"What should I do..."
The child's voice was choked with sobs.
"Mom and Dad turned into birds..."
"What should I do?"
"Big Brother..."
"...save Mom and Dad..."
"Mom and Dad turned into birds..."
The child was crying so hard he could barely catch his breath.
Xiao Xiao gently reached out and patted the child's head.
"Don't cry."
He looked down and met the child's upturned eyes.
"They didn't turn into birds."
Huh?
The child froze.
A question mark appeared in his eyes.
But he'd just seen...
"They were birds to begin with."
The corners of Xiao Xiao's mouth curved up slightly.
The child's pupils contracted in shock.
W-what...
"...Mom and Dad are birds?"
The child's voice wavered.
"How is that possible?!"
The child's mouth fell open.
His voice was hoarse.
"...Am I a bird too?"
The child's expression turned strange.
He hadn't even known he was a bird...
"Of course not."
Xiao Xiao smiled. "You're human."
"Not a bird."
"But my mom and dad are birds..."
The child was confused.
Mom and Dad were birds.
So naturally, the child was a bird too.
Just as a puppy's mother wouldn't give birth to a kitten.
Right?
"So they aren't your mom and dad."
The child was stunned.
He stared wide-eyed, bewildered.
They weren't his... mom and dad?
Xiao Xiao smiled at Grandfather Yu, Grandma Yu, and the doctor as they returned.
"Wait a moment."
He spoke softly.
Grandfather Yu, Grandma Yu, and the doctor had hurried back, and all three froze.
Earlier, the two elderly people had spent a great deal of effort and said a lot to finally get their well-meaning neighbors to leave.
The doctor had helped, too.
She'd told the neighbors that the child's cries had