The old man rambled on for a long time.
"...Sorry, am I talking too much?"
"Whoosh~"
"Rustle~"
The wind blew through the leaves, making them rustle.
A trace of regret showed between the old man's brows.
"...You really don't want to come out and meet an old man like me?"
"Whoosh~"
"Rustle~"
"Snap~"
A leaf fell from a branch.
The wind carried it over to the old man.
He froze for a moment, then immediately reached out and caught it.
He'd received a leaf as a gift before.
Was this...
"Your answer to me?"
the old man murmured.
The little monster opened its eyes wide.
Huh?
No, it wasn't.
It was just a leaf blown down by the wind.
The old man closed his fingers around it.
"I understand."
"If you don't want to, then you don't want to..."
A smile spread across the old man's face.
"Thank you."
"I don't know if you heard me..."
"Thank you so much..."
The next day, the old man instinctively looked toward the bedside table.
Hmm?
He froze.
There were three fruits on the bedside table.
And three little purple flowers.
He'd never received so many fruits before... so many gifts...
The old man reached out and picked up a fruit.
A thought stirred in his mind.
He looked out the window.
The morning light fell on the windowsill, and crisp birdsong drifted from the tree across the way.
The sky was blue... it was a beautiful day.
"Click?"
The door opened.
"Grandpa!"
The little girl ran happily into the old man's room.
The old man turned around.
The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes softened. "Nannan."
He remembered.
Yesterday, his younger son had called to say the whole family would come see