Prologue: A Promise Between Fake Family
Prologue:
A Promise Between Fake Family
WHEN I WAS LITTLE, whenever I had a sleepless night, Shinonome-san would take me to see the stars. We would go to a small hill a short distance away from town, perfect for its absence of both nearby dwellings and light, and burn some incense to clear away the glimmerflies, these pesky luminous butterflies that followed me around. Then we would stargaze to our hearts’ content. Just the two of us, some lamplight, and the stars.
As we gazed at the stars, we would talk about books—as the proprietor of a bookstore and his daughter were apt to. Sometimes, we would even bring books that had stars as motifs, or illustrated encyclopedias of space, and we would discuss their contents in depth. My favorite book to talk about was one about a pilot who, in the middle of a desert, meets a prince from a faraway planet.
The planet the prince lived on, the other planets he visited, his unique perspective on Earth, and the beauty of his flower, one that I could just so vividly envision—it all left me spellbound. The two of us would discuss the story at length with Shinonome-san giving his interpretations and me giving my own. At times, our interpretations differed, and we bashed heads, leading me to grow heated with frustration. But I always eventually cooled down, which allowed me to find our differing opinions intriguing in their own right.
Still, I was a child. No matter how intriguing our discussions were, when the time came, I was out like a light. Once I’d roused some, I would be greeted by the familiar feeling of swaying atop Shinonome-san’s back as he walked home. I loved those moments.
I made a lot of memories atop that hill, but there was one that left an especially deep impression on me. I was five then, if I recall correctly. The end of summer was nearing.
“Summer is the color of fresh, crackling melon soda, and autumn is the color of sweet and sour grapes!”
“What’s this about?” Shinonome-san gave me a mystified look.
From his lap, I looked up at him proudly and said, “The sky! Look, it’s so pretty!” I pointed at the sky with my still immature hands and laughed. In the spirit realm, the color of the sky changed together with the seasons, something that awed me at the time.
The spirit realm was the world the spirits lived in. It was also a world of perpetual night. Even so, while nothing was quite like standing underneath a perfectly clear blue expanse, the sky of the spirit realm was beautiful in its own right, with its colors that shifted over time and the multitude of stars dotted across it.
We had brought a book about stars that day. I recall I was a bit worked up with excitement then, having just learned the magic behind the twinkling stars’ colors, and said just that.
Shinonome-san’s face scrunched up into a smile. “I see, I see. You come up with some amusing things, Kaori. Maybe you’ll be a writer in the future?”
“Hmm… I dunno.” I’d only been a reader up until that point, but the thought of making my own books sounded fun, so I grinned back and answered, “Maybe.” I continued, saying, “What about you, Shinonome-san?”
“Me what?”
“Your future! What’ll you be?”
The moment I said that, his face grew troubled, and he averted his eyes toward the stars. “Well…I’m already an adult.”
I blinked a few times, genuinely confused. “Can you not become something once you’re an adult?”
Then maybe an adult wasn’t something to be, I thought to myself then. What would an adult who couldn’t become something even do? Idle their days away doing nothing, forever and ever?
“That sounds boring…” Like a child does, I said what came to mind, unfiltered.
Shinonome looked surprised briefly, then smiled wryly. “It’s not that it’s too late to become something. It just takes courage to take that step forward once you’re an adult.”
“Being an adult sounds hard.”
“I’d say it’s more annoying than hard.”
“Oh,” I remarked as I looked up toward the sky again.
Today’s cloudless sky was the color of melon soda. But I could see the color of grapes beginning to encroach in the far distance. That meant summer was ending, and autumn nearing. I was sad about the former, but I was also looking forward to autumn and the many yummy foods it would bring.
As I thought about it, I realized it felt like it had only just been the height of summer. At this rate, the seasons would pass me by in a flash, and I would be an adult before I knew it.
Would I manage to become something before then?
I felt a sudden pang of worry and clung to Shinonome-san.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.” Touching him set me at ease, but I kept that a secret as I didn’t want him to think I was still a little baby. That was when a flash of genius struck me. I said, “Okay, then, I’ll help you if you ever find something you want to be.”
“…Come again?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’ll want to be, but I’ll help you become it!” Having now voiced the thought, I became confident that it was a splendid idea. “I’m sure you’ll need lots of help finding the things you need to become something. Important things, like…treasure! The fox in the book said it too, ‘What is essential is invisible to the eye.’ It might be hard…but two people are better than one. We can do it!”
A happy thought crossed my mind then. I had found it. I had found the something I wanted to become. I met his eyes and, with some excitement, said, “I’m going to become your real daughter one day! That way I can help you more!”
I was not a spirit but a human who had wandered into the spirit realm at the age of three. One summer day, I had found myself in this dark, dark world, hurt and afraid. It was a world abounding with spirits who loved nothing more than to snack on bawling little children like me, as many had apparently tried. If it weren’t for Shinonome saving me, I’d likely have been somebody’s meal long ago.
Shinonome was…peculiar for a spirit. Not only did he save me, he even chose to raise me after learning I had nowhere to go. But we were not blood related. I thought of him as a father, but I felt I would always lack something a real daughter would have.
But it was okay. I would become his real daughter. If I did, I’d surely be able to help him better—and if not that, at least I’d be allowed to stay by his side forever.
Without hesitation, Shinonome embraced me tightly. “Oh, Kaori, you silly, silly girl…”
“Eww, you’re all pokey!” His unkempt stubble prickled my cheeks. I thumped against his chest in protest. “Let. Me. Go!”
“Oh, sorry.” He released me, apologetic.
I puffed up my cheeks and glared at my inconsiderate adoptive father. “How many times have I told you that you need to shave your face?!” My cheek still stung from where his stubble had prickled me. I continued to complain until I noticed his eyes were moist. My anger then quickly faded, replaced with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“You are my daughter,” he said, a bit emotionally. “Even if we aren’t blood related, you are without a doubt my daughter.”
Saying that, he lifted me onto his shoulders. In an instant, I was high and the sky so close. I let out an exclamation of awe as I gazed up at the stars.
Quietly, he whispered, “I have no need to look for anything. I have what’s important to me right here.”
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“Nope, nothing!” He roared with laughter and then said, “All right, how about you lend me a hand if I ever find that something that I want to be?”
“Yeah! You can count on me!”
“Well, aren’t you reliable!”
He suddenly began to run down the hill. Finding the thrill to be pure joy, I cried out for more. He gave just that, quickly increasing his speed. We soon left the range of the incense repellent, causing glimmerflies to appear and give chase. The speed at which he ran and the swarm of glimmerflies following behind made us look just like a shooting star.
“Aha ha ha ha! Faster, Shinonome-san, faster!”
“You got it!”
That moment at the end of summer, spent with my adoptive father on that starry hill, was a treasure I held dear to my heart. The wish I made then, that dream of mine—I’m going to become your real daughter one day! It persists to this day.