episode_0014

Victor woke up just as lunchtime was approaching and took us to the restaurant.

People around them couldn’t help but laugh at Victor.

That’s understandable, because his face was covered in colorful graffiti.

Victor, who looked tired, still didn’t notice that his face was doodled.

He spoke to us, seemingly oblivious to what other people might think.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Same thing as Jeff.”

As always, Shine chooses the same menu as me.

I feel a little bit under pressure.

He sits at the table and swings his short feet back and forth.

This moment, right now, when the shortened length of my legs is clearly felt.

I had a feeling something was strange.

I wonder if I’m wasting this time too much.

Don’t you think so?

“Jeff.”

Shine’s voice disperses my distracting thoughts.

I started to worry again.

Deciding on what to eat for lunch.

It’s very important.

For a lunch without regrets.

I read the menu and ponder.

“I’ll have to have pork cutlet.”

So, the tonkatsu set meal was chosen.

A familiar taste.

A familiar shape.

But the taste of the sauce is a little different.

The food I ate at the lab didn’t taste like this.

It’s not like I’m necessarily debating which one is tastier.

It was a matter of familiarity.

The fork that had been moving vigorously stops moving.

“Aren’t you going to eat any more?”

I turn my gaze to the side.

Shine, as always, was sitting next to me.

The seat next to me.

No, that’s not true.

I move the fork.

The fork, which had been stopped, picks up the pork cutlet and moves it to the mouth.

it’s good.

It’s delicious.

It was a little awkward.

“Shine.”

“Huh?”

“You always sat next to me?”

As if asking the obvious, I just needed to confirm.

I asked Shine, my fingers shaking with anxiety.

The girl reflected in Shine’s eyes was looking at my older sister with anxious eyes.

“Yeah.”

I feel reassured by Shine’s warm smile.

Feelings of anxiety melt away like snow.

Maybe it was because this place was unfamiliar that I had that feeling.

I am once again a carefree little girl.

“Kids.”

At that moment, Victor’s voice was heard.

He calls us with a slightly trembling voice, as if he can’t believe it.

I shift my gaze.

The same goes for Shine.

There was Victor, examining my face with a small hand mirror.

A face full of colorful graffiti.

Stars and moon.

I thought the face looked pretty cool with all the drawings I thought were pretty.

“Did you guys do this?”

He points to my face and says.

I avoid eye contact.

“No… .”

A lie that just came out naturally.

A scene I saw fleetingly on television comes to mind.

The idea is that children naturally lie to hide their mistakes.

I touch my mouth.

As I was observing Victor’s expression, a sudden shock struck my head.

“Eww!”

thud!

A ringing sound in the head.

A tingling sensation grips the crown of one’s head.

It was so painful that tears welled up in my eyes.

Everyone’s attention is drawn to the scream that comes out of his mouth.

Victor said as I held my head and hesitated.

“Don’t do that again.”

I nod my head urgently.

Victor doesn’t look in a good mood.

The same was true for Shine.

Shine’s face becomes grim.

Very distorted eyes.

The gaze was directed at Victor.

Shine’s mouth moves.

A small whisper.

The voice that came out of his mouth spread throughout the restaurant.

In an instant, the sound stopped.

I thought so.

The endless noise in my head stops and connects in the middle.

Chiiik- Chik-

The scene you are watching changes with the sound you make.

The figure of Victor sitting in front of me disappeared.

“Victor?”

As I looked around to find Victor, Shine grabbed my hand.

Small, soft hands lightly intertwine.

I turn my gaze to Shine’s hand, which is digging between my fingers.

“Victor is tired.”

Shine says so with a blank expression on her face.

If she is like that, then so be it.

There is no need to question it.

I nod my head blankly.

“I’ll have to tell Amy everything when she gets back.”

“That must be it.”

Shine, who agreed with my mumbling absentmindedly, stroked my head.

My expression shows no sign of relaxing as I feel somewhat out of place.

Is it because the pork cutlet I was enjoying disappeared?

The plate in front of me was no longer visible.

“Let’s go back and eat some snacks.”

Shine grabs my hand.

Still feeling foolish, I touch the table once and get down from my seat.

The two of us jumped down from our chairs and left the restaurant holding hands.

“I won’t be able to see Amy for a few days.”

“I know, Jeff.”

“Then I can watch TV until late at night?”

“Yeah.”

“I won’t even brush my teeth.”

“If you want.”

My heart is pounding.

I’m already starting to get excited at the thought of watching TV all night and eating cola and snacks.

My pace naturally quickens.

Knock- knock-

Chubby footsteps echo through the hallway.

Shine starts to run at the same speed as me.

Run down the hallway to get a better understanding of the surrounding structure.

But there is still no exit visible.

After running excitedly for a while, I stopped in the middle of the hallway.

“Jeff?”

“Shh.”

I put a finger to my lips to silence Shine.

Now that Amy was gone, now that we had no one to look after us, this was our chance.

I can’t remember what the opportunity was.

Just that there is something important.

That was important.

I lean against the wall and start exploring the hallways like an undercover spy in a movie.

“Jeff what are you doing?”

“Shine, be quiet. It’s very important.”

At my serious words, Shine shut her mouth and followed behind me.

People walking around start laughing at us.

Keep smiling.

Let’s see how long that smile can last.

I wandered down the hallway, my heart pounding.

I stopped walking when I reached the section I couldn’t come to because of Amy.

That’s because the hallway lights were off.

The sound of people was also faint.

After passing a certain section, you will come across a crowded hallway again.

The people visible beyond the darkened area were proof of this.

“That’s it for today… .”

I turn my back.

Shine looks at me strangely from behind.

She asks why.

“Jeff, what were you doing?”

“I was looking for the exit.”

“What are you looking for?”

“To go back. To home.”

Shine was silent in response to my answer.

Without saying anything, we returned to the room.

As I entered the room, I quickly ran and picked up the bag of chips.

The sound of small footsteps, dododot, spreads loudly.

“Jeff.”

I was happy at the thought of eating snacks, but when I heard Shine’s serious voice, I put down the bag of snacks.

“Huh?”

“Have you been trying to go out?”

“Yeah. I was checking out what the hallway looked like.”

I wasn’t flustered by the feelings that came out so lightly.

Because I had to give her the answer she wanted.

All the vague memories I had hidden away came flooding back to me.

“Why did you come back in the dark hallway?”

“I hate the dark”

I recall a memory of darkness.

Area 23, that is, when I hadn’t awakened my abilities.

Most of my memories from that time were horrible.

He was always stuck in the dark, begging for food.

Because such memories had become a trauma, I hated the dark so much.

“Wouldn’t that be scary?”

“Is that so… .”

I’m starting to feel more and more dazed.

It’s not that I didn’t like it, I think I was scared… .

“Jeff. It’s a scary place out there.”

A scary place.

scary.

dark.

It was pitch dark outside.

So you shouldn’t go out.

Such thoughts sink deep into my mind.

Shine came over and sat down next to me.

She stroked my cheek as I sat there blankly, then spoke with a small smile.

“Jeff is my family.”

That goes without saying.

I nod my head blankly.

Shine.

My precious family.

“That’s right. I will protect you.”

What is family?

This is the first family I have ever had in my life.

“Are you protecting your family?”

Shine nods to my question.

I smile.

My mind becomes clearer.

“I’ll protect you too.”

Shine smiles brightly at my answer.

A bright smile that matches the name.

The moment she was hugged.

I wake up.

“Oops… .”

My body falls backwards because of the hug I received from Shine.

He wasn’t hurt because he was sitting on a soft stuffed animal cushion.

We dug between the cushions and woke up smiling while facing each other.

The television hasn’t been turned off for a long time.

Because there was no one to take care of us.

It seemed like Amy had asked Victor to do something for her, but he had no idea where he was.

Even as dinner time approached, Victor still did not come.

“Shine.”

“Yeah.”

Shine, who was watching television, turns around.

Since the animation I was watching wasn’t on at that time, the channel selection went back to Shine.

She was watching the boring news.

“Victor isn’t coming.”

He said, stopping drawing in his sketchbook.

“Um… .”

Shine turns down the volume on the television.

The announcer’s voice, who had been chattering busily, becomes quieter.

“Probably not coming.”

“Yeah… ?”

Shine gets up from her seat and stretches.

A cute “Eww-” voice flows out.

She checks her watch and holds out her hand to me.

“Let’s go eat.”

Maybe it’s because we had fun all day.

The feeling of emptiness was no joke.

Even though I ate a lot of snacks, I was still hungry.

If I keep eating like this, won’t I end up like Dr. Heblum and turn into a pig?

I put down the crayons and stand up.

My eyes are drawn to the crayons that are full of both hands.

“I’ll go wash my hands.”

I walk quickly into the bathroom.

My small stature meant I couldn’t reach the sink.

Amy steps up onto the footstool she brought and begins to wipe her hands.

A little girl’s figure seen through a mirror.

The little girl’s face is distorted with awkwardness.

“That’s still weird.”

After rinsing off the soapy hands, I touch my face.

Rub her small, soft cheeks like rice cakes.

“It’s weird. It’s weird.”

“What’s weird?”

“Ah… . Shine.”

“Jeff. Now that you’ve washed your hands, let’s go eat.”

I jump off the pedestal.

I remember Amy telling me not to run on the bathroom floor because it was slippery.

But since Amy isn’t here, there’s no need to protect her.

“The two of us?”

He holds Shine’s hand with his cleanly washed hand.

Shine nods.

He opens the door wide with a bold movement and walks towards the restaurant.

A road that is now familiar.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we didn’t sit down at a table.

Amy heads to the counter and selects the menu as she always does.

Because of my shorter height, I had to jump to touch the screen.

Shine and I took turns jumping.

The sensation of my palm touching the screen was subtly fun.

After receiving our tickets, we headed to the food area.

A plate positioned high up.

The food we ordered was already available.

Shine and I started to worry.

It’s not a distance that can be reached by jumping.

Eventually, we stopped a passing geriatric man and asked him to put down our tray.

“Please put the plate down over there.”

In response to my polite request, he scratched his cheek and put the plate down.

A plate full of food held in both hands.

Both my hands and Shine’s were sealed.

I bowed my head in gratitude.

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t easy to receive the plate and head to the table.

I had to be careful about how I walked.

We walked carefully and were able to arrive at the table safely.

I felt a renewed sense of gratitude towards Amy, who does this difficult work every day.

“I wish Amy would come back soon.”

But I still don’t like being uncomfortable.

It was a day when I missed Amy.