‘Goose,’ replied Rose, tearing off a chunk of bread and dipping it in her gravy. ‘They say, “He who eats goose on Michaelmas Day shan’t money lack or debts pay.” It brings good luck.’

‘And we’ll need all the luck we can get,’ said Jack, hungrily devouring his meal while keeping a constant eye on the crowd.

With the arrival of their food a scrawny man had appeared near them, little more than skin and bones. ‘Spare some bread?’ croaked the beggar, his cracked lips salivating at the sight of such succulent meat.

‘Go away!’ said Rose, irritably waving him off.

But Yori handed the beggar his whole plate. The man’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. With a muttered thanks, he ran off before the generous offer could be withdrawn.

‘Why did you give away all your food?’ said Rose, aghast.

‘He’s more in need of it than me,’ Yori replied, as several other beggars, spotting a soft touch, came over and made their appeals.

‘It won’t make a jot of difference,’ said Rose, shooing away the vagrants, ‘and you’ll just go hungry instead.’

Yori placed his hands in his lap and turned to Rose. ‘Do you know the tale of the ten thousand fish?’

Biting into her buttered bread, Rose shook her head.

‘One morning,’ began Yori, ‘after a tsunami had washed ten thousand fish up on to the shore, a monk went down to the beach. He saw the fish flapping on the sand, slowly dying. One by one he started to pick them up and throw them back into the sea. A samurai sitting nearby spotted the monk and laughed at him. “Foolish monk!” he cried. “What difference can one man make against the fate of nature?” In reply, the monk picked up a gasping fish and tossed it back into the ocean. “I made a difference to that one!” he answered.’

‘A nice story,’ said Rose, through a mouthful of goose, ‘but I prefer not to go hungry myself.’

Yori responded with a contented smile. ‘And I prefer to be a monk rather than see other people go hungry.’

‘Well, I won’t see a friend go hungry either!’ said Jack, handing Yori a hunk of his own bread and a slice of meat.

Then, as he was picking the bones of a goose wing clean, Jack glimpsed out of the corner of his eye a girl with golden hair. ‘Jess?’ he gasped.

Dropping the bone on to his plate, Jack leapt up and plunged into the crowd after her.

‘Wait!’ cried Akiko, as Jack dashed off down the street.

But Jack would wait for no one. He’d seen his sister. Of that he was sure.