Ellie lowered her head to look down.
The child’s round forehead, where the bangs had been pushed back, came into view.
It was a sight where neither his legs nor his head touched anything, as he was suspended in midair.
-……
More precisely, the child, also startled, had instinctively clung to Ellie’s arm like a cicada.
“……Huh?”
Huh? Blinking his large eyes a couple of times, the child finally realized what he was holding onto and slightly opened his mouth.
Similarly, Ellie, realizing the child was clinging to her arm, was left speechless, her mouth agape.
Her arm… or rather, her entire body was still in its semi-transparent state.
‘Is he really touching me right now?’
Caught in an inexplicable situation, the mother and the son both froze, blinking at each other.
It wasn’t until Marie, sensing something strange, stretched her neck to peer over their way that they both snapped out of it at the same time.
“Young Master? What’s wrong?”
“A-Ah?”
“…Did you hurt yourself?”
Perhaps worried by the child’s dazed expression, Marie asked in a concerned voice, and the child quickly shook his head.
But from Marie’s position, it was impossible to see the child clearly.
It took the child a moment to realize that no matter how vigorously he shook his head, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Still dangling upside down, the child stopped shaking his head and hurriedly opened his mouth.
“N-No! I’m not hurt!”
Instinctively bending over and lowering her arm, Ellie helped the child place his hands on the floor and roll halfway around.
Meanwhile, Marie had already made her way around to the other side of the bed, where he had to let go of Ellie’s arm, though he still looked quite regretful.
Marie, carefully observing the child sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out and his hair disheveled, asked.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt? You didn’t sprain your wrist, did you?”
“Nuh-uh… I’m okay because you caught me.”
“Yes? Caught you?”
What? Marie asked, puzzled, but the question didn’t reach the child, who was still staring longingly at his hand and Ellie’s arm.
Realizing that further questioning might not yield a clear answer, Marie picked up the child with both arms and placed him back on the bed before speaking.
“Young Master.”
“……”
“Young Master?”
“Mmhmm.”
“I’m sorry for making you eat the beans when you don’t like them. But Young Master, you were very sick yesterday and today, weren’t you?”
“Mmhmm…”
“I just really wanted you to be healthy, Young Master. Honestly, I used to think that picky eating wasn’t a big deal as long as you could replace it with other foods, but…”
As she spoke, Marie met the child’s eyes and then suddenly trailed off.
“…Anyway, from now on, you mustn’t run away like that again, no matter how much you dislike something. Especially running around quickly inside the room is even more dangerous.”
“……”
“You’ll promise me that, won’t you?”
“I’m sorry…”
“I’m sorry too.”
Marie gently hugged the child, who lowered his head and mumbled an apology.
However, the expression on Marie’s face, which was hidden from the child’s view as they were hugging, seemed much more complicated than Ellie had expected.
[……! Marie……!]
[Please keep it a secret that I ate it for you. If Mother finds out again, I’m really going to be in big trouble this time…….]
[Of course, thank you!]
What if both of them became unwell because of that?
It felt as if Ellie had overheard the words she hadn’t actually heard.
* * *
Despite all the effort put into running away, the child ended up having to finish the entire bowl of bean soup right after the hug.
This was because Marie, showing a firm attitude, insisted that reconciliation was one thing, but mealtime was another.
Having just had such a conversation, the child couldn’t bring himself to run away again. So, despite his disgust, he finished the meal. Marie praised her for eating so well, even clapping her hands, before leaving the room to clean up. She handed the child a candy as she left.
-……
“……”
As if on cue, Ellie and the child exchanged glances, both watching each other carefully. When it reached a point where they couldn’t even guess how much time had passed, the child, whose patience had reached its limit, slowly approached.
Tap.
“……!”
A small hand hesitated, then reached out, and slowly poked Ellie’s semi-transparent arm.
Though she couldn’t feel the soft skin unique to a young child or the warm body temperature.
-…Adi, Can you touch Mommy?
“Oh, oh…Yes….”
Ellie, who had just reconfirmed once again that the child’s tiny finger couldn’t pass through her arm and was instead blocked, blinked slowly.
How many times had they been forced to watch over the child from a distance simply because they were a ghost?
Even with both her fingers and toes, she couldn’t count them all
-…..
She had imagined all the things she would do if she could ever touch the child, dreaming of such a moment.
But now that this unexpected situation had actually happened, her mind went blank.
She didn’t know what to do, so she just stood there, staring blankly at the little black head in front of her.
Poke.
Poke poke.
…Poke poke poke.
The child rolled his eyes, glancing to see Ellie’s reaction, poking her arm once, then rolling his eyes again before poking it once more. Ellie quickly snapped out of her daze.
The child seemed to be as surprised as Ellie.
‘… Suddenly I can touch you?’
Ellie thought hard.
It would be nice if it was simply that they could suddenly touch each other.
But then, conversely, there could also be a time when they wouldn’t be able to touch each other again.
If there was another reason behind this, she needed to find out.
-…Adi.
Poke poke.
“……”
-Adi?
…Poke.
-……
“…Oh, yes! Yes?”
The child, who had been lost in thought as if seeing something imaginary, finally responded.
Ellie hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand and gently placed it on the child’s head, stroking it as she spoke.
-Perhaps there’s something you’re grasping at?
“Gasp-Grasp?”
-Um… Ah. Adi, Do you know how you’re able to touch Mommy now?
“……”
The child looked down, hesitating. He fidgeted with his fingers, then slowly shook his head. He didn’t know either.
Ellie had asked, but she didn’t have high expectations. She just accepted it with a simple nod.
‘Well then…’
She needed to check if she could touch other things as well. Ellie looked around the room, then reached out to the bed’s headboard.
Swoosh.
“Uh, uh…”
Ellie quietly withdrew her hand as she saw the child’s eyes twitch wildly at the bizarre sight of her arm passing through the headboard.
It felt like déjà vu.
‘The bed doesn’t seem to work.’
She then tried touching the nightstand, the couch, the bed canopy, and other things nearby, but none of them worked either.
Finally, after passing through the door and wall a few times, Ellie awkwardly spoke up.
-Um… It seems I can only touch you, Adi.
It was just as she said. The only thing that had changed was that she could touch the child. This new situation made her think deeply.
She wondered what it could mean, narrowing her eyes in contemplation, when–
“That…”
-Ah…Did you call for me, Adi?
Ellie, lost in her thoughts and not paying attention to the child, quickly leaned down in surprise.
The child, watching her nervously, spoke softly.
“Um… well…”
-Yes, Adi?
“Mommy…”
Even just saying the word made the child’s cheeks flush bright red again.
He wiped his sweaty palms on his clothes and asked hesitantly.
“If… if I’m the only one who can touch you….”
-Yes.
“…Could I… ask for just one thing?”
A wish… The child trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
Ellie tilted her head to the side and nodded encouragingly. A few seconds passed like that.
“……”
-Is it hard for you to say, Adi?
Ellie asked, noticing how the child couldn’t bring herself to speak despite nodding his head.
“It’s just… um…”
-It’s okay. If it’s too hard, Mommy can say it’s difficult too. How about writing it on your palm instead?
“Um…”
And so, the child’s ‘wish’ was…
<Please->
<Hug->
<Please hug me.>
He wanted a hug.
With Ellie’s words, the child lifted a small hand and began to carefully write out the letters.
-…
That was the “wish.”
For a moment, Ellie was at a loss for words and instinctively reached out her arm.
As she hugged the child, she felt something faintly moving against her chest, then the feeling of small hands wrapping around her back.
“…Sniff.”
How long had it been? Ellie wondered as she heard the quiet sound of the child sniffling in her ear.
TL/N: I JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
For her, it had been a little over a month, but for the child, it was a distant past that he couldn’t even remember.
‘…Four years.’
Ellie closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself as she was trying to wrap her head around the number that didn’t feel real.
Although she had thought he had grown a lot, now that the child was back in her arms, he seemed much smaller than she had anticipated.
Yes… He was still very small.
-…Adi.
“Yes…”
It was a small relief, but it also brought an inexplicable sadness.
Ellie gently lifted the child, who was trying to slip out of her embrace with a sullen face, and placed him on her lap. It was a scene that would make anyone gasp if they saw it, but she didn’t care.
After all, it was just the two of them.
– Is there anything else you’d like to do?
“Anything else…?”
– Yes. Is there anything else you wanted to do with Mommy?
If hugging is all, Mommy might feel a little sad. At the words spoken with a deliberately pouty face, the child jumped up and shook his head.
In fact, he admitted that there was more.
So, guided by the child, she secretly found herself inside of the attic in the middle of the night once again.
There, the child carefully pulled out several sheets of paper that had been tucked between some books. These were the papers he had once scribbled on so earnestly with pen and ink, but had never shown anyone.
“H-Here…”
The child hesitated, fiddling with the papers for a long time, before finally handing them to Ellie.
<Say Goodnight>
<Give a Good Morning Kiss>
<Hold Hands While Walking>
<Eat Together>
<Sleep in the Same Bed>
.
.
.
<Call ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’>
– This is…
Ellie let out a small sigh, repeating the same words over and over. The child then spoke up.
“When I get a mommy and daddy, there are lots of things I wanted to do.”
-……
“But… since I can’t do them right now, I wrote them down so I wouldn’t forget.”
The child smiled, saying he had already crossed one off the list.
There were many things he wanted to do when he had a mom and dad.
…But it wasn’t about getting a mom and dad; he already had them.
Seeing his innocent smile, unaware of the truth, made Ellie feel a strange sense of unease.
She forced a smile, clenching her fist to keep her emotions in check, and spoke.
– Th-Then… how about we start with what we can do now?
“Really… Can we?”
– Yes.
“…Will you do it with me?”
-…Of course.
That night, Ellie spent the entire night holding the child and slowly crossing off the items on the list. Most of them were really just small, simple things.
Wishes that others would consider ordinary daily life.
Until the faint light of dawn peeked through the attic window, Ellie told the child she loved him.
She kissed his forehead, they shared playful jokes, and they lay in the same bed as she sang a lullaby.
And she thought,
‘…I want you to keep smiling.’
She didn’t care if he didn’t grow up quickly; even if he ended up spoiled by excessive love, she wished for his happiness.
Maybe that was why she had returned.
She dreamed of such things.
* * *
While I was deeply engrossed in conversation with the child, oblivious to the break of dawn,
Knock, knock.
“Young Master, I didn’t find you in your room, so I came here. Are you in this place?”
The head butler of the main house knocked on the door.
“……”
-It’s okay to open the door. He’s not a scary person.
The child looked back at Ellie, then slowly nodded and quietly walked over to open the attic door.
The face that met the child spoke,
“The Duke has ordered your return to the main house. It’s time to prepare to go back.”
It was time to return to where you belong.
* * * *
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