In a year, my health slowly got better and my legs became strong enough for me to take occasional strolls around the house of my savior, a kind lady with pink hair and wrinkled face that seemed to be always frowning. I started calling her madam in my mind because her presence reminded me of another old lady from my past. I seldom see dreams about my past – or what I think is my past – but in those rare cases, the most vivid picture in my dreams is about a gracefully aged lady, wearing glasses and reading some kind of a tome, too heavy for me to carry and too difficult to understand.

I now spend my afternoons in the madam's garden, bathing in the sunlight and gazing at the local fauna. I steal another glance at a gigantic tree that is actually serves as the madam's home, where she often practices some weird experiments, when she's not in the forest, picking valuable herbs, or taking care of occasional visitors. I noticed that nearly all of the madam's visitors seem to have wounds of some kind, which makes the madam really angry. I must admit that when angry, my madam is really scary, chasing around with a broom and sending curses at everyone else.

I also theorized that she is a healer of some kind, considering how skillfully she took care of my frostbites. "If you have time to stare at the clouds like an idiot, you may as well help me with house-cleaning, ungrateful girl," the madam calls me from her porch, "honestly, don't you have better thing to do?"

It's unforgivable! I am not allowed to act so lax towards someone to whom I own my life. I stand from my place and try to run back, but since my legs are still somewhat wobbly, I fall on my face. It's so disgraceful. "I'm sorry, mistress! I'll clean the whole house right away!" I beg her, trying to stand again, when a pair of arms picks my tiny body up and allows me to seat. I try to apologize again, but madam instead flicks my forehead, not allowing to insert even a word.

"I see," her expression turns grave, so I shrink, trying to look smaller. "If your legs are still weak, then you should've told me so. I thought you were fine already, but it seems that you still need some time for recovery," she sighed and rubs her forehead with her fingers, a tic I found quite interesting. "In any case, you should tell me when it hurts, okay? I hate this kind of patients more than anything."

I merely nod, unable to form coherent words. It's what I was talking about: my madam is extremely kind, ready to take care of such a burden like me, even though I do nothing but eating her food and spending my time idly reading books or dreaming. I shan't be so helpless. In the future, I'll make sure to return my debt to her with my life.

I follow her to the tree-house, where delicious food awaits. I don't remember tasting something so great in my whole life. In fact, since I have almost no recollection of eating anything tasty before, every meal I have seems superb to my tastes. It's a joke I silently laugh about, which makes the madam smile wryly and sigh a bit, as telling that there's no helping this girl. In the end, when she starts picking up our plates to wash, the madam starts speaking.

"In a week or so, I'll be having visitors, so don't be surprised when they come," she says and then adds some more, "I'm telling you this, so you won't do anything rash. I mean, children like you often are wary of strangers, and that ticks me off, so treat them like you treat me or that old fossil, okay?" Oh, and that "old fossil" is what the madam calls the elderly man that found me in the mountains. I haven't seen him since that time, however. It's a shame since I want to show my gratitude to him as well. If it wasn't for that old man, I would've been dead by now, frozen to the bone.

"I… I'll make sure to treat them with proper respect and manners," I obey. I remember that in the house where I worked before, all people had to be treated like this because they were my superiors in every sense. I remember their flourishing clothes, but come to think of this, those luxurious clothes are the only thing I can remember about those people.

Instead of acknowledgement, I heard the sound of someone trying to stifle a laugh. I look at the madam and see her clutching her mouth with one hand. I was about to run to her side, when the pink-haired woman started laughing. "R-Respect, you say?! That old fool… a-ha-ha… treated with proper respect… ha-ha-ha… and manners! That's a really funny joke, girl!"

I try to ask what's so funny about my words, but the madam answers my silent question. "Listen, girl, that man and whoever will come with him should not be treated like some nobles or such. In fact, I'm sure that they themselves don't even want to treated this way. If you want to please them, act like a complete fool: be merry and laugh, like all children do, and like how you don't for some reason."

I feel my cheeks turn red at her words, especially at the last accusation. "It's what I'm talking about. Is your idea of "improper" manners having fun or something? I mean, in my whole life, I've never seen such a miserable girl before. If you need an order, here it is then: act your age and stop bugging me with those puppy eyes!" I gape like a fish and then… I simply smile.

"If that's what the mistress wants," I say and make a curt bow. It was a completely ungraceful, wobbly mockery of a proper bow, and I should've felt ashamed for this, but honestly… I felt that only this kind of bow was "proper" for this occasion.

"Heh, smart-ass, aren't you? Now, go to your bed, but don't forget to apply the healing salve first. In the meantime, I have to find some ingredients that I remember stashing somewhere ages ago. It's not like people need artificial eyes all the time, dammit!"