A Lump in the Throat
"You're really focused, huh?"
Child's Mom walked up behind the child.
She reached out and gently patted the child's head.
"Yaya."
The woman looked up with a smile. "Those oranges must be really sour."
"If you want oranges, we can go buy some at the fruit shop..."
The woman bent down, bringing her face close to the child's.
"Yaya—"
The woman's voice abruptly cut off.
Because...
The child suddenly cried, "Big Leopard!"
The woman's whole body stiffened.
"Yaya..."
She looked at the child's excited face.
The child still didn't respond to her.
"Yaya!"
The woman nearly shrieked.
The child suddenly snapped back to reality.
The shrill voice, right beside her, pierced the child's eardrum like a needle.
Startled, the child stumbled back several steps.
She nearly lost her balance.
"M-Mom..."
The child's voice was low and hoarse.
She looked flustered and helpless.
Her face had gone a little pale.
Mom looked...
So scary.
The woman's expression really was awful.
"Yaya."
The woman lowered her voice. "What did you just say?"
She struggled to keep her emotions in check.
Just now...
The child froze.
What had she said?
She instinctively turned her head.
A familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure entered her field of vision.
It had been so long...
Since she'd seen it.
So long that...
The child had almost started to think...
It was just a trick of her eyes.
Just her imagination.
But...
The child blinked.
She saw it again.
So close...
It was on the wall.
She was below it.
It seemed...
Last time had been just like this.
It really did seem to like walking along the wall.
Because it was... high up?
The child couldn't help smiling a little.
"Yaya!"