episode_0146

Happy and peaceful times fly by.

It had already been over a week since I had come to Perman’s Castle.

Late one evening, Shine and I were sitting around a small desk, writing in our picture diary.

“Today was a fun day too.”

I looked at my picture diary with satisfaction as I colored in Rain’s drawing with colored pencils.

The diary I started writing at Perman’s suggestion gave me a chance to look back on what I did each day.

Think about the good and bad things you did each day and hope that you can be a better person tomorrow.

“Did you use up all the shine too?”

“Yeah.”

I held my diary close to my chest and looked at Shine’s diary.

The speed at which her drawing skills developed was beyond imagination.

” and…”

Shine, who captured Rain and my characteristics well and drew us into pretty characters.

Chuchu, running around the area, was showing off dynamic movements.

“Shine. You draw really well.”

But there was one drawback to Shine’s diary.

That is, he doesn’t draw his own picture.

She always draws what she sees.

I wanted to see Shine draw herself.

“Hey. Why doesn’t Shine draw herself?”

“Yeah… It’s difficult.”

“What’s so hard? Shine looks just like me.”

I tilted my head and asked.

Shine is like me, so if you draw a character that is exactly like me next to you, wouldn’t that become Shine?

“I don’t think it’s me. There can’t be another me next to Jeff.”

“Really…?”

I just nodded blankly at Shine’s difficult to understand words.

“You both didn’t forget the appointment time, did you?”

Then Amy looked at us and said.

I was startled by her words and checked my watch.

The time is approaching 9 o’clock in the evening.

The time of my appointment with Ferman was approaching.

I quickly got up from my seat and put the picture diary in the drawer.

“Shine! Hurry up! Hurry up. We have to go to Grandpa!”

The appointment time is 9 o’clock.

If Shine and I run hard, we will be able to arrive at the garden, our meeting place, on time.

Ferman was sensitive to time.

If we were late for an appointment, he would start lecturing us with a very disappointed look on his face.

It was a sermon like a lullaby, and as I listened to it, I fell asleep without even realizing it.

“Let’s go!”

Shine also put her picture diary in a drawer and stood up from her seat.

The dinosaur’s tail swayed as she moved.

“I’ll be back!”

“Don’t eat too many donuts.”

“Gasp…”

I covered my mouth with both hands at Amy’s words.

She knew we were sneaking donuts.

“Amy, you knew that?”

“Did you think I didn’t know? Every time I come back, the smell of delicious donuts is so strong.”

I unconsciously put my nose on her arm and sniffed at her words.

I hadn’t eaten the donut yet, so I couldn’t smell it.

“Are we getting punished?”

I looked up at Amy with a look of incredulity.

She smiled slightly and patted my head.

“It’s okay, as long as you don’t eat too much.”

Amy, who knew everything, but pretended not to know until now.

I felt a little moved and hugged her legs tightly.

“Thank you!”

“Promise. Isn’t it late?”

“Ouch!”

I turned at Amy’s words and started running fast.

The closed door was opened by Shine who ran first and jumped up.

The door was wide open, and in front of it, a huge dog named Chuchu was lying down, as if it had been waiting there for a while.

As soon as Chuchu spotted us, he wagged his tail and got up.

“Choo choo!”

Woof woof!

We started running with Chuchu.

The hallway, lit up with pretty colored lights, created a completely different atmosphere from the daytime.

It was a quiet space with no people, but the warm feeling brought by the light did not make me feel scared at all.

It was even more so because there was Shine and Chuchu next to me.

Run without stopping and jump down the stairs.

Chuchu jumped high as he ran down the stairs two spaces at a time.

Chuchu, who had come down the stairs in one go with incredible jumping power, looked back at us and wagged his tail as if they were competing.

The large gate was wide open to welcome us.

We ran quickly towards it.

After running hard and passing through the gate, I headed to the meeting place that Perman had told me about.

A garden lit by soft lanterns and a cool breeze blowing.

The sound of small insects chirping from all over the place tickled my ears.

The night I remember wasn’t in such a beautiful place.

It was always noisy and dangerous.

As I ran, I looked around frantically.

“Come on in.”

After running for a while, we arrived in front of a large fountain, where Ferman was waiting to greet us.

I jumped up and climbed onto the fountain.

It seemed that there was more to be gained by climbing up high and looking around from a tall height than by looking around from a small height.

A cold drop of water splashes gently on my face.

My appointment with Ferman was for a night walk.

Fortunately, it seemed like we weren’t late for our appointment, and Ferman didn’t say anything to us.

Ferman is busy. Always. All day long.

He had so much to do that I could only see him twice a day.

Just a moment during lunch time.

A little while in the evening.

I still knew that Ferman was forcing himself to take his time.

Ferman’s habit is to always check the watch on his wrist.

But when he was with us, he never checked the time even once.

“Shine. Jeff. I hope you had a great day today.”

“Yes! Today was a fun day!”

I jumped down from the fountain in response to Ferman’s words.

That’s how the slow pace started.

We walked through the spacious garden, feeling the cool breeze blowing.

The vine-covered walls really did seem to be made entirely of plants.

Shine and I told Ferman about what happened today.

He really enjoyed the stories that Shine and I told.

In her gaze that always looked down at us with a smile, I felt emotions similar to Amy’s.

It is a warm affection that cannot be found at all in the slightest hint of hostility.

Shine must have felt it too, at first she was standing on end, but now she was the one approaching first.

Just like now.

Shine gently grabbed Perman’s empty hand as he walked ahead.

Ferman furrows his eyebrows at her sudden action.

I also took hold of Perman’s other hand as I watched him.

His large hands, covered in calluses, were rough and hot.

Ferman’s pace was slower than usual.

Today is the last walk.

Tomorrow, Shine and I will follow Victor and Amy back to where we came from.

Ferman seemed to want to use this time longer.

“I’ll come again next time.”

Shine, who had been walking silently, suddenly opened her mouth.

It was very rare for her to speak first.

“That’s right. I’ll come again next time. Amy too. Rain too. And Victor too.”

Ferman stopped walking without saying anything.

Like the slow flow of time, the sound of the fountain could be heard slowly.

As the blades of grass blowing in the wind caught his eye, Ferman opened his mouth.

“Jeff. Shine.”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

As he said this, Ferman took out two small boxes from his bosom.

He bent one knee to meet our gaze, holding the box in both hands.

“This. Can you accept this?”

Shine and I looked at each other.

In their shared gaze, the two girls had calm smiles on their faces.

Shine and I moved without a single inch of error, as if looking at a mirror.

The slightly extended hand picked up the box resting on Ferman’s hand.

Click-

Inside the box was a silver ring.

The top of the ring was engraved with a small lion’s head.

The silver lion’s eyes were set with red jewels, emitting a sharp light.

“This is…”

“Ring?”

Shine looked back and forth between her hand and my hand.

“Can you accept that ring?”

“What happens if you receive this ring?”

Shine asked Ferman while holding the ring in her hand.

Judging from the fact that she didn’t let go of the ring from her hand even while asking that question, she seemed to really like the ring.

“Becoming a family.”

“Family…?”

“Yeah. You, Jeff, me, and Amy. The four of us. ”

“Family…”

“Yeah. We’re family.”

Shine muttered blankly.

The silver lion ring that entered her gaze twinkled slightly.

Shine slowly shifted her gaze and looked at me.

“I like it.”

If you accept this offer now, your family will grow.

To be honest, I never really understood what family meant.

Does Shine know?

For some reason, my heart feels pounding.

I let out a small breath and nodded.

If it was Amy and Ferman, I had no qualms about Shine and I becoming part of the family.

Rather, it makes me feel better.

A tingling sensation passes through the tips of my toes and fingers.

“I like it too.”

Perman’s gaze wavered greatly at Shine’s and my answer.

“Jeff, give me your hand.”

Shine took the ring out of the box in my hand and grabbed my hand.

Her gaze becomes hot.

I hesitated and held out my hand.

The sparkling silver lion ring in Shine’s hand slips gently onto my finger.

The cold feel of the ring and the feeling of Shine’s fingers brushing against my skin.

The silver lion ring on the left ring finger gave off a soft glow.

“Jeff do it for me too.”

As she said this, Shine held out her ring and her left hand.

She raised her hand as if she wanted to be on the same side as me.

I nodded and took the ring in my hand.

The ring, which felt cold, seemed to contain an inexplicable warmth.

I put the ring on her ring finger just like Shine did.

Shine smiled with satisfaction at my appearance.

“Thank you for accepting it.”

Ferman’s gaze was on me and Shine’s left hand.

But his gaze seemed somehow complicated.

I raised my hand to the sky and held the ring up in the moonlight.

The silver lion, shining softly, looked so cute.

“Okay. Then shall we go get some donuts?”

Ferman said, getting up from his seat and shaking his knees.

I jumped at the word donut and circled around Ferman.

“Donut!”

In the end, I ate so many donuts that day that my stomach almost burst.

When Shine and I returned to our room, Amy scolded us.