iii
Yukiko woke up with a start. She looked around, dazed. Where was she? Wouldn't it be lunchtime already? She'd be late at this rate, and Yukiko hated being late.
She was on a train.
Panicked and a little flustered at forgetting, Yukiko quickly took down her suitcase and rushed not to be left on the train.
"Ah!"
A small cry was heard from the front. Yukiko peered towards its source. A young girl, holding the hand of her mother who'd just stepped off the train, distressingly whined. "Blankie!"
Sure enough, a teal-colored blanket lay on the ground between the train door and the platform. Seeing it was nearest to her, Yukiko took bounding steps, reaching out and grabbing it before the train doors closed. She herself only barely managed to not get trapped onboard.
"Here," she said, handing the blanket to the wide-eyed girl. She took it and held it close, eyes still in awe.
"Thank you oh so much! I nearly felt my heart drop when I heard her. She carries this thing everywhere, we'd have never heard the end of it had we lost it." The mother spoke.
"It's no big deal. It helped me get off the train in time too," Yukiko replied. She ruffled the child's hair as she did with so many of her siblings. "Take care not to drop it now, ok?" The girl nodded resolutely before walking off with her mother. Yukiko watched them go, seeing them meet up with a man. The mother embraced him as she embraced them both. A family? Traveling around perhaps.
Her heart squeezed unexpectedly. Yukiko pushed down feelings of loneliness that threatened to consume her. She–who never even had any mementos like a blanket from her parents–had instead a loving, supportive adoptive family who'd raised a troublesome orphan like herself. There was no room for jealousy or bitter feelings, not with those kinds of people behind her.
Straightening herself, she hurried out the platform and into the city proper.
Magnolia. She'd made it.