Episode 13 – Like Cinderella in the picture book I read yesterday

After lunch we started walking towards the dolphin show, looking at the pamphlet.

“When was the last time you saw a dolphin show?”

“I think the last time I saw one was when I was in high school.”

“No, no, you’re still in high school.”

When I heard Alice’s tweet, I couldn’t help but tsukkomi. At that, Alice looked puzzled for a moment, then looked surprised and opened her mouth.

“Ah, I didn’t say enough, did I? I meant freshman year of high school.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant, I thought you’d already graduated from high school.”

I heard that some countries abroad have a skipping grade system, so I thought for a moment that perhaps Alice had already graduated from high school.

Well, if Alice had already graduated from high school, there’s no way she would have enrolled in our school, so it’s definitely impossible.

“No, that can’t be true. …… More importantly, is the time alright?”

“Yeah, it’s still a good ten minutes before, so there’s still plenty of time.”

No problem at all, it shouldn’t take more than five minutes to get to the venue. Then, just as we were about to arrive at the venue, a problem arose.

“Hey, Mum. Where did you go ……?”

A girl who looked about five years old was standing there, mumbling and looking like she was about to cry. She was probably lost.

People around her looked at the girl with pity, but no one tried to help her. I couldn’t stand still when I saw the girl.

“Are you alright? Did you lose your mother by any chance?”

There was a possibility that if I got too close to her, I might give her an oppressive feeling and scare her, so I kept a moderate distance from her and kept my posture low to talk to her.

But it seemed scary to be suddenly spoken to by me, an older man, on our first meeting, and the girl remained silent and did not speak. As I begin to think about how to let my guard down, Alice approaches the girl.

“we are not scary at all, so I wish you’d tell me if you’re lost.”

“…. mother, she’s suddenly gone.”

The girl Alice was talking to with a smile on her face looked like she was about to cry, but she answered that way. It may have been easier to talk to Alice, who is of the same sex, because she felt safer than me, who is of the opposite sex.

“I see, then onee chan will help you. So don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we’ll definitely do something about it.”

There’s a very high chance that I won’t be able to make it to the show, but right now my top priority is to save the girl. We start heading towards the reception desk at the entrance with the girl.

Rather than clumsily wandering around the building looking for the girl’s mother, we decided that it would be faster and more reliable to take her to the reception desk and have them make a public announcement.

“I’m Alice, this is Takuma. What’s your name?”

“Yuma.”

“Hee, your name is Yuma chan. Do you go to kindergarten now?”

“Yes, older class.”

We talked to Yuma like this. Yuma, whose expression was hard at first, seems to have gradually relaxed her guard and is talking to us quite a bit.

If Alice had not been there, it would never have been possible for things to go so smoothly, so I can only be really grateful.

We arrived at the reception a little later, explained the situation and asked them to make an announcement. We had accomplished our mission, but we didn’t want to leave Yuma alone at the reception, so we decided to wait with her until her mother came to pick her up.

“Why does onee chan have golden hair and green eyes?”

“That’s because onee chan’s mum is a foreigner.”

“I see. Like Cinderella from the picture book I read yesterday.”

Judging by the way Yuma-chan was smiling and talking, it seems like she was getting along with us. While the three of us were waiting and talking about various things, a woman who looked panicked came to the reception desk.

“Oh, mother.”

“Yuma, thank God. Before I knew it, we got separated, so I was worried.”

“Onee chan and oni chan over there helped me.”

I thought she looked somewhat like Yuma, but it turned out to be her mother.

“Thank you for saving my lost daughter.”

“No, no, we just did what we were supposed to do.”

“When you are in trouble, it’s always mutual.”

That’s what Alice and I each said to Yuma-chan’s mother, who bowed deeply. Yuma-chan was able to reunite with her mother safely, and the matter is settled now.
　

“Yuma-chan, you’re glad you were able to meet your mother again, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Thank you, Onee chan and onii chan

“Don’t get lost again this time.”

Yuma-chan was taken away by her mother, but we waved at Yuma-chan who looked back from time to time until she was no longer visible. Needless to say, I was a little sad to part with Yuma-chan, who I had become good friends with.

By the way, we couldn’t make it to the dolphin show, but we were able to participate in the next show an hour later, so I’d say it was no problem.

After leaving the aquarium, we went shopping and went up to the observatory in Shining Sun City for a while and enjoyed ourselves until nightfall.

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