As soon as she said it out loud, her idea seemed wonderful to her. “If I’m your family, you won’t be lonely anymore! So I’m your family now!”
“Meh... I’m not lonely or anything,” he said curtly, turning away from her.
The way he talked was cold, but she could sense that he was just hiding how he really felt. Squeezing his hand, she smiled warmly. “Now that we’re family, we’ll do lots of fun things, every day! And we’ll be together, whatever we do!”
“Fun...things...?” Allen looked puzzled, as if he’d never encountered such an idea before. His eyes swam, and his shoulders slumped a little. “I don’t know what that is. I’ve never felt like anything was ‘fun’... Uh, you’re crying again?!”
“I-I’m not crying!” Her eyes stung, and despite her protests it was hard to stop her tears. For Charlotte, every day was brimming with fun things—singing, picking flowers, chatting with her mother. It seemed like a sad waste that he’d never had such shining moments in his life. Tears streaming down her face, she voiced her firm resolve. “I know what I’m gonna do. I’ll teach you lots of fun things! That’s what family does!”
“I never said I’d be your family—hey! Don’t pull me!”
After that, Charlotte took Allen all over the woods. She led him to a secret spot that one of her elderly neighbors had shown her, and they picked some wild strawberries. They went to a blooming meadow on the outskirts of the village and made crowns out of flowers. They sang, danced, whirled round and round for no reason, and sprawled out on their backs on the grassy field. She made him do anything and everything fun that she could think of.
By the time she thought she’d covered everything, a tinge of red was starting to color the sky. Right above them, birds crossed the field to return to their nests. Charlotte was thoroughly satisfied that they had had a very meaningful day.
But Allen, with the flower crown still on his head, looked puzzled. “What’s fun about all this...?”
“What?!” She couldn’t help but cry out in shock. She stopped making the second crown. “You didn’t think it was fun...?”
“I dunno... It just felt sort of busy.”
“Really?!” She was so shocked it felt like the world had turned upside down. She hung her head in disappointment and caught sight of the flower crown she’d been making. Her mother was so good at weaving them, but her tiny hands were too clumsy to shape them properly. This saddened her, especially now. I thought I could make him smile... Charlotte fell silent, still downcast.
Allen let out a deep sigh. “But, well... Plantmake.”
“Oh!”
At his short spell, her incomplete crown hopped off her lap and flew toward him. By the time it landed in his hand, it was already finished. It was much bigger and more finely crafted than the one Charlotte had made. He gently placed it on her head. When she looked up at him in surprise, his face softened.
“It wasn’t so bad to watch you, though,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I dunno, don’t ask me. Never felt like this before.” Allen ruffled her hair. It wasn’t the tender strokes that her mother always gave her, but a bit rough, and her hair got tousled immediately. Somehow it felt sweet in a ticklish kind of way, and it made Charlotte happy.
“Hee hee... You finally smiled, Allen.”
“I did not. Weirdo.”
“I’m not ‘weirdo,’ call me Charlotte.”
“Whatever. Weirdo’s good enough for a weirdo,” he retorted, but his face broke into a bigger grin, and he laughed boldly. “Hmph, if what you showed me today is called ‘fun,’ looks like it’s a piece of cake. I have a feeling I can come up with even more fun stuff—something bigger.”
“Then next time, you can teach me!”
“Me...?”
“Yes!” Charlotte stood up and squeezed his hands. He was an amazing wizard. Whatever fun things he would come up with were bound to be incredible. With sparkling eyes, she said, “Someday, you can teach me all the fun things you’ve found, Allen. That way, we’ll have double the fun together!”
“Together, huh...?” Allen murmured thoughtfully, a shadow falling on his face. But he soon nodded firmly and squeezed her hands right back. In the fiery glow of sunset, he looked determined. “All right. I’ll find lots of stuff, and I’ll teach you for sure. I promise.”
“Hee hee, that’s a promise.” Charlotte gave him a radiant smile.
The sky to the east was darkening into indigo. Allen gazed at the snowcapped mountains in the distance, then turned back to Charlotte. “It’ll get dark soon. Let’s go back.”
“Okay!”
Still holding hands, they began walking back side by side. His hand felt warm in hers, and it made her smile without thinking.
“Would you like to come home with me, Allen?” she said, repeating the invitation once again. She’d lost count how many times she had asked him now. “I’m sure Mommy would be happy to meet a nice boy like you.”
“Nice boy...right.” He chuckled, twisting his lips into a self-deprecating smile. She felt a stab in her chest—he looked like he might start crying. But what he said next shocked her even more. “I can’t go to your place. I’m thinking of going away soon.”
“What...?” She stopped in her tracks. He stopped too. The two of them stood in the field in the light of the setting sun, looking at each other with pained expressions. “You’re leaving, Allen...?”
“There’s something I have to do. I want to take responsibility for what I’ve done.”
“Respon...sibility...?” She had never heard the word before. Even though she didn’t know what it meant, she could feel the full weight of his resolve. It must be something very, very important to him. So she bit her lip and stopped herself from saying, Don’t go. Instead, she murmured a wish. “Will we...meet again?”
“Silly. I made a promise, didn’t I?” He smirked. His eyes looked a little misty. She could tell that he was holding back his tears, just like her. With a determined nod, he went on, “Next time, I’ll teach you everyth—watch out!”