5. It’s Too Soon to Give Up.

I was watching as Marie ran around the courtyard, as usual. Recently, she’d been stopping in the middle of her run to swing her wooden sword. It seemed like she’s steadily making progress towards becoming a swordsman. While that was impressive, I had no intention of following her down that path.

As she came to a stop in front of me, catching her breath, she exclaimed, “Huff, huff, ahh, I’m tired!”

She, at eight years old, was two years older than me. While I felt that running around incessantly wasn’t appropriate for children our age, she seemed to relish it. Even with a sword in hand, she continued to run with the same fervor as always. I’d never questioned why she enjoyed it so much, perhaps assuming that it’s just a child’s whim.

But lately, I found myself wondering about her motivations. Why did she keep running? What did she gain from repeating the same activity over and over again? Did she find it enjoyable?

As I observed her, I couldn’t help but notice how much she’d changed. Girls grow up quickly, and though she still stood at about a height of 130 centimeters (4’3), she’d developed into a recognizable young woman. Occasionally, her skirt would reveal her legs, but there’s nothing overtly sexual about her. She simply exuded a sense of femininity.

Our parents often told her to be modest, but they’re generally lenient. They hardly ever got angry, except when we did something reckless, injured someone or hurt their feelings.

“Alright then,” she said, sitting down next to me and gazing up at the sky.

She didn’t say anything else. She’d never asked about my thoughts or worries. Our parents were the same. They just treated us like normal children.

At this age, children were often selfish and would sometimes bully their younger siblings. However, I’d never experienced any of that. I took a closer look at my sister. Her well-defined facial structure matched her spirited and cheerful personality, giving her an air of bravery and dignity that I lacked.

“Marie, can I ask you something?” I finally spoke up.

“What is it?” She replied.

“Why do you run so much?” I asked.

She paused for a moment before puckering her lips and tilting her head to the side. “Well, because I’m your big sister.”

“Um, I don’t quite get it,” I admitted.

Although she’s not the best at expressing herself, my sister was far from foolish and always got straight to the point, even if it meant leaving out some details.

“I’m doing it in case something happens,” she continued.

I understood the reasons for running and learning swordsmanship in case something happened, but I couldn’t see how that had anything to do with her being my big sister.

“Like when monsters appear or bad people come around, isn’t it better to be able to fight? I seem to be good at that kind of stuff,” she explained.

“But why is that because you’re my sister?”

“That’s because I’m supposed to protect you,” she replied.

“What?” I was surprised.

She looked up at the sky and said matter-of-factly, “I’m your big sister, so it’s natural that I should become strong in case something happens to you.”

“So, you’ve been running and training for that purpose?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Marie said with ease.

I was perplexed by her simple response. It wasn’t as if she’s trying to repay a favor or show off; she spoke naturally as if it were obvious.

I couldn’t find any words to respond to her pure and simple feelings. Marie had been working hard for my sake, and I was happy about that, but I also felt sorry.

Both our parents and she had always been concerned about me, while I, on the other hand, had been worrying only about myself, causing trouble for everyone around me.

Despite her young age, she’d been working hard to help me. She had a small body, but she somehow looked big in my eyes.

She paused for a moment, lost in thought, before standing up and extending her hand towards me.

“There’s a place I wanna show you. Come with me,” she said.

I hesitated, “But we shouldn’t go too far away.”

“Don’t worry. It’s nearby, and there are no monsters there,” she reassured me.

Despite my confusion, I took Marie’s hand as she led me through the courtyard and out into the open air. The area outside the house was a vast expanse of grassland and forest. While visibility wasn’t too bad, it became harder to see once we entered the forest.

Marie fearlessly continued deeper into the woods, her confidence and dependable back making me feel a bit safer despite my unfamiliarity with the surroundings. After a while, our field of vision widened, and we saw a lake in front of us.

“Let’s wait a bit. We’ll be able to see it in a moment,” she said, and I nodded in agreement. We had enough time to make it back home before nightfall, but I couldn’t help but wonder if our little adventure would get us in trouble with our mother.

“I wonder if Mom will be angry?” I asked her.

“She might be. But I think it’s worth it. Probably,” Marie replied with a small smile, her attention focused on the lake.

Although I was anxious about getting scolded, I couldn’t help but admire Marie’s boldness and curiosity. We spent the time just looking out at the lake, and as evening approached, the sky started to turn red. However, I still had no idea what we’re waiting for.

Eventually, as the sun began to set, Marie stood up and exclaimed, “Look!”

I looked in the direction she’s pointing. There should’ve been no change in the lake, but there’s something odd about the water’s surface.

Something was moving.

The objects increased in number from one to two, three, and eventually so many of them emerged from the water’s surface. There were balls of light, rising from the lake to the sky. It was a surreal and beautiful sight.

As Marie stood there, mesmerized by the spectacle, she spoke.

“In the evening, these balls of light appear like this. I don’t know why.”

“Do Mom and Dad know about it?” I asked her.

She replied, “I’ve talked to them about it before. I even brought them here, but they couldn’t see it for some reason. So, I was a little worried that maybe Theon wouldn’t see it either.”

“I wonder if adults can’t see it,” I mused.

Marie shook her head and said, “No, there were even children who couldn’t see it. One of my friends could see it. And the way it appears seems to be different too. Some see it clearly, while others can only see it faintly. I can see it blinking, but it seems my friend could only see it dimly.”

I realized that I didn’t have any friends and didn’t go out of the house very often. However, my sister went out frequently and sometimes played with the kids around the neighborhood.

As I looked up, I saw the ball of light. It was clearly visible and vivid.

“It’s strange.”

“Yeah, it is. But… isn’t it like magic?”

“Magic…?”

“Theon, you said it yourself; something about using or creating light and stuff.”

Now that she mentioned it, there’s a possibility. And If she called it magic, maybe she’s not wrong.

It was a strange phenomenon to see something rise from the lake, but that’s not the only surprise; Marie remembered the conversation I had with Father about magic three years ago.

“You remembered it?” I asked her in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. My memory’s bad, but if it’s about Theon, I’d remember it. That day, you seemed down and I wondered if there’s something I could do. I found this place recently and I thought I’d bring you here. I did some research first because it might be dangerous, so it took me a while,” Marie explained.

I realized that she had been watching me all along, and I never even noticed.

I felt pathetic.

I blamed myself.

But her honest feelings touched my heart, and I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer.

“Marie… I’m sorry…” I said between sobs.

“Why are you apologizing? And why are you crying? Geez, it’s okay.”

She gently tapped me on the head, and her touch was so tender that it made me cry even more. Despite my tears, I felt happy that someone cared so much about me.

Wordlessly, she embraced me tightly, and her warm body made me feel even better. Gradually, my tears subsided, and I looked down, feeling embarrassed. But she didn’t make fun of me; instead, she just stroked my back without saying a word.

“Well, let’s go home,” she finally spoke, breaking the silence.

“Thanks again, Marie.”

“I-I didn’t want you to thank me… Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah! I feel much better now.”

“I see, that’s great.” She said, smiling warmly.

We walked hand in hand, making our way back home. As I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that the lake was still glowing. In that moment, I felt grateful for Marie’s kindness, which had filled me with happiness.

As we continued walking, I couldn’t help but think that maybe it’s too soon to give up.