episode_0023

Shine and Amy returned shortly.

Shine came running towards me, staggering, carrying a bag of chips larger than her torso.

“Shine, be careful not to fall.”

Shine, unconcerned with Amy’s warning, approached me and handed me a large bag of chips.

The envelope I received by chance was quite heavy.

“I chose it.”

I nodded at Shine’s proud words.

A large envelope with a picture of a snack printed on it – it was potato chips.

“Thank you, Shine.”

I did prefer salty things like potato chips over sweet cookies, but I didn’t know Shine knew that.

My mouth quickly began to water.

I started to open the bag, imagining the texture of potato chips crumbling on the tip of my tongue.

A small hand begins to wiggle and tug at the top of the large envelope.

Thanks to the nitrogen that was fully packed in, it looked like it was hugging a large balloon.

“Ugh… .”

I pulled on the envelope with all my might.

The shaking hands and rustling noise continue to flow out.

“Ugh!”

I squeezed my eyes shut and ripped open the bag of chips.

With a “pop!” sound, a tremendous sense of liberation comes.

At the same time, a cool breeze blows on your face.

Then the salty smell of potato chips wafts in.

I started to fall backwards at the same time.

The two hands soared into the air, unable to withstand the force that had been gathered to tear open the envelope.

The wide open bag of cookies also flew into the sky.

As time passed slowly, potato chips poured out of the bag and scattered like snow.

Thud thud thud-

I lay in bed, blankly staring at the potato chips flying around.

I blink at the feel of the potato chip falling on my face.

“Jeff.”

A cool voice comes from the front door.

I turned my gaze to Shine urgently, but she glanced at the front door once and hid herself in the bathroom.

Left alone, I urgently get up from my seat.

A body crumpled on the bed, palms pressing against the bed in a hurry to get up.

The potato chips underneath are crumbling.

“Gasp… .”

I was surprised and held my breath.

The remains of potato chips falling from my palm were not important.

Because Amy’s angry expression was scary.

“Jeff.”

“…Huh?”

“Eating sweets in bed is prohibited.”

I avoid eye contact with her words.

I looked at the potato chips scattered on the bed, then carefully reached out and picked up a piece of potato chip.

Desire consumes reason.

My body began to move, swept up in desire without me even realizing it.

The potato chip I secretly picked up is headed for my mouth.

A crispy texture and a salty taste on the tip of your tongue.

A feast of familiar flavors is coming.

I look up at Amy with a small smile at the happy taste.

He opened his mouth to hide his mistake and direct her consciousness in the other direction.

If Amy ate some delicious potato chips, she would definitely forget my mistakes.

“Amy eats it too.”

I offered her a potato chip.

Amy looked at me and sighed, then reached out and took the potato chips I offered her.

“Jeff. Next time you eat cookies in bed, I won’t let you watch TV.”

It’s a shocking statement.

I nodded urgently.

No eating sweets in bed.

The important rules that were entered into the head should not be forgotten.

“Is Jeff crazy?”

Shine, who had been hiding in the bathroom, poked her head out and asked.

I looked up at Amy and thought.

Is this a mess?

It seems like it was just a warning and that was it.

bean-!

A small pain settled on my head at that moment.

“It… !”

I hold my head and bow my head.

Amy’s small fist slammed into my head.

“What do you mean sorry?”

“I’m sorry… .”

I spoke with my head bowed.

“Jeff. If you did something wrong, start by saying you’re sorry. Okay?”

“Yes… .”

I answered, patting my head.

As she said, it is right to apologize if you did something wrong.

I should have done that.

Why did I try to cover up my mistakes with a small smile?

Like a child who has done something wrong.

He acted as if he was trying to hide his mistake.

“Come down. I have to clean up.”

I get down from my seat as Amy says.

Jump down with a feeling of excitement.

The gaze that was raised while standing on the floor was too low.

I gape in amazement at Amy’s size, which requires me to look up at her for a long time.

I just realized this, but Amy seems very tall.

At Amy’s instruction to stay away from her as she was disturbing her cleaning, she sat down on the belly of a large doll in the corner.

I thought it would be good to use it as a substitute for a sofa because it is soft and comfortable to sit on.

“Jeff. Are you sick?”

Shine approached me cautiously and asked while caressing my hair.

“Huh?”

“Amy scolded me earlier.”

“No, it doesn’t hurt.”

I closed my eyes and felt her touch.

The small hands that move gently completely erase the small noises in my head.

“Jeff.”

“Huh?”

“Shall I draw a picture?”

Shine, who was stroking my hair, asked.

I opened my closed eyes and looked up at her.

“Suddenly a drawing?”

“There’s something important.”

“Something important?”

“Jeff.”

Shine’s hand, which was resting on his head, falls away.

I nodded as the noise that had stopped began to flow again.

Shine, who saw my answer, smiled brightly and ran to the drawer in the corner of the room.

What he took out from inside was a large sketchbook, colored pencils, and crayons.

“There was something like that too?”

“Amy bought it while Jeff was sleeping.”

It was something I didn’t remember buying, so it seemed like something she had bought while I was sleeping, just like she said.

Shine came up to me and spread out her sketchbook.

After that, I placed crayons and colored pencils around me.

Shine picked up crayons in a variety of bright colors and began to draw.

I watched her draw while holding the doll in my arms.

“Jeff.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a big house here.”

Shine began to draw a large house.

A spacious yard.

It was a large house with a pretty red roof.

“There are no windows?”

“Window?”

“Yeah.”

I could spot something odd about Shine’s drawing.

The beautifully painted house had no windows.

“Does a house have to have windows?”

An unexpected question came flying in.

I hesitated to answer her question.

window.

There are houses without windows.

However, it was common sense that houses built like this would have windows.

“Yeah.”

Shine changed the crayon and drew a window.

The completed house had a somewhat familiar appearance.

“Are you done drawing?”

“No, now I’m going to draw Jeff and me.”

As she spoke, she drew a picture of herself in the yard.

The girl with long white hair was wearing the white lab coat she had been wearing in the laboratory.

And the same girl drawn next to her.

She too was wearing a white gown.

“This is Jeff.”

“Me?”

I looked closely at the picture she had drawn.

A drawing of a white girl, nothing more than a playful doodle drawn by a child.

“This is our house.”

“Home… .”

Shine said, pointing to a large house.

house.

My house and Shine’s house.

“Yeah… .”

“We lived here.”

“Are you alive?”

“Yeah, I was alive.”

Shine spoke quietly, whispering.

I just nodded blankly and answered her.

I was living with Shine.

Were you alive?

“With Shine?”

“Yeah. Jeff was living with me.”

I stare blankly at the picture.

Scenes that come to mind at the same time.

A scene flashes by of Shine playing in front of a large house.

In front of a large, pretty house with a striking red roof… .

Shine changes crayons.

A green crayon is drawn inside the large fence that marks the yard.

The inside of the fence is filled with crookedly drawn grass.

The empty yard is filled with green.

“Grass… .”

“Yeah. Jeff. I played here.”

“Play…?”

“Are you drawing and playing?”

At that moment, Amy’s voice was heard, scattering my thoughts.

When I came to my senses, I closed my mouth that had been open in a daze and turned my gaze away.

“Amy.”

“The cleaning is all done.”

The bed, which had been covered with the remains of countless potato chips, was now clean.

“Don’t disturb Amy.”

“Did I interrupt you?”

“Yeah.”

painting.

house.

A large garden.

Words that come to mind are connected to create a scene.

play.

Shine and I often ran around and played in the large yard.

“That’s right.”

“Jeff?”

I held out my hand as if possessed.

I can feel the firm texture of the crayon in my hand.

Quickly moving hands draw pictures on a wide canvas.

What’s the weather like for playing?

It’s morning.

No, is it daytime?

The wind should blow coolly.

Draw the sun hanging at the end of a sketchbook.

Clouds drawn in the sky.

The blue wind drawn underneath.

“That’s right Jeff.”

Shine, who was sitting across from me, came closer to me and spoke.

I nod.

that’s right.

I think it was like this?

The picture Shine drew was of a white space with nothing around the house.

I work hard with my hands to fill in the empty space.

A familiar street scene is depicted.

A large park and a huge clock tower.

A neatly organized road.

The crooked picture continues to be drawn.

And so, a completed picture was created.

The paintings I completed with Shine are engraved deep in my mind.

“Where is this?”

“Jeff and I have a house.”

“Yours?”

“Yeah.”

Amy picks up her sketchbook.

“Do you remember where this is?”

“No… .”

I put down the crayon I was holding.

My head feels dizzy.

I don’t remember.

Where was this place?

And what were Shine and I playing in the yard?

I opened my mouth with difficulty and asked Shine.

“Shine.”

“Huh?”

“What did we play?”

“At home?”

“Yeah. At home.”

The blurry scene begins to become clear.

The warm sunlight pouring down.

A large yard.

I was facing Shine, feeling the cool breeze blowing.

“I played ball.”

“Playing ball… .”

A small ball settles between me and her.

ball.

What type of ball is it?

Is it soccer?

Or basketball?

Or maybe baseball?

“I’m talking about the ball game we played at the gym.”

A voice that lingers and scatters around my ears.

The shape of the ball between her and me is fixed.

“Amy. Give me back my sketchbook.”

Shine stood up and extended her hand to Amy.

Amy, who was looking through her sketchbook, took out her cell phone, took a picture of the drawing, and returned it to Shine.

A clicking noise echoes throughout the room.

I got up from my seat in surprise.

It felt like I had just woken up from a brief nap at my desk.

Shine, who was looking at me like that, closed the sketchbook she had received back from Amy.

“That’s all for today.”

“Aren’t you going to draw more?”

“Yeah. I think Jeff is sleepy.”

As Shine said, I think I’m a little tired.

I rubbed my eyes and sat down.

Shine organized the crayons and colored pencils and put them in a drawer in the corner of the room.

“Jeff. Are you sleepy?”

“…I think so.”

I answered yes to Amy’s kindly asking voice.

“What about Shine?”

“I’m not sleepy.”

As Shine said, I start to feel sleepy.

But, for some reason, sleeping alone made me feel defeated.

Strengthen your heavy eyelids to keep them from closing.

“Wow.”

Amy lifted my body while I was fighting against my heavy drooping eyelids.

Eye level increases in an instant.

The hand that dug between my armpits holds my body tightly in place.

Short legs dangle.

“Amy?”

“You should sleep in bed.”

Amy picked me up, walked over to the bed, and carefully placed me on it.

A soft blanket hugs your back.

I was moved to the bed in an instant and desperately tried to get up.

I hate sleeping alone.

It’s not night yet… .

A body that moves slowly.

The hand stretched forward touches the soft pillow.

The feeling of the soft blanket covering my entire body seemed to have an irresistible magic.

Shine, looking at me through blurry eyes, smiles slightly.

“Good night Jeff.”