A Breath of Fresh Air
Whew. Finally crawling out of the blankets, I ate a banana with Shine. Sitting side by side, Shine looked up at Amy, who was repeating the same story she had just told me.
"A nap?"
"Yes. Come to think of it, I think I used to take a lot of naps when I was little too."
Shine nodded. She didn't seem to think too deeply about the concept of naps. I, on the other hand, was still thoroughly displeased.
"We'll be going now."
"Goodbye."
"Alright. Come back anytime if anything hurts."
We said our goodbyes to Rabin and stepped out of the room.
The corridor outside the door looked no different from any other hallway. It felt familiar yet foreign. If I were to wander around here alone, I would easily get lost. Even as we headed back to our room, I carefully observed our surroundings. The layout of the building began to map itself out in my head. The tiny mental map I had started with was gradually expanding.
After walking for quite a while, we arrived at a massive spiral staircase. In this vast, open space, corridors branched off in every direction, offering glimpses of the backs of many people heading elsewhere. I pressed myself close to the railing and peered over. The sight of the seemingly endless staircase made my head spin. My legs trembled, forcing me to grip the railing even tighter.
"Amy, where are we?"
"The fourteenth basement floor."
"Basement...?"
This time, I looked up toward the top of the stairs. A colossal pillar soared endlessly upward, and I could faintly make out the tiny figures of people high above. Just how massive was this building?
"Are there no elevators?"
"Unfortunately, no."
My face fell. No elevators meant that if we wanted to leave this place, we would have to climb all those steps. "Why isn't there an elevator...?"
"Who knows."
"Amy, where is our room?"
"We have to go down one more floor."
Perhaps finding the giant staircase interesting, Shine sidled up next to me and poked her head over the railing.
"It's huge."
"Is it that fascinating to you?"
Amy walked over and leaned her arms on the railing. I stared enviously at her long legs before turning my head away.
"Yeah. It's incredibly spacious."
For Shine, who had likely spent her entire life in a laboratory, that cramped room must have been her entire world. She took in the vast space with bright, clear eyes. Her mouth parted slightly, a smile of pure excitement gracing her lips.
"Amy, I want to have this. What should I do?"
"What do you want to have?"
"This."
Shine reached out and pointed at the massive pillar.
"You want that pillar?"
"No, all of this."
"Well, I think that might be a bit difficult."
"Why?"
"Because..."
The innocent questions of children often put adults on the spot. This was clearly one of those moments. Amy looked thoroughly stumped by Shine's question.
"Maybe if Shine becomes a very important person later on, you can have it."
In the end, Amy offered a vague compromise. She knelt to meet Shine's eyes, stroked her hair, and then turned her gaze to me.
"You want to be like that too, right, Jeff?"
"No, I hate the idea."
"Why?"
The question came from Shine. I turned to look at her, flustered. Shine was staring at me with genuine curiosity.
"Well... you have to study a lot for that."
"Do you hate studying, Jeff?"
"I don't think anyone actually likes it."
I had never been the studious type to begin with, but those suddenly difficult math problems had completely ruined my perception of studying.
"Then I'll do it for you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. If it's too hard for you, I'll do it instead."
Touched by Shine's affectionate offer, I quickly turned to Amy.
"You heard her, right, Amy? I'm not studying anymore."
I looked at her with eyes full of hope. Having listened to our exchange, she chuckled softly before replying,
"No."
"Why not?"
"No means no, Jeff. Shine. You can't do someone else's studying for them."
At Amy's firm headshake, Shine sighed.
"Sorry, Jeff. Guess there's nothing we can do."
She sounded genuinely disappointed.
I collapsed to the floor, utterly defeated by Amy's answer. My shoulders slumped. As my head drooped listlessly, the witch hat on my head sagged along with it. Suddenly, I didn't want to go back to our room. Going back meant solving difficult math problems, so it was only natural. When I refused to get up, Amy scooped me up into her arms and began walking down the stairs.
"Jeff, you have to listen to be a good girl."
"I'm not a good girl."
"Oh? Then are you an adult?"
"Of course. I'm an adult."
"Hmm... then I guess you won't be getting any Christmas presents."
"Huh...?"
Amy's sudden remark made me shut my mouth. Christmas? Where did that come from?
"Santa Claus only gives presents to good children, you know."
I desperately searched my memories. "Is it Christmas soon...?"
"Yes."
Cradled in Amy's arms, I fell silent, groaning inwardly. Christmas presents? Santa Claus? Just like birthdays, I had never once received a Christmas present in my life.
"They give you presents even when it's not your birthday?"
"Yes. Santa Claus brings gifts to children who have been good all year."
"Who is Santa Claus?"
At Shine's question, Amy began to explain. Once she heard about Santa, Shine seemed to get excited already, stomping her feet and skipping down the stairs. "Shine, don't run. You'll get hurt."
"I know Santa isn't real," I told Amy with a confident smirk.
But Amy looked at me with a puzzled expression, as if she couldn't comprehend what I was saying.
"What are you talking about, Jeff? Of course Santa exists."
"Huh?"
At this point, I started to wonder if I was the crazy one. Really? Does Santa actually exist in this world?
"What kind of present do you want, Jeff?"
"I... I..."
I stammered, scanning Amy's face. She didn't look like she was teasing me. Did Santa really exist here? Thoroughly confused, I looked over at Shine. Walking close to Amy's side as we descended, Shine raised her head, sensing my gaze. No, that was a dead end. She didn't even know what Santa was until a moment ago. Asking her if Santa was real would be pointless. I shut my mouth. I'll have to ask Victor if Santa is real when we get back.
"Jeff, you can't be a good girl if you don't study hard," Amy whispered softly.
As her hand gently stroked my back, I slowly nodded.
"Really...?"
"Of course."
Her answer left me completely limp. My arms and legs swayed back and forth with Amy's footsteps. As we continued down the stairs, Amy looked at my lifeless form and smiled.
"Shall we go get a breath of fresh air?"
"Fresh air?"
Shine asked, tilting her head. Amy nodded.
"There's a place that always cheers me up."
And so, we began climbing back up the stairs. Shine, who had been climbing well at first, started panting as time went on. Amy scooped her up too, carrying both of us as she continued upward. She didn't even seem tired; her breathing remained perfectly calm and steady without a single gasp.
"Alright, we're here."
After climbing for what felt like forever, Amy set us down in a vast open space.
Lush green grass. A cool, refreshing breeze. The faint sound of trickling water. The chirping of unfamiliar birds echoing from all around. I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the dazzling light pouring down from above.
"It's a model park."
My jaw dropped as I looked around. An entire floor had been converted into a massive park. Just as she said, it was clearly artificial, but it felt incredibly real. The warm sunlight beaming down from above brought a pleasant, refreshing sensation.
"Whoa..."
Standing beside me, Shine's eyes sparkled as she dashed forward. Pumping her short legs as fast as she could, she stopped in front of a massive tree and gently stroked its trunk.
"Whoa...!"
After touching the tree, she looked around, spotted something else, and ran off again. Large rocks, trees, a fountain, flowers—Shine touched everything she could lay her hands on before finally flopping down onto the wide lawn. The ecstatic smile on her face showed no signs of fading.
Watching Shine, I bent down and ran my fingers through the grass beneath my feet.
"How is it, Jeff?"
"Huh...?"
"Feels nice, doesn't it?"
At Amy's voice, I stood up straight. I raised both hands to cover my mouth.
"No...!"
I shook my head. I felt like admitting she was right would somehow mean admitting defeat.
"Jeff."
"Yes...?"
"How about we skip the workbooks today?"
"...Really?"
"Of course."
"You promise...? You're not lying to me, right?"
"Have I ever lied to you girls?"
I pushed up the brim of my tightly pulled-down witch hat to look at Amy's face. She was looking down at me with a warm, gentle smile.
"Go on. Go play with Shine."
After stealing one last glance at Amy, I carefully turned around. Feeling her gentle nudge on my back urging me to go play, I immediately bolted toward Shine. The rapid patter of my footsteps echoed across the park. A cool breeze brushed past my face. Shine, who had been lying on the grass, spotted me running toward her and scrambled to her feet. The blades of grass clinging to her clothes fluttered away in the wind.
"Jeff!"
Shine turned and began to run. Without even knowing why, I chased after her, running with everything I had. We just ran aimlessly. Neither Shine nor I stopped. We kept running until we collapsed from sheer exhaustion, panting heavily on the wide lawn. Our small chests heaved rapidly up and down.
"Jeff," Shine spoke up once her breathing had finally slowed.
"Yeah?"
"This is fun."
"I'm having fun too."
We had done nothing but run aimlessly, yet it was incredibly fun. I felt an indescribable, refreshing sense of freedom.
"Do you like the park?"
As we lay on the wide lawn, enjoying the cool breeze, an unfamiliar voice drifted over. Still lying down, Shine and I turned only our heads to look at the source of the voice.
"Who are you?"
"Who is it?"
The owner of the voice was a strange man. He looked quite young, sitting on the grass and waving at us.
"I am..."
"Amy told us not to talk to strangers."
Cutting the man off mid-sentence, Shine snapped her head away. I followed her lead and turned away too.