"Knowing that you did something wrong, sincerely admitting your mistake, and taking responsibility for what you did..."
"Doing your best to make up for the negative impact caused by your mistake..."
Xiao Xiao smiled faintly.
"Then you're still a good boy."
"R-Really?"
the little boy mumbled.
The little boy lowered his eyes.
"...I... I really like this turtle."
"But Mom doesn't like turtles."
"Mom... wouldn't agree to buy it for me."
The little boy spoke haltingly. "...I was just going to take a look in the shop..."
"This turtle is very special."
"It's the first turtle like this I've ever seen."
"I really like it."
"The turtle seems to like me too..."
The little boy raised his hand.
Slowly opening his curled fingers, he revealed the turtle inside.
"I didn't originally intend to..."
"I was just taking a look..."
"I greeted the turtle and talked to it..."
That was something he, or any child, would do with a small animal they liked.
"But the turtle crawled toward me..."
Remembering how he had felt when he saw that scene, the little boy's expression grew somewhat dazed.
"It came over..."
The little boy unconsciously lowered his voice.
But his tone became even more excited.
"I was so surprised."
"And so happy."
At the time, he had widened his eyes, held his breath, and stopped his incessant chatter.
He had been afraid that any movement or action of his would scare the turtle away.
The corners of his mouth lifted.
He smiled silently, brimming with joy.
He and the turtle stared wide-eyed at each other.
Then, because he had kept his eyes open for too long, he unconsciously closed them for a moment.
When he opened his eyes...
It had really only been a second...
The turtle was gone?!
The little