"I—I didn't mean to..."
The child thought he was being scolded.
His eyes instantly reddened.
"I—I was too scared..."
So his first reaction had been to run away.
"No..."
The woman and man exchanged a glance.
She gently stroked the child's head.
"Mom and Dad didn't mean to blame Haohao."
The older girl vaguely sensed her mother trembling.
"Mom and Dad are right here, okay?"
"Remember that?"
"It matters."
The older girl asked instinctively.
"Mom..."
But it was already too late.
I instinctively gripped Mom's hand in return.
"It was so scary..."
I was really scared...
"I didn't run up the stairs and let it bite you."
Th-That's what happened?
"Mm."
I heard that.
There was nothing I could do to change it.
I wasn't a good person.
I couldn't change myself either.
I would do as she said.
The man repeated himself very seriously.
The older girl murmured blankly.
"Remember what Mom said."
The older girl froze.
"I understand."
"Do you know that he fell down the mountain?"
Then he nodded. "He was in a hurry."
That really was asking too much of the child.
"It saw you stop and watched you from the stairs."
He mustn't run to the top floor again and trap himself with nowhere to go—
But...
Nor should he run out of the bushes only to discover...
I didn't really understand Mom's words, but I knew I had to listen to her.
That child had brought disaster upon himself.
"Haohao, do you still remember a year ago..."
When faced with danger, it was human instinct to run away.
The man reached out and firmly tapped the child's forehead.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't do it...
"Next time, even