The boy forcefully pulled his hand free.
He called out irritably.
"I told you, there aren't any red maple leaves right now!"
"Even if you want to see one, I can't conjure one up for you."
"Wait until autumn."
After dropping those words, the boy turned off the light.
"All right, go to sleep."
The boy turned and left the pitch-black room.
When he opened the door, the lively sound of a television came from the living room not far away.
The boy closed the door and walked toward the brightly lit living room.
Perhaps the time had been too short...
That was why, the moment he saw the red maple leaf just now, he immediately thought of that night.
Grandma wanted to see a red maple leaf...
Early that morning, he was awakened by the noise of children playing downstairs.
He was irritated.
But the snow-covered world outside the window delighted him.
He naturally knew it had snowed the night before.
Yet seeing the silvery-white world as he had hoped the next morning still delighted him.
He ran outside.
Unexpectedly, besides the snow, he found another surprise.
A red maple leaf!
Could this count as a surprise?
The boy felt somewhat awkward.
Since he had discovered it, he gradually developed a stubborn insistence that he had to take the red maple leaf back with him.
It was too much of a coincidence.
Grandma had only said yesterday that she wanted to see a red maple leaf.
And today, a red maple leaf had appeared right in front of him.
This was the red maple leaf God had sent him, right?
This was his red maple leaf.
The boy unconsciously swallowed.
"...I want to take it to Grandma."
"She'll be very happy..."
Probably...
He didn't know whether,