"Mom."
Xu He's voice wavered with tears.
It hurt so much.
The woman loosened her grip a little.
She stared intently at the child.
"Xu He."
"Don't think about it."
"Trust Mommy."
"What you saw was just an illusion."
"You don't need to take it seriously."
"Forget it."
"Do you hear me?"
Xu He's eyes trembled violently.
An illusion...
Forget...
No.
Xu He murmured, "Eldest Brother..."
"Eldest Brother saw Little Joy..."
"What?"
The woman saw the child's lips move and figured he must have said something.
But his voice was too weak and indistinct.
She couldn't make it out.
She leaned closer to him.
"What did you say?"
"Eldest Brother..."
Xu He struggled to speak.
Although he'd promised Eldest Brother...
Still...
Being misunderstood and denied felt awful.
He wanted to prove to Mom...
That he was right.
Little Joy really existed.
Little Joy, who had kept him company for so long... listened to so many of his complaints... and even given him special abilities...
Little Joy, his very important friend...
wasn't fake!
"Huh?"
The woman leaned even closer to the child.
"Eldest?"
"Eldest what?"
Xu He took a deep breath.
"Eldest Brother!"
Xu He finally shouted it out.
"...Eldest Brother?"
The woman rubbed her ears.
The child's shout had nearly burst her eardrums.
"What Eldest Brother?"
Why was this child's talk so incoherent?
"And..."
Xu He clenched his hands. "Eldest Brother..."
"saw Little Joy too."
Now that he'd said it out loud, Xu He felt a weight lift from his heart.
He'd already said it...
So he would just forget... He'd promised Eldest Brother not to tell anyone about him...
I'm sorry, Eldest Brother.
"Eldest Brother saw Little Joy too?"
The woman repeated the child's words.
"Which Eldest Brother?"