"I know."
Child's Mom found it a little funny.
Child's Dad really was so long-winded.
"I won't push myself."
She didn't want all the care she'd taken over the past few days to go to waste at the last moment.
Child's Mom walked slowly.
But she had a shorter distance to cover.
So in the end, she still reached the kindergarten first.
At that moment, the entrance to the kindergarten was crowded with parents waiting to pick up their children,
making it rather congested.
Child's Mom checked the time.
Right on time.
There was only one minute left until dismissal.
The dismissal bell rang.
The quiet parents stirred at once.
Every one of them craned their necks, waiting for their child.
The children filed out.
Rain boots went patter-patter against the ground.
Little splashes sprang up.
The crowded kindergarten entrance soon emptied out.
Parents left with their children.
Child's Mom wasn't surprised when her child didn't come out.
For the past few days, they'd asked the teacher to let their child stay at the kindergarten a little longer.
Child's Dad couldn't make it there by dismissal time.
She turned around.
Looking up, she saw a familiar figure hurrying toward her.
The man came to the woman's side.
He glanced at her foot.
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
The woman shook her head.
She smiled. "I'm not that fragile."
"Let's go."
"Let's pick up our child."
"Anna will be so surprised to see Mom and Dad come to pick her up together today..."
"Won't she?"
The man had the woman put away her umbrella.
He tilted his own umbrella toward her.
It was large enough to cover them both with room to spare.
The two walked into the kindergarten.
They