"Do you remember me?"
"There was one time when your voice scared me so much that I dropped my umbrella and ran off without picking it up."
"But when I came back the next day, you returned it to me."
Thinking of the monster who had been so careful back then, as if afraid of frightening him, the boy couldn't help smiling. He no longer felt as awkward as he had at first.
"I gave you a candy later."
"Did you like it?"
He felt a little embarrassed.
What did a little kid know?
He thought that everyone—or every animal—would like the things he liked to eat.
But how could a monster like candy?
Most people wouldn't associate monsters with candy, would they?
But to him back then, sweet candy was the most delicious thing in the world.
After all, things were a little unusual at home in those days.
That man—he couldn't even bring himself to call the unpredictable man his father—was nothing like the warm, loving dads other children had.
A child wasn't a pet.
When he was in a good mood, the man might tease him. When he was in a bad mood, he would curse him out, or even hit and kick him.
When the man wasn't angry, he seemed like an ordinary father.
The boy had felt affection for him, too.
But that affection was soon worn away by the man's beatings and scolding.
Later, he even saw that man gripping his mother by the throat, his eyes bulging with fury.
That terrifying, contorted expression became a nightmare that haunted him for a long time.
A child growing up in a family like that naturally couldn't get piles of tasty snacks just by acting cute, the way many other children could.