A Tiny Lie and a Warm Nap
The crispy texture of the Victor cookie crumbling in my mouth and the sweetness tangling on my tongue brought a smile to my face.
"Rain."
"Yeah?"
I called out to Rain, munching on the snack. She was still clutching her head, looking like she was still in pain from the scolding Amy had handed down.
"Why did you bring those kinds of comic books anyway?"
"Because Shine asked me to."
"Shine did?"
"Yeah."
Even as she spoke, Rain couldn't wipe the gloomy look off her face. Reading her expression, I slid the plate of cookies I was eating toward her.
"Here, Rain. Have some."
"Thanks..."
With tears welling in her eyes, Rain stuffed a handful of cookies into her mouth. Worried she might choke, I even pushed my glass of milk toward her.
"Ahhh..."
Without a moment's hesitation, Rain gulped down the milk in one shot. I watched her and asked,
"Hey, Rain. Do you usually read those kinds of comic books?"
"No, I don't!"
Rain vehemently denied it, slamming her small palms against the table.
"Not at all! Okay? Don't misunderstand, Jeff. I only brought them because Shine asked me to."
"But Shine wouldn't have even known those kinds of comics existed..."
At my words, Rain shut her mouth. Her eyes began to brim with tears. I offered an awkward smile and said,
"The comics were fun, Rain. I'm just worried they might have been a bit... well, too mature for Shine to read."
"R-really?"
"Yeah, really. We read them together yesterday, didn't we?"
"Yeah..."
Comforted, Rain wiped her eyes and nodded. I let out a soft sigh as I looked at her. Rain seemed far more childish than Shine, who was an actual child. I had heard she was around the same age as Amy, but was that really true?
"Then... then can I bring some milder ones next time?" Rain asked cautiously.
I stared at her for a moment before shifting my gaze toward the toy house.
"Ask Amy first."
"No way!" Rain shrieked in panic at my reply. "I-I mean... if you come to my room when Amy isn't around, I'll show you."
"To your room?"
"Yeah... If you and Shine come over, I'll show you my whole collection."
Faced with Rain's eyes sparkling with anticipation, I nodded with an awkward smile. The comics had been quite entertaining, but I didn't particularly want to read them again. I doubted I would ever actually go to her room.
"Really? It's a promise!"
Seemingly cheered up, Rain flapped her arms excitedly. With a bright face, she began stuffing her face with cookies again. By the time Rain had emptied the plate, Shine and Amy emerged from the toy house. Shine wore a rare, gloomy expression.
She looked like she wanted to run straight to me, but she stopped herself and cast a wary glance at Amy. Seeing Shine look so thoroughly scolded inside the toy house, I let out a small smile.
Treading carefully, Shine crept over and plopped down next to me. I turned to my depressed-looking sister and asked,
"Shine."
"Yeah..."
"What did she say to you in there?"
"A lot of things."
"You're not going to do what you did to me yesterday anymore, right?"
"Yeah. Amy taught me. She said doing things like that without the other person's consent is very bad."
She really did learn her lesson. I smiled brightly and ruffled Shine's hair. Closing her eyes as she leaned into my touch, Shine nestled against me and whispered,
"Jeff. Can we finish what we were doing yesterday?"
"No."
"Okay..."
Meanwhile, Amy pulled a bottle of cola from the fridge and began chugging it. My jaw dropped as I watched her drain a massive plastic bottle in one go. My cola was disappearing. Amy looked incredibly exhausted.
After finishing the entire bottle, Amy headed straight for the bed.
"Amy, are you going to sleep?"
"Yeah. I'm going to rest for a bit. Behave yourselves and don't cause any trouble."
It was my first time seeing Amy take a nap. Flopping onto the bed, she fell asleep almost instantly.
"Strange..." Shine muttered softly, staring at Amy.
"What's strange?"
"Nothing."
Shaking her head, Shine hopped down from her seat.
"Jeff, Rain. Shall we do our exercises?"
Crack!
A blue spark burst before my eyes. Startled, I looked around just as Rain hopped down beside me.
"Aren't you doing it, Jeff?"
"Oh? Uh, yeah. I should..."
The timing for the exercises was a bit random. Usually, we didn't start until well after lunchtime. Rain and Shine took their starting stances. I hopped down as well and lined up next to them, getting into position.
"It's working well..." Shine murmured softly as we began.
Since it was a routine we did every day, my body moved automatically to the next pose even as my mind wandered. One, two, one, two. We swayed our bodies to a steady rhythm.
"Hey..."
"Yeah?"
Rain spoke up mid-exercise.
"This really makes you taller, right?"
"Yep. Jeff and I have already grown a whole centimeter."
I nodded in agreement with Shine as I transitioned to the next movement. As I spun around, I caught a glimpse of Rain looking like she was about to cry.
"Why aren't I growing?"
Finishing the routine, we stood in place and slowly caught our breath.
"Shall we go to the giraffe?" Shine suggested.
Before Rain or I could answer, Shine was already on the move. She grabbed our arms and dragged us over to the long-necked giraffe height chart. Stepping up to it, she pressed her back against the wall. I walked over to measure her. The magnetic marker placed snugly against the top of her head pointed to 127 centimeters.
Next was my turn. Just like Shine, I stepped up to the giraffe and pressed my back against it. Shine's hand brushed over the top of my head. I was 127 centimeters as well, exactly the same as Shine.
Finally, it was Rain's turn. She approached the giraffe with a thoroughly terrified expression. Had she really not grown at all? The last time we checked, she was 125 centimeters.
Rain closed her eyes tightly as she leaned against the wall. I slid the magnetic marker down toward the top of her head. Seeing her trembling with anxiety, I nudged my finger slightly upward.
"H-how much is it?"
"It's 126 centimeters."
"R-really?"
At my answer, Rain's tightly shut eyes snapped open. She immediately spun around to check the marker.
"I really grew...?"
She stared at the magnetic marker with trembling, disbelieving eyes. Instead of answering, I just let out an awkward chuckle.
"It's been ten years!"
Rain looked absolutely ecstatic. Tears even began to well in her eyes. Weeping tears of joy, Rain rushed over, threw her arms around me, and began to sob. I awkwardly patted her back, caught in a bind. Well, I hadn't technically lied. Rain's height had actually increased. It just wasn't 126 centimeters.
Shine walked over as well and patted Rain's head. Sniffling in my arms, Rain looked up with a bright smile.
"Thank you so much!"
"For what?"
"For teaching me the exercises!"
Rain grabbed Shine's hand and shook it vigorously. She seemed genuinely, deeply grateful to Shine.
"Thank you too, Jeff!"
This time, she grabbed my hand and shook it just as wildly.
"If I keep doing them, I'll grow even taller, right?"
"Probably?"
I nodded, surprised by how effective these exercises actually were. I hadn't known adults could still grow taller. If Amy started doing these exercises, would she easily shoot past two meters? I shook my head, trying to banish the image of a giant Amy from my mind.
I pulled out a notepad to record our heights, letting out a massive yawn. It was getting close to naptime. We had eaten a full meal and even had snacks. Normally, we were supposed to study, but since Amy was asleep, I figured it would be fine to start our nap a little early.
"Are you sleepy, Jeff?"
"Yeah."
Nodding at Shine's question, I climbed straight onto the bed. Grabbing a pillow while carefully avoiding Amy, who was sprawled out right in the middle, I lay down beside her. I felt a pang of envy looking at Amy's long arms and legs. After lightly poking her arm, I settled down.
"Are you taking a nap too, Rain?"
"You said taking naps makes you grow taller, right?"
"Yep."
Answering Shine's question, Rain grabbed a pillow and lay down on the other side of Amy. Meanwhile, Shine crept over to my side. Tensing up at her suspicious movements, I spoke up cautiously.
"Shine... you're not going to do anything weird again, are you?"
"I won't do it if you don't like it, Jeff."
Letting out a sigh of relief at her answer, I rolled over. Shine immediately snuggled up right against my back. She was so close I could hear her breathing, which made the position a bit uncomfortable. Just as I was about to say something, Shine's arm gently wrapped around my neck.
"Shine?"
"Yeah?"
"You said... you wouldn't do this."
"I know. I'm just hugging you."
And indeed, Shine did nothing but hold me close.
"Do you hate this too?"
I hesitated to answer. Snuggling up to sleep with Shine was something we did all the time. When I didn't reply, Shine spoke in a trembling voice.
"If you hate it, I'll stop..."
"No! It's fine!"
I hastily grabbed Shine's hand as it began to slip away. Startled by my own reflexive action, I quickly shut my mouth.
"Is it really okay?"
Shine's voice drifted from behind me, laced with a subtle amusement.
"Yeah..." I mumbled softly, ducking my head.
Shine truly didn't do anything else. Yet, my face burned. The scenes from those comic books refused to leave my head. No matter how desperately I tried to forget them, the warm heat radiating from Shine's body and her sweet, distinct scent right behind me made it impossible to clear my mind.
"Hey, Shine."
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think... this looks a little weird?"
"Weird?"
"Mmh... a little."
"It's not weird at all. We always do this, don't we?"
"I guess...?"
"Yep."
I fell silent. I couldn't help but wonder if normal family members slept this close—and this intimately. The arm wrapped around my neck began to move slightly. Her small hand brushed against my skin, gently caressing my shoulder.
"Shine, that tickles."
"Okay, sorry."
Shine replied with a soft giggle. Her warm breath brushed against my neck and dispersed.