Watashi trudged down the small beaten dirt road towards the Dragon Tooth Pass. He didn't want to take the larger, main road today because he felt like he didn't exactly deserve it. After all, the boy had lost one of his most prized possessions the other day when he was playing at the gate and it had taken him days to notice that maybe it had slipped out of his pocket.
As the buildings flanking the alleyway parted to show the open clearing infront of the gate and he felt himself leaving the shadows, Watashi quickened his pace ever-so slightly. The little steel lighter had been with him for many years at this point. It was one of the last few keepsakes from his parents after they left him and something that he would be genuinely heartbroken to see missing. It had been with him through rain and snow, thick and thin and frankly was tougher than whatever false bravado that Watashi could put up.
Pulling out his little spade that he had nabbed from the Academy storage shed, Watashi headed towards his normal playing place to begin moving dirt around to see. The harsh winds of Kumo had a tendency to blow things around a bit and having gone a few days without returning, the best case scenario was that the lighter had been buried in a little dirt pile and not lost to the winds of the mountain.
Watashi pawed at the ground with one hand, trying to move the upper layer of the dirt around to see if anything was underneath or on the ground before taking the mini shovel to the ground in desperation when it turned out to not be anywhere near the surface. The wind couldn't have blown it that far under, could it have? The boy dug for a good fifteen minutes on the ground, breaking up the dirt and looking all over his normal spot but he just couldn't find his little lighter.
Grimly standing up, Watashi dropped the spade and pulled his secret weapon out of the satchel that he held on his side. A tool that he had lifted from the Academy science lab a few hours after closing, the boy hefted his shiny metal detector, popped out the solar panel and went to work searching for his lighter. The sun today was beating down on him and the boy had never felt the heat on him as heavily as before. Wiping his sweat occasionally, the fierce sun was a double-edged sword. While his metal detector gave no sign of being low on power, the heat was almost unbearable after he toiled for another hour or two looking for his trinket.
Eventually, the boy decided to just give up. Sighing, he pulled open the flap for his bag again and dropped the device back into it. The metal detector had failed him after all, and he had failed his lighter. Could it be that the little thing was truly missing this time? Watashi thought he had lost it many times in the past but the thing always turned up. It seemed like today would be a lost cause.
Walking back towards his house, the boy took an even more obscure alleyway route this time. He couldn't believe that the lighter was actually gone for real this time. He had brought the metal detector on what he figured was a slim chance that he wouldn't just find it on the ground and when the machine failed, Watashi didn't know what to do.
I guess this is the end of it, The young lad figured. Well, it was always-
Pausing when he felt his foot hit something metallic, Watashi reached down to pick it up, hoping in his heart that it would turn out to be the lighter. And when he held it in his hands and turned it over a few times, the boy knew that he had found what he came looking for. The lighter must have just been blown into the alley where the tall buildings nearby defended it from the worst of the gusts! Hallelujah!
Raising his hand triumphantly with his prize clenched tightly within, Watashi knew that he had won this day. He would never again let one of his things go missing. Not his lighter, not his compass, and least of all not his spade. His spade.
Spinning around to look back in the direction of where the gate laid, the blind boy felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. How could he have forgotten the spade back there too!?
Eh, who cared. It was just a little shovel that he had stolen from the school anyways. The government could afford to buy itself another trowel. It could buy itself another metal detector too - Watashi was keeping this one for himself.
Dropping the lighter back into his pocket, Watashi headed on home thinking about how he was going to fix the little guy. Polish it up a bit, refill it, maybe even a bit of cord so that he could tie it to his pants and never lose the thing again. Either way, Watashi knew that today again, his lighter would not be going missing.
[Topic joined]
[Topic left]
As the buildings flanking the alleyway parted to show the open clearing infront of the gate and he felt himself leaving the shadows, Watashi quickened his pace ever-so slightly. The little steel lighter had been with him for many years at this point. It was one of the last few keepsakes from his parents after they left him and something that he would be genuinely heartbroken to see missing. It had been with him through rain and snow, thick and thin and frankly was tougher than whatever false bravado that Watashi could put up.
Pulling out his little spade that he had nabbed from the Academy storage shed, Watashi headed towards his normal playing place to begin moving dirt around to see. The harsh winds of Kumo had a tendency to blow things around a bit and having gone a few days without returning, the best case scenario was that the lighter had been buried in a little dirt pile and not lost to the winds of the mountain.
Watashi pawed at the ground with one hand, trying to move the upper layer of the dirt around to see if anything was underneath or on the ground before taking the mini shovel to the ground in desperation when it turned out to not be anywhere near the surface. The wind couldn't have blown it that far under, could it have? The boy dug for a good fifteen minutes on the ground, breaking up the dirt and looking all over his normal spot but he just couldn't find his little lighter.
Grimly standing up, Watashi dropped the spade and pulled his secret weapon out of the satchel that he held on his side. A tool that he had lifted from the Academy science lab a few hours after closing, the boy hefted his shiny metal detector, popped out the solar panel and went to work searching for his lighter. The sun today was beating down on him and the boy had never felt the heat on him as heavily as before. Wiping his sweat occasionally, the fierce sun was a double-edged sword. While his metal detector gave no sign of being low on power, the heat was almost unbearable after he toiled for another hour or two looking for his trinket.
Eventually, the boy decided to just give up. Sighing, he pulled open the flap for his bag again and dropped the device back into it. The metal detector had failed him after all, and he had failed his lighter. Could it be that the little thing was truly missing this time? Watashi thought he had lost it many times in the past but the thing always turned up. It seemed like today would be a lost cause.
Walking back towards his house, the boy took an even more obscure alleyway route this time. He couldn't believe that the lighter was actually gone for real this time. He had brought the metal detector on what he figured was a slim chance that he wouldn't just find it on the ground and when the machine failed, Watashi didn't know what to do.
I guess this is the end of it, The young lad figured. Well, it was always-
Pausing when he felt his foot hit something metallic, Watashi reached down to pick it up, hoping in his heart that it would turn out to be the lighter. And when he held it in his hands and turned it over a few times, the boy knew that he had found what he came looking for. The lighter must have just been blown into the alley where the tall buildings nearby defended it from the worst of the gusts! Hallelujah!
Raising his hand triumphantly with his prize clenched tightly within, Watashi knew that he had won this day. He would never again let one of his things go missing. Not his lighter, not his compass, and least of all not his spade. His spade.
Spinning around to look back in the direction of where the gate laid, the blind boy felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. How could he have forgotten the spade back there too!?
Eh, who cared. It was just a little shovel that he had stolen from the school anyways. The government could afford to buy itself another trowel. It could buy itself another metal detector too - Watashi was keeping this one for himself.
Dropping the lighter back into his pocket, Watashi headed on home thinking about how he was going to fix the little guy. Polish it up a bit, refill it, maybe even a bit of cord so that he could tie it to his pants and never lose the thing again. Either way, Watashi knew that today again, his lighter would not be going missing.
[Topic joined]
[Topic left]