3.Departure of children～子ども達の出発～
Night came.
Shinki: “I’m hungry.”
Suntom: “Me, too. and I want to sleep.”
Shinki: “Yesterday at this time, I was taking a bath.”
Suntom: “I was having dinner”
Shinki: “…. What will we do?”
Suntom: “All right. I have an idea. Are there any newspapers near here?”
Shinki found some in the surroundings.
Suntom: “Next, we have to put mud around our bodies. Of course, we have to do it to our hair.”
They put mud everywhere.
Shinki: “I want to wash my face, body and hair!”
Suntom: “finally, we have to sleep, here.”
Shinki: “Really!? I can’t sleep because it’s cold.”
Suntom: “Let’s sleep.”
Suntom said so and started sleeping.
Shinki: “Suntom! Suntom!”
Shinki called Suntom, but he didn’t wake up. Shinki couldn’t sleep for a long time. He saw the sky.
Shinki: “Wow…. The stars are very beautiful.”
He was looking at the stars. And finally, he slept, too.
The next day. Shinki got up. But he wasn’t in the park. He was in a house.
Shinki: “Where am I?”
He found Suntom in a room. He was still sleeping. Then the door opened and an old man came into the room. He smiled at Shinki.
The old man: “Oh, good morning. Are you alright?”
Shinki: “…. Yes. Thank you.”
The old man: “I was surprised that you were sleeping in a park.”
Then Suntom got up. Suntom looked happy when he found he was in a house. Suntom smiled and said in a small voice.
Suntom: “My idea was right.”
Shinki was surprised.
Shinki: “What do you mean?”
Suntom: “I thought if we sleep in the park, and wear newspaper, people who walk in front of the park will think we’re poor and cold. One of them will help us. This old man is kind.”
Shinki: “Oh! You are clever. I couldn’t understand it until you explained it to me!”
They smiled. Then the old man said to them.
The old man: “Come on, eat breakfast. Then, take a bath.”
Shinki and Suntom ate full, and got clean in the bath.
The old man: “Why did you sleep in the park?”
Shinki and Suntom told him about it.
The old man: “Oh….”
The old man had a sad face.
The old man: “Take a rest here. Many years ago, I lost my parents, too. I want to see them again every day. One day, I decided to stop wars. I tried to talk with many people. But they didn’t listen to me. One of them said, ‘We can’t beat 'those people'.’”
Shinki: “Those people? Who are they?”
The old man started talking about it slowly.
The old man: “They are the people who made Weeds Island. A long time ago, a big war happened. At first, it was a small problem of some people. But it became bigger and bigger. The world was divided into two groups. Finally, the big war happened, and the conflict spread around the world. Then, a group won to another group.”
Shinki and Suntom were listening to the old man.
Shinki: “What did the winner do next?”
The old man: “The winners forced the losers to go to ‘Weeds Island’.”
Suntom: “Really? Weeds Island is….”
The old man: “Yes. Weeds Island is here.”
Shinki: “….”
Suntom: “Why do bombs sometimes fall?”
The old man: “It’s… their hobby.”
Suntom: “Really!?”
The old man: “Yes.”
Suntom: “….”
Shinki: “I can’t believe all.”
The old man talked to Shinki and Suntom for a long time. Then Shinki and Suntom decided to leave the old man’s house.
Suntom: “Thank you for everything.”
The old man: “If you have anything that you want to talk about with me, come here again someday.
Suntom: “OK.”
Shinki didn’t say anything. They left the old man’s house.
Suntom: “I can’t believe that.”
Shinki: “Me, too.”
