A cold wind blew fiercely somewhere in the Dream World…-.
In the middle of his journey to find a heart, Thinpla staggered as he walked across a plain which seemed to have no end.
Thinpla: “I’m cold, it hurts, I’m in pain… at this rate, I’ll…-.”
Amidst the tears and rips in his worn travelling clothes, injuries could be seen from when he’d run afoul of the wild animals that lived in this area.
Thinpla: “…gh, am I… going to die here without having been able to find a heart?”
Thinpla fell to his knees as his vision grew blurry, and at that time…-.
Oswald: “Hey you! Don’t you know you’re definitely going to die if you fall asleep here?”
Before Thinpla’s eyes, a man wearing flashy clothes appeared out of nowhere and extended his hand.
Thinpla: “Who are…?”
Oswald: “Hey! You’re going to die from these wounds before nightfall! What are you doing in a place like this…-?”
Thinpla: “I’m… on a journey, to find a heart. But I couldn’t find one in the end.”
Maybe because he had no strength left with which to grasp the man’s hand, but his voice was shaking and strained as he answered, and tears started to flow in streaks down his face.
Oswald: “Hmm, I could patch up those wounds if I was a doctor but…”
Thinpla: “It’s alright. This is the end of my journey…-.”
Oswald: “Whoa now, hold on. Your body… it looks like a part of it is machinery. If that’s the case…”
The man placed a large hand on Thinpla’s cheek, and his beautiful eyes softened.
Oswald: “…even if you were to look even more like a machine, would you still wish for a heart?”
Looking straight at the man as he asked his question, Thinpla blinked slowly just once…-.
Thinpla: “If there’s a possibility, then… I want to live. So that I can find the heart that I lost… I’ll do anything.”
Thinpla’s eyes, wet from crying, were bright and unwavering even as the slanted light of the sun hit them.
Oswald: “…I promise you. You will most definitely find a heart. Though… I suspect that you already have a heart inside you since you’re able to shed such beautiful tears.”
Oswald’s voice was a whisper, more as if he were talking to himself then.
Thinpla: “What did you just…?”
Oswald: “Nothing at all! It’s something I’m sure you’ll realize for yourself eventually anyway. Ah! I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Oswald. What’s your name?”
Thinpla: “I’m… Thinpla.”
The promise made between the two of them on their first meeting…
It was born from Thinpla’s earnest desire to not stop in his pursuit for a ‘heart’.
END