The house was not very big, but it was pretty. It was an old, Japanese shrine type house and it curved around in three spots. Surrounding the house was a picket fence which closed in a small yard. Whoever left this house must have been a professional gardener, thought Maru. The small yard had many flowers and a small area with many plants, now overgrown with weeds. But Maru thought it was because the house had been sold.

"Hey, Dad," said Maru "Who lived here before?"

"Nobody has lived here for over 40 years. Do you like it?" Everybody cheered and Momo and Mako began to run around and inspect the place. The floors were old, old wood, and the walls were made of something Momo had never seen before.

The house was big enough to have 4 bedrooms, so Maru would have her own room. All the children raced to find bedrooms to claim their own. Momo and Mako would be sharing a room, so Shinbo, Michi and Maru agreed to let them have the biggest room in the house. Shinbo and Michi grabbed the other rooms, and Maru was left with the tiny room in the corner of the house.

The room was maybe 12 x 12 feet, and had one, tiny window. It had cream-colored walls, which Maru despised. They were all going to the hardware store tomorrow to buy some paint.

It was late, and everyone was tired. Maru went to the van and grabbed a sleeping bag out of the trunk. She lazily made her way back to her new room, unrolled the sleeping bag and tried to fall asleep.

Have you ever tried to fall asleep in a new house? It's difficult, correct? Well, Maru could not fall asleep. The minute she closed her eyes, she heard her door creak open. Her heart started thumping. The door opened all the way and a gust of wind brushed her face. The wind had opened the door. She closed here eyes again, and a toad began to croak in a loud and obnoxious way. When she finally did fall asleep, she had a nightmare that Hideki and Chinatsu were killed in a bicycle accident on their way home from when they met. She woke up panting, and realized it was morning. She felt a large weight on her legs and sat up. It was Momo.

And Maru was happy that she wasn't the only one who had had a bad night.