"Squeak, squeak~"
The child stared at the little bird and asked uncertainly, "You... want me to follow you?"
When he saw the little bird nod, the child's eyes widened in surprise.
He stood up.
The little bird had already flown ahead.
Panic rising in his heart, he stumbled after it.
"Back then, all I could see was Little Fire. I didn't even notice what was around me."
The young man recalled that unbelievable experience with a sigh. "Not until I heard my mom calling..."
"That's when I realized I'd already left the house, gone down the stairs, and reached the foot of them."
Even now, he was still hazy about what had happened back then.
But there was only one thing he knew for sure—
Little Fire had saved him.
He still remembered how his mother had hugged him and cried that day.
He'd been a little dazed.
Of course, to everyone else, he'd looked terrified.
And he had been terrified.
But Little Fire's appearance had eased his fear.
That experience had left him with more than just fear. It had also seemed like a miracle.
His mother's emotions had affected him.
And she'd hugged him so tightly.
He could feel her trembling.
He'd started sobbing and temporarily forgotten about Little Fire.
"...By the time I remembered, Little Fire was already gone."
The young man smiled.
Back then, he'd been disappointed, but there was nothing he could do.
He had told his parents about Little Fire.
But they both told him it had just been a hallucination brought on by his dazed state.
How could there have been a little bird in a sea of flames?
And that little bird had saved him?
He'd saved himself through sheer determination to escape.
He still remembered how his parents had