There was a park close to his home. Leo had never honestly wanted to come here, yet his mother forced him to go with her three times a week, telling him it was so he could make friends while she socialized with the other moms.

Leo really hated coming here. They would talk for an hour or even longer while he wandered around.

He hated playing with these kids. He could never understand what was so fun about any of it. Maybe that also had to do with the fact that he didn't have a single person he could call a friend, which was probably why his mother kept bringing him here, hoping he might finally get one. But after almost an entire year, it seemed to be in vain.

He couldn't befriend anyone simply because… he didn't like anyone.

They were annoying, loud crybabies—stupid, dumb, stupid.

His head would start to hurt whenever he even tried to hang out with them.

Rather than wasting his time going to the park, he'd rather have been hanging out with his mother.

Didn't she want the same? Why was she forcing him to do something he didn't want to do? Didn't she want to listen to how much he had improved with the piano? Didn't she love him? Did she hate him? Was that the reason? Did she want him to go away? Did she want to spend less time with him? Is that why she wanted him to have friends? Was he a nuisance?

It was frustrating.

What was he supposed to do? He was smarter than anyone his age. His teacher and his mom both said so. Why should he be friends with people dumber than him? Or was he perhaps… not smart enough? Not good enough? Did Mom want more?

Such feelings sat inside him as he walked over the annoying sand that got into his boots and made the soles of his feet uncomfortable.

Again, the annoying routine of wandering aimlessly, having annoying thoughts, and ignoring the laughter of these idiots.

Or at least…

That was what was supposed to happen. A normal, annoying waste of a day.

Today was different, though.

"Hahahaha! Look at that idiot! What the hell is he doing?"

Somehow, the laughter of one of the idiots in the park reached his ears, and Leo reflexively looked in that direction.

It was some snot-nosed boy pointing at another kid who was kneeling in the sand.

Leo stopped in his tracks and saw that the snot-nosed kid was with three of his henchmen, all of them laughing at the kneeling boy. They all had chubby cheeks and could even be called cute… naturally, Leo was cuter, but still.

The odd part of the scene was the kneeling boy. He had black hair with grains of sand stuck in it, and his blue eyes were focused entirely on the ground as he drew something in the sand with a stick—probably a piece of bark from a tree.

"Look, look, Dave! He's ignoring you!"

"Woah! He doesn't take you seriously at all, Dave!"

'They're wrong…'

Despite hearing their words, Leo had a different opinion.

'It's not that he's ignoring you on purpose… he's just so focused he can't even hear you…'

Even with that thought, Leo said nothing and walked to a spot where he could see what the boy was drawing more clearly.

"Eh?"

The moment he saw it, he couldn't help but let out a confused little sound.

With a stick, the boy was drawing… a fox eating an apple.

Despite the rough outlines, Leo could honestly say the drawing was quite good.

No—more than good. The boy clearly had talent, to draw something as ridiculous as this in the sand with just a stick.

But the group of kids laughing at him didn't seem to appreciate it. The one who had been called Dave by his henchmen stepped closer, dug his boot into the sand, and kicked forward. The sand surged like a wave, ruining the drawing and spilling all over the boy.

"Ah!"

"..!"

Startled, the boy fell backward, sand splashing over him. He covered his eyes and started coughing loudly.

'Oh no!'

This was definitely bad. The four idiots approached the coughing kid, who was clearly in pain and discomfort.

"Hahaha! Serves you right for ignoring me, you weirdo!"

Leo quickly looked around for an adult, but they were all at the far end of the park, and he could barely even spot his own mom.

He clicked his tongue.

Those damned adults were more focused on each other than on their own children.

When he turned back, the henchmen, on Dave's orders, were grabbing handfuls of sand.

'What should I do…?'

He looked around again for anything he could use and suddenly noticed something right by his feet.

"Huh?"

The stick the boy had used to draw in the sand was lying at his feet.

With no time to think, Leo picked up the stick and quickly snapped it into several smaller pieces.

Then, as soon as he was done, he ran towards them and shouted:

"Don't move!"

His shout was loud enough to make all of them freeze and turn to him in confusion.

"Hey, isn't that the boy who always comes here and is alone?"

"Yes, yes! Dave, you're so smart! That's him! I think his name is Weo!"

"It's not Weo, it's Veo!"

"Ohh."

While they were talking, Leo suddenly threw one of the small pieces of stick at their leader, Dave.

"Ow!"

It hit him right between the eyes, making him flinch and fall back.

"Dave!"

"Dave!"

The henchmen called out to him in a panic, but Leo, now standing right in front of them, wasn't done yet.

He started throwing the remaining pieces at the henchmen one by one, then turned back to Dave and pelted him with more.

"Ow! Ouch! Stop, stop!"

"Wahh! It hurts! Stop, please!"

"Run! Run! Mom! Dad!"

"Wahhh!"

To Leo's surprise, they gave up without even trying to fight back. They burst into frantic tears, shouting as they scrambled to their feet and ran away.

Of course, Leo used the last bits of the sticks on their retreating backs, making one of the henchmen trip and cry even louder as he was abandoned by his friends.

'Hmm… maybe going to the park sometimes isn't so bad…'

The fallen henchman eventually got back up and ran off as well, still crying, just as Leo finished that thought and ran out of ammunition.

Patting the sand off his hands, he suddenly heard a quiet voice.

"Ummm…"

"Hm?"

Leo turned around and saw the kid covered in sand sitting up and looking at him with an unreadable expression… yet, for some reason, those blue eyes of his looked like they had stars in them as they focused on Leo.

'He seems to be all right now…'

"T-thank you…"

Leo shrugged.

"I was bored. Don't think much of it."

Then he glanced at the sand. The drawing was ruined, which made him feel a little disappointed.

"I liked your drawing… Sorry it got ruined. Anyway, see ya."

He turned around and started walking away.

"W-wait!"

The boy's voice called out, and suddenly he was beside Leo, grabbing his hand.

Annoyed, Leo turned back, only to be met with the boy's serious expression.

"Your… your name?"

Leo frowned even more.

"Why do you want to know?"

'Mom said not to give my name to strangers… does he want to kidnap me?'

A scary thought popped into his head, making him even more cautious.

"I–I want to thank you."

The boy let go of his hand and ran toward the trunk of a tree where his backpack was lying. He picked it up and hurried back, while Leo watched him curiously. The boy dropped the bag onto the sand and knelt down, rummaging through it.

"Here!" he said, holding out a small box of some kind of strange liquid. Possibly dangerous. Probably poison. Definitely part of a kidnapping plan.

"It's apple juice!" the boy said.

"Oh."

'Apple juice…'

Leo quickly looked around. No one was watching them. His mom wasn't looking his way either.

'Mom said I wasn't allowed to drink more apple juice today, but… it's fine because it's a gift, right? It would be rude to say no…'

Nodding to himself, convinced by his own logic, Leo took the box of apple juice from the boy and drank from the straw.

The kid laughed, took out a box of his own, and started drinking as well.

When Leo pulled his lips away from the straw, he asked:

"What's your name?"

The boy did the same.

"Didn't I ask you first?"

"I'm older, so my words are more important."

"Eh? How old are you?"

Leo's expression turned smug.

"I turned six last month."

"Ohhh! Wait, then I'm older!"

"Eh?"

Leo froze as the boy laughed again.

"I turned six two months ago!"

"Eh?"

The same sound escaped Leo.

He clicked his tongue.

"Fine…"

He looked away.

"Leo. My name is Leo. You better remember it since I saved your life."

"Hehehe! Leo! All right. My name is Nathan."

*****

"Leo, you seem to have some sand on your clothes. Did you fall down? There's also a cut on your right hand, though it's not bleeding, it seems."

Holding his mom's hand as they walked back home, Leo was busy trying not to step on the cracks between the tiles. He looked down at his feet as he answered,

"Hm? No. I was, umm…"

Realising he couldn't tell the whole truth about how he'd used a stick as bullets to shoot at other kids, Leo said something close enough.

"I was playing with someone."

The moment he said that, his mom suddenly froze, and they both stopped in their tracks.

"Mom?"

Leo looked up at her, confused, still holding her hand. Then, all at once, his mom knelt down in front of him and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Leo… are you telling me the truth? You were playing with another kid today?"

Leo nodded, still a little puzzled.

"Yes."

"What was the kid's name?"

"Nathan."

He answered without hesitation.

"Nathan… that's Sarah's son, isn't it?"

She mumbled that more to herself than to him, but before Leo could ask anything, he was suddenly pulled into a warm, tight hug.

"…?"

Leo was utterly confused now, pressed against her as his mom stroked his hair and spoke softly.

"You finally made a friend, Leo… I'm so proud of you. Well done."

Her voice was right next to his ear, sounding both soft and sweet to him.

"…You're proud of me?" Leo couldn't help but ask, still not fully understanding.

"Mhm. I was worried for a while… maybe it was just too difficult for you to make any. But it seems you've proven me wrong. I am really, really proud of you. We'll have fried chicken with fries tonight."

"Really?"

Instantly, Leo's eyes brightened, practically sparkling as he looked at her. She nodded, gazing at him gently.

"Really."

"Hehehe."

A childish giggle escaped him as he buried himself deeper into her embrace.

'I don't understand why it matters so much to have friends but…'

Right now, he just felt warm and comfortable inside.

'If it makes Mom happy and more proud of me… I'll play with Nathan again.'

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