Chapter 4: A New Life
Four years ago
Rina was 13, which meant she could get a job in her village. She'd been getting by on the money she still had (since she really didn't need that much). Of course, she got a job at a shop in the marketplace, the only places that do hire people. There was actually one place where she asked about a job, because she automatically had it. Rina would begin working at the bakery the next day.
The bakery was owned by Itamae Hitoe, a single mother with an 8 year old daughter named Karei. They'd needed help there for a while, and Rina was the first to ask. The two seemed like nice people, and there was no reason to decline, and besides, she asked them for the job anyway. Itamae always spoke of moving to the Leaf village with her daughter. It was safer, closer together, and it had a better academy. She just needed the money to get there. That was the only reason that the poor woman and her daughter had the somewhat small bakery in the first place. Karei wanted to move there, too. She wanted some friends in the village, but there were no other young children in the Rock village.
Rina worked at the bakery for weeks, months, almost a year. She enjoyed working there, and there were many reasons. Itamae and Karei were so kind and considerate, and they really were friends of Rina. She couldn't believe she liked them so much. In fact, she felt like family around them, and Rina knew they felt the same around her.
Sadly, Rina hadn't been there long when she stopped working at the bakery, but she was still okay, and so were Itamae and Karei…for a while.