Marshmallow Island

It's gotten cold, so let's drink some delicious cocoa and talk about something fun.
Invited by those words, I go to her room at night.

First, I'll make the cocoa with care! she says, as she mixes Van Houten cocoa powder and sugar with a small amount of milk until it's a smooth paste. Once that's done, she gradually adds warmed milk. Then, she mixes that into a small pot of warmed milk and heats it a little more. Just a little, until it starts to simmer. I have some fresh cream, too, she says, pouring in a splash. It smells good with rum, but I can't handle that, she adds, dropping in a tiny bit of butter. "Why does milk warmed in a pot taste better than milk warmed in the microwave?" she asks. I don't have an answer, but I nod in agreement, saying, "You're right." We carry the cocoa in two mugs, along with the steam rising from them, over to the kotatsu. "Now, tell me something fun!" "Wait, me?" She nods enthusiastically. I had assumed she would be the one telling me something fun. "Hmm..." When I try to think of something fun, only unpleasant feelings and sad events come to mind. That's all that's been happening lately. No good. "Sorry, I can't think of anything. Anything fun." She pouts, clutching her cocoa mug. "Are you not having fun right now?" She sets her mug down, stands up, goes to the kitchen, rummages around, and returns with something. "Here! The secret ingredient for fun!" She floats a marshmallow in my mug. "Drinking cocoa with a marshmallow in it makes you happy." As she says this, she puts a marshmallow in her own mug, too. On top of that marshmallow, she places a single adzuki bean. "An adzuki bean?" "I dug it out of the red bean rice I bought at the convenience store earlier." She laughs; she loves red bean rice balls. "This adzuki bean is me." Huh? "A marshmallow island floating in a sweet pond made of cocoa! It melts quickly, so you have to land before it dissolves, read a book, take a nap, and escape immediately." "How?" "By boat, of course." I peer into my mug of cocoa. The marshmallow with the adzuki bean on it is already starting to melt. There is no boat. She tosses a cookie crumb into the cup. "Wait, is that the boat? It looks like it's going to sink immediately—or rather, it's already sinking." "You're right, I have to give up on reading and napping and make a quick escape. Oh no, my skirt is all sticky and I can't stand up from the island. I'm sinking into the cocoa along with the island! Help! Scoop me out with a spoon!" I laugh as I use the spoon to rescue the adzuki bean. "Are you having fun now?" "Yeah." "I'm glad." Even without marshmallows, it's actually fun. Whenever I'm talking to her, it's always fun. She's like a marshmallow herself. But if I said that, she'd probably get angry. She'd pout and ask, "Are you saying I'm fat?"

(End)