The lights are off and everyone has already fallen into a deep sleep.

I guess because of the backbreaking work they do to keep the family through the winter with enough money and food stockpiled. We can't really work the fields or forage during winter so we have to work extra hard during the autumn to hunt enough meat and forage enough sansai (wild vegetables and herbs in the mountains) to be dried and preserved for when it snows.

And chestnuts! And wild sweet potatoes!

Maybe I should ask Hatsuga to collect as much chestnuts as he can? Then we can have chestnut rice all winter long! It's really delicious and the mellow taste of chestnuts really goes well with rice, sprinkled with black sesame seeds and a little bit of salt! And as much sweet potatoes as he can too! Having roasted sweet potatoes during the chilling cold is probably one of the best things about winter.

Oops, I think I've been thinking too much about food.

I roll to the other side, wriggling my body to get into a comfortable position. Not forgetting to wipe the trail of saliva that have pooled at the corners of my mouth of course. I make sure to pull the sheets up to my chin so that it's nice and toasty underneath the blanket.

It probably slipped my mind but it's late autumn now! Beautiful orangey-red leaves that have almost left the trees bare and that's why Kaika has more work than usual. Kaika says that our village's tailors are quite popular among the other villages in the region so they usually order from Hasumi-san's workshop in bulk (I think that means a lot at once?) right before winter.

That's also why the hole in the shoji door needs to be fixed soon or else it's going to be really cold when it starts snowing. And we'll probably need extra cotton padded hanten for bedding on top of our old futons.

I pinch the scratchy material of my futon and rub them against each other, looking at it with horrible distaste in my mouth. It's so gotten so thin to the point where it probably won't be able to keep me warm enough for winter.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

It wasn't like this in my dreams. The beds there are soft and fluffy. Mine was warm, unlike a futon but was held up with a structure and had a really soft mattress with a thick blanket. The houses are warm and kept away the chill really well.

No- I shouldn't think like that. It's no use thinking about a place that only exists in my dreams.

There's just a lot of things that we need to consider as a family. I don't know the exact amount of ryo that Shibomu and Kizashi brings back so it's good to save as much money as possible in any way we can.

My youngest sister's coughing keeps me up. It sounds really bad, like she has something wet and sticky stuck in her body and she can't get it out. I can't really fall asleep like this. Even with the uneven lumps in the tatami on my back.

Are babies supposed to be this quiet? I don't really think so, the other babies in the village are quite prone to crying loudly when they need something or if they're hungry or if they need a nappy change but why-?

Moe coughs again.

It isn't loud enough to wake my family up but I'm unusually sensitive to sound. It sounds oddly wet, nothing like the dry heaves that Hatsuga sometimes gets in the middle of winter because it's too dry. It sounds almost like the frothing of the sukiyaki that we have rarely.

It's weird. Coughs aren't supposed to sound like that.

I fold the blanket outwards and crawl my way over to where Moe is sleeping, making sure not to wake any of my family up. And making sure not to accidentally press against any limbs or anything. They need their sleep.

She looks unusually calm, with her eyes closed and he face flushed. And she sort of looks cute all bundled up like that with only her face visible. A smile makes it's way to my lips as I extend a hand to stroke her head.

It's hot.

I pull back my hand. Huh? People aren't supposed to be this hot. Babies aren't supposed to be this hot. I turn to look at Mother's sleeping face, brows furrowed into something tight.

She looks so exhausted. I can see the hint of purple under and the deep wrinkles around her eyes. It almost makes me regret wanting to wake her up. But should I really? I should right? It could be really bad for Moe if it turns out to be something bad.

I reach out to shake Mother's shoulder awa-

The front door shakes in the shutters, the sound of them being shoved rings in my ears from the genkan. It sounds like they're being forcefully pushed open, I can hear a hitch when the doors get stuck on the little crack of the sliding thingies that keep the doors in place. One, two times before whoever is trying to enter gives up and just slumps their body on the front engawa.

Who's that? An intruder? A bandit?

I suck in a deep breath at the thought.

I give the rest of my sleeping family a quick glance. None of them seem to have noticed the sound. Aha, one of the downsides of being in a farming family. Everyone sleeps so deep that they can't hear how loud the door was jostling. Something twinges in my chest as fear bubbles from inside me. I'm a man of the house and I need to defend my family. I exhale a shaky breath as I look around the room for anything that I can use to protect myself and my family.