Memory Manipulation Club: txt [Short Story]

My Little Utopia (1)

He was a boy who resembled the bluish sky at 5 a.m.

Always staying in the darkest corner of the classroom, even the air around me
The child who was coloring coldly.


Huening Kai is always alone, like an isolated island, within the same rigid framework of school.
They were apart.

He didn't make eye contact with anyone,
The gaze that occasionally peeks through the gaps in the long bangs
He looked particularly lonely.


"Kaiya, this..."


The classroom after school was unusually cool as the heat from the day had dissipated.

When I picked up the tattered notebook that was rolling on the floor, having lost its owner,
I found his name written in cursive on the last page.


Leaving the school gate with my bag roughly slung over my shoulder was,
It wasn't just because I thought I had to find the owner.


My gaze kept drifting toward the mysterious sadness rippling beneath the boy
It is because he was caught.



My footsteps led me beyond the broken walking path on the mountain behind the school,
It was inside a thicket densely overgrown with large trees.



That place, where the noise of the city abruptly stopped, was like
It was like being inside a transparent glass bottle where even time flowed slowly.

In the center of the space where the setting sun's glow breaks through the leaves,
He was standing precariously.


Rustle-


The small sound of dry leaves being stepped on broke the silence.


"...!"


Kai turned around in shock.

At that moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Mysterious silver lion ears sprouting from beyond the school uniform shirt and
A long, trailing tail.


The traces of the beast hidden behind the boy's appearance were raw
It was exposed in the air just like a wound.


The white lion's mane, shining transparently in the sunlight, is strangely...
It was beautiful and poignant.


"...Don't come near me."


A low, scratching voice instantly lowered the temperature of the forest.
The boy's blue eyes were sharp, but
Inside those eyes, like a young beast caught in a hunter's net
A huge fear was surging.


"Ka, Kai...? What's that on your head..."

If you've seen it, just go.


He gasped for breath, with his white-haired hand
I roughly squeezed the collar of my school uniform.


Your unique self
It was a desperate struggle to hide it at all costs.


Go ahead and laugh at me as a monster, do whatever you want.
After all, human kindness always has an expiration date.
Once curiosity runs out, you eventually turn your back, saying it's scary.


The betrayal that had festered for so long burst at every single word Huening Kai said
Traces were left behind. Hurt and pushed aside by countless people,
The words of the white lion who eventually locked himself away in this secluded corner of the forest.
The depth of that loneliness pierced a corner of my heart with a heavy, stifling sensation.

Instead of backing away, I... what Kai had made
I took another step closer by crossing the invisible wall.


"I'm not going. And I won't tell anyone."

"Don't lie. Do you know how much I was fooled by that?"

It's true. I just came to return this.


I took Kai's old notebook out of my bag and carefully placed it at my feet
I put it down.


And slowly bend your knees,
I met Kai's gaze and height as he was crouching low.

Kai's white ears, which had been standing on end, slightly
It trembled.


Why is the lion, the king of the jungle?
I'm trembling like a cat. Don't worry, Huening. No one comes here.
It's your own world. Starting today, I'll become a part of this forest too.
I will be a little bird that holds your secret tight.

"Seriously... you're not afraid of me?"


His sharp gaze instantly faded away like melting spring snow
It loosened. The firmly locked bolt of the heart, in the face of warm comfort.
It was the moment it collapsed helplessly.

Huening Kai slowly climbed the tree and sat down, and the ear that had been standing
He bowed deeply.


That honest and defenseless look is terribly pitiful.
I quietly stayed by his side.



In the forest where the secret began,The Clumsy White Lion and My First Pagego
It was gradually becoming colored.

___

《♧》