I found a child about Cor’s age who was alone.
“Hey, isn’t that child alone? Is she okay?”
Cor, who had been playing with his friends, stopped and looked back this way.
“Huh? Who? Oh, Es? Es is strange, so nobody talks to him.”
It seemed the boy’s name was Es. He looked gentle, but I didn’t feel anything particularly strange about him. Then, the girl next to him giggled.
“Es said he doesn’t like anybody. How strange!”
The two of them laughed and ran off energetically again. He doesn’t like anyone? I didn’t quite understand. When night came and everyone began to rest, he was still alone. There were people who seemed to be his family nearby, but for some reason, they kept their distance. It was as if nobody could see him, as if his very existence was invisible.
I was still curious, so I quietly went to where Vee and Cor were.
“Um, why is that child keeping his distance? I think it’s dangerous.”
“That’s why Es can’t like anyone. Just the other day, we were talking about which girl he liked, and he said he didn’t like any of them.”
No matter what world I went to, it was always romance talk…
“By the way, Cor, who do you like?”
To my question, he pointed to two girls. Liking two people wasn’t really about love, but more about being fond of them.
“Hey, you think he’s strange too, don’t you, Mom? If you can’t like anyone, you’ll be alone your whole life.”
My heart ached a little. Vee, who had been gazing up at the starry sky, slowly opened her mouth at the innocent child’s words.
“Hmm, well, I don’t really think he’s strange.”
“Eh? Why not? You liked Dad, right?”
I felt it was the other way around, but my mother answered the question calmly, without any sign of anger.
“Yes, but it’s not quite like that. Before we fell to this ground, we were perfect beings in paradise. But on the way down, we split into male and female. So, we are looking for our counterparts to return to our original forms. Male-male, male-female, female-female, those were the original forms.”
“Whoa, really? So, are you perfect now? But then, being alone means being incomplete forever?”
Vee continued speaking to the child, who stared at her with wide eyes.
“People who are alone are already perfect in that state. But they don’t know it themselves. You might think you’re perfect, but then a day might come when you realize you weren’t.”
“I see. So, it’s okay for Es to be alone.”
Maybe I’m perfect alone too… Then she pointed to the stars.
“A single bright star is beautiful on its own. But if you connect the dots to form a constellation, it creates a shape and a story. That’s the connection between people.”
It was incredibly romantic. Cor, on the other hand, tilted his head and thought for a moment.
“Then, will I become a constellation if I connect with someone?”
“I don’t know, but it might be worth trying.”
Then, he picked up a toy and walked over to Es. I watched from a distance to see what would happen for a while, but they didn’t fight and quietly started playing a board game.
