Ch. 5: Have This, Mother!
A few days after that…-.
We asked after Procyon’s mother and went to visit her.
Her face was pale as she lay in the bed, but she smiled and sat up when she saw Procyon.
Procyon’s Mother: “Oh, welcome, what are you doing?”
Procyon: “U-um…”
Procyon hid the flowers we had picked behind his back as he looked at his mother and stuttered.
Procyon: “Th-these are for you Mother…!”
Stiff with nervousness, Procyon held out the flowers…
Procyon’s Mother: “Oh my, these are the flowers I love… thank you Procyon.”
Her complexion brightened a little.
Procyon: “Ehehe…!”
Procyon broke out into a smile seeing his mother like that.
But in the next moment…-.
Procyon’s Mother: “…!”
Procyon: “Mother? Mother, what’s wrong!?”
Her face twisted in pain as she grabbed her chest.
A doctor appeared immediately, and we were kicked out of the room, filled with unease.
Ch. 6: From Now On, I...
Procyon’s Mother: “…!”
Procyon: “Mother? Mother, what’s wrong!?”
After that…-.
Procyon: “I wonder if Mother is okay…”
OO: “I’m sure she’s alright… so cheer up, okay?”
Procyon: “…yeah…”
Procyon had spent every day after that moping around.
Procyon’s mother’s condition was still unstable, so it would still be a while before she could leave the hospital.
(I’m sure he’s worried…)
But…
Procyon trembled as he shook his head then turned to look straight at me.
Procyon: “If I cry, Mother… will be worried.”
Procyon tightly pressed his lips together, looking so pathetic…
I gently stroked his head…-.
…
……
That evening…-.
Intermittent moonlight drifted in through the window.
(I hope Procyon’s mother gets well soon.)
I prayed for that as I sat near the window…
??: “…OO.”
The door opened with a squeak and a small figure called out to me.
OO: “Procyon!? What’s wrong? It’s the middle of the night…-.”
Procyon: “…”
I invited him in, still surprised, and noticed his eyes were wet with tears.
OO: “Procyon?”
I slowly moved closer to him.
Then…
Procyon: “UWAAAAaaa!”
Procyon cried, his voice loud, as if a dam had been broken.
Procyon: “…ugh… *sniff*… Mother… …hurry…*sniff*… I want her to play with me like before…”
Large tears fell in a stream down his cheeks.
OO: “Procyon…”
(He’s been trying so hard… holding back on his sorrow and unease…)
I was overwhelmed with a need to hold him tightly.
But…
————————
Procyon: “Yeah, um, since Mother is sick, and asked me to help take care of my little brother!”
OO: “Your mother has high hopes for you and you want to live up to her expectations, right?”
————————
I remembered his feelings on so desperately wanting to be a big brother, and I tightly kept my hands back that wanted to hold him.
Procyon: “Uu… uwaaaa…”
Procyon’s voice grew hoarse from sobbing.
OO: “…”
I lowered myself to Procyon’s level as he cried and gently wiped his tears.
Procyon: “…OO?”
He looked straight at me with those tear-filled eyes.
OO: “What would a big brother do?”
Procyon: “…”
OO: “…then would a big brother make their little brother smile?”
I placed my finger on his forehead and gave it a slight push.
Procyon: “…but I can’t smile!”
Procyon sniffed and frantically kept the tears at bay.
Procyon: “…I’m the big brother, so I can’t let me little brother see me cry! Mother said so. I have to protect my little brother in Mother’s place.”
Procyon straightened his back, the usual tenderness on his face suddenly replaced with a severity.
But the corners of his eyes were red, and he started crying again.
OO: “…yeah, it’s alright… you can work on becoming a proper big brother little by little.”
I gently wrapped my arms around Procyon.
(You’ve been doing your best…)
Procyon nodded slightly as he tightly held onto me…-.
…
……
The next day…-.
We went out to the field where we’d picked flowers in an attempt to cheer Procyon up.
OO: “Hey Procyon, do you want to give some of the flowers your mother loves to your little brother as well?”
Procyon: “Okay.”
He nodded.
One, two… the two of us picked white flowers one by one and eventually made a big bouquet…
(I hope this helps Procyon feel a little better…)
Procyon appeared to be concentrating on picking flowers with his back to me, then he suddenly stood up.
Then he sat down across from me.
(…?)
Procyon: “Um, so, this is for you.”
OO: “Eh…?”
Procyon brought out what he was hiding behind his back.
It was a flower crown…
Procyon: “I won’t cry anymore! I’ll smile for OO and my little brother. I decided. I’ll protect my little brother in place of Mother… and I’ll protect OO too!”
OO: “M-me…?”
Procyon: “Yeah!”
A smile split his face, and I got the sense that he wasn’t the same crybaby as before.
OO: “Thank you…!”
I nodded and Procyon’s smile grew even wider.
It was so innocent and adorable… it was the moment a tiny knight was born.
END
Secret Story: A Kind Scent
The day after I spent the whole time crying in front of OO…-.
OO took me outside to sit in the sun.
We went to the flower field again and the wind made the flowers sway.
Even then, I immediately found the white flowers that my mother loves so much.
(Mother…)
But this time when I thought of my mother, I got a little lonely.
OO: “Hey Procyon, do you want to give some of the flowers your mother loves to your little brother as well?”
Procyon: “Okay.”
OO carefully picked the flowers with her fingers.
Then…-.
(Ah! I just had a good idea!)
I hurriedly picked up a bunch of white flowers where OO couldn’t see me.
(Mother isn’t the only one I’ll give a present to…)
…
……
(Done!)
I had been crouched down the whole time putting all my effort into this.
The shape was a little strange, but I had made a cute flower crown.
(I wonder if it’ll make OO happy…)
I glanced behind me and saw OO with a big armful of flowers.
(Wow!!)
But when I looked at OO’s fingers, I saw they were covered in dirt.
And she had it on her knees too…
(OO…)
As our eyes were about to meet, I hurriedly looked down.
————————
OO: “…yeah, it’s alright… you can work on becoming a proper big brother little by little.”
————————
(Everyone was always looking at my little brother… but OO actually watched me! I have to do my best…!!)
I stood up and OO smiled at me.
(I want to get closer to OO…)
Thinking that, I sat down across from her on my knees.
Procyon: “Um, so, this is for you.”
My heart was pounding as I handed her the flower crown.
OO looked at me with big, round eyes.
Procyon: “I won’t cry anymore! I’ll smile for OO and my little brother. I decided. I’ll protect my little brother in place of Mother… and I’ll protect OO too!”
OO: “M-me…?”
Procyon: “Yeah!”
I let my face relax and smiled at her.
(I’ve decided I won’t cry anymore!)
OO: “Thank you…!”
OO’s smile was like the sun.
I could smell OO’s scent mixed with the flowers.
(She really does have a kind smell! I love this smell… I love OO!!)
Wrapped in that kind scent, I gave her a big smile.
END