"Ya Ya."
The boy greeted the gray-haired girl happily.
He'd thought Ya Ya would be surprised to see him.
She'd ask him what brought him here at this hour.
He'd even prepared an answer.
But Ya Ya didn't ask him anything.
In the end, he couldn't hold back his urge to talk, so he took the initiative and explained the situation to her.
Ya Ya's reaction was simple.
Even a little cold.
Just one word.
"Oh."
Boy: ...
But he soon decided that this was just how Ya Ya was.
He grinned.
It was a day in spring.
The sky was growing dark later and later.
At first, he hadn't noticed. Then he checked his watch and was surprised to find it was much later than he'd thought.
He suddenly grew anxious.
Although Mom probably wouldn't be home this early...
But what if she came back... and saw he hadn't gone home... or hadn't even eaten dinner yet...
She'd be angry.
"Ya Ya, I'm going home."
The boy said goodbye to the girl.
"It's already very late."
Huh?
The boy froze.
He suddenly realized...
"Ya Ya, why didn't you tell me to go home today?"
Before, whenever it got around this late, Ya Ya would "shoo" him home.
This time, he'd only noticed himself that it was already very late.
Ya Ya rocked the "swing"—
The boy turned his head.
He was on the "swing," too.
He was starting to love swinging.
"It's only just gotten dark."
Ya Ya said it with complete confidence.
Boy: ...
"Pfft—"
He laughed aloud.
"Yeah, it's only just gotten dark."
They'd both forgotten that it wasn't winter anymore.
The boy tilted his head back.
There wasn't a single star in the pitch-black night sky.
Only a