Suzume-chan at the same time. That's why she can reach blankets on high shelves. Ken-nii is a good hugger. He's very warm and friendly. You feel safe with him. Kaoru-oneesan never hugs him though. Maybe when they're close friends like Ken-nii and me.
Kaoru-oneesan is seventeen. She has done a lot more things than I have, even though I've been living a long time already. I wonder what things I'll have done when I'm seventeen? It's such a long way away. Gensai-sensei says time flies by really fast, but it doesn't for me, and I'm glad about that. But I can't wait to be old enough to sew.