Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

  She was an adorable girl around five, her face clean, her black eyes clear and sparkling, and her hair short. She was half a head taller than Amy. It looked like her mother had altered her dress to fit her daughter; it was covered with patches.

  She was very happy to see Amy, and started running towards her.

  “Jessica!” Amy called, and ran to meet her.

  But the girl stopped before she could throw her arms around Amy. She looked at Amy’s dress with surprise.

  “Why didn’t you give me a hug, Jessica?” Amy asked.

  “Because you’re wearing a beautiful dress today; I don’t want to dirty it.” She grinned, her central incisors still unerupted. Then she saw the kitten, and her eyes went wide. “Such a cute orange cat!”


  “It’s actually a duck; it came out of an egg.”


  “It did? But it doesn’t look like a duck,” Jessica said, confused. “Anyway, can I hold it?”


  “Meow!” Ugly Duckling cried, raising a paw as if saying no.

  Amy nodded. “Sure.” Then she looked down at the kitten. “This is my friend Jessica, Ugly Duckling. Behave, or you’ll have to run five more laps tonight.”


  “Meow.” It was resigned, and let Jessica hold it with its head down in sadness.

  “It’s so cute!” Jessica said as she petted it.

  By then, other children had seen Amy as well.

  “Amy!”


  “Amy!”


  They greeted her, and some trotted curiously to Jessica to look at the cat.

  Amy greeted them back, calling each by their nickname.

  Mag’s lips curved in a smile. She’s pretty popular among them, and she’s really into nicknaming people. The kids’ ages seemed to vary from four to nine. Their clothes were ragged, like the ones Amy had worn when he first saw her. The girl who was named Jessica looked very mature for her age and was the closest to Amy.

  “Amy said you’re all her friends, so we brought something for you to eat,” Mag said with a smile. “Now, who’s hungry?”


  “Me!” they cried together, excited.

  “This is my father, Jessica. He made you each a braised chicken and rice,” Amy whispered to her. “And he made one for your mother too.”


  “Your…… father?” Jessica glanced up at Mag, envious. Then she turned to Amy and smiled. “Thank you, Amy. You’re always good to me.”


  Mag smiled and went up to the benches. “Come on, kids.” He took out the food, put them on the benches, and opened the lids.

  The delectable smell poured out and made the kids’ mouths water. They didn’t approach the food, though.

  Mag counted 19 kids; there were three boxes of braised chicken and three boxes of rice left. “Go on, eat,” he said to them, smiling.

  They glanced at each other, and no one moved.

  Amy took Jessica by the hand, led her to a braised chicken, and took the kitten from her. “Try it, Jessica. I’m sure you’ll like it.”


  Jessica looked up at Mag. “Thank you, sir.” She picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite. Her eyes lit up.

  It’s so good! She didn’t know how to describe this taste, but she had never had anything half as delicious as this before.

  Jessica swallowed, trying to hold back her happy tears. She took another bite.

  “What’s wrong, Jessica? Don’t cry,” Amy said, wiping her tears away.

  “I can’t help it; the food makes me cry,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Odd kid. Mag smiled and took her crying as a compliment.

  The other kids stopped hesitating, walked over to the food, and started eating.

  “It’s really good!”


  “Your father is amazing, Amy!”


  “It’s so good it makes me want to cry too……”


  “Add some soup into the moonlight rice, Jessica, and it will become even tastier,” Amy whispered.

  Jessica’s eyes went wide when she looked at the rice. “There’re little moons in the rice grains!”


  The kids’ blissful faces brought a smile to Mag’s lips. Maybe I should do this more often when I have much more money to spare.

  “Is that Mag?” Luna whispered from a distance, with a big bag in her hand.