She explained, still smiling:
“I haven’t figured out your emotions yet. I don’t really know what to do when I’m sad. So far, I’ve only learned laughter. And honestly? I like it much better than tears.”
That answer set Erich off. He doubled over, shaking with laughter.
“Ha-ha! You’re right! Laughing really is way better than being sad. I should try your method sometime.”
Nibi studied him thoughtfully and asked quietly:
“Why did they make fun of you… and me? Are we worse than they are?”
Without thinking, Erich answered straight from the heart:
“No. It’s just… while they waste time messing around and hurting people, we’d rather sit on the cold ground and watch tree branches sway in the wind. They judge us by our clothes, but we judge the air—how cool and fresh it feels.”
She lifted both hands, like she was trying to touch the air itself, and nodded.
“It really is… invigorating.”
“And this rock poking into my back? Ice cold and sharp. I don’t like that one nearly as much,” he complained sincerely, then burst out laughing again. His co-laugher couldn’t help but join in.
“You know what…” He suddenly jumped to his feet, puffing out his chest. “Mom’s totally gonna scold me, but let’s skip school today! I mean, I’ll skip it—you don’t need it in space anyway. Let’s go to the place I always visit when I’m sad and want to be with someone who understands me.”
“Interesting! Let’s do it,” Nibi agreed. And so they set off once more on foot, the day’s walking already starting to feel natural. Somehow their legs never got tired. Digging in his backpack, Erich discovered two bananas, already a little browned.
They shared a quick snack. Nibi loved it and admitted honestly that instead of turning into Pobbi, she’d much rather transform into a banana tree.
Their walk didn’t last long—hardly anything in this little town was far away. Erich thought to himself: A small town with Big (though still small) Er and the cosmic Nibi.
They stepped onto a dirt road, pressed flat by the tracks of passing cars. On both sides stretched endless empty fields, not yet ready to grow anything. And in that wide expanse stood a single dry little tree, with a small portrait tied to its trunk.
The picture showed a man with thick eyebrows, messy hair, and mischievous eyes.
“His smile looks a lot like yours,” Nibi observed.
“That’s because it is my father. But you knew that already, didn’t you? You always seem to know everything,” Erich confirmed. He stepped closer, gently wiped the dust off the picture with his sleeve, then smiled just like his father—so the picture would smile back.
“I don’t fully understand why he matters so much to you,” Nibi said thoughtfully. “But I do understand that he—and your mom (that’s her name, isn’t it?)—are very close to you.”
“The closest! The closest of all!” Erich burst out, embarrassed by how intense his own voice sounded. “You don’t even know… it was right here, in this spot—he fell. The doctors said it was an aneurysm. I don’t know what that is, and I don’t even want to think about it.
“What matters to me is this: there’s the place where he’s buried (but I never go there, because he just lies there, and I want him walking with me—even if only in my thoughts), and then there’s this place. Mom and I honor it, bringing flowers here every time.”
“So why aren’t there any flowers now?” Nibi asked, surprised.
“Because it’s fall. I’d pick some if there were any growing, but you can see—nothing. Mom and I will go to the flower shop soon and get a fresh bouquet.” Erich pulled an orange bead from his pocket and set it down at the edge of the little shrine. It was his father’s favorite color. The bead rested there, swaying slightly, like a lone tear trembling at the edge of his eyelid.
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.