CHII & TAKU Reading to children Page 2
"Could you teach me how to fold up the wheelchair?" asked Taku after gathering up courage.
"Sure. I guess a boy like you will learn fast"
Taku and the older girl opened and closed the wheelchair. It's not so difficult once you learn how to do it. Taku took the folded wheelchair and put it against the wall at the front of the room, so it wouldn't be in the children's way.
The reading began with the room full of children. Chii, who was reading the book surrounded by small children, looked older than usual. She shined in Taku's eyes. And the children, listening quietly, were absorbed by Chii's story.
"Chii has been coming to the library since even before the accident"
The volunteer boy said quietly to Taku, at the front of the crowded room.
"When did she begin to do the reading classes?" whispered Taku.
After the accident, she didn't show up for a while. Everybody was very worried about her. One day, on a reading class day, she unexpectedly came to the library in a wheelchair.
Taku remembered the story of the accident Chii had told him.
"We didn't know what to say to her at first, but Chii told us in a bright and cheerful voice that she had come to look for something she could do for herself"
Looking at her reading the book with all her heart, Taku thought her high spirits hadn't changed a bit since she was a small child.
