A House with a Red Roof

I admired the magnificent form of my dinosaur while waiting for the paint to dry.

"What kind of work were you doing, Rain?"

"Just this and that."

Shine, seemingly curious about what Rain's New Year's event preparations entailed, began to pry.

"What exactly do you do?"

"Um... preparing gifts for the staff... and events..." Rain muttered, her small fingers twitching nervously.

Watching her, I decided to ask about Amy.

"Is Amy doing the same thing?"

"No. Amy is probably way busier than me."

"Where is Amy?"

"Hmm..." At my question, Rain pulled out her phone. After tapping away at the screen for a moment, she nodded as if she had found the answer. "Looks like she's downstairs."

"Downstairs?"

"Yeah, she seems to be on the floor right below us."

Shine and I instinctively looked down at our feet. Not that we could actually see Amy through the floor, of course. Still, she was much closer than I had expected. I sprang up from my seat immediately.

"Jeff?" Shine asked, looking puzzled by my sudden movement. I looked at both Shine and Rain.

"We're going to Amy."

"But Rain said she's busy."

"That's exactly why we're going."

Question marks practically materialized over their heads. Seeing their confusion, I declared with absolute confidence, "We're going to help her!"

"Us?" Rain asked, her expression deeply skeptical.

"Yep!"

"That's a great idea, Jeff." Shine seemed to agree, hopping down from her seat. Shine and I stood side-by-side, staring expectantly at Rain.

"I have a feeling this is a terrible idea..." Rain sighed softly, looking back and forth between us. "Do you even know the way?"

"Nope!"

Since she was on the floor below, we just had to go down the stairs and look around. But Rain gave me a highly doubtful look.

"Do you have any idea how huge that floor is?"

"Isn't it about the same size as this one?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Then you show us, Rain!" I said, bouncing on my heels. Rain, who had been lounging lazily in her chair, flinched.

"Fine." After a moment of hesitation, Rain let out a tiny sigh and hopped down. The three of us left the room together and began walking down the hallway.

"Didn't you go on vacation, Rain?"

"No."

I asked her as I looked around the empty corridor. "I thought your teammates were all on vacation?"

"They are."

"Then why didn't you go?"

"Because I'm the team leader."

"Are team leaders not allowed to take vacations?"

"It's not that..." Rain looked slightly troubled by my question as she explained, "At least one team member has to remain at the base. I took my vacation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last year, so this time it was the others' turn."

That's all there is to it. Hearing her speak with such maturity created a bizarre sense of cognitive dissonance given her childlike appearance. Without thinking, I reached out and patted her head. Her soft blonde hair slipped smoothly through my fingers.

"You're amazing, Rain."

Rain mumbled something under her breath and hung her head low. The tips of her ears flushed a faint red, but she didn't push my hand away. We walked like that for a while until we reached the stairwell. The number of people passing by had dwindled even more than before.

"There are barely any people left," I murmured, observing the quiet surroundings.

Rain replied, "Around this time of year, most people go back home."

"Home?"

"Yeah."

"So everyone has a home..." I muttered, looking around with a fresh perspective. I saw the same people every day, so I had assumed they lived here just like me. Finding out they had actual homes to return to was a bit of a shock.

Home. Home... a home. I fell into deep thought as we descended the stairs. Whenever I thought of "home," the only thing that came to mind was a house with a charming red roof. A place surrounded by a wide fence, with a yard covered in lush green grass.

"Hmm..." I stole a glance at Shine's profile. She was walking forward, staring straight ahead as if her mind were completely blank. Her white hair fluttered gently before my eyes.

"Shine."

"Yeah?"

"Where is our home?"

Shine, who had been walking smoothly, suddenly froze. Her sudden halt forced Rain to stop, and I did the same.

"Home...?"

"Yeah."

No matter how much I thought about it, something felt off. I couldn't remember anything else besides that house. Relying on my hazy memories, I tried to reconstruct the surroundings. Roads. Were there roads? A cityscape stretching out near the house. But there was an intense sense of dissonance. It felt like a rejection—as if someone had crudely stitched together random cityscapes from my memories to fabricate this scene.

"Jeff."

"Yeah...?"

"Did you forget?"

My gaze trembled as I looked at Shine. Feeling as though she were gently reprimanding me for a mistake, I shrank back and mumbled, "Uh... yeah..."

"Come here." Seeing me like this, Shine opened her arms wide and smiled. My hands trembled slightly. I walked over slowly and buried my face in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her chest. As Shine gently stroked my back, I finally let out the breath I had been holding.

"Jeff."

"Yeah."

"Don't forget. What they took from us."

By "them," did Shine mean the researchers at the laboratory? I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess I forgot."

"Shall we think about it again?" Shine whispered, her hand gently caressing my hair.

I nodded blankly. "It's probably gone now."

She was right. During the time we had been dragged away to the laboratory, the city must have undergone countless changes. It wouldn't be strange at all if our home no longer existed.

Shine smiled faintly and slowly pulled away from me. Taking two steps back, she clapped her hands. Clap! In that instant, the thoughts swirling in my head vanished. I jumped in surprise at the sharp sound. "Ah!"

Rain seemed to have experienced the same thing; she quickly shut her half-open mouth and looked around in confusion.

"What are you two doing?" Shine asked, her face full of mischief.

I rubbed my cheek and replied, "That's weird... What was I doing just now?" We were definitely talking about something, but I couldn't remember. What was it?

I wasn't the only one who had just experienced that bizarre phenomenon. Rain was also looking around with a deeply puzzled expression.

"Let's go!" Shine smiled brightly at our confusion and tugged at my hand. My body followed her lead effortlessly. One step, two steps. Guided by Shine's touch, I stumbled down the stairs.

The further down we went, the more my doubts faded away. I shook my head to clear my mind of stray thoughts. As soon as we reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bottom of the stairs, Shine and I turned to Rain. "Where is Amy?"

Rain still had a dazed look on her face. Pouting at her lack of response, I stepped closer. Her soft, squishy cheeks caught my eye. "Rain~"

I reached out with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠both hands and pinched her cheeks. They felt incredibly soft and squishy, like sweet rice cakes—just like Shine's. A faint smile spread across my face.

"Ugh... huh?" Rain blinked, finally snapping out of her daze.

"Amy."

"Amy?"

"Where is Amy?"

Rain backed away to escape my pinching hands. Rubbing her cheeks, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped the screen. "This way!" Having confirmed the location, Rain pointed down a long corridor. At the very end, a bright light was shining.

"Over there?"

"Yeah."

I wondered what that place was, but pushing the brief thought aside, I began walking in the direction Rain pointed.

"What kind of place is this?" I asked Rain, looking around. This corridor felt completely different from the floor where Shine and I lived. A sharp, metallic scent hung heavy in the air, accompanied by the occasional distant sound of rhythmic hammering.

"It's where they make support items."

"Support items?"

"Yeah."

Support items—mechanical devices designed to assist supernatural abilities. I recalled the first time I had met Amy, when she was wearing that full-body suit. I nodded slowly. "I see..."

"What's a support item?" Shine asked Rain, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"They're mechanical devices that assist ability users."

"Assist?"

"Yeah. They can amplify your powers or compensate for your weaknesses."

"They can make your powers stronger?" Shine's eyes lit up as she grabbed Rain's hand. Rain, seemingly overwhelmed by Shine's sudden proximity, cautiously pulled back and nodded. "Yeah."

A bright, innocent smile spread across Shine's face at Rain's response. "Jeff~" Shine shifted her gaze from Rain to me. She reached out her hand and said, "Let's go, quick!"

I reached out and took her hand. Her grip was soft. Shine looked thoroughly pleased as she held my hand, and the three of us burst into a run. Since Shine had bolted ahead, Rain and I had no choice but to run to keep up with her.

Shine, her white hair trailing behind her like a tail, came to a sudden halt at the end of the corridor. There stood a large entrance with a door left slightly ajar. A familiar voice drifted through the gap. I crept closer to the door and peeked inside.

"It's Amy!" I saw her familiar pink hair. She was standing with her arms crossed, deep in conversation with someone. It was definitely her.

"Amy!" I called out, knocking on the door. Tap, tap, tap. The quiet sound made by my small hand echoed. Amy, interrupted mid-conversation, looked toward us in surprise.