Chapter 33 Part 4: I Have To Go Out

Early morning.

Since my escape, the three of us have never slept again.

Amy, who was watching me depressed, took Shine and me out of the room.

We walked down the hallway without saying a word.

Shine held my hand tightly and came closer as if she wouldn’t let go.

We were so close that I felt like my feet were going to get tangled.

I let out a slightly awkward laugh at Shine’s behavior that was burdensome.

“Are you laughing?”

“Sorry.”

Shine seemed very angry.

At this hour, I should have fallen into a deep sleep and relieved the day’s fatigue, but there was no sign of sleepiness in Shine’s eyes.

“Amy. Where are you going?”

After walking for a while, I couldn’t control my curiosity and asked a question.

Amy turned around slightly and gave me a playful smile.

“You said you wanted to see that.”

“That’s it?”

Amy, who was smiling subtly, suddenly stopped walking.

Because of Amy’s sudden stop, I almost bumped into her leg.

“Amy?”

“Now.”

Amy said that and pointed to a huge door.

An incredibly huge door.

It looked bigger than Amy.

I swallowed and looked around.

“Where is this place?”

Amy didn’t say anything to my question and opened the door wide.

A huge entrance.

Bright light pouring in.

A huge space that was wide enough to open my eyes.

At the end of my gaze was an incredibly wide screen.

This was a huge movie theater.

“Where is this…?”

When I looked up at Amy curiously, she reached out and hugged my body.

My body was raised high, and my field of vision was raised.

I was startled and shook my legs.

Amy smiled slightly as if to reassure me, seeing me like that.

“You said you wanted to see the movie version.”

“Yes? But that’s…”

Amy stepped into the movie theater as she said that.

Behind Amy’s footsteps, I could hear Shine’s.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty space.

Small footsteps.

I looked up at the screen with trembling eyes.

“What flavor of popcorn?”

“I want caramel…”

The tips of my ears burned.

My shaking eyes didn’t think of leaving the screen.

Amy walked to the center of the theater and sat me down on a chair.

The soft, sinking chair hugged my body warmly.

Shine also sat next to me.

Her tightly clenched hands didn’t seem to want to let go.

I wanted to loosen them as my sweat started to build, but Shine looked anxious, so I kept quiet.

“What does Shine taste like?”

“I’ll eat what Jeff eats.”

At Shine’s answer, Amy tapped her phone.

I looked up at Amy from the screen.

Amy must have noticed my gaze, and she smiled and stroked my cheek.

“If there’s something you want to see, tell me.”

I bit my lip at her words.

I couldn’t say anything.

Thump.

I thought I heard a small noise, and all the lights went out.

The black curtain fell in an instant.

When I flinched in surprise, Shine leaned on my arm.

“Don’t go alone next time.”

Shine said as if she was disappointed.

I nodded with an ambiguous expression.

As I lightly stroked Shine’s hair with my empty hand, her expression relaxed slightly.

The room was dark.

A huge light was shining on the wide screen.

“Okay.”

While I was concentrating on the screen, Amy held out a huge popcorn.

A sweet smell wafted in.

I swallowed and took the popcorn.

A huge wind sound.

The wide sky spread out on the screen was a starry night.

The sound of the cool wind blowing made me feel like I was really flying in the sky.

The little girl on the screen was flying through the sky on a broom.

The twinkling stars around her guided her path as if blessing her.

The softly shining moonlight made the girl’s hair sparkle.

“Lucy.”

I focused on the screen with my eyes sparkling.

Scenes full of gorgeous effects that I had never seen before poured out.

Lucy, flying with the starlight, began her journey to a distant country.

While watching the video, I became Lucy and went on a journey.

She arrived at a huge castle and teased the grumpy king and went to the land of giants and saved the land of giants in danger.

Lucy always flew freely through the sky.

The sight of her back flying with the gorgeous starlight was so charming.

She was nearing the end of her journey.

As always, Lucy climbed a high cliff and let go of the beads filled with memories into the sky.

They became twinkling stars and hung in the sky.

Today’s journey ends here.

I held my pounding heart.

Lucy said that and flew into the sky.

Lucy’s journey was not over.

The world she lived in was very, very wide.

She prepared for her next trip.

I was the same.

The splendid night sky dispersed in an instant.

I, who had been lost in the afterglow, jumped up from my seat as I watched the ending credits slowly roll up.

“Amy!”

“Huh…?”

I stamped my feet and clung to Amy.

She had her eyes closed as if she was half asleep.

She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and looked around as she spoke.

“Are you done?”

“Really!! Thank you so much!!”

I grabbed Amy’s hand and shook it up and down.

I didn’t ask how she was able to screen a movie that hadn’t even been released in theaters.

I wanted to feel this afterglow right now.

“Was it fun?”

“Yes!”

I nodded and sank into my chair.

My heart was pounding.

My face heated up.

My hands trembling with excitement.

I will never forget this moment today.

“Shine? How was Shine?”

I looked back at Shine with sparkling eyes.

She, who was looking at the screen, smiled slightly and answered.

“It was fun.”

I hugged Shine’s body.

It was so fun to be able to enjoy my favorite hobby with my favorite person.

Bam!

The noise came again.

The darkness that had been there disappeared in an instant.

Sparkling lights came from all directions.

I got up from my seat, covering my eyes from the dazzling light.

Amy let out a soft moan as she stretched her stiff body to release it.

“Shall we go back?”

Amy said and held out her hand.

Shine and I left the movie theater holding her hand.

My excitement hadn’t subsided, so I continued to tell Shine about the scene I had just seen.

“I should go to bed now.”

“Yes!”

As soon as I returned to the room, Amy went straight to bed.

Shine and I were the same.

I had popcorn and cola, so I should brush my teeth again.

But Amy didn’t say anything.

I laid down on the bed, hugged the giant witch’s hat in my arms, and closed my eyes.

“I think I’ll wake up a little late.”

Amy, who had checked the time, fell asleep right away.

It was the same for me.

The effects of the coffee had faded, and the sleepiness that had been pushed away came pouring back.

I gave a small smile to Shine, who was looking down at me through her hazy eyes.

“Good night, Jeff.”

That day, I had a rare dream.

In the vast city that stretched out, I was a small girl.

I blankly looked down at my hands.

They were small.

They were so small.

But it wasn’t awkward.

I stepped forward cautiously.

The gray city, the moment I stepped foot, was dyed in gorgeous colors.

Wearing only a white one-piece dress, I carefully stepped forward one step at a time.

The city that had seemed bleak, just like a painting, became more lively.

Cars appeared on the empty road.

Small birds flew high in the sky.

The city that had been silent became filled with countless sounds.

I kept walking.

A familiar yet unfamiliar street.

I moved without hesitation as if I knew the way.

I passed the well-paved road and entered a wide-open housing complex.

A place I had never seen before.

But a place familiar.

I walked to the house with the red roof that was beautifully sloping down among the many houses.

“Jeff.”

A faint voice came to my ear.

I shifted my gaze.

Shine’s figure was visible through the white wooden fence.

She was waving at me.

“Shine.”

I absentmindedly held out my hand.

Shine stood up at my words.

The green lawn spread out beneath her feet.

I passed the fence and entered the lawn.

Shine was holding a small rubber ball.

The ball in Shine’s hand slowly fell.

The ball that fell to the ground slowly rolled toward my feet.

“This is…”

“Did you forget?”

Shine said as she approached quietly.

The white clothes fluttered, confusing my vision.

“It’s our house.”

I nodded absentmindedly.

Our house.

Shine’s house and mine.

But I can’t go.

“That’s right. I can’t go now.”

“Why?”

“They took everything.”

I had forgotten.

I nodded absentmindedly.

But who?

Who took it all?

I opened my mouth with doubt.

But no voice came out.

Shine’s figure slowly moved away.

I reached out to her.

“See you.”

Shine waved and greeted me.

My mind faintly rising.

A subtle sense of heaviness.

A stuffy heat enveloped my body.

I rubbed my eyes and looked around.

The blanket was carelessly turned over.

I slowly lowered my head and examined my body.

My half-raised upper body, and Shine hanging on top of it.

She was holding my waist with both hands as if she wouldn’t let go.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes…”

I mumbled in response to Amy’s question.

It seemed like Amy had woken up faster than me.

Anyone who saw her sitting at her desk, drinking coffee and working on paperwork looked amazing.

“Shine. Wake up.”

I gently shook Shine’s body.

However, Shine seemed to have no intention of getting up and dug deeper into my arms.

I looked at Amy with a troubled expression.

She got up from her seat and came to me.

“If you’re awake, then wash your face.”

“Yes.”

Amy released Shine from my body and gently shook Shine’s body.

Shine’s eyes, which had been closed, opened and she sat down on the bed with sleepy eyes.

“Shine, you should wash up with Jeff.”

“Yeah…”

I answered, but Shine didn’t move.

Shine, who had been nodding off, buried her head in the blanket again.