sqrrel

MaybeI'mnotexplainingitclearly... butdoesthatringanybells?! Evenasmallcluewillhelp!

You said... it was a tall guy?

That rings a bell... Yes, it does. There's a customer like that.

Doyouknowhim?!

Yeah... He’s a regular, sort of.

It's just like you said. He always comes by himself, and always around midnight just before closing. I always have to stick around an extra hour for him.

He never orders much, either. Just a finbeast and a small side dish. A thing of liquor, too. He hangs around a little after he's done before heading on home.

Yeah, he looks real scary, but he's not a bad fella. Helps me clean up once he's done, too. Sometimes he talks about home when he's had a little too much to drink.

Boss... Doyouknow... ifhehasanyfriendsorfamily?

Friends or family? He never told me about them, but he certainly doesn't seem like he's married.

If you want to know, I could ask him for you next time? Wait, no, this is a customer's privacy we're talking about... *Sigh*... You'll just have to ask him yourself.

Boss, couldyoutellmemore... aboutthiscustomer?

Heprobably... won'tbebackagain...

Won't be back again? No way. He loves my food. He's one of the ones I was talking about, always saying my cooking reminds them of home.

You're right, though. I haven’t seen him in a while...

I wonder what that young man's been up to.

H-Holdonasecond!

D-Didyoujustsay... youngman?

Right, he's a young man. Maybe a little older than you, but probably not by much.

Now this 'Hui-ch'i Foothills' one is a classic. If my memory serves, it was issued a couple decades ago?

Hey, hey now, girl. Why are you crying, all of a sudden? A-Are you looking for family?

A-Alright, the next time he shows up, I'll ask him every last detail. Don't cry, okay?

Hey, speak of the devil. Now you pop in, eh, kid? Look at this girl, she's been asking after you, even started crying.

I have no idea what's going on, but help me out here.

I-It'syou...!

Shaw?

This brings me back.

'Hui-ch'i Foothills...' I grew up in a small town at the base of Mount Hui-ch'i. A place just like this.

I even remember this small pond behind the mountain. All the finbeasts we ate when I was a kid were from there.

You can buy the freshest fins at the docks here, but there aren't any great fincatching spots like that pond.

It's been years since I've been home, but the place still looks just as lovely as always, at least on these stamps.

Doyouthinkthatman wenttotheseplaces?

Hard to say...

Kou-wu isn't a big place, and there's not that many people there either. But, I can’t say I know him.

That said, now that you told me all this, I guess he doesn't feel a total stranger to me anymore. What a thorough girl you are, though. Not even we were this meticulous in our investigation.

Chief... Whatkindofaperson... doyouthinkhewas?

Hard to say... but he was probably homesick.

So you took the stamp album because you wanted to find his family?

Why are you so obsessed with him?

I... Icouldn'tsavehim...

Iheardhisvoicethroughthedoor... Heaskedmetosavehim...

IfIwasevenalittlefaster... maybeIcould've...

Nooneshouldjustvanish likethis.

Attheveryleast, Iwanttofindhisfamily, handthemthisstampalbum, andtellthemI'msorry.

Shaw, I'll say this no matter how many times it takes. You've done your job. Under those circumstances, no one could've done better, not even you yourself.

I can't tell you that's a wrong way to think, but with this kind of baggage, can you really throw yourself into the next fire without hesitating?

I... I...

Shaw, it wasn’t your fault.

Alright, I've said enough. This is something you have to figure out. I’m in no position to lecture you.

It's chilly tonight. Head home soon.

*Sniffles*...

*Sniffles*... *Sniffles*...

*Whimpers*...

Shaw's Work Log

Jan 16 \ Overcast

Today's the last day of my vacation. I did something really embarrassing.

In the end, I couldn't find anything about the man. I don't know what to do to pull myself together, but I still have more important work.

Jan 17 \ Clear

Today's my first day back on the job.

I've fallen behind on my training, so I gotta catch up. I might've caught a cold, and I need to get better!

SoIjustdemonstratedthedangers thatyoureverydayfirestarters mightpose.

Theexamplewetalkedabout isn'tjusttheory. Therewasafire justliketheoneItalkedabout inLungmentwoyearsago.

Wemustalwayskeepinmind howtoproperlyescape thesceneofafire, butintheend, themosteffectivewaytofightfires isbypreventingthemfromhappening inthefirstplace.

UnlikeCatastrophes, it'susuallypeople whostartfires, butittakesmorethan ourwillpoweralone tostopfires.

Wecanstopanaccident atitssource, butonceatragedystrikes, there'snoturningthingsaround nomatterhowremorsefulwefeel.

Hey, Skyfire. Is it just me or did the squirt sound like she was kinda nervous that whole talk?

Shh—Listen to her. She's telling this to you, specifically. Now stop interrupting!

As if she doesn’t mean you—

Still, she looks kinda sad, though. What should we do? Cheer her up, maybe?

Pipe down and listen!

Did... Dideveryonegetallthat?

W-WasItalkingtoofast?

Don'tbenervous, don'tbenervous... *phew*...

*Cough*... S-Sowejusttalkedabout firestarteraccidents, buttherearemanyotherways afirecanstart.

Nextup, we'lltalkaboutelectricalsafety. EngineeringOperators, pleaselistencarefully.