Ch. 5: A Mother's Smile
A few days after that…-.
We asked after Procyon’s mother and went to visit her.
I went with the king and Procyon, and we saw his mother looking out the window.
OO: “Go on Procyon.”
Procyon: “…y-yeah…!”
Procyon, with hope and fear in his chest, held the bouquet of white flowers out to his mother.
Procyon: “U-um, Mother, these are for you…”
Procyon’s Mother: “Oh my… how beautiful! Thank you, Procyon.”
Procyon: “…!! You’re welcome, Mother!”
Procyon hugged his mother, who had smiled at him in delight.
Ch. 6: I Definitely Promise!
In front of his father and mother, Procyon smiled more happily than I’d seen him before…-.
(I’m so glad. Procyon looks so happy…)
Procyon: “You know, these flowers, I picked them with OO! But then something really bad happened.”
Procyon’s Mother: “Something bad?”
OO: “The baby had gotten hold of some red fruits that he shouldn’t have. But Procyon knew it was dangerous and stopped him. He was a very good big brother.”
Procyon’s Father: “Oh… you did a good job Procyon!”
Procyon’s Mother: “You’re already a splendid big brother.”
Procyon: “…!”
At their smiles, Procyon blinked then nodded energetically.
Procyon: “…yeah! Since I’m a big brother, I promise I’ll protect my little brother!”
Those words echoed with a strong certainty that Procyon hadn’t expressed before.
(Procyon… he’s acting all cool.)
It was commendable how he stood there, chest puffed out with pride…-.
…
……
After returning to the castle from the hospital, we all spent time together in one of the rooms.
After coming back, Procyon was grinning from ear to ear the entire time.
(He was so happy when his mother and father praised him like that.)
OO: “Good job Procyon.”
Procyon: “…yeah! It’s cause you said those things about me to Mother and Father!”
Procyon rushed over to me and sat on my lap.
Procyon: “…”
As he swung his dangling legs back and forth, he tightly gripped my hand.
(Procyon?)
OO: “…what’s wrong?”
Procyon: “…Mother… I want to hurry and play with her again…”
OO: “Are you still lonely?”
Then, his saddened expression vanished as he lifted his head and looked at me, full of energy.
Procyon: “No, I’m not lonely anymore. Because I’m a big brother, and Mother and Father looked at me. So… I’m going to protect my little brother and my mother from now on…”
I thought he looked very serious as he spoke those words, but then in the next instant, his face went red from embarrassment.
Procyon: “And then…”
OO: “…?”
Procyon: “…you’ll watch me too, right OO?”
As Procyon looked up at me, I saw the hope filling his eyes.
OO: “Yes, I will.”
Procyon: “Yay!”
OO: “…Procyon!?”
He suddenly hugged me, slightly messing with my balance so that I fell back slightly.
Procyon: “Hey, will you stay with me…?”
I gently stroked Procyon’s head as he clung to me.
My fingers glided through his soft hair that smelled of sunshine.
OO: “…if that’s what you want, I’ll stay.”
Procyon: “Really really!?”
OO: “…yeah.”
Procyon: “Thanks OO!”
Procyon gave a wide smile, a youthful pink coloring his cheeks.
Procyon: “You gotta definitely absolutely promise that we’ll be together forever!”
OO: “…!”
Procyon hugged me tightly and this time I fell onto my back.
Procyon: “I love you OO!!”
Procyon placed a tiny kiss on my cheek.
OO: “I love you too.”
My heart warmed seeing his carefree smile.
Filled with happiness, the two of us smiled at each other.
END
Secret Story: I'm a Big Brother!
OO and I went to see Mother in the hospital.
Mother smiled at me, holding the flowers I’d given her as a present.
Procyon: “You know, these flowers, I picked them with OO!”
I was happy that Mother looked happy so I kept talking.
Procyon: “But then something really bad happened.”
Procyon’s Mother: “Something bad?”
Then I immediately stopped talking.
———————————
Baby: “UWAAAAAaaaaa!”
Procyon: “…wh-what do I do!? Mother asked me to help… but I… but you can’t eat this fruit. Stop it stop it stop it! Don’t die!!”
———————————
I made my little brother cry… so I thought I might get yelled at.
I started to shake my head, then…-.
OO: “The baby had gotten hold of some red fruits that he shouldn’t have.”
(OO!)
OO: “But Procyon knew it was dangerous and stopped him. He was a very good big brother.”
(Eh…? A good big brother?)
I was surprised and looked up at OO.
Procyon’s Father: “Oh… you did a good job Procyon!”
Procyon’s Mother: “You’re already a splendid big brother.”
Procyon: “…!”
(They said I did good! Mother and Father said I did a good job!)
It was a little embarrassing, but I was happy and I nodded.
Procyon: “…yeah! Since I’m a big brother, I promise I’ll protect my little brother!”
(OO said I was a good big brother too. I’m a big brother!)
I was super happy when I saw Mother and Father smiling together.
(OO was watching me the whole time… everyone else was only worried about my little brother…)
Thinking about that made me super duper happy and I felt like I might start crying again.
But I held it back.
(It’s because OO is a girl…! I have to protect her!)
I felt a bright and shiny new sense of courage inside myself.
END