But too many ripples would keep Pipa ghost from seeing its own expression clearly.
The rain stopped.
The child was the first to dash out from beneath the eaves where they had sheltered from the rain.
Pipa ghost slowly walked out from beneath the eaves.
Sunlight spilled across its face.
It raised its eyes.
It did not dodge or squint.
It stared blankly at the sun in the sky.
Its pale-colored irises seemed almost transparent beneath the bright sunlight.
Pipa ghost had not paid much attention to this encounter.
Although it did not happen often, it would occasionally shelter from the rain beneath the same eaves as humans.
The initial interest and novelty had gradually become commonplace, calm and unremarkable.
That child had merely been one human among many.
But what surprised it was...
It encountered that child again.
The same place.
The same rainy day.
They stood not far apart, sheltering from the rain beneath the same eaves.
It tilted its head toward the boy.
Hmm...
It fell into thought.
Had it encountered such a situation before?
Had it met the same human more than once within such a short span of time?
"...Here."
The uncertainty faded from the child's face.
Looking as though he had made up his mind, he held out the candy in his hand to Pipa ghost.
Pipa ghost: ...
It was somewhat puzzled.
It had not asked this human for candy.
Ah.
Pipa ghost belatedly realized.
This child could see it.
It turned around.
It looked at the candy held out beside it.
The boy gazed at the rain outside, falling like a curtain.
His arm remained stretched straight out.
"Here."
After waiting a while and realizing that the candy in his hand had not been taken, the boy turned his head in confusion.