Chapter 2

Rosa's eyes widened in shock, and she leaned close to my ear to whisper, "You really are something else. I've underestimated you… It's not surprising now that you made it back here after going missing for eighteen years…"

I blinked in confusion. What was she talking about?

I did feel like I would vomit the soup, but if I did, I'd have to wipe my mouth and rinse it.

It was too much trouble, so I swallowed.

Mom was watching me nervously. "I asked Mrs. King to cook that soup for you. What do you think?"

I wanted to put down my spoon already, but seeing Mom's twinkling eyes, I picked it up again.

If I said it was too salty, she'd make Mrs. King cook a new pot, and then she'd still be asking the same question.

Just thinking about the complicated process made me weary in spirit.

Whatever—I'd just have to finish it.

So I drank it, spoonful by spoonful, until I finished the whole bowl.

Clang!

As soon as it did, my spoon fell to the floor, and I soon collapsed in a heap too.

"Claudia! What happened?!" Mom was screaming again as she rushed to my side.

Dr. Harding didn't even have time to get changed as he ran back to the dining table, sweating all over his brow.

After examining me for a while, he quickly said, "Acute hypernatremia. She ingested too much salt… But it's fine. She just needs to drink plenty of water and take some time to recover."

Dad frowned as he blurted, "But that's impossible. We always keep condiments at a minimum for our food…"

He trailed off as he remembered something and reached for my spoon and licked it.

"It's so salty!" he exclaimed, smacking the table. "Who cooked this?!"

"I-It was me," Mrs. King stammered as she came forward. "B-But I tried it myself before I served it in the bowls. The flavor was right, but…"

She trailed off, pointing at Rosa. "I saw her reaching for the salt in the kitchen!"

However, even as everyone turned sharply toward Rosa, she said meekly, "I-I just added a spoonful since I thought she doesn't like plain food. Also, she could have just spit it out."

Mom was holding my pale cheeks, her tears falling. "Silly child. Why didn't you spit it out?"

Well, my worst fears had come true—I had to talk.

But even as my mind raced as I tried to come up with a sentence with the least number of words, Carl suddenly got the idea and bailed me out. "She must have felt uneasy and didn't want to hurt Mom's feelings."

That wasn't the whole truth, but I nodded in relief.

Mom pursed her lips, looking at me with guilt as she held me. "To make up for everything, I'll put together a grand homecoming party for you, so everyone knows that you're our daughter."

"Yes!" Rosa promptly pounced on the opportunity to volunteer. "I'll plan the party! It's going to be a big surprise!"