The Meddler

At the sound of her voice, which seemed to reach deep into our hearts, we nodded in a daze.

“Oh, right. Silly me. I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

Until the steaming tea and refreshments were brought before us, our mouths remained stiff, and we couldn’t manage to say a word.

“You may call me Agnes.”

And so, as Agnes smiled gently, our lips began to move again.

“…What did you do?”

“Oh my, I didn’t do anything in particular.”

We watched Agnes warily in silence, but…

“Hehe. I went to the trouble of preparing expensive refreshments. Won’t you try some first?”

Agnes’s eyes crinkled gently, as if she were delighted by something...