"Just think of it as a special experience from my childhood..."
"...I told Jingjing about it as a story."
Back then, Jingjing had been playing a game with her.
They were supposed to tell each other about their most interesting experiences.
She didn't have one.
Jingjing didn't believe her.
She insisted that she make one up.
Her refusal had made Jingjing a little unhappy.
She didn't want Jingjing to be unhappy.
Then she thought of that experience.
She also remembered how her grandparents had repeatedly warned her not to tell anyone about it.
But if she told it just as a story...
It should be fine.
So she told Jingjing the story.
To her surprise...
Jingjing had readily accepted it.
And she had really liked the story.
She had even said again and again that she wanted to see the big leopard too.
She didn't know what to do.
It was only a story.
Jingjing had smiled and called her out on her lie.
She said it was something that had really happened to her.
She was envious.
Envious...?
Jingjing really did seem envious of her experience.
She said it wasn't true.
Her grandparents had both said it was just something she'd imagined.
But Jingjing had a completely different opinion from her grandparents.
Jingjing thought the big leopard she'd seen was real.
She was astonished.
It even seemed unbelievable.
Was Jingjing... serious?
As it turned out, Jingjing was serious.
Very serious.
After that, Jingjing often brought up the big leopard with her.
She made it clear how badly she wanted to see it.
At first, she had resisted and refused to believe it, but gradually...
She, too, seemed to start believing...
That the big leopard she'd seen was real.
But