The sunset-lit playground was a place of ritual, where children brought their daily routines to a close.
The children, running about with the fearless energy of youth, gradually disappeared one by one as they followed the parents who had come to collect them.
One little boy, who had been playing the leader of the pack until just a moment ago, was sulking because his parents were always the last to arrive. Left alone in the now-empty playground, he played in the dirt in lonely silence.
“...And then his father quietly murmured, ‘Ah, Gracios, why would you make such a foolish choice?’ Gracios replied, ‘Because it is the duty I inherited, Father.’”
“...?”
Startled by a voice echoing through the playground he thought was empty, the boy stopped his digging and stood up.
It was a tiny voice.
When the other children had been around, the sound had been drowned out, but now that the playground had fallen still, the voice sounded peaceful, like a lullaby sung to the silence.
“‘Father frowned and pressed his lips into a hard line. He could not accept it. Why must his son shoulder such a burden alone? Unable to endure it any longer, he said in a voice thick with anger, “Gracios. The hatchling dragon you brought home is surely the seed of disaster. A monster hated by all humans, one that will repay that hatred a hundredfold once it reaches adulthood. Just what is your mission that you would raise such a hatchling?”’ ...What does ‘salvation’ mean? Dictionary, dictionary...”
Rustle.
With the sound of branches brushing together, a few leaves drifted down like falling petals.
The boy looked up.
It was one of the ordinary trees planted in the park, but it was far too tall for a small child to climb alone.
And yet, somehow, a little girl was perched up there, reading a book.
She looked about five or six years old. Her hair, which barely reached her shoulders, was slightly curled.
Her pale cheeks glowed warmly in the evening light; she was so cute and lovely that she could have passed for a real doll.
“Ah...”
Completely captivated by the sight of her, the boy let out a soft gasp without thinking.
Perhaps she heard him. The girl lowered her gaze and spotted the boy staring up at her.
“Huh? ...Ah!”
As she leaned down, the book resting on her knees slipped.
The boy could only stare, wide-eyed, unable to react to the sudden accident.
It was a remarkably thick book. As it hurtled toward his head with terrifying speed, the boy squeezed his eyes shut.
Snap!
“Phew~! Safe!”
The anticipated pain never came.
He opened his eyelids and looked up. The book, which had been falling open like a monster from a fairy tale coming to devour a child, was now gripped firmly in the girl’s hand.
If an adult had witnessed the scene, they would have noticed something impossible.
First, by the time the book had slipped, it was already far too late for the girl’s hand to have reached it. Yet, she had caught it effortlessly.
Second, and more importantly, the girl’s position had changed.
She had been sitting like a cat on a high branch, well out of sight for any child or adult. But now, she was on the lowest branch.
It was as if, in the blink of an eye, she had leapt from the top to the bottom.
Having snatched the book, the girl hung from the branch like a circus acrobat, looking down at the boy.
It was a surreal sight, but the young boy, whose world was not yet bound by the laws of logic, found nothing strange about it.
“Sorry. I dropped my book by accident. You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“Uh, no...”
“Really? That’s a relief~!”
Hanging upside down with a beaming smile, the girl seemed to radiate a light that could turn the evening back into broad daylight.
The mischievous boy, who had previously categorized people simply as friends or not, experienced for the first time the strange, fluttering sensation of being attracted to the opposite sex.
“Hup!”
The girl swung her body back and forth like a pendulum.
Then, with a cute little grunt, she pulled herself back up onto the branch.
“I’ll be more careful next time~.”
With that, she tucked the thick book under her arm and began climbing the tree with one hand, moving with effortless agility.
It was impossible to fathom how such strength could come from those slender limbs, exposed between her frilled short-sleeved shirt and short shorts.
“U-um, hey!”
“Hm?”
At the boy’s shout, the girl stopped climbing and looked down.
“W-what’s your name?”
The boy, who usually charged into every situation without a hint of fear, was discovering for the first time what it meant to “summon courage.”
Clutching the hem of his shirt with both hands, he waited anxiously for her to answer.
“Me? My name is... ah!”
Mid-sentence, the girl broke into a radiant smile that lit up her entire face. It was a dazzling expression, so captivating that she almost seemed to transform into a precious jewel.
Confused by the sudden smile, the boy tensed up.
That was when a rough yet gentle hand pressed down on his head, ruffling his hair.
“If you want to hit on my daughter, at least grow up enough to handle my fist of wrath first, kid.”
“Dad!!”
The girl waved the arm holding her book, her voice bright and cheerful.
The boy spun around in surprise.
The girl’s father looked much younger than the boy’s own father—so young that he felt more like an older brother than an uncle.
He wore a short-sleeved dress shirt suited for summer and a pair of well-worn jeans. In one hand, he carried a shopping basket. Judging by the contents, it looked like the family was having curry for dinner.
The man looked up at the girl in the tree and sighed. “Eto. I told you to wait for me at home.”
“But if I wait outside, I get to see you sooner, Dad!”
“Even so, climbing up somewhere dangerous like that...”
“Hup!”
“Hey, you little—?!”
As the girl leaped from the branch, the man panicked, dropped his shopping basket, and lunged forward. He spread his arms wide, catching the falling girl in a secure embrace.
“Heeheehee! It’s okay if it’s dangerous! Because I know Dad will always come running for me, right?”
“...Fine. Then I guess it’s only fair that you get a smaller portion of dinner as punishment for giving me a heart attack.”
“That’s so mean!”
Despite her pouting face, the girl refused to let go. Instead, she climbed up his body and perched on his shoulders.
The man, clearly accustomed to this, picked up his basket and passed by the boy, ruffling his hair once more.
“You should head home too, kid. Your parents must be worried.”
“Bye~! Oh, right! My name is Eto! Takaki Eto!”
With a final wave, Eto and her father walked away, disappearing into the glow of the sunset.
Watching the way Eto looked at her father with such pure happiness, the boy felt a strange sense of loss, as if something in his heart was saying goodbye.
A moment later, the boy’s parents finally arrived at the playground.
“Sorry, Tatsuya! Work ran a little late.”
“...Mom.”
“Hm? What is it, sweetie?”
“...Why is love so painful?”
“What on earth is a five-year-old talking about!?”
And so, the boy’s first love ended in heartbreak in less than a minute.
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