The weather had cooperated nicely. The snow that had been falling relentlessly finally stopped clean a few days ago, and though the air was cold, the sunlight came down strong enough that standing beneath it felt quite cozy. Everyone moved about between the trees with a bounce in their step. Colorful decorations and bare branches hung overhead, and the ground was scattered all over with glittering things. Where the snow had melted, the earth was dry and crumbly — not slippery at all.
“Ollie’s coming too, right?”
“That’s what I heard. He’s been going around with some little kid lately. Said he’d introduce them today.”
“Where’d the kid even come from?”
“Who knows. You think he stole them from somewhere?”
“Ha — like he’d ever change that habit.”
A burst of loud laughter broke through the commotion. They were young Tree Folk men around the same age as Ollie. With the big job finished, they had gathered around a tree that had been cut down at the waist and were chatting away. And naturally, as always, talk of Ollie came up without fail. Ollie was the village nuisance and, at the same time, always the subject of people’s attention and gossip.
“Have you seen the kid?”
“Yeah. Saw them the other day when I was with Danny. I thought it was some kind of doll……”
“What? A doll?”
“Really pretty-looking. White and shimmery. Golden hair and golden eyes. You’ll be surprised when you see them.”
The talk moved from Ollie to Asel. Asel’s striking appearance was quite the hot topic among the Tree Folk. Among a people who all looked more or less similar, Asel was like a piece of gold among pebbles.
“Jackson might kick up a fuss.”
“Heh heh. He’s been absolutely crazy about that daughter of his. You think Ollie’s going to get a smack?”
They laughed loudly, picturing Jackson who had fallen head over heels for his newborn daughter. They couldn’t resist adding that Jackson would no doubt be fuming once he saw a child whose looks were in an entirely different league.
“Stop loitering around and come over here and help move these things!”
A sharp voice cut through the trees. It was Alexa, Lucy’s friend. The look that came with it made plain exactly how pathetic she found the sight of them huddled together gossiping. Around Alexa stood the young men who hadn’t finished their work yet. With all those gazes converging on them at once, they didn’t even manage a word of protest about just taking a short break — they tucked their tails and got to their feet.
Only a few hours remained until the small festival was to begin.
“Masa! Hurry and come out. We’ll be late.”
Ollie said it while barely managing to keep hold of Asel, who kept kicking his feet around restlessly.
“Stay still for a second. You little troublemaker.”
“Eeh!”
Even at the scolding, the child wouldn’t stop his mischief — whatever it was, he found it endlessly amusing. They were waiting for Masa at her house so the three of them could go to the small festival together. Ollie barely got the bouncing child settled down and dropped into a chair with a thud. A sigh followed, as naturally as breathing. The child couldn’t hold still for even that long and went tearing around noisily again.
He watched that for a moment with what looked like exasperation — but the laughter that broke through was inevitable. Even if Ground Clan matured quickly, this was still a young child full to the brim with curiosity.
“Be careful. If you get hurt, I’m going to scold you!”
The sound of a door opening at the far end of the hallway was followed shortly after by Masa appearing at a slow walk. Ollie jumped up from the sofa and went to her side.
“Why have you packed so much? You can barely carry heavy things properly.”
“Because there’s a lot to bring.”
“Hmph. Give it here.”
He took the basket from Masa’s hands and carried it for her. As he steered her toward the door, Ollie wiggled his free hand to beckon Asel over.
“Asel! Come here. Let’s go.”
With the sound of small feet pattering on the floor, a tiny figure pressed up close beside him. Then those little hands took his firmly and held on tight, and the child looked up at him with a bright, pleased smile.
The three of them walked side by side down the path, warmed gently by the sunlight. Asel’s feet were already dancing with excitement, and in between hops he took hold of Ollie’s hand and wrote letters on it.
Excited.
“Excited?”
Yeah.
Ollie stroked that small, vigorously nodding head slowly, and pressed a quick kiss to the forehead. Unease still lurked somewhere in the back of his heart, but not wanting to spoil the child’s cheerful mood, he tried his best to stay calm.
All along the path to the village, pretty decorations and sparkling things scattered across the ground caught the eye. The child had already been making a fuss trying to grab at the decorations on the way to Masa’s, and now here he was again, jumping and reaching up toward the tall trees.
“Silly. You’ll fall doing that.”
“My, he’s getting more and more lively by the day. Don’t keep him cooped up at home — bring him out more often.”
“I have been. It’s just that the snow needs to let up a bit. But are Ground Clan usually like this? Last night I woke up and the kid was just gone. I was so startled. I was about to go outside to look when he came bounding down, brazen as you like.”
“At night?”
“Yeah. He just wanders out on his own at night. I guess even with all that playing during the day, it’s still not enough for him.”
Ollie rattled on endlessly about Asel as they walked, with Masa adding the occasional comment to keep the conversation going. All the while, the child was still bouncing and darting every which way.
When they stepped into the center of the village, a great number of Tree Folk came into view. It seemed like everyone had come out, young and old alike. Among them, the area where Bes, Matthew, Lucy, Jackson, and Kan were gathered was especially crowded. The sight of it put him in a sour mood for some reason, and he turned sharply away and found a place to sit with Masa. He thought his eyes might have met Kan’s for a moment, but Kan made no move to come over to him.
There are…… so many people I’ve never seen before.
“I told you what today is, didn’t I? They all came to see you.”
Liar.
The child made a prim little face, then buried his face against Ollie’s chest. It seemed less like embarrassment and more like retreating from an unfamiliar environment. So Ollie held him close and tight.
In the relaxed, open atmosphere, the small festival got underway. They enjoyed it with sweet fruit tea and fruit wine. People didn’t forget to offer words of blessing toward the children nestled in the big baskets. And every so often they would glance discreetly over in Ollie’s direction — so many of them doing the same thing one after another that it looked a little comical. They couldn’t hide their curiosity about the child sitting beside Ollie, swinging their legs.
“Ollie. Come over here. With the child.”
