When I arrived at Ellie's house, my restless flames were completely extinguished to the point that there were no embers.

The aisle was extremely dark, and only the faint moonlight illuminated the floor beneath his feet. In the hallway, which has a musty smell because it is not exposed to sunlight all year round, there is a clutter of garbage that I don't know who threw it away. A few flies, which could not be caught by the eye, made a buzzing sound. The dilapidated iron door was mottled and rusted, as if it would collapse with a slight push.

This is Ellie's home.

A home that is completely unconnected with Elle.

Obviously Ellie is so dazzling, whether it is when she stands in front of me, whether it is when she throws her fist, or when she squats on a branch, and asks me with a smile on her face:

[Human sandbag, the old lady is amazing, right? ] 】

Every darkness here, every hint of decay, is completely different from the sweaty Elle, who seems to be fearless.

Thoroughly, the diametrically opposed difference can destroy the difference in the heart of Ellie's beautiful fantasy.

"You wait outside, I'll bring dinner to Mom."

With her head down, Ellie took one from the fast food she had bought, and shoved the remaining boxes of food into my hands.

“。。。。”

I stood outside the door of Ellie's house, holding a hot lunch box of fast food in my hand, and watched her figure wordlessly, disappearing into the creaking iron door.

Black reality?

I don't have the leisure to talk about this kind of thing.

This is because empty talk about so-called "real problems" is already "unrealistic" in itself.

It's like discussing the "ideal of life", but what can we do if we discuss it? Do you live in sorrow? Or do you go on with disappointment?

Hey, hey, friends. We haven't experienced the future life yet! Isn't it strange to be sad and disappointed for the future now?

"Click"

The iron door rattled again, and Ellie slowly walked out of her dark home, the blood on her face replaced by wet droplets. I guess I washed my face, right?

"Let's go? The old lady takes you to a place for dinner. ”

As if washing her face, Elle washed away all her tiredness. She grinned at my shoulders and pulled me up to the top of the old residential building.

It seems that she is back to her usual self, and she is incompatible with this darkness.

In a five-story residential building, even if you climb one step at a time, it is only enough to reach the rooftop in a short moment.

Staying under the starry night sky, I stood beside Ellie, secretly watching her out of the corner of my eye.

Ellie's hair had been lowered, and her long, silky black hair was gently draped over her shoulders. She stared at the night sky, and the stars seemed to dot her black pupils, radiating light. And the torn school uniform on her body has also been replaced with a pink slightly old T-shirt.

A bear with missing ears is printed on the chest, compared to a cheap love gesture.

"Human sandbags, beautiful, right?"

As I stared at Ellie, Ellie suddenly bit her lip and turned her head to look at me with a smile on her face. Then he took a copy of the fast food I was holding in my hand.

"Drift. Bright? ”

I froze in place, not knowing what she was referring to. Do you want to ask me, this night sky is beautiful? Still want to ask me. Is she pretty?

"Hahaha~ Human sandbag, you really look like a sandbag now! Dumbfounded, not moving! ”

Ellie patted me the shoulder, then laughed and sat cross-legged on the floor and opened the lunch box that had been closed for a long time.

She didn't seem to care in the slightest about the question she had just asked.

"Eat it! Most of the eldest sisters have invited you to dinner, what are you still standing stupidly for? ”

Holding chopsticks once, Ellie scooped up a large ball of rice from the lunch box, swallowed it in one gulp, and then kicked me as I was standing.

It's just that her gaze has never met me, as if she is constantly avoiding me.

"Oh. . . Oh! Good! ”

I was flustered and didn't understand the current situation, so I replied hesitantly and sat down on the warm rooftop floor. The residual temperature of the heat in late summer and early autumn makes the floor at night still slightly hot, a little warm but not very comfortable.

I opened the lunch box in my hand, and a vegetarian dish and a meat dish, as well as a large portion of rice, exuded heat, appeared in front of my eyes. I put the lunch box on my crossed lap and broke the disposable chopsticks, but I didn't do anything for a long time.

It's not that I haven't eaten a boxed lunch, but now I feel choked with something in my throat, and I don't want to fill my stomach.

My hands hurt so much, and my waist hurts too.

The wounds from the fight still tingle my nerves, but that's not what keeps me from breathing.

Picking up and putting down the lunch box, picking up and putting down the chopsticks, I looked at the chopsticks and the food on the lunch box, and fell into silence.

Elle was still gulping down, just like she was at the commissary in the morning, as if she had been hungry for a long time and was letting her instincts go.

I think she's like a foodie.

Unlike those delicate foodies, Elle seems to be a foodie who can appreciate the essence of food, can appreciate the hardships of farmers, and tastes these meals with complete gratitude.

"Gollum"

Picking up a ball of rice with chopsticks, I also learned from Ellie, and stuffed it into my mouth and swallowed it. I didn't taste much of it, but I was satisfied.

Wordlessly, he put down his chopsticks again, and looked at Ellie again without a word.

The scars on her hands pierced my eyes one by one. And the bruises left by the iron pipe are heart-wrenching.

Maybe she wouldn't know, right? I was so worried about her.

Alas..

Silent, I lowered my head and continued to look at the lunch box in my hand in a daze. The greens inside were slightly curled, lying quietly next to the lean meat. The plump grains of rice are clustered together, stained with vegetable juice and broth, and change color.

Silent.

Silent.

There was silence in the night when the silver moon was shining.

I was thinking about Ellie, and how strong she was next to me.

At this time.

But in the silence, I heard the sound that had nothing to do with eating.

A faint sob, a faint choking, suddenly came from beside me. It's like a person holding back tears, trying to keep himself from crying.

I slowly raised my head and looked at Ellie beside me.

Elle, who kept picking up food in her mouth, was already full of tears. Even so, she held back, not wanting those tears to fall more. Constantly biting into the food mixed with tears, stuffing his mouth to the brim.

"Ellie."

My heart pounded, and I held out my hand to Ellie tremblingly.

"Don't touch me."

With tears on her face, Elle opened my hand with her hand holding chopsticks. Then he raised his head in a choked voice, with food in his mouth, and asked in a vague cry:

"Why... Why did you come out? You're not like this, so don't you make me a big sister. Isn't it very faceless? Woo. ”

The tears rolling in her eyes slipped from the corners of her eyes one by one and dripped onto the lunch box in her hand, making a snapping sound, like a light rain falling on the canopy.

I was stunned, looking at Ellie who was crying, and suddenly felt as if I understood her.

One on the front is bad, but on the back is struggling, full of Ellie.