“Ugh!”
A child who could express such a range of emotions — he was utterly endearing. The sight of those eyes gazing up at him made Ollie’s chest ache with warmth.
Asel would sometimes tag along when Ollie went out to pick fruit, helping in his small way. Watching that tiny body toddle back and forth made laughter bubble out of Ollie on its own. When that happened, Asel would puff up in indignation and chuck the basket down — but a little coaxing with some tasty fruit was all it took to smooth things over.
“What were you up to?”
The child ran over on his short little legs and picked up a book that had fallen to the floor. Then he spread it wide open and held it up in front of Ollie. That time — when the old librarian David had winked and pretended to look away. He hadn’t recorded Ollie’s name on the borrowing list. Ollie had cursed him for his unnecessary consideration, but there was no denying it was the first book he had ever truly owned.
A memory surfacing unexpectedly left him feeling a little low, but he soon smiled toward the child who was looking up at him.
“So you were reading this. Aren’t you hungry?”
He gently stroked the cheek of the child, who nodded, and just then a faint red mark near the corner of his mouth caught his eye. He reached out a finger to wipe it away, and it transferred onto Ollie’s hand.
“What is this…… Asel! Are you hurt?”
The small smear on his finger was a dark, reddish-black liquid — blood. Ollie’s face went white as he grabbed Asel by the shoulders. He turned him this way and that, searching for any sign of injury. Asel, being spun around in a flurry, caught Ollie’s hands and shook his head side to side.
He tried to write letters on Ollie’s palm, but the flustered Ollie wouldn’t hold still long enough to make it easy.
“No? Then what is this? It’s blood! I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
Asel shook his head firmly at the rambling, panicked Ollie. Then he opened his mouth wide and made a show of biting down hard on his tongue.
“You…… bit your tongue?”
He nodded with a grin. Only then did Ollie let out a long, deep sigh. The pounding of his heart slowly began to settle.
Come to think of it, Ollie himself had gotten hurt plenty as a child from swallowing eggs. He’d once gotten greedy over a large egg and ended up gagging with it lodged in his throat, and another time he’d been eating fruit so frantically he’d chewed his tongue badly enough that it nearly split.
“Be more careful from now on. No one’s going to steal it from you, so eat slowly.”
The child beamed at him, bright and carefree, with no idea how worried he’d been — and in the end, the hard set of Ollie’s expression melted away entirely.
‘Lucy had a baby! You should’ve seen Jackson’s face.’
Isaac’s voice surfaced in his mind out of nowhere. It didn’t make him feel as rotten as it had when he’d first heard those words. Jackson’s kid, of all things. He had his own precious, beloved Asel right here.
“There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”
The small head tilted left and right with curiosity.
“You’ll like them.”
Toward Ollie’s faint smile, the child turned a smile as bright and open as a flower.
- Spiritoso
Beyond his expectations, Asel and Masa got along wonderfully. Probably due in no small part to her manner — seemingly indifferent and yet warmly enveloping.
Feeling bad about leaving the child alone in the house beneath the tree, Ollie started bringing Asel to Masa’s house often. They would spend time there together, drinking tea or making clothes. When Ollie went down to the village, Masa would look after Asel in his place.
With their frequent visits to Masa’s, the question of who that child was — always seen going around with Ollie — became a major topic of gossip in the village for a while. When people asked Ollie directly as he passed by, he would let out a dismissive “hmph” and ignore them without fail, leaving them no choice but to hear about the child through Masa and Kan. Fortunately, the villagers weren’t particularly hostile toward Asel. It may have been that Masa had kept a lid on things, but for the most part people didn’t seem to harbor any animosity toward the child — perhaps because he was so young.
After moving out to a separate house, Masa’s home — which required passing through the village — was not somewhere he could easily visit often. But with Asel held in his arms, crossing through the village no longer felt frightening. Even the village troublemakers who tried to pick fights could be brushed off without a second thought. As time went on, Ollie’s shoulders straightened further and further toward the sky.
“Were you well?”
He pulled the child into his arms and breathed in deep the sweet scent of him.
“You’re here — why are you just standing at the door instead of coming in?”
Masa poked her head out from the kitchen and chided Ollie for not moving from the entryway. He laughed sheepishly and headed into the kitchen with Asel still in his arms.
“What are you making?”
“Kan said he was coming, so I was thinking of sharing some stewed fruit.”
At that unwelcome name, Ollie’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Go ahead and forgive him already. The boy’s been looking like half his face is gone.”
“What. Did Masa invite him?”
“He’s still the one who thinks of you most, isn’t he — Kan.”
“Hmph.”
He huffed out a breath and left the kitchen with Asel. Masa glanced at his retreating back and shook her head slowly.
Kan appeared before long. As Tree Folk had no fixed mealtimes, they generally spent the late evening hours together over tea — and Kan timed his arrival at Masa’s accordingly, showing up around the time dusk was settling in. Ollie, of course, didn’t so much as glance toward the opening door.
“Masa.”
“You’re here?”
“How have you been?”
“Just fine. Ollie’s over that way. Take this milk along with you.”
Kan took the milk and tray Masa held out to him. Then he carefully made his way over to Ollie’s side.
“Ollie.”
Even at the quiet call, there was no real response from Ollie. He was holding both of Asel’s hands and playing a game he’d seen in a book not long ago. A glint — golden eyes flickered briefly toward Kan.
“Ollie. I’m here.”
“What.”
“I brought a gift……”
At the word gift, a small pair of ears perked up. The change was plain as day to Kan, standing just beside them. Ollie continued playing with Asel as though he had no interest whatsoever, but when no further words came, he suddenly snapped.
“What! What gift!”
Only then did Kan let out a relieved breath and settled in beside Ollie, holding out a small box.
“Here.”
“Hmph. Don’t go thinking something like this will fix things between us that easily. I’m only accepting it out of consideration for the effort.”
“Ha ha, understood. Go on, open it.”
Ollie barely managed to suppress the twitch at the corner of his mouth as he took the box. Then he undid the ribbon tied around it without hesitation. When he lifted the lid, what greeted him was a luminous green gemstone — one that matched the color of his own eyes.
“Wow……”
An involuntary exclamation escaped him. The gemstone was that striking — sparkling with light as though it held a green leaf within, it captured Ollie’s gaze completely. He loved the color green. The color his own eyes held, the color of blue-green forests, and the color she had once told him was beautiful.
“Pretty, isn’t it?”
“……Hmph. Well, I suppose you managed to find something decent enough.”
“I’m glad you like it. I found a good one on the way back.”
“I’ll let it go this one time, as a special exception. Next time this level won’t cut it.”
Ollie tucked the box away carefully and slipped it into his pocket. Then he lifted Asel, who had been sitting beside him staring blankly, and settled him onto his lap.
“Alright, let me introduce you properly. This is Asel.”
“……Hello.”
Even at Kan’s careful greeting, Asel gave no response. The child stared at Kan in silence, golden eyes gleaming.
“Asel. This is Kan.”
The moment the words were out, the child broke into a wide smile as if he’d been waiting for exactly that. Then he wrapped his arms tightly around Ollie’s.
