RE:WRITE

50.0 Ignis Chapter 8: Fond Memories

A little boy poked his sister on her forehead and ran away. She chased him down the streets bustling with hawkers and pedestrians. They scared a flock of birds pecking at the breadcrumbs being thrown into the air by an old man sitting on a bench by the road at the city center.

A dog barked at the flying birds before curling up to the old man and rubbing against his leg. The old man scratched the dog's head with one hand while throwing another handful of breadcrumbs with the other.

I licked the ice cream in my hand as we walked past the old man and his dog. Some of it dripped down and fell onto the ground beside the dog. It broke away from its owner and came over to sniff the melting treat. It tentatively reached out with its tongue, licked a bit of the ice cream and decided that it liked it. It lapped up the rest in no time and tried to follow me, probably to get more ice cream, but it reached the end of its leash quickly.

It gave me a fleeting, sad look before perking up as its owner called it from behind. It dashed over to the old man and cuddled with him once again.

Zoe had been staring at the dog for a while now, fascinated by the little creature but unwilling to go over to it. Sensing her reluctance, Kai walked up to the dog and petted it. The dog rolled over as Kai rubbed its belly and messed up its fur. The dog barked happily and wagged its tail as Kai asked the old man if he could borrow it for a bit.

The old man agreed and Kai released the dog from its leash. He brought it over to Zoe and told her to pet it. Zoe's eyes widened as she stared at the dog before gingerly reaching for its head and petting it lightly.

The dog barked and wagged its tail. Zoe smiled and played with it some more.

The old man had to leave so he called the dog over. Zoe hugged it one last time before letting it go scurrying back to its owner, scaring the birds yet again.

We walked over to a store with a glass window showing a young couple standing behind a desk inside.

Mannequins wearing bright, flashy dresses stood next to the couple as they flirted with each other. A bell rang as we opened the door and the couple ran to welcome us.

They had some scrolls framed on the wall behind the storefront, with the Academy's insignia on them. The couple saw us looking at the scrolls and smiled proudly. They asked us if we were studying at the Academy and when we nodded, their grins widened.

Happy to see their juniors, they promised to give us great deals and to show us a little trick. They snapped their fingers and someone screamed.

Zoe was on the floor, staring at a mannequin with its head tilted to its side. The mannequin had its hand outstretched. The couple giggled, the mannequin pulled back its hand, bowed and turned around.

Other mannequins jumped out of their positions. They brought out a couch, pushed Kai and I onto it, and paraded in front of us while showing off their dresses.

A mannequin in a brilliant blue dress picked Zoe up and tossed her onto its shoulder. It proceeded to dance and twirl with a screaming Zoe hugging its faceless head. The mannequin threw Zoe to the next one in line – a mannequin in a green suit.

This time, it danced while holding onto Zoe's arms.

She swirled and jumped to the beat of the music that had appeared out of nowhere. With a final pirouette, the mannequins threw Zoe into our laps. The couple clapped their hands and the mannequins froze again.

Kai and I exchanged glances, overwhelmed by what we'd just experienced. Then we heard someone giggling. Surprised, we looked around for the source. Zoe squirmed and raised her head. She was giggling uncontrollably.