What Shine Likes
What Shine likes. Shine and Amy returned in no time. Shine came waddling toward me, clutching a bag of snacks that was larger than her own torso.
"Shine, be careful not to trip." Ignoring Amy's warning, Shine ran right up to me and thrust the massive bag of snacks forward. The bag I took in a daze felt surprisingly heavy.
"I picked it out myself," Shine said proudly, and I nodded. Printed on the front of the giant bag was a picture of potato chips.
"Thanks, Shine." I actually preferred salty potato chips over sweet snacks, but I hadn't expected Shine to know that. My mouth instantly began to water. Imagining the crispy texture of the chips crumbling on the tip of my tongue, I began to tear open the bag.
My small hands fumbled as I pulled at the top of the giant bag. Thanks to the nitrogen puffed inside, it felt like I was hugging a giant balloon.
"Ngh..." I pulled at the bag with all my might. My hands trembled, making a continuous crinkling sound.
"Hah!" Squeezing my eyes shut, I ripped the bag open. With a loud pop!, a tremendous sense of liberation washed over me. At the same time, a cool gust of wind brushed against my face, followed by the distinct, salty aroma of potato chips.
At that exact moment, I began to fall backward. Unable to withstand the force I had gathered to rip the bag, my hands shot up into the air. The wide-open snack bag flew skyward as well. In slow motion, the potato chips pouring out of the bag fluttered down like snow.
Pitter-patter— Lying flat on the bed, I stared blankly at the falling potato chips. I blinked as I felt the touch of a chip landing on my face.
"Jeff." A chilly voice echoed from the entryway. I quickly turned to look at Shine, but she took one glance at the entryway and immediately hid in the bathroom. Left all alone, I scrambled to sit up. My body squirmed on the bed, and as I pressed my palms down to push myself up, the potato chips underneath me crushed to pieces.
"Ah..." Startled, I gasped. The crumbs falling from my palms didn't matter right now. What mattered was Amy's terrifying, angry expression.
"Jeff."
"...Yes?"
"No eating snacks on the bed."
I avoided her gaze at her words. Looking at the potato chips scattered across the bed, I carefully reached out and picked up a single chip. Desire eclipsed reason. Before I knew it, my body began to move, swept away by temptation.
The secretly snatched chip made its way to my mouth. A crispy, crunching texture, followed by a salty taste on the tip of my tongue. A feast of familiar flavors washed over me. Smiling at the blissful taste, I looked up at Amy. To hide my mistake and divert her attention, I spoke up. If Amy ate a delicious potato chip too, she would surely forget about my wrongdoing.
"You have some too, Amy." I offered her a chip. Amy let out a sigh as she looked at me, then reached out and took the chip from my hand, popping it into her mouth.
"Jeff. If you eat snacks on the bed again, no TV for you."
What a shocking declaration. I nodded frantically. No eating snacks on the bed. I had to make sure I never forgot this crucial rule now engraved in my mind.
"Did you get scolded, Jeff?" Shine, who had been hiding in the bathroom, poked her head out and asked. I looked up at Amy and thought, Was that being scolded? It felt like I just got a warning.
Bonk! At that moment, a sharp but minor pain landed on my head.
"Ow...!" I clutched my head and ducked. Amy's small fist had lightly rapped me on the crown.
"Where is your apology?"
"I'm sorry..." I said, bowing my head.
"Jeff. When you do something wrong, you apologize first. Understood?"
"Yes..." I replied, rubbing my head. Just as she said, it was only right to apologize when you made a mistake. I should have done that. Why did I try to brush it off with a little smile? Like a child who had done something wrong, trying to hide their mistake.
"Get down. I need to clean up." I climbed down from the bed just as Amy told me to, hopping off with a light plop. Standing on the floor, my line of sight was incredibly low. I stared blankly, my mouth slightly agape at how massive Amy looked from down here, requiring me to look way up. I realized anew that Amy was extremely tall.
Since Amy told me to stay out of the way so she could clean, I went over and sat on the belly of a giant stuffed animal in the corner. It sank softly beneath me, making it a perfect substitute for a sofa.
"Jeff, does it hurt?" Shine approached me cautiously and stroked my head.
"Huh?"
"Amy scolded you earlier."
"No, it doesn't hurt." I closed my eyes, enjoying her touch. Her soft, small hand completely erased the faint noise buzzing in my head.
"Jeff."
"Yeah?"
"Want to draw a picture?" Shine asked as she kept stroking my head. I opened my eyes and looked up at her.
"Drawing all of a sudden?"
"There's something important."
"Something important?"
"Jeff." Shine's hand left my head. As the noise that had stopped began to flow again, I nodded.
Seeing my response, Shine smiled brightly and ran over to the drawer in the corner of the room. She pulled out a large sketchbook, colored pencils, and crayons.
"We had those?"
"Amy bought them while you were sleeping."
Since I had no memory of them, they must have indeed been bought while I was asleep. Shine came over and spread the sketchbook wide open. Then, she laid out the crayons and colored pencils around it. Picking up a brightly colored crayon, Shine began to draw. I watched her draw while nestled in the stuffed animal's embrace.
"Jeff."
"Yeah?"
"Here is a big house." Shine began to draw a large house. It had a spacious yard and a pretty red roof sitting atop it.
"Are there no windows?"
"Windows?"
"Yeah." I noticed something strange about Shine's drawing. The beautifully drawn house had no windows.
"Are houses supposed to have windows?" An unexpected question came my way. I hesitated to answer. Windows. Sure, some houses might not have windows. But normally, a house built like this would have windows as a matter of common sense.
"Yeah."
Shine switched crayons and drew windows. The completed house now looked somewhat familiar.
"Are you done?"
"No, now I'm going to draw you and me." Saying that, she drew herself in the yard. The girl with long white hair was wearing the white gown from the laboratory. And next to her, she drew an identical girl. She, too, was wearing a white gown.
"This is Jeff."
"Me?" I closely examined the drawing she had made. It was nothing more than a child's playful scribble of a white-haired girl.
"This is our house."
"Our house..." Shine pointed to the large house as she spoke. A house. Mine and Shine's house.
"Yeah..."
"We lived here."
"We lived here?"
"Yes, we were living here," Shine whispered softly. I just nodded blankly in response. I was living with Shine. We were living there?
"With you, Shine?"
"Yes. Jeff, you were living with me."
I stared blankly down at the drawing. At the same time, scenes flashed through my mind. A fleeting memory of playing with Shine in front of a large house. In front of a big, beautiful house with a striking red roof... Shine switched crayons again. She drew green lines inside the large fence that marked the yard. Crookedly drawn grass filled the space inside the fence. The empty yard was filled with green.
"Grass..."
"Yeah. Jeff, we played here."
"Played...?"
"Are you guys drawing?" Just then, Amy's voice broke my train of thought. Snapping out of it, I closed my slightly open mouth and turned my head.
"Amy."
"I'm all done cleaning." The bed, which had been covered in countless potato chip crumbs, was now spotless.
"Amy, don't interrupt," Shine said.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Yes."
Drawing. House. Large garden. The words floating in my head connected to form a single scene. Playing. Shine and I used to run around and play in the large yard.
"That's right."
"Jeff?" I reached out as if possessed. I felt the solid texture of the crayon in my hand. My hand moved rapidly, drawing on the wide sketchbook. What was the best weather to play in? Morning? Or maybe afternoon? A cool breeze had to blow. I drew a sun hanging on the edge of the sketchbook. Clouds drawn in the sky. Blue wind drawn beneath them.
"That's right, Jeff." Shine, who was sitting across from me, leaned in closer and said. I nodded. Yeah, I think it was like this. In Shine's drawing, the area around the house was just empty white space. I moved my hand diligently to fill in those blanks. A familiar street began to take shape. A large park and a giant clock tower. Neatly paved roads. The crooked drawings continued to form. And thus, a single picture was completed. The drawing I finished with Shine was engraved deep into my mind.
"Where is this?"
"It's Jeff's and my house."
"Yours?"
"Yes." Amy picked up the sketchbook. "Do you happen to remember where this is?"
"No..." I set down the crayon I was holding. My head felt dizzy. I couldn't remember. Where was this? And what did Shine and I play in the yard? I forced my mouth open to ask Shine.
"Shine."
"Yeah?"
"What did we play?"
"At home?"
"Yeah. At home."
The blurry scene began to grow clear. Warm sunlight beating down. A spacious yard. Feeling the cool breeze, I was facing Shine.
"We played with a ball."
"A ball..." A small ball landed between her and me. A ball. What kind of ball? Soccer? Basketball? Or maybe baseball?
"The ball game we played in the gym." A voice hovered around my ears before dispersing. The shape of the ball between her and me solidified.
"Amy, give the sketchbook back." Shine stood up and reached her hand out to Amy. After looking over the sketchbook, Amy pulled out her phone, took a picture of the drawing, and handed it back to Shine. The clicking sound of the camera echoed through the room. I startled awake and sat up. It felt like I had just dozed off at a desk and snapped out of it. Watching me, Shine closed the sketchbook she had received back from Amy.
"I'll stop here for today."
"You're not drawing anymore?"
"Yeah. I think Jeff is sleepy."
Just as Shine said, I did feel a bit tired. I rubbed my eyes and slumped down. Shine packed up the crayons and colored pencils and put them back in the drawer in the corner.
"Jeff, are you sleepy?"
"...I think so." I replied to Amy's gentle question.
"What about Shine?"
"I'm not sleepy."
Just as Shine said, drowsiness began to wash over me. But for some reason, falling asleep alone felt like losing. I forced my heavy eyelids open, fighting to keep them from closing.
"Up we go." While I was battling my heavy eyelids, Amy lifted me up. My line of sight shot up in an instant. Her hands slipped under my armpits, holding me securely. My short legs dangled in the air.
"Amy?"
"You should sleep in bed."
Holding me in her arms, Amy walked over to the bed and gently laid me down. The fluffy blanket wrapped around my back. Having been moved to the bed in an instant, I desperately tried to sit up. I didn't want to sleep alone. It wasn't even night yet... My body moved sluggishly. My outstretched hand touched the soft pillow. The feel of the soft blanket enveloping my entire body seemed to possess an irresistible magic. Through my blurring vision, Shine looked at me with a small smile.
"Goodnight, Jeff."