Every Marble Counted

Aiko pushed the door of the vet clinic with her shoulder. She held her dog in her arms. In her other hand, she held a small cloth bag.

The dog was big and heavy. His eyes were half closed. He made a low sound in his throat.

"Please," Aiko said to the girl at the desk. "I think he ate something bad."

"What did he eat?" the girl asked.

"Marbles," said Aiko. "Nine of them. Maybe more."

The girl wrote on a card. "Please sit down," she said. "The doctor will see you soon."

Aiko sat on a hard plastic chair. The waiting room was small and bright. A fish tank stood in the corner. A clock on the wall ticked loudly.

Three other people sat there. A man held a cat in a box. A boy had a rabbit on his knees. A young man had nothing at all. He looked at his hands.

Aiko made glass pictures. It was her job. She used marbles in her work. She cut them, melted them, and set them into windows. That morning, she bought forty new ones at the market. They were deep blue, like the sea at night.

She left the bag on the kitchen floor for a minute. When she came back, the bag was open and empty. Marbles lay all over the room. The dog stood in the middle of them. He had a strange look on his face.

She picked up the marbles from every corner. She dropped them into the bag. Then she counted them. Thirty-one. There should be forty. So nine were missing.

And the dog lay on the floor. He did not want to stand.

She did not think. She lifted the dog and ran to the car.

Now she looked down at him. He put his head on her knee. His breath was warm and slow. She felt a cold fear in her chest.

"What is in the bag?" the boy asked. He looked at her with big eyes.

"Marbles," said Aiko. "Blue ones."

"Can I see?"

She did not want to talk. But the boy was kind, and she needed something to do. She opened the bag and poured the marbles into her hand. They shone under the lights. They clicked together like small bells.

"They are so pretty," said the boy. "Are they magic?"

"No," she said. "But I like them very much."

"How many are there?" he asked.

"Thirty-one," said Aiko. "The dog ate the rest."

The boy looked at the dog. Then he looked at the marbles. "Can I count them?" he asked.

"Why?" said Aiko. She felt a little tired. But she gave him the marbles anyway.

The boy put them on the chair between them. He moved them into rows of five. The rabbit watched with its nose twitching. It was very quiet.

"Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty," the boy said. He picked up the last marble and held it up. "Thirty-one. That is right."

"Yes," said Aiko. "I told you."

At that moment, the vet opened a door. He was a tall man with a kind, tired face. His name was Caspian.

"Next, please," he said. "The dog with the marbles."

Aiko stood up fast. The marbles fell. They rolled across the floor in every direction. The cat in the box meowed. The young man looked up for the first time.

"Oh no," Aiko said. She dropped to her knees to pick them up.

The boy helped her. So did Caspian. The three of them crawled between the chairs. They found marbles under the fish tank and under the desk. One was under the cat's box.

Aiko put her hand in her coat pocket to find her keys. Then she stopped.

Something clicked there. She pulled out her hand. It was full of blue glass.

She stared at it. Her mouth opened. She counted them in her palm. One, two, three, all the way to nine.

"Oh," she said. "Oh no."

Caspian looked at her hand, and then at her face. "Nine," he said. "That is the number you gave the girl."

"I put them in my pocket," Aiko said slowly. "I did it when I picked them up. My hands were full, and I was in a hurry. I forgot."

Nobody said anything. The clock ticked. The boy tried not to laugh. He held his hand over his mouth.

"So there are forty marbles," Caspian said. "Thirty-one in the bag, and nine in your pocket."

"Yes," said Aiko. She felt very small. "I am so sorry. I wasted your morning."

"You did not," said Caspian. "Your dog is still sick. Something made him sick. Let us find out what."

He lifted the dog onto the table in the next room. Aiko followed. He pressed the dog's stomach with careful fingers. He looked in his mouth. He looked in his ears.

"Did he eat anything else today?" he asked.

Aiko thought. "I gave him his normal food," she said. "Oh. And the bin in the kitchen was open when I came back."

"What was in the bin?"

"A paper bag from last night," she said. "A lot of fish and chips."

Caspian nodded slowly. "That explains it," he said. "Too much oil. Too much salt. He ate a whole dinner, I think. And he found the marbles and played with them. That is all."

"He is not in danger?" Aiko asked.

"No. He needs water, rest and a plain meal. He will be fine by tomorrow."

Aiko sat down on a stool. All the fear left her at once. She laughed, and then she nearly cried. The dog opened one eye and looked at her. He looked almost proud.

"I am sorry," she said again. "I counted wrong. I even made a boy count for me."

"He counted right," said Caspian. "You only forgot your pocket."

Aiko took the dog's head in her hands. She kissed his nose. Then she stood up and took the bag from the table.

Caspian opened the door for her. In the waiting room, the boy and the rabbit waved.

"Well," Caspian said, with a small smile. "Next time, count your pockets first."

"I will," said Aiko. "And I will close the bin."