“The green eyes sparkled, delighted with the colorful explosions, the variety of shapes and sounds. It was the first time the bear demon saw something so extraordinary. From the distance, he could see the Tamaya launching their noisy rockets, and wondered what kind of magic could create such a wonderful spectacle.
Suddenly, the adults behind him were laughing, and he looked forward. Two children were running after the trail of sparks left by a small rocket that danced wildly close to the ground, while a fox demon incited them to catch it. A small, silver-haired demon boy, who barely sustained himself over his feet, seemed determined to catch his prey, helped by his big sister. After falling down at the last attempt to grab it, the girl’s eyes found the bear demon, and she cried out for his help. He was already running to her when a firm hand held him. He looked up and his father was waving his head, the severe look in his brown eyes.
Then, a gentle hand touched that of his father. He looked to boy’s mother. She was beautiful in her pink kimono with green patterns that matched her green eyes, the delicate face surrounded by her brown hair, pinned up behind her head by her favorite comb. At the same time, another woman, who had very long black hair, touched his shoulder and smiled, telling him it was alright. The boy’s mother smoothly lifted his hands from her son’s shoulder, setting him free to play.
Laughing, he ran to the other kids exactly when the small rocket had escaped the girl’s hands. Both of them jumped over it, but it dodged left, and they hit each other’s head hard. The boy moaned in pain and watched as the girl rubbed her forehead, his eyes attracted to the crescent moon mark she had there. She faced him, angry, but then the rocket passed by right between them. The bear demon was faster and caught it before.
She tried to take it from him, but he was too proud of the small trophy to share it. But it exploded harmlessly in his hand, covering his face in black smoke. The girl burst out laughing, annoying him, but soon he ended up laughing too, charmed by her smile.
The fox demon approached them and offered the boy the chance to choose a prize for winning the game. In one hand, he had a colorful top, while the other held a beautiful hair trinket. The boy’s eyes went right over the toy, but he thought for an instant and, for the Tamaya’s surprise, he took the trinket and delivered it to the girl’s hands. She smiled, grateful, and wiped his face before kissing his cheek.
Suddenly, a strong hand shook his head, messing up his hair. He looked up and found his father again, now showing a smile full of proud. He smiled back and looked to his mother, but she was far away. He couldn’t see her face as it seemed to vanish into the shine of the fireworks.
He tried to cling to his mother’s image, but again his mind saw only the colorful sparkles, the flowers and the stars drawn in the sky, where they lasted for only a moment before fading, fleeting as the other memories from that time…”
Kumari waved his head, his eyes still closed. He knew he was awake, but tried to deny it. Dreams like that were rare. He wanted to go back to sleep, to find again his mother, whose face he could barely recall in daytime. He wished to see the smiling, proud face of his father once more, to dream one more time with the colorful fireworks and Sazume…
“Sazume?” He remembered the moon mark on the girl’s forehead, and the boy with silver hair. “Were it her and Ichimaru in my dream? And the other demon lady next to my father, was it their mother?”
Slowly, he opened his eyes, only to find Ichimaru right in his front, staring at him. Before Kumari could ask what he was doing, he asked for silence.
“Careful, or you’ll wake her up”, he whispered, a mischievous smile on his face. Confused, the bear demon looked to his side, and blushed at the sight of Sazume sleeping, her head leaned on his shoulder. “Trust me, you don’t want to do this. She gets very cranky when she’s waked up in the middle of the night.”
The bear demon remained still, angry with his friend having fun with his embarrassment, but also afraid of waking her.
“I doubt you’ll go back to sleep after that. Keep an eye on her a little bit more, while I take a nap, okay? The thieves’ trail is recent, I’m sure we’re very close to them. We’ll get them tomorrow”, he said before walking away, leaving Kumari to his thoughts.
He gulped, looking at Sazume again. The crescent moon mark… It had to be her in his dream. But what could that possibly mean?
“Must be just one of those weird dreams…”
