FRACTURED TIMELINES |°་༘♡| jujutsu kaisen

00. LIKE A FAIRYTALE

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✾_________MAKING SANDCASTLES was Mirai's favorite activity in the park. The first time she made one was when she was three. Her parents had taken her to a random beach in Okinawa. Instead of splashing around with the other kids, she decided to stay by her mother's side and play in the sand.

While the two of them were busy with their architectural project, her father went off to find some seashells to decorate the (far from perfect) castle. In the end, he got some teenagers to dive for some, and they were more than happy to show off their skills in the water.

The castle was small; the only bucket they had was a kid's toy. It was plain sand with five seashells they managed to get to stick to the sides. The corners had already started to crumble, but to Mirai, it was the most beautiful castle she had ever seen.

She made up a story. She was a princess, of course. She and her family had been captured by a family of evil dragons. Her mommy didn't like them, but her daddy wanted to join them.

So it was left to her, the brave princess, to train hard and defeat the dragons so she could save her family.

Her parents laughed at the silly fairytale. She had a tendency to make up stories every time she played. But this one was the most detailed. Not that her parents noticed.

Mirai had always been a bright kid, much more mature than children her age. Despite being three, she already spoke in full, some might even say complex, sentences.

Her parents were very proud of her, and they loved her more than anything. And that sandcastle was something they all made together.

After a whole day of playing around on the beach, the time to go back had come. They probably would've stayed longer if it wasn't for the rain.

Quickly gathering all of their things and rushing to the car, her dad carrying Mirai as well, she couldn't help but look back at the castle.

Big drops of water pouring from the sky had completely destroyed the already crumbling structure. As Mirai's eyes became watery, tears threatening to spill, her mother assured her that they would come back and build a new one someday.

Naturally, Mirai continued building sandcastles whenever she could. It was to practice for the next time they went back to that beach, she would say.

When she was five, one day she went to the park with her mother. It was her favorite as it had a sandbox. It was usually empty, fussy moms not letting their kids get dirty in the sand.

Mirai's mom couldn't care less. "She's a kid; it's natural she'll get dirty," were her words when some parents would shoot her questioning looks.

This time, after they got to the park, Mirai's mom left her in the sandbox while she bought ice cream for both of them. The store was 50 meters away, so she would be able to see her daughter the whole time.

That is, all the time except for when she was paying.

The wind picked up, destroying yet another sandcastle she built. But this time, she didn't notice. What got her attention was the large creature in front of her. It was pale purple, with several heads poking from its round body.

Mirai stood frozen in fear. She couldn't hear anything—not even her mother's cry of her name in the distance. She just stared at the creature, which was salivating from all the mouths it had. It slowly loomed towards her, reaching its three hands towards the child, ready to grab and devour her.

The park was empty today, as it was a workday. Just Mirai and her mom. So when she finally gained her senses back and turned around to find anyone to run to, she saw no one.

Finally hearing her mom calling out to her while hurriedly running towards the sandbox, she turned around, only to see the creature's remains. Small, ash-like pieces of flesh flew around her and onto the pale sand.

Her mom was still 10 meters away, now halting in her step as she looked at Mirai, shocked. After a few moments, she hugged her daughter, mumbling one word repeatedly.

And a few days later, Mirai realized that the word was a simple 'no.'

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