Bad
"...Though hallucinations aren't contagious..."
"Sometimes, though, they can be even more frightening than contagious diseases."
"They eat away at a person from the inside."
The old woman spoke earnestly.
To be honest, the short-haired girl couldn't really understand what the old woman said after that.
A hint of bewilderment appeared on her face.
The old woman stopped speaking.
She shook her head slightly.
Why had she gone and told a child so much nonsense...
She smiled. "It's okay if you don't understand."
"Just remember, if you ever see him again, stay away from him."
"Don't talk to him."
"And don't believe anything he says."
"Mm."
The short-haired girl nodded.
"Got it."
The short-haired girl had lain in the hospital for two hours and really couldn't stand it any longer.
She felt she was fine now.
After asking the child several times how she felt and checking with the doctor, the old woman took her out of the hospital.
The short-haired girl said goodbye to the old woman.
Then she ran home like a little rabbit.
Because of the accident, she was much later getting home than usual.
But she had a reasonable explanation.
She hadn't gone anywhere else.
She'd spent all that time at the hospital.
Her parents surely wouldn't scold her.
Watching the child hurry away, the old woman silently swallowed the words "slow down."
A smile appeared on her face.
It seemed the child was recovering well.
Being able to run like that meant she wasn't seriously hurt.
The old woman thought of that other child again...
The one whose experience had been so similar to this child's—
No.
The two children had only had similar beginnings...
What came next had been completely different.
This was a clever, lucky child.
That