Hanabi

Prologue

The fireworks started and lit the night sky, and the children went jumping and running around like crazy while their parents tried to keep them in view, not wanting them to get lost in the streets during such a big festival.

The five year-old Tomomi loved the fireworks, and she ran amongst all the other kids, cheering and holding her own sparkler like everyone else. She was in front of a temple with her parents before, and she always obeyed them and knew not to go too far from them, so they let her do as she pleased. She really didn't go far, she stayed around the temple and admired all the lights in the sky, feeling happy and excited.

After a while observing the fireworks, she looked around the temple to see if her parents were still at the same spot, and saw a little boy who seemed to be lost. She saw him before, when she was at one of the takoyaki tents with her parents. He prevented her from spilling soda all over her orange yukata, by warning her just when she was about to move and hit the soda can on the low table. He was there alone at that time, and she remembered finding it weird. He looked older than she was, but he still shouldn't be alone in the streets.

Now he looked scared and lost, and she thought that maybe her parents could help if she took him to them. She made her way to the temple again, keeping him in sight, but suddenly the boy started to run.

Tomomi followed him into the temple grounds, shouting out "Hey!", but he didn't listen to her. He was running as if there was someone chasing him, but there was no one there. She thought he might be running away from her, and stopped on her tracks, still holding the sparkler which was already put out.

But he didn't stop running. He went to the back of the temple, and for some reason, Tomomi felt compelled to follow him again. She ran and passed by a couple of tall altars lit by paper lanterns before reaching the back portion of the place, almost falling with her sandals.

However, when she finally got there, what she saw made her freeze. She had never experienced such an intense fear before in her few years of life.

The little boy was lying with his stomach on the stone floor, and there was a dark figure moving away from him. She couldn't understand who or what that was, she couldn't see a face or recognize clothes. The thing simply moved away like a shadow, and when it disappeared and she finally got back her courage and walked to the boy, she kneeled by his side and shook him, but he didn't move.

She turned him around, and he was pale and limp. He felt weirdly cold on her arms, as if he was bathed in ice, and his brown eyes looked like they were made of glass.

Even at such a young age, Tomomi knew that little boy was dead.