Chapter 85
“Um, Mr. Hunter. Would you take a look at this with me?”
Prina, unaware of what lay in Hunter’s heart, held out the sketchbook that had been at Nathaniel’s bedside.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a drawing of our family that Nathaniel made. What do you think?”
Family, huh. Hunter carefully studied the picture drawn in the sketchbook.
Prina, the mother, was drawn in the center, the largest figure. A red heart was drawn over her chest, while Hunter appeared only in profile.
Even in the drawing, his gaze was directed solely toward Prina.
But there was something odd…
“Nathaniel’s not here. Strange, isn’t it?”
Prina too must have found it troubling, because she asked exactly the same thing.
“This brat takes after you, always a little odd.”
“Still. He drew our family, and yet there are only two of us. Tomorrow, when he wakes up, I’ll have to tell him to add himself in.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Yes. Maybe he just forgot, or maybe it’s unfinished. But if Nathaniel isn’t in our family, it feels lonely.”
As if sharing a secret, Prina gently brushed Nathaniel’s black hair back and whispered, “Right, Nathaniel?”
Again, such silly words. That wasn’t something meant to be answered.
“When it’s finished, how about we frame it and hang it up?”
When Prina asked, Hunter gave a faint smile. A sly smile, as though there were many things he could have said.
Yaaawn—
The wall clock was already pointing toward midnight.
This was Nathaniel’s room, so midnight here was Nathaniel’s time. Prina’s time could only be known in her own room, and that was the real time.
Unaware, Prina yawned and stretched.
“Go ahead to the bedroom first, Prina. I’ll finish up here and come in soon.”
“Will that really be alright?”
“Yes, you’re tired, aren’t you? I won’t be long. Fill the bath with water. Let’s wash together and then sleep.”
“Alright then, don’t take too long.”
Prina kissed Nathaniel’s round forehead with a soft chu– before leaving the room.
Once she was gone, a strange silence lingered there.
“I know you’re not asleep. You.”
“…You caught me.”
Nathaniel rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and sat up.
“I want to bathe with Mother too.”
“Quit fooling around. Go to sleep before I kill you.”
“You can’t kill me anyway, Father.”
What would Prina do if she knew how sly her son really was?
“And why do you think that? There are plenty of toys besides you.”
“Sure, but I’m Mother’s favorite toy. What would happen if you dared to break me?”
The toy most beloved by Prina delivered the warning shamelessly.
“Mother told me about Happy, Father. A really cute baby bird. She said she treated it until it got better and flew away.”
No, that’s wrong. Happy died.
It seemed Prina’s memory had been twisted to suit herself, but if that made her happy, it was better not to correct it. He knew from experience that truth was not always a happy thing.
“Mother lives with you because of me. She’s good to me. And because of that, she loves you.”
“Nonsense.”
“Take that nonsense to heart, Father.”
Infuriating brat. Hunter still wrestled with the urge to smash the toy Prina loved most. But then he’d have to pay the price of another round of hide-and-seek.
And at the moment, the bath they would share was far more important than destroying a mere toy.
“This drawing. You said it was a family portrait. Why didn’t you draw yourself? You left yourself out on purpose for attention, didn’t you?”
“I am in it. You just didn’t notice. In this picture, I’m the main character.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
Nathaniel tapped with his finger the red heart drawn on Prina’s left b****t.
“I’m Mother’s heart. If something happens to me, Mother dies.”
Did Prina know? That the gift she called given by God was in truth the son of a demon, worse even than his father?
Most likely, she would never know.
But it doesn’t matter. A toy is only a toy.
What you have is me, and what I have is you.
Hunter hoped Prina would continue to live happily, forever, within the fairy tale he had written for her.
DEAR. U
– Snow White’s Grim Tale, The End –
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