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Episode 6: Water Trauma (II)
I handed the rod to Sislin and grinned.
“For now, take this. I’m not quite ready yet.”
I pulled out a cute pink teddy bear-shaped bowl and started pouring water into it.
Pouring–
‘It’s not like you’re washing yourself in a bathtub. A washing basin would be okay, right?’
‘Let’s try washing his hands first. And when he gets better, he can slowly, little by little, take a bath in the bathtub.’
‘The ultimate goal is to take a bathtub bath!’
So it could be said that this was a great step.
I poured soapy water into the wash basin to minimize the washing time. The shorter the painful time was, the better. Well, it’s complete!
“Sislin! Wash your hands first…”
When I looked back with a wide smile.
…I encountered it for the first time. Severely frightened eyes.
It could be seen at a glance.
What the boy was seeing wasn’t just the water in the washbasin, but the dirty and crude hands that plunged his face into it.
The monster-like strength that crushed the back of his head…
The sensation of soapy water pouring into his nose and mouth.
The feeling of his lungs tightening and the experience of suffering that went to the point of death.
“…Sislin.”
“…”
The boy trembled and closed his eyes.
When I saw that figure, I felt pain as if I had been stabbed in the chest.
‘More than I thought… His trauma is much worse.’
“Sorry.”
The boy barely apologized to me with his eyes closed.
“If I continue this, Annette will be scolded too…”
Even in the face of instinctive fear, the boy thought of me first. I was even more saddened because his heart was beautiful.
My eyes got wet with the agony, and I quickly wiped away my tears when Sislin was not looking.
Then I quietly put the rod I had made into the washbasin and gently stirred it around.
Whoo–
As I exhaled into the pink circle, pretty soap bubbles flew through the air.
Soap bubbles flew near the boy, touched his cheeks, and popped.
“…”
It was then that he felt a sensation and carefully opened his eyes.
“Look at this, Sislin.”
I smiled and put my hand back into the basin and stirred, then shot more bubbles.
Whoosh–
All of a sudden, Sislin was staring at the soap bubbles in amazement.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
The warm spring sun was shining through the open windows.
In the dazzling feast of light, the soap bubbles shone brilliantly in five colors.
The boy’s innocent eyes followed the bubbles slowly. Then, gently licking his dry lips, he whispered softly.
“Yes. Pretty.”
The boy said as he reached out his hand slowly towards the soap bubble.
“It’s like a flower made of breath.”
“…”
The expression was so beautiful that my heart fluttered.
I dipped the rod in soapy water and handed it to Sislin.
“You do it too.”
The boy hesitated a little, as if he was a little unfamiliar, and then carefully breathed into the circle.
Like flowers blooming in the air, soap bubbles flew leisurely in the sky.
‘He likes it. Look at that expression.’
‘Ugh, my baby…’
It was the first time he had ever played with such a toy.
It was sad but cute, and I liked the way he looked, so I looked at Sislin and smiled.
Then the door opened and small footsteps came in.
“Annette, play with me too!”
It was Sasha. A cutie with big pink eyes and pink cotton candy-like hair swaying with every move.
“Sasha, how did you know I was here?”
“Julien said Annette went this way.”
Sasha, who was not shy by nature, naturally squatted down next to me without being aware of Sislin.
“I want bubbles too!”
“Here.”
I was fortunate to have made several rods.
The three of us sat next to each other and started blowing bubbles.
It was a peaceful and enjoyable time after a long time.
Soap bubbles containing the breath of the three children flew around like a dream.
Before I knew it, the soapy water in the teddy bear washbasin was almost all gone.
I pointed at Sislin’s hand and spoke softly.
“Sislin, you’ve washed your hands?”
“…Huh?”
The boy raised his hand and looked up at me in amazement.
Indeed, while he was dipping his hands to get the remaining soapy water from the washbasin into the rod, his hands were thoroughly washed.
He didn’t even know it.
I laughed softly.
“It wasn’t difficult, was it?”
“…Yes.”
Sislin nodded his small head with a little curiosity.
I hoped only good things would happen to this boy in the future, I really hoped so.
* * *
The next day.
I was doodling on a book in class, drawing Sislin’s squishy hands.
After playing with bubbles, Sislin practiced little by little on his own, and now he could wash his hands without difficulty.
When I praised him, he washed his hands even more fiercely and showed me.
‘Fufu, it’s cute.’
But apart from Sislin’s cuteness, anger piled up inside.
‘Poo… What was it? Purala? I think it was this name. The human who brought the trauma to Sislin.’
Of course, the name of the person might not be ‘Purala’.
After all, he was a slave trader and an unscrupulous man who only saw humans as money.
So, he must have caused such trauma to the child.
‘It’s a thing of the past, but I’m still angry.’
“Bad guy.”
I quietly cursed at him by myself. Of course, there was no way to get revenge now…
Regardless of my burning anger, the class was proceeding peacefully.
The class now was ‘Introduction to Summoning’, and next to me was Sasha going “Hyaak!” She was practicing the summoning technique diligently.
Finally hugging, a little chick was summoned.
“Ah! Success!”
‘It’s okay.’
“Annette! Look at this!”
“Oh yes, that’s really cool?”
It was true that it was really cool. Because I couldn’t even summon that trivial thing.
‘…It’s just an extra ability.’
Peep, peep–
I looked at the yellow chick with a bit of envy, then pretended to practice hard when the teacher came over here.
“Hya! Hyaak!”
Of course, there was only air on the desk.
Still, there was no teacher who didn’t like a hardworking model student, hohoho.
Not surprisingly, the teacher gently stroked my hair and left.
After class was over, I officially announced the start of the ‘Great Operation’.
“Wait! Pay attention to this!”
At the dignified voice of a 12-year-old, the little ones blinked their eyes, paying attention to me all at once.
“Who wants to have fun with me? Raise your hands!”
Fists like little steamed buns rose above their heads.
“Wow, me!”
“Me too, me too!”
Good. There were enough members.
* * *
In the garden in front of the mansion, there was a fountain where statues of angels blew their trumpets and released water.
The little ones resembling the angel statues gathered together.
I clapped my hands and said,
“Hey, are you all ready for a swim?”
The children answered loudly.
“Yes!”
“Team Raspberry has a raspberry-colored muffler, and Team Peanut has a peanut-colored muffler!”
‘I purposely split them into two teams.’
It was not for nothing that they were split into two teams. Here was my thorough calculation.
‘Fufu, since you two are on the same team, you should hold hands and fight together, right?’
I looked at Sislin and Heinrich with a happy expression.
Red scarves were wrapped around the necks of the two little boys.
Heinrich looked like he was not happy with the situation, while Sislin looked a little puzzled. Just like a baby beast thrown into a chick cage.
‘Hmm, Sislin must be unfamiliar with this kind of game.’
Playing with friends was unfamiliar to him, even more so for water play.
‘……If it’s not the best result, it’ll be the worst result.’
If this was done well, his water trauma would be much better.
What scared him would turn into an object of fun.
‘But if it goes wrong…’
In an already unfamiliar environment, his fear of water would only grow.
If I had more time, I would have used a more moderate method than this. But with only two days left, I had to hurry it up a bit.
‘Please, just help me once. Guys.’
To help your friend overcome his fear of water.
And give me strength just once.
‘…Sislin.’
I was nervous inside as I raised my hand vigorously.
“Come on, let’s get started!”
“Wow!”
The children laughed and splashed water on each other and started to play.
“…”
Sislin was looking around with a slightly confused expression.
‘Oh, I was too impatient.’
He was just like a lost child. I looked at him with a nervous heart. I wished someone sprinkled a little water on him!
It was then. Heinrich filled a basin with water and poured it over Sislin.
“…!!!”
‘Ahh! Heinrich!’
That damn chihuahua was supposed to be on the same team!
“Kek, you idiot. You look good!”
“…Heinrich!”
‘What am I going to do if Sislin is scared?’
I hurriedly tried to stop Heinrich who was holding his stomach and laughing.
Sislin stood still, drenched in water, motionless in his spot.
‘He must have been surprised. Is it very scary?’
Clearly, Sislin looked startled, bewildered, and frightened. However, it was only for a while.
In an instant, he opened his axe-like eyes towards Heinrich.
‘Ah, the baby beast is angry!’
Sislin immediately filled the largest bucket with water and took revenge on Heinrich.
“Argh!”
“Ahh.”
Heinrich fell backwards and blinked.
He looked as stupid as a cat that fell into the water by mistake. Then, slowly, a ‘sting’ appeared in Heinrich’s eyes.
From then on, a war broke out between the two boys.
Jwaaak, jwaak!
Jwaak! Jwaaak!
In the water play with great momentum, some kids stopped playing. I could only look around with my mouth open, saying, ‘Haah…’
After a while.
Heinrich, who was exhausted, curled up on the lawn to catch his breath.
“Heh, hey, you damn bastard…”
“……”
Sislin also took a deep breath with a tired face. Both boys looked like drowned mice.
I burst into laughter while watching them.
Then Julien, who had big sky blue eyes and sat next to me, laughed along.
“Ahaha!”
From that moment on, all the children burst into laughter. The joyful sound of children’s laughter broke brightly at the fountain where a rainbow appeared.
‘Fortunately, the plan is a success.’
I heard that there was a way to face the object of fear head-on to overcome trauma.
(T/N: referring to shock therapy; but in real life, please seek a professional for this.)
It was a success achieved in a similar way. Of course, Heinrich’s help was great (though he didn’t mean it at all).
Huhu, these wonderful little ones.
‘If this is the case, I will be able to keep my promise to Madam Mimosa tomorrow!’
I was so sure of it, with the utmost pride.
Until 10 minutes later, when an intruder showed up.
Life definitely had twists.