The wind swept her short hair back and whipped against her face. Kiki didn't mind, but her cat Jiji was certainly putting up a fuss from his perch in front of her on her broomstick.

"Kiki, are you sure you're up for making such a long journey?" He yowled, "It's cold outside and you just got over that flu that was going around."

"Relax Jiji," She said, "I can't let Osono down, and she said the Kusakabe family is willing to put us up for the night so we can rest up for the flight back." Kiki put a protective hand out to touch the parcel tied behind her. In it was a cake from Osono to celebrate the return of the Kusakabe family's mother. According to Osono, Mrs. Kusakabe had been extremely ill in the hospital for a while, but the doctors had announced that she was ready to go back home. Osono and Mrs. Kusakabe were friends from high school, and kept touch through letters to one another.

"Whatever you say- I just hope they don't mind cats." Jiji scooted closer to the delivery witch. It was that time of year when the nights began to turn chilly, and he was irritated that Kiki had neglected to wear a jacket. She would get sick again for sure.

The small rural village came into sight, rice paddies were everywhere, and Kiki was delighted to observe the large forested areas behind the houses. With the sun setting behind the treeline, it all looked quite serene.

Suddenly, a strong wind whipped up beneath her. With a sharp cry, Kiki struggled to maintain her balance with one hand, using the other to hold the cake parcel still. Jiji howled in protest and dug his claws deep into the wood of the broom handle.

Looking down, Kiki saw what looked like a bus moving in a strange manner across the rice paddies. Almost as if it were alive, it seemed to bound from place to place. She gasped aloud as it darted into the woods, she could have sworn that it had a tail attached.

"Kiki! That's the house! Land quickly!" Jiji's cries brought Kiki back to the situation at hand. Going into a dive, she rode against the wind before shakily leveling out in front of the house. Dismounting, Kiki took the cake in one hand and her broom in the other before she knocked politely on the Kusakabe's door.

"Coming!" A girl's voice called. Kiki heard stomping feet and the door was pulled open. She was surprised to see a short haired girl about her age. Osono had mentioned that the Kusakabe's had two daughters, but she had neglected to mention their ages.

"Hi there!" The girl said with a friendly smile, "You must be the delivery witch! Is that your broom?" She eyed it with fascination while Kiki shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me take that. My name's Satsuki by the way, nice to meet you! Hey dad, the cake is here!"

Kiki allowed Satsuki to take the cake parcel and wondered how to broach the subject of sleeping arrangements. This girl was extremely high energy, and while Kiki wasn't necessarily the shy type, she hadn't had very good luck making friends her own age lately. Tombo and the aviation club were a start of course, but Kiki hadn't spoken to very many girls since moving from her home and becoming a delivery girl for Osono.

A man with glasses appeared at Satsuki's call. He smiled down at Kiki and she instantly felt reassured. He reminded her a bit of her own father.

"Kiki, isn't it?" He said, "Osono told us so much about you. It's very exciting to meet a real witch, isn't it Satsuki?"

"I wanna see the witch!" A young girl with pigtails that Kiki hadn't noticed before poked her head out from behind Mr. Kusakabe's legs. "Hey look, she's got a cat with her too! Can it sleep with me?"

"Now Mei, we need to have our guest settled in for the night. You can pester her with questions tomorrow at breakfast, but I'm sure she's quite exhausted." Mr. Kusakabe stood back and allowed Kiki and Jiji to enter the threshold. "I apologize for my wife's absence, she still gets a little tired in the evening so she had to go to bed a bit early I'm afraid. Satsuki can show you to the room you'll be staying in."

Satsuki threaded her arm through Kiki's. Kiki tried not to go stiff at the familiarity and close contact, and was able to relax a bit when Jiji wound around her ankles.

"You'll be sleeping upstairs. I'll take you there." Satsuki said with a smile. It was an expression so full of the heartfelt desire to give reassurance that Kiki finally found her tongue (and her manners).

"Thank you, all of you. I really appreciate it."