Friday afternoon. Meiko waited in the warm sun, outside of her daycare. The red ribbon on her sailor uniform danced in the wind. Her mother was coming to pick her up, and today they were going to see her younger friend, Kaito. A year had passed since the day she first laid her eyes on the little boy, and they had grown close since then. Well, at least Meiko had taken a liking to him.

"Mommy!" She jumped up to her feet. Her mother approached with a nervous smile, and Meiko looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Mei-chan, don't cry but..." She knelt down to the girl's line of vision. "While you were at daycare today... Kaito-chan learned to walk."

Meiko stared blankly for a moment. She felt a strong feeling fill up her gut, and it quickly flew straight out of her mouth.

"WHAT?" She shouted. Her mom rushed to suppress the tantrum, but stopped short when she noticed a smile on Meiko's face. "That's amaaaazing! I wanna see!"

Mami giggled at the unexpected response, took her daughter's hand, and took off for her friends' home. When they arrived at the house, Meiko's dad was already there, relaxing at the table by Kaito's father. Mami joined Kaito's mother, who sat on the worn couch while knitting.

Meiko plopped down by Kaito and Takashi, who were playing with blocks. "So, y'gonna walk for me, Kai-tan?"

Takashi shook his head at her. "He doesn't wanna do it anymore, 'cause he's sleepy. Maybe later, Mei."

Meiko pouted, disappointed. In defeat, she crawled over by her mother. She was engaged in a conversation with Kaito's mom, so Meiko had nothing to do. She rummaged around the scraps of yarn that sat beside the couch. One of them appeared to be the start of a blue muffler, that was thrown to the side.

"What's this?" She said to the moms, dangling it in her hand similar to the way someone might hold a smelly sock.

"Oh, that was a scarf for Kaito." Haruko nodded slowly, her long blue hair swaying left to right. "But I thought it might be too dangerous, so I'm making a hat instead." she said, more to Mami than Meiko.

"I'll make it!" Meiko said, desperate for activity. The women looked at her for a second, then laughed in harmony. She was just three years old after all, and

"No, Mei-chan," Mami rustled the girls hair. "You're too little! Maybe when you're bigger."

"I can do it! I can do it!" the child cried repeatedly, at a maddening volume. Soon the women gave in, and handed her the needles and yarn. She fiddled with the tools in her hand, but soon deemed it too hard, and started crying loudly.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Takashi took her hand, trying his best to help the situation and the exhausted mothers. "Follow me!"

The toddler trailed behind him, wiping the tears from her chubby cheeks onto the back of his white T-shirt. He chuckled slightly at the gesture.

They approached Takashi's bedroom, and Meiko wondered what they were doing. The older boy rummaged around his closet, and pulled out a long blue sheet, medium in thickness.

"What's that?" Meiko asked, her brown eyes lighting up as she realized where this was headed.

"It's an old blanket thing," Takashi spread the sheet across the floor "It's still good and stuff, but I don't use it anymore. We can cut it up and make the scarf, if you want."

The girl hugged her friend tightly and thanked him. The children searched the room for a pair of scissors and other material, then set to work. They cut a long and thick strip of the fabric away from the blanket, careful not to cut too much or too little. Takashi showed Meiko how to use his sewing machine, and they made a hem for the scarf together. He even let her write something on the end of the scarf with a fabric pen. After about an hour, they had finished the job.

Suddenly, Haruko rushed into the room calling their names. Takashi worried he was in trouble for shredding his sheets, but the real reason his mother was frantic became obvious very fast. Baby Kaito staggered into the room behind his mom, holding onto the door frame for support. The older kids gasped in surprise and excitement.

Kaito made his way over to his brother with great effort. "Look what we made!" Takashi sang, as Meiko wrapped the brand-new muffler around him. She held out her arms, and the baby leaned against them.

"It looks so cute!" Meiko smiled down at the boy, and he slumped into her chest. The scarf draped over his shoulders and dragged across the floor as they walked around the room. The end of the fabric flapped about, revealing the writing on it's other side

Love, Meiko.