"Komatsu-Komatsu!"

The sound of an anxious call pierced the gloomy sky like a thunderclap through the streets and alleys, making the cloud-covered sky shine a few rays of light, and then disappear in the blink of an eye as if hallucinating.

In the darkness covered by the night, the sound of hurried footsteps clicked, closer and closer, closer and closer.

It's just that the anxious-looking woman didn't notice that in the open space beside her, beside the neatly stacked concrete round pipes, a small figure shrunk her neck, as if she was hesitating to leave or not.

"Shout again, shout again and I'll come out." The boy thought so, his eyes fixed on the familiar figure not far away, and his heart longed for the call to sound again over and over again.

However, the boy was disappointed.

The anxious figure was a little lonely, pacing away, going to a farther place to find her "Komatsu".

"Mommy is stupid!"

Tears poured out of his eyes, and the boy named Komatsu wiped a handful of tears and leaned against the back of the round tube. The ground began to sob.

Here's how it happened.

In this small family, which is not very wealthy, his mother works as a counselor in college, and his father is the owner of a small company. Komatsu, who lives in a house in the suburbs and has never enjoyed the company of his parents, learns to be independent early. He wakes up early to go to school alone, comes home on time, and waits until eight or nine o'clock in the evening after eating before climbing up. bed, and occasionally you can hear an argument outside the door while you are half asleep.

Everything is ordinary and ordinary.

But the more this happened, the more lonely he felt.

In the empty room, even the voice of the extravagant person has become a luxury. The laughter that rings on the television is another kind of loneliness, isolating oneself from them into two worlds.

So, after his parents came home in the evening, Komatsu made a small request of his own.

"Daddy, can I get a puppy?" Komatsu asked as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

On this day, he finished his homework early, not afraid of any spot checks, just to be able to meet such a small request.

Get a puppy.

Yes, that's it, and then with its company, a gray life will have a brilliance, it will be its best companion, and it will no longer be afraid of that nasty loneliness.

The father glanced at the boy, his indifferent eyes glanced over, as if he couldn't see the sense of anticipation flickering in his little eyes, and then slowly said, "You can't raise it." ”

The fact that the father, who had always been dignified, said such a thing meant that such a request would not be granted. However, at that moment, for some reason, Komatsu even wanted to continue struggling.

"Dad, I don't usually have any friends, I think-"

"That's your business!" The father put down the newspaper, and his words contained an irrefutable adult majesty, "If you don't make friends yourself, you can't even endure a little loneliness, how can you become a big thing!" ”

"I don't want to be a big deal!"

Komatsu suddenly spoke, but he didn't expect that the words he responded casually would annoy his father, who was already unhappy.

He was pushed by a huge force and staggered a few steps, his face was swollen, his ears roared constantly, and just now, it seemed that he heard a crisp sound.

When a blank mind came back to his senses, Komatsu realized what had happened.

Father, slapped himself in the face.

Xiao Song, who didn't care about the tears pouring out, immediately ran out of the house, this place that made him extremely lonely, this place that made him feel lonely, he decided that he would never come back here.

Behind him, the noisy noises gradually died down.

"What's wrong with you just meeting his request!"

"I didn't see you talking just now, now come out and pretend to be a good person! My company is in a difficult period, and you have to worry about giving me this kind of moth, food and clothing? ”

……

When the boy ran into the night, he couldn't help but feel a sense of remorse.

When I left home, I thought I was freed from the shackles, but when things happened and the facts were laid out in front of me, that great determination was defeated by cowardice.

There is a construction site nearby, and there is a huge vacant lot outside the site. Dozens of long coagulation tubes were neatly stacked together, and Komatsu decided to wait here for the passage of time.

It wasn't until his mother came to him and then missed himself while he was holding his breath that Komatsu felt a little frustrated.

Perhaps, when you go home, admit your mistake, and this matter is over.

Thinking so, Komatsu gradually closed his eyes, and the cold night seemed to cover him with layers of inky black light veil, making the thinly dressed child begin to tremble.

The dark sky grew darker and darker, and thick dark clouds seemed to press towards the ground. First a few drops of rain, then a dense stream of rain, lapping on Komatsu's cheeks.

There was a hint of dazedness on his childish face, but it was not for the expected rain, but when the rain fell, he faintly heard the wail of a little beast.

Is it because you want to have a dog of your own so much that you hallucinate?

Komatsu blinked, confusion filling his head, and just as he was convinced that it was an illusion, the wail entered his ears again.

Not an illusion!

The wail sounded not far away from him.

Komatsu, who had made this judgment, immediately got up from the ground that had begun to become muddy, patted the dirt on his pants, and listened intently to the specific direction where the wailing sound was coming.

As if in response to Komatsu's eagerness, the originally faint wail became powerful, shaking his ears hot!

"In the tube!"

Komatsu muttered, and he leaned down and looked into the hollow concrete pipes stacked on the ground.

No.

Where's that?

One by one, the fervent antiquiescence almost overwhelmed him, and at last, as he had expected, the wail approached as if it sounded in his ears as he looked into another concrete pipe.

"Come out, little one, I won't hurt you!"

Komatsu said softly, as if he were treating his own child.

If I had become a father, I would definitely be by his side every day, every day......

Komatsu thought as the sky above him suddenly became snowy, and lightning swept across the night sky in an instant, as if the sky had cracked a huge wound.

The thunder followed, but there was a faint hint of disappointment on Komatsu's face.

Not for the lightning, not for the thunder, but the moment the sky lit up, he could see clearly the appearance of the little beast hiding in the concrete pipe.

Not a puppy.

With chestnut hair, long eyes like snake eyes, short limbs, and a black object clutched tightly in both hands, he didn't look cute at all.

Only the fact that it was as short as a hamster made it look like it wasn't threatening, otherwise, Komatsu felt like he would have screamed.