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The money jar stood glinting in the sunlight from the window. Coins filled it more than halfway up, a sight Nya never thought she'd behold. However, she felt a small sliver of discontent in her young conscience. She was, no doubt, happy that she and her brother could finally live better than in their earlier days.

But it was all due to Kai's hard work.

Every evening Kai would come home tired but grinning, coins in hand. The jar would become heavy and then empty out after a trip to the market only to be filled up again. The smile after biting into a fulfilling meal would always grow wider on Kai's face because the fruit of your hard work is always satisfying.

But Nya could never feel the same gratification. If anything she felt more guilty. Was she a burden on her brother? How much better Kai would do without her? Feeding oneself was definitely a lot easier than feeding two.

Although she knew Kai would never leave her for anything, Nya was still of the opinion that she should lend a helping hand. She wanted to contribute to earnings a little if not as much as Kai.

But what could a seven-year-old girl possibly do?

Before an idea could develop, Nya heard the front door close. She slid off the stool on which she'd been sitting. Trudging out of the room, she saw Kai struggling to drag in a bag loaded with something heavy.

"What's that?" she asked without greeting, her curiosity making her forget.

Kai wiped away the sweat gathered on his brow. "Help me get it into the forge and I'll show you."

The two children tugged and pulled and managed to deposit the bag on the tool bench in their father's forge. Kai quickly walked over to the shop counter and climbed onto it. He reached up to grab the wooden shutter which hung above and pulled it down, blocking out the setting sun and the evening sky.

The forge and the shop grew a little dark and Nya had to strain her eyes till they adjusted. There was the sound of a spark igniting and seconds later, the room was illuminated by the oil lamp. Nya wanted to ask how Kai lit the lamp so quickly in the dark but thought against it.

"Alright," Kai said, placing the lamp on the bench. "Let's see." He rummaged through the bag and, one by one extracted a miscellany of tools from inside. Nya knew enough about blacksmithing to figure out that they were for forging weapons.

"Tools?" she questioned, picking up a hammer. She realized that it was a lot smaller and lighter than the one her father used to work with; the big one that was still hanging on the wall over the bench.

Kai smiled. "Yep! They're for me to use."

Nya frowned. "You're going to start forging?"

"I'll learn bit by bit." Kai arranged the spread-out tools, grouping them at the side so that they didn't take up too much space on the bench. "I can heat metal pretty well now. Maybe I'll start with cooling and reshaping it."

"But won't it be dangerous?" Nya asked.

Kai shrugged. "It won't be easy but it'll come to me, I'm sure. Soon, I'll be making weapons and earning more money like Dad!"

"You mean we," Nya huffed. "I want to help too."

Kai sighed, crouching a little to be level with the girl. "Nya, we've been over this. You're still too young. If it's hard for me then it'll be even more trouble for you."

Nya didn't want to hear it. She moved away, a deep scowl etched onto her face.

Kai sighed, giving in. "Fine. Tell you what, you can help me with little things like fetching pails of water and cleaning up afterward. Something that involves less fire and metal. And when you're older, I promise to let you forge weapons on your own."

This settlement still didn't seem like what Nya had hoped for but it was better than nothing. Starting slow, she'd eventually prove herself. She was capable of doing more than safe, subtle tasks.

"Deal."

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Thud.

"Ow! Ow! That hurt!"

Nya winced as she walked down the winding path with her bucket, Kai's yelps of pain loud and clear all the way down.

He probably must've hit the hammer on his finger or burned himself with the hot metal, she thought, sighing loudly.

It was going to be a long time till Kai got the gist of blacksmithing and an even longer period for him to let Nya take any part in it. Just thinking about everything they'd yet to achieve made Nya feel tired already.

She reached the narrow stream that ran close to their house before it widened and flowed into the heart of the village. Carefully settling herself on the damp bank, she lowered the bucket into the clear water. When it filled all the way, she pulled it out with a little struggle.

Carrying it back to the forge was always a hard task but Nya had managed to get used to it after a few days. After all, this was the only sort of labour she'd been doing in order to assist her brother.

Nya got to her feet, unsteady due to the weight of the bucket. She barely accomplished a few steps up the path before her foot caught on a rock and she tripped. The bucket flew out of her hands, crashing and dampening the ground in front of her.

Nya, lying flat on her stomach, growled and hit the earth with her fists. She stood up and dusted herself, glowering at the empty bucket all the while. Instead of moving to pick it up and try again, she kicked it hard. She watched as the bucket rolled a little way up the slanting path before coming back and resting at her feet once more.

"Ugh!" Nya cried out, grinding her teeth. "I can never do anything right!" She stamped the wet ground hard.

Splash.

She paused. Turning around, she watched as the stream trickled on serenely. No sign of anything that could've made that sound. There were no big fish in the water in this area and there was certainly no one around who could've thrown a pebble in there.

An absurd thought came to her. Watching the water, she raised her foot and hit the ground again.

Splash.

Utterly confused, Nya walked over to the stream and stopped on the bank. She looked closely at the water to make sure there was nothing there. She stomped both her feet this time, one after the other.

Splish, splash.

Nya gasped sharply, taking a step back. She saw the water shift on its own, breaking the smooth surface.

"Was that . . . me?" she whispered to herself, disbelief lacing her voice. It couldn't be. She was seeing things. But she had to make sure.

Nya lowered probably her hand towards the water, hesitating all the while. Slowly, the tips of her fingers brushed the cold surface. Lower and lower her hand went till it was completely submerged.

She waited.

A slight tickle sensation spread through her fingers but she couldn't tell if it was her nerves or the cold. Even after a few more seconds of waiting, nothing particular happened.

"Nya!"

She jumped, nearly falling in. Yanking her hand out of the water, she turned to see Kai sauntering down the path. He seemed to be clutching his left hand close to his chest.

"Will I be getting the water while I'm still young or not?"

"Oh," Nya suddenly realized. "Sorry! Just a minute!"

She refilled the bucket quickly, carefully stepped aside the rock, and rushed towards her brother.

"What took you so long?" Kai grumbled, wincing as he touched the tender red spot on his hand.

"I tripped. But I'm okay," Nya replied. She gestured at the burn mark. "What happened?"

Kai shifted his hand away, pulling down his sleeve to hide the mark. "It's nothing."

Nya sighed. She set down the bucket and dipped a corner of her kimono in the water. Kai resisted but she eventually took his injured hand and touched it with the damp cloth. Her brother hissed in pain.

"Water can be a pain in the butt sometimes," Nya remarked, glancing down at the bucket. "But it helps too." She finished dabbing at the burn mark and smiled at Kai. "Better?"

Kai smiled back, throwing an arm around her. "Thanks, tiny mom," he said, eliciting a giggle from the girl.

Kai grabbed the bucket handle and began hauling it up the slope, Nya following behind. She stopped after every few steps, turning around to watch the stream. With each glance, she became more and more spooked about what had occurred.

She couldn't mention it to Kai. He'd take it as hallucinations and tally it up to her working 'too hard'. That would be the end of Nya's mission to assist her brother in earning an income. She couldn't risk it.

It wasn't necessary to tell Kai everything. Nya was growing older and keeping secrets had now become a compulsion. She would discuss it when she felt was the right time.

If she ever got the chance.

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