A weary smile passed over the janitor's weathered down features as he watched her stare into the plate glass window. Normally, he'd ask her to leave. The aquarium closed almost an hour ago, and he had a job to finish before he could go home. But today, he couldn't quite bring himself to.
This wasn't the first time he'd seen her. For days, he kept snatching glimpses of her out of the corner of his eye. She'd be mingling with the thinning crowds that still flocked to the aquarium for some relief from the endless grind of war. But he'd only see her for a moment, then she'd melt into the sea of weary faces like a wisp of smoke.
But now she wasn't trying to hide. She pressed herself against the viewing window. Cool blue light bathed her scrawny body as indifferent clownfish lazily swam though their tank.
She wasn't Japanese. She had the big blue eyes and hard-cut features of an American. But he didn't care. She might be American, but her body wore the signs of something he was all to familiar with: Neglect.
He'd seen hungry people, but this poor girl looked like she hadn't had a decent meal in her life. Her cheeks were sunken and pale, and her outfit—the parts of it that weren't castoff rags and ratty hand-me-downs—clung to her scrawny figure and showed off her ribcage and bony spine.
The girl had ever right to be miserable. Even her hair was a ratty mess of a ponytail held together by congealed salt. But she wasn't. Her hungry features wore an honest smile as her nose flattened against the glass. "Fishies," she said with a giggle.
"Pretty, aren't they?" the janitor smiled himself, and slowly strolled over.
The girl nodded, but her face stayed firmly pressed against the glass. "I like fish."
"Me too," he sighed and settled his tired body on one of the viewing benches. "It's calming. Just watching them swim."
"Mmm," the girl nodded. And then she giggled when a particularly inquisitive fish swam up and tried to nibble at her nose. "I like looking at fish." She peeled her face off the glass and glanced at him. The neglect in her features was more obvious than ever now, but so was the kind of honest kindness that couldn't help but warm his heart.
"With the war," the janitor shrugged. "I think… people like to come here and just.. watch the fish."
"It's a nice break," said the girl, "After the war."
"Girl," the janitor pulled himself to his feet. "You, uh…"
"Archie," she said.
"Archie," he nodded, testing the foreign sounds in his mouth. "When's the last time you had a good meal?"
Archie bit her lip, and her hands unconsciously shifted to protect her tiny belly. "Th—no, four days ago."
The janitor scowled. There wasn't a lot of food to go around, not with the rationing orhis salary. But… he could share what he had. Especially if it meant putting a decent meal in this poor girl's belly. Just looking at her made his heart ache. "Why don't we—"
"ARCHIE!" another girl burst though the doors with a giant smile on her face. This one looked a little less neglected—if just as thin and underfed—as the other. Actually, other than their haircuts and outfits, the girls looked like they could be twins.
"ALBIE!" Archie sprung into the other girls' arms and squeezed her in a tight hug. "I thought you were gone!"
"I thought you were too!" The other girl—Albie, apparently—squeezed her back in a tighter hug.
"How'd you know to find me here?" asked Archie.
"I looked up your record," said Albie. "You did Sea Scan after the war."
"You're a kanmusu?" said the janitor with a chuckle.
"I… think?" said Archie.
"Yes," said Albie. "We both are. USS Albacore, SS two-eighteen."
"Oh, that's what we are," Archie nodded. "USS Archerfish, SS three-eleven."
"Guess I won't be needing to offer you dinner then," the janitor chuckled at the to girls.
"Well…" Albie smiled a devilish smile. "No, but we could offer you one."
Archie nodded, "It's true. We're better cooks than you'd think."
"Too bad Barb's not here," said Albie, "She makes those awesome cakes."
Archie's knees almost gave out until her twin swooped in to steady her. "Cake…"
The janitor looked at the two scrappy little girls and laughed. "I might have to take you girls up on that.