"I'm leaving~~~" A little boy wearing a neat school uniform raised a big smile.
"Have a nice trip -" A woman wearing an orange sweater stood at the entrance, smiling gently as she watched her child go out.
With a "pop", the door was closed by the little boy, and the little boy's cheerful laughter could be faintly heard outside, as if he was meeting his friends who were waiting to go to school with him.
The woman stood lovingly for a while, listening to the sound of the child laughing and joking away, and then turned back to the house. After a while, the sound of a vacuum cleaner was heard.
At the entrance, a boy who looked like a junior high school student in rumpled and dirty clothes with messy hair lowered his head and continued to finish in a low voice: "I'm leaving..."
Then, the boy opened the door silently, walked out quietly, and then closed the door quietly.
Outside, there is the morning sun and the chirping of birds, and there is a lot of life, but around the boy, it seems that there is an irreversible black mist surrounding him.
"Gu Gu Gu——"
The boy's stomach made a sound of gastrointestinal peristalsis and his stomach began to cramp. His body's reaction told him that he was hungry and should eat something...
It seems that he hasn't eaten since noon yesterday...
Because "mom" didn't make him a lunch box or give him money for lunch, and when she came back in the evening, she didn't prepare his meals - of course there was no breakfast for him this morning.
There is no way, because yesterday morning, he accidentally made his "brother" angry. When his "brother" was angry, his "mother" would also be unhappy, and then the family would "forget" him for a while.
When my brother's anger subsides, my mother will prepare dinner for him...
When will my brother's anger subside?
"Cuckoo--" His stomach was giving another reminder, reminding him that he was really, really hungry.
The boy held his stomach and pursed his lips.
At this time, a pair of women walked by together and left a few words of conversation.
"...The commercial street seems to be holding an event today..."
"...If you go late, it will be too late!"
"I heard that there are also tastings..."
The women walked away, and the boys also stayed there in a daze.
There is a tasting event in the commercial street...?
"Gurgling-" My stomach growled again.
The boy looked at the road to the middle school, then turned to look at the direction in which the two women were leaving.
…He’s really hungry…
If it’s just a trial, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?
As if he was bewitched, the boy deviated from his route to school and walked towards the commercial street.
…
"It's him again?"
"It seems like I keep them here every day for tasting..."
"Isn't that a little too much?"
"Really, since you want to eat, just buy some. This... is too..."
At the end of the commercial street, there is a pastry shop with a movable billboard for "Big Event Sale" in front of it. An exquisite wooden table is placed next to the billboard, with three plates of exquisite pastries placed on the table.
There was a junior high school boy wearing a wrinkled and dirty school uniform, with messy hair and a faint smell, squatting not far away, trying not to affect the business of the snack shop, holding a small snack in his hand, and
Nibble on it in small bites.
Even so, when the women passing by saw his sloppy appearance, they subconsciously frowned and stepped away a little. Some arrogant women even deliberately covered their noses with their hands in a high-profile manner and snorted.
Leave.
"Wait a minute, this kid seems familiar to me..."
"Ah, when you say that, I also..."
"Right, you think so too... He seems to be from the Ninomiya family..."
"Mrs. Ninomiya... isn't she abusing her children?"
"Wait a minute, Mrs. Ninomiya's son is only 7 years old and still in elementary school!"
"Eh-then-"
…
On a rainy day, the sky is low, the light is dark and pattering, and the world is quiet, gloomy and blurry.
The door of Ninomiya's house was suddenly opened, and a junior high school student wearing a rumpled and dirty school uniform was kicked out.
The moment the door opened, the sounds inside suddenly came out - there were children crying, women cursing, and the sound of something being thrown to the ground.
"...How could I abuse him..."
But the next moment, the door was closed, and the sound was trapped inside.
The world became quiet, gloomy, pattering and blurry again.
In the rain, there was another junior high school student who was soaked by the rain, wearing a dirty and wrinkled school uniform.
"Gu Gu Gu——"
His stomach told him that he was hungry again...
What should I do? The tasting event in the commercial street seems to have ended...
This time "mom" was very angry, and "brother" was also very angry. He broke everything in his room and tore the books. How will he go to school tomorrow...
...In fact, it doesn't matter. His textbooks are actually no longer usable. His classmates have cut them with knives or painted them with red paint...
Ah, by the way, the teacher didn't seem to welcome him very much. He seemed to have approached him and suggested that he take a leave of absence or something...
The boy stayed in the rain for a long time, until nightfall, he knocked gently on the door.
There was no reaction at all at home.
I don't know when the rain stopped. Although the boy was soaked by the rain, as time passed, the clothes he wore gradually dried, but they seemed to be more wrinkled and dirty.
Fortunately it's not winter now...
"Gurgling-" My stomach began to cramp again.
Wait, wait some more...
When his mother's anger subsides, he can go home.
If you're lucky, you might be able to find a little leftover meal in the fridge...
The boy squatted down, leaning against the door, looking at the stars in the sky, dazed, enduring his hunger, and gradually fell asleep.
…
"You know... that kid... the kid who's always trying to eat—"
"I know, what happened to him?"
"I heard that he has gotten into the habit of stealing again!"
"Eh——? Really? It's really bad——"
"Really! Mrs. Kitano's wallet was stolen yesterday afternoon and was never found - but before the wallet was lost, Mrs. Kitano happened to pass by that child. Who else could it be if he wasn't him?"
"Wow, that's really bad...have you called the police?"
"I looked for it, but I couldn't find the wallet on him..."
"That means maybe it's not him..."
"But the owner of the fruit shop said that he was seen eating takoyaki later! - Where did he get the money to buy takoyaki?"
"Ah this..."
The boy was squatting on the street, holding his knees with his hands, and burying his face behind his arms. Only his brown eyes were exposed, looking at the bakery opposite, with longing in his eyes.
The sweet smell wafting out of it made him take a deep breath, pause for a moment, and then spit it out with satisfaction, just like smoking.
"Gurgling-" The stomach comes out at the right time to remind you.
"Ah!" Suddenly, a middle-aged man who had passed by touched his pocket and shouted, "My wallet is missing!"
Everyone's attention was attracted by this cry, and then they followed the trend and turned their attention to the boy who was huddled on the side of the road, leaning against the wall, dirty and motionless.
