Soft bread is like the sun.

Hold it up against the sky and watch it cast a divine light from its golden crust. The anpan had been split in half so it wasn't exactly round anymore, but that hardly mattered. Times like these are the reason for the phrase 'turn a blind eye.'

Thanks for the food!

I took a bite of the anpan.

The crust of the bread was unbelievably thin but tasted firmly of good wheat flour.

And the red bean paste filled the center of the bread like the dense core of the sun. It had a pleasant weight and sweetness as I swallowed it. I could feel the sugar suffusing through my body.

Delicious.

So delicious that it brought tears to my eyes.

I heard a sigh from the girl sitting beside me with the other half of the anpan cradled in her hands.

We were sitting on a bench that overlooked the moat that encircled the Yamanote castle.

Behind us stood cherry trees in full bloom.

A dark green tram on the street rang its bell twice, then slid forward smoothly.

"Haizakura, aren't you going to eat?"

She jumped and her dull pink hair swayed as she spoke enthusiastically.

"It's as delicious as it looks, so go ahead and eat."

And she took a bite of the bread just as I had.

Then her tiny mouth opened once more.

"We can wait to talk after you've eaten."

"Also, you have red bean paste on your cheek."

"Aah, if you wipe it with your sleeve your kimono will...."

"Y-Yeah... that's good."

Haizakura once again exclaimed enthusiastically, unaware that she'd failed to wipe the bean paste from her face.

"So, dolls can eat anpan, huh?"

She slowly turned her lapis lazuli gaze on me.

"How would I know... what do you usually eat?"

Seems like important information, so no wonder she'd have it memorized.

She was puffed up with pride as she informed me.

"I'm afraid not."

"For one thing it's solid."

She mumbled the words regretfully as she looked at the anpan.

"So, it's all the same once it's in your stomach."

"Ah, she ate it."

She took a big bite.

The small exhaust pipe attached to her backpack began to vent smoke into the air above her.

It had a sweet smell like caramel.

She stared at me intently.

She tilted her head as if trying to figure out my name.

"...I'm Usami. Nice to meet you."

"Thank you. They called me Usa-san at my workplace."

"Of course, I don't mind."

"Yes, you told me."

"Yes, so it seems."

"When I was a child, I was on the mainland. There were many dolls during the war. Plus...."

"I had many doll friends as well."

We sat and chatted while we ate our anpan.

The time passed slowly as we relaxed in the spring sunlight.

Something about it felt incredibly nostalgic.

"So..."

Now that my stomach was feeling satisfied, I decided to ask the question that had been on my mind.

"Do you work at a bakery, Haizakura?"

She tilted her head quizzically.

"You're selling anpan, so I wondered...."

Apparently, the situation was more complicated than I'd guessed.

I sat up and listened more closely.

Had something happened to her...?