The little girl with the mushroom-shaped haircut instinctively looked out the window along with her mother.
From the corner of her eye, the girl's mom noticed and reached out to turn her daughter's head back.
"Stop looking out the window."
"There's nothing interesting out there."
What the girl's mom really wanted to say was...
Don't look at the rain.
The little girl only saw the shadowy figures on rainy days.
As for what caused them...
From what she knew so far...
It seemed to happen only when it rained.
How strange.
Was rainy weather really so good at stirring people's imaginations...?
Oh.
The little girl obediently turned her head back.
"Anna."
The girl's mom hesitated for a moment, then decided to take an all-or-nothing approach.
"Promise Mom one more thing."
What?
The little girl with the mushroom-shaped haircut looked at her mom in confusion.
What was it?
"From now on, when it rains..."
The girl's mom tugged at the corner of her mouth. "...Don't go outside."
She'd originally wanted to tell her daughter not to leave the house.
Then she realized that was asking too much.
The child still had to go to school.
She couldn't keep her home and make her go nowhere every time it rained...
That would interfere too much with her normal life.
So she quickly changed the request.
"Just stay indoors."
The girl's mom stressed the point.
"Whatever you do, don't go outside."
"Got it?"
The little girl blinked.
Oh...
Did that mean she couldn't go out on rainy days anymore?
"No."
The girl's mom shook her head.
She patiently explained, "When it's raining, don't run outside."
"Just stay at home or in the classroom."
"You can do that, right?"
She shouldn't be running around in