Siera, who had just moved to a new house, couldn’t gather her thoughts throughout the week. After playing with A until she was exhausted on their first meeting, she met him again at school the next day.
Since their houses were close, they went home together after school and repeated playing even after A changed clothes at his place.
Although she didn’t want to make friends with other kids, the situation of being able to play with other friends was an irresistible temptation for Siera, who was at an age to run around.
Eventually, she followed A outside and played until she couldn’t feel any strength in her body, then returned home to sleep, only to go to school the next day and meet A again. This cycle continued until the weekend arrived.
“Siera!”
Siera, who was sleeping in her room early in the morning, stretched in bed. However, a loud voice not far away disturbed her deep sleep. She shook off the noise and tried to get back to sleep under the covers.
“Siera—!”
Realizing that this wasn’t going away by ignoring it, she immediately threw off the covers.
“Siera!”
The boy’s persistent voice called out to her again. Approaching the window, Siera saw A calling out to her from in front of the gate at the end of the yard.
“Let’s play!”
A announced his brief purpose loudly from outside the window, where he could see Siera. Predicting another tiring day, Siera turned her head, still half-asleep.
What caught her eye was the clock on the wall, which pointed to 8 AM. Surprised by the early hour compared to a weekday school start, she looked again at A standing in front of the yard.
Despite waking up early, A was full of energy and waved to wait for Siera. The young girl sighed and headed downstairs to open the door.
A was still standing in front of the yard, and Siera dragged her slippers towards him.
“Why did you come so early?”
“Playing early is better on a rest day.”
“What about the other kids?”
There were many children in the neighborhood besides A. Siera wondered why A, who should be closer to other kids, came straight to her house.
“A’s house is the closest. And the other kids don’t wake up early.”
Siera immediately realized that A knew she had been playing with other kids. Although playing was fun, the early morning call to play on a day when she wanted to sleep in wasn’t welcomed.
A came to Siera’s house because it was close, but also because he thought she could play since she hadn’t adapted to the new environment yet.
“Are you alone at home?”
“Yeah.”
“Did your parents leave early again?”
“My mom and dad are busy with work.”
During the week, A never met Siera’s parents while playing with her. He asked her one day and learned that her parents left for work early and returned late.
He thought it was understandable during weekdays, but he hadn’t considered it happening on weekends too.
“Don’t you want to play with your mom and dad?”
Curious A asked with wide eyes, and Siera nodded, not understanding.
“How can you play if they’re busy?”
Siera understood that her parents were busy working and had given up on the idea of going somewhere or spending time together like other families.
“On weekends, you can talk more if you eat together with your parents.”
“I eat what my mom made.”
“…Alone?”
“Alone.”
“Really alone?”
“Alone.”
Siera answered matter-of-factly, and A seemed puzzled. Both were confused by each other’s differences, but A soon pushed those thoughts aside.
“Then let’s play now!”
“What? The other kids aren’t awake yet.”
“That’s true.”
“But what do we play?”
Thinking it was time to play early, A found himself unsure about what to play.
Seeing A pondering made Siera sigh and turn back towards the house.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to wash up and change clothes. You want me to play in pajamas?”
“Okay, I’ll wait here!”
Siera entered the house without answering. Feeling uncomfortable leaving A alone, she hurriedly prepared to go out.
After quickly washing up and changing into outdoor clothes, she came out to find A swinging a long stick he had picked up.
“What are you doing?”
“Playing a character from a cartoon I saw yesterday. Want to join?”
“No. I don’t know what it is.”
“I’ll show you!”
Feeling uneasy about playing an unknown game, Siera opened the door and stepped out. Immediately, A dropped the stick and grabbed her hand.
“Where are we going?”
“Our house.”
“Huh?!”
“Our house. I’m hungry.”
“Then why not meet after eating?”
“If I do, you’d have to eat alone.”
As A said, if Siera had eaten alone at home and met later, she would have eaten the food her mother had prepared yesterday. She felt it was normal and had no problem with it, but she couldn’t argue with A’s point.
Thus, holding Siera’s hand, A led her to his house on the next block and opened the door by entering a password.
“Our house password is my birthday. Come if you want to eat with us next time.”
“…I doubt I will.”
Though A quietly rejected his offer, he had never intended to listen anyway. Crossing the yard, he reached the front door and opened it.
“MOM!”
Hearing A shout loudly, Siera was startled. Used to being alone at home on Sundays, she hadn’t expected A’s parents to be home.
“Are your parents here?”
“Yeah, why?”
Arriving at the living room, dragged by A’s hand, she saw a short-haired man sitting on the sofa. In the kitchen connected to the living room, a woman in an apron was preparing meals.
“Huh? A, didn’t you leave?”
“I came back because I was hungry. When did Dad wake up?”
“Just now.”
Focused on the TV, A’s father turned to talk to A. Then he noticed the little girl hiding behind A, Siera.
“Who’s that? A friend?”
“Yeah. Since your parents left early to work, I brought her over.”
“Again, bringing someone without asking?”
“Of course not.”
A boldly denied, and Siera showed an incredulous expression. Soon, their eyes met.
“Oh, hello. I’m Siera.”
Greeting cautiously, A’s father smiled warmly.
“Come in. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but feel free to relax.”
With a kind tone, Siera felt some tension ease. Turning to look at the kitchen, a woman approached with a wet hand towel.
“A, didn’t I tell you to eat and then go out?”
“If we eat and then go out, we’ll be late. Mom, you don’t understand anything.”
A proudly explained, then slapped A’s head.
“You forget to go to school early every Sunday?”
“That’s old news.”
“There’s nothing old about it!”
Seeing A scolded by his mother, Siera tensed up again. Meeting her gaze, she worried unnecessarily about getting scolded herself, but A’s mother brightened up.
“Oh, A’s friend? You’re cute. Where’s your house?”
“About a block away, with a blue roof.”
“You must be the new kid in the neighborhood. Want to eat together?”
“Oh, A invited me…”
“Yeah, wash your hands and wait. I’ll cook something delicious.”
Seeing A’s mother smile warmly, Siera relaxed slightly.
Still feeling a bit tense, she kept checking her surroundings as A led her to the sink to wash her hands.
“Our mom’s cooking is really good.”
“Yeah…”
Unfamiliar with family dinners, everything felt strange to Siera. Despite that, she felt a slight smile form as she enjoyed the moment.
A’s mother had already prepared breakfast, and A and Siera sat down after washing their hands.
The four of them plus Siera began eating. Hungry, A started eating quickly, grabbing various dishes.
When A spilled food with chopsticks, his mother scolded him, and his father smiled. Observing the peaceful family atmosphere, Siera noticed everyone’s attention turning to her and looked around.
“Try this.”
A placed some meat dish on Siera’s bowl with chopsticks.
“Yeah, thanks…”
“Eat without worrying too much. Our family men always eat a lot, so there’s plenty.”
“Thank you.”
Thus, Siera began her meal. While eating, she could sense the atmosphere of A’s home as they talked about the week’s events and plans for the weekend.
Though her parents weren’t disliked or having issues, Siera rarely had such gatherings due to their busy schedules. She felt both curious and envious, and couldn’t help smiling as she continued eating.
“Oh, Mom. Siera’s parents left early to work. Can she join us for breakfast?”
“If Siera doesn’t mind, that’s fine.”
“…Yes, thank you.”
Unable to refuse, Siera agreed.
“It’s okay to play after eating, but don’t do anything dangerous with Siera.”
“We’re going to our hideout.”
“Don’t go! It’s dangerous!”
“Ah, it’s not dangerous!”
After a long time, the bustling dining table felt like a family gathering. Throughout the meal, Siera couldn’t stop smiling.
After finishing the meal, everyone helped clean up. While A’s father watched TV and played during his mother’s cooking, he cleaned up after the meal, and she rested.
Once the cleaning was done, A was ready to go and, holding Siera’s hand, shouted “See you later!” before rushing out.
“Looks like A brought a girl. What a surprise.”
“Maybe he has a girl friend among his friends.”
Returning to the sofa after finishing the dishes, A’s father sat next to his wife and relaxed.
“They’ll probably come back for lunch, right?”
“Probably…”
Noticing a hint of unease, he slowly turned his head to find A’s mother already looking at him. A’s father thought:
“This is bad.”
Holding Siera’s hand, A didn’t let go as they walked side by side somewhere.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to our hideout. Since we’ve been playing all week, it’s okay to go now.”
“You forgot about school because of playing?”
“Yeah.”
Although going to an unfamiliar place was unsettling, the idea of going to a hideout used by other kids excited her.
Maybe it was because of the satisfying meal, but Siera felt she could enjoy playing all day today.
Cheerfully, A led the way up the mountain path behind the neighborhood, taking a detour from the trail. Gradually, they entered a secluded area.
“Is this okay?”
The path existed but wasn’t well-paved, worn down by frequent use. Clearly, it hadn’t been used much recently.
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
Despite the confident answer, A felt uneasy but didn’t think about turning back to see the hideout.
Reaching a large tree, A stopped and pointed below. Following his finger, Siera saw a big hole dug under the tree, resembling a root system. Inside, various items were scattered.
“This is our hideout.”
Seeing no one else inside, Siera marveled at the spacious hideout. Proudly, A shrugged his shoulders.
“We’ll play here often.”
“Yeah.”
Though she had planned not to make friends because of moving, Siera focused on playing when fun moments came along.
A thought it was fortunate they could play together and cautiously entered the hideout with Siera.
