Joutarou

Joutarou dove headfirst into a pile of bamboo steamers, narrowly avoiding a barrage of half-eaten buns. Marea, their ward, giggled from the rooftops of The Great Panda City, convinced this was part of the lesson. The lesson, Joutarou recalled with a sigh, was supposed to be about patience. They had been trying to teach Marea the art of meditation when Marea decided the concept was “boring” and initiated a city-wide game of tag instead. Their chase had already toppled a prized cherry blossom bonsai and sent a member of the Panda Council slipping on a stray banana peel. Joutarou adjusted their shades, brushed pastry flakes from their wise beard, and wondered if guardianship always felt this much like controlled chaos.