Aisha swam a lot and played a lot.
Feeling thirsty, she decided to return to the shore.
She thought of asking her dad and mom to buy her a drink.
And if possible, she wanted to eat a sweet snack.
Shaved ice would be nice.
Cold, sweet, and delicious.
Even the sharp brain freeze was fun.
With such thoughts in mind, Aisha began looking for her parents…
“Huh?”
But she couldn’t see them anywhere.
To be precise, she didn’t know where they were.
The beach was much more crowded than it had been the other day.
Nearly twice as many people were there.
Because of that, Fate and Sofia were obscured by the crowd, and Aisha couldn’t find them.
“Dad? Mom?”
She called out, but there was no response.
Incidentally…
She didn’t call for Licorice.
Perhaps she simply forgot, or maybe she just didn’t think to rely on Licorice.
Which one it was remained a mystery.
“Dad… Mom…”
Aisha wandered here and there, looking for them.
But in doing so, she only ended up moving further away from where they might be…
And eventually, she even lost track of where she was.
Her dog-like ears drooped in despair.
Her tail wagged nervously.
“Ugh…”
Before she knew it, she had moved past the beach and into an unfamiliar alley.
Naturally, there was no one around.
When she tried to return to the beach, she found that the alleys were complex and maze-like.
Unable to find her way back, she wandered deeper into the city.
“Daaad… Mooom…”
Anxiety and fear built up inside her…
Until, at last, they overwhelmed her, and tears began to stream down her face.
She remembered the time when she had truly been separated from her family and left all alone.
There was no one around.
She was all by herself.
The adults nearby were frightening.
If she didn’t behave, she was whipped.
There were many times when she wasn’t even given food to eat.
“Hic, hic… Ugh, waaaah!”
Recalling the fear and anxiety of her days as a slave, Aisha couldn’t hold back her tears and cried aloud.
“Daaaad! Mooo-om! Licoriiiice!”
She called for the people she held dear, but none of them appeared.
Sadness.
Loneliness.
Fear.
Negative emotions spiraled within Aisha, eating away at her heart.
She couldn’t do anything—nothing except cry.
…And that was when it happened.
Rustle.
“Eep!?”
A noise came from somewhere in the shadows.
Startled, Aisha fell backward onto the ground.
Then, as if aiming for her vulnerable state, the source of the noise darted out.
It raced toward her at incredible speed, cutting through the air…
“Woof!”
And came to a sudden halt right in front of her, letting out a cheerful bark.
“…A puppy?”
“Woof!”
It was a small dog.
It was so tiny that even Aisha could easily hold it in her arms.
However, its fur gleamed like silver, and its eyes shone with emerald green.
No such breed of dog existed.
But Aisha didn’t know that.
She didn’t feel the need to be cautious of the puppy.
Instead, the puppy’s adorable appearance captivated her, washing away her fear and anxiety and replacing them with a warm smile.
“Wow… Puppy, you’re so cute. Come here?”
“Yip!”
The puppy approached her, rubbing its face affectionately against her.
Its actions were so endearing that Aisha completely forgot her predicament, her eyes sparkling with delight.
“You’re adorable!”
“Pant, pant, pant.”
Even as Aisha hugged it tightly, the puppy didn’t resist.
If anything, it seemed happy, wagging its tail vigorously from side to side.
“Woof, woof!”
The puppy slipped nimbly out of Aisha’s arms and trotted ahead.
After walking a short distance, it turned around to look at her.
When Aisha followed, the puppy walked further ahead…
Stopping again at a certain point and looking back.
It seemed to be saying, Come this way.
“Um…?”
“Woof!”
“Oh, wait!”
Guided by the little dog, Aisha left the labyrinth of back alleys behind.
TL Note: Is puppy good or bad? tbh I never Expected a puppy devlopment.
Me neither but I assume it's a trap.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to how children should not take candies from strangers and stuff, kekw.