The Little Dreamers

"Haaah…"

Jamie breathed out a big sigh of relief. "That was a close one Reno." He continued, releasing my hand that he'd been holding since we left the clothing store.

"Luckily uncle Zecko stepped in to help us or that could've been real bad." I added, similarly relieved.

"I wonder just why my dad did that…"His expression turned to one of puzzlement. "He usually prefers to just watch things play out—" he paused.

Uncle Zecko did definitely seem like the more observant and quiet type.

Then, Jamie grinned. "He must've come to like you Reno!"

"That. Or maybe he just felt bad." I said scratching my head. I didn't have a good enough grasp on Zecko yet to come to a definitive conclusion.

"Hey Reno," Jamie said.

"What is it?" I replied.

"You seem kinda sad." His expression stayed puzzled as if he'd never seen a kid who didn't want to play outside.

"Well…" my voice trailed off.

I wasn't exactly sad per se. Just, conflicted. I couldn't get his earlier words out of my head, and I couldn't shake off Silvia's look when she said goodbye earlier. She was proud, but I could see behind it she was slightly sad.

"Hmm," Jamie scratched his cheek. "Is it because…" his voice got quieter, like he knew what he was about to say couldn't possibly be right. He scratched his head, as if that would shake the answer he was looking for out.

A moment after, he froze, his hand coming to a pause. His eyes widened with realisation as his hand curled into a fist which he hammered down onto his other hand which lay flat palm up.

"That's it!" He grinned.

"What?" I said, confused. "Did I miss something?"

"I know why you're sad now!" He continued, still smiling cheerfully.

"So why am I sad?" I asked.

"Because you don't know how fun it can be to play outside!" He said, excited.

What..?

"It'll be easier if I just show you." He nodded with understanding upon seeing my confused expression. "You see the fountain over there Reno?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Perfect." He smiled. "Let's have a race there!"

Huh? Just where did he get that idea from? I don't think it'd be fair to him considering I ran track in my last life for longer than he's been alive.

"I think—"

"Don't think!" He cut me off. "Just run okay? Three, two, on—"

"Wait wai—"

"Go!"

Whoosh!

He zoomed off, running towards the fountain with all his might. He was fast.

I sighed, letting go of all my worries and convoluted thoughts with it.

Don't think, huh?

"Fine, whatever!" I charged forward, building up my stride and quickly settling into the steady form I used in my past life.

His figure was inched closer, but the fountain wasn't far now. Now, it was a race against the clock.

"Haha! So you really are a kid too Reno!" Jamie laughed as he saw me approaching from behind. "Catch me if you can!"

This little…

I locked in, zoning everything else around me out. I wasn't thinking about his words from earlier or Silvia's slightly melancholic parting gaze.

I wasn't thinking about Stox's lonely back or the sound of Glyffe's sobs. I wasn't thinking about Asim's apology or Magia's courage.

One step. Two step. One step. Two step. I was gliding through Butter Town's central plaza with a very familiar rhythm as my guide.

Just a little further—

Clasp!

"It's my win!" Jamie said animatedly. His right hand had barely managed to get hold of the edge of the fountain.

"Haaah…" I panted. "Not this time."

Jamie eyes widened as he looked to the right.

"T-two hands!?" He retreated back as he put both of his hands on his head in panic. "I-I lost!?"

"Haah… yeah." And you had a head-start.

"Awww man, I've never lost to any other kid my age." He sighed, disheartened. "Next time I'll win!" He declared stubbornly.

"Haaah… sure." I said, still trying to catch my breath.

I held back the urge to gloat. For now, I just let myself enjoy the feeling of running again.

For a moment, I forgot everything else. No second life responsibilities. No regrets. Just running.

But a part of me knew: moments like this wouldn't last forever. Childhood was short—especially for someone like me, who'd already lived through one.

Still, maybe that's why it mattered so much. Maybe that's why I needed to treasure these silly races while I could.

Though admittedly, I really did have to go running more often. I was already out of breath from a short sprint—meanwhile Jamie hadn't even broken a sweat. But maybe that was just Jamie.

"You know Reno," Jamie said turning to me.

"What?"

"You know how I said I've never lost before? That was a lie."

"Oh? Who beat you?" I asked curiously.

"Everyday… I lose." He paused. "To the sky."

What? Is he a kid or a philosopher?

"What do you mean?" I said, very intrigued. His lips curled up slightly hearing my question.

"I mean," he pointed upwards. "Just look." His smile grew even wider.

I'm not sure what's so amusing but… I looked up.

Whoosh!

The world tilted sideways. My right arm flailed, trying to grab at something, but my fingers only sliced through air.

The rim of the fountain smacked against my shin, sending a jolt up my leg. My center of gravity gave up on me entirely, and my stomach lurched as the ground vanished from under my feet.

Splash!

The cold swallowed me whole. Water surged over my head, pressing heavy against my chest, curling into my ears. For a split second, the world narrowed to bubbles and blurred light. My limbs kicked frantically off pure instinct.

Splosh!

"Hahaha!"

"Haaaah…" I sucked in the surrounding air like a vacuum.

"You actually fell for that Reno?" Jamie's laughter rang out over me. He was doubled over, clutching his sides, barely able to stand.

This little sh—

I panted, still gasping for air. Item #1 of the '100 things I had to do after being reincarnated' list—swim in the fountain—could now be checked off.

I'd imagined doing it of my own volition. Maybe sneaking off when Silvia wasn't looking or diving in to pick up something I drop in there 'by accident'. I never imagined it would happen like this.

Now I was glad that Glyffe kept a hold of the coupled book Cindy had given me. It would've been a shame if I never got to use it because it became a watery mess.

All that talk about the sky had been complete nonsense just to distract me. So, the reason he was smiling so hard was because he'd planned to push me into the fountain for a while now—and I'd been playing right into his hands. What a cunning brat.

I drew in a deep breath, the chill in the air calming me down.

"You got me." I forced a smile.

"Pfft! Of course I did! It wasn't hard! Hahaha!" He laughed smugly. "You might be fast Reno, but you're not very smart!"

I could feel my face heating up in annoyance. My eyebrows twitched. Keep calm Reno, keep calm.

"Ahhh." I exclaimed from still inside the fountain, surprised.

"What is it?" Jamie asked, surprised at my sudden outburst.

"Do you know about the owner of the Clevio Bookstore?" I said.

"Of course—just who doesn't? He's the one who hasn't been outside in years, right?" Jamie said with confidence.

I felt bad using Magia's grandfather's reputation for something like this but it was for a good cause. Revenge.

"I went to the bookstore earlier today." I continued.

"Ah really? Are the rumours true?" He said, invested.

"You won't believe it but…" I paused, building up suspense. "He's just left the shop now, but he's almost gone. If you don't look now you'll miss him." I point in the direction of Clevio bookstore.

"Where where?" Jamie said, turning to see.

Gotcha.

"Uh uwoah—"

Whoosh! Splash!

I watched as Jamie spins through the air in complete shock. So that's what I looked like earlier.

As he fell, I caught a glimpse of two kids looking at me when I pushed Jamie into the fountain. I hoped they didn't think I was a bully.

Splosh!

Jamie's upper body burst up from underwater like a dolphin. His face was the epitome of shock.

"Hehe." I smiled. "Now we're even!"

"Reno you…" He stuttered. "Y-you…"

"What?" I said, acting nonchalant.

"You won't get away with this! Take this!"

He brought his hands together and shoved in my direction. A wave of water flew towards me.

Splish!

"Okay now we're even." Jamie cackled.

"No."

Splish!

"Now we're even." I corrected.

"Now that does it!"

"Hey wait—"

Splish! Splish! Splish! Splish! Splish!

A barrage of water attacks flew from both directions. First him then me with a continuous back and forth.

His attacks were clearly practiced—it definitely wasn't his first water fight.

This isn't good, I'm being out-traded. I reached for the fountain's outer rim.

"Hahaha run while you can Reno! I'm the king of this fountain!" Jamie laughed maniacally, satisfied with his water barrage.

I jumped out, smiling as I created some distance between us. I thrusted my right hand out as I closed my eyes.

I remembered Jamie's position as I visualised a sphere of water. I connected to an area deep in my chest, a strange energy flowing from it into my hand.

Water Bomb!

A perfect ball of water rushed forward, hitting Jamie squarely in the face.

Splash!

"Magic? That's cheating I can't reach you from here wai—"

Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash!

"Stop! Stop! I surrender I surrender!" Jamie said helplessly.

"Who's running now?" I jeered.

"Me me , I'm sorry!" Jamie pleaded.

I put my arm down. We made eye contact.

""Hahahaha!"" We both laughed, not a care or a worry for the things or people around us.

"See how much fun playing out is?" Jamie said triumphantly as he climbed out of the fountain. He may have lost the water fight but his earlier point still stood.

"Yeah, I'll admit you were right." I agreed.

"There's still so much to show you!" Jamie said as he walked towards me. "My friends should be here soon, I'll introduce you to all of them!"

"Your friends?" I paused. "It wouldn't be those two kids over there who have been watching us for a few minutes now right?" I pointed at the two onlookers.

"Ah," Jamie's already animated expression burst to life once again. "It's Phill and Bill!"

Just a few meters away from the fountain was two kids. One was short and large, with short black hair and big black eyes. His round stomach protruded forwards.

Next to him was a tall but skinny kid. Well, at least he looked thin when placed next to the large kid next to him. He had longer black hair and big black eyes with an extremely similar facial structure to the other kid.

"B-bill what should we do? We have to help the boss," The taller one said.

The boss?

"Don't worry Phill, I've got this." The fatter one said. "B-boss step back. I'll deal with the bully."

The bully?

The shorter one, Bill, hesitantly walked towards me. He tried to roll his sleeves up but because of the thickness of his arms his sleeves just didn't budge.

He said he'd deal with me but he was stuttering just as much as the kid behind him. He was clearly putting on a front.

"This is not what it looks like," I said, defusing the situation. "We were just playing."

"That's a lie we saw you push him into the fountain!" Bill said. "Right, Phill?"

"Y-yeah exactly! Bill's right." Phill added from behind Bill.

"Stop stop stop stop." A voice cut in. Thank you Jamie. "Stop trying to take all the credit Bill, I'll take down this bully myself." Jamie said.

What?

"So you are a bully!" Phill said with added confidence now that the boss was with them.

"I knew you were right Phill! Get him boss!" Bill said, his face turning solemn.

"Pfft—" Jamie burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding guys he's just my new friend."

Phill and Bill both relaxed, their tense shoulders dropping.

"I told you no one could bully the boss Phill, I knew you were wrong." Bill said, completely in opposition to what he had literally just said ten seconds earlier.

"Oh, sorry Bill, sorry boss. And sorry—" he looked me in the eye. "Uh what's your name?" Phill asked innocently.

"It's Reno." I said.

"Sorry Reno. You should say it too Bill."

"Wha—" Bill flinched instinctively as if he really didn't want to. Jamie gave him a look. "R-right. Sorry Reno."

"It's fine it's fine, don't worry about it." I brushed it off. It wasn't anything serious.

"Listen up you two," Jamie said to the interesting duo, "This is Reno, my newest friend and our new member."

"New member? Member of what?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I'm glad you asked Reno," Jamie paused for dramatic effect. "We are the—"

""Stop!"" Phill and Bill turned red, both of them raising their voices at the same time.

"What?" Jamie said.

Bill panicked and began looking around aimlessly. "W-we can't add a member before we have everyone here can we?"

"Y-yeah that's right!" Phill added. "We gotta wait for Finn."

Jamie's expression turned from excitement to neutral. "I guess that makes sense."

"Who's Finn?" I said.

"He was our newest member before you, Reno." Bill said. "He's sort of like… a cool guy."

"A cool guy? What?" That's the first thing that comes to his mind?

"You know," Jamie said, "The type of person who is super calm and stylish."

"Yeah he wears a scarf even when it's really hot. He always wears it." Phill said in admiration. "He shows up like a ninja and sometimes he says cool things like 'As distance tests a horse's strength, time reveals a person's character.'"

He shows up like a ninja? And what kinda kid says that?

"Huh?" Jamie blurted out. "What does that even mean?"

"Pfft, as if I know." Bill shrugged.

"Actually Reno when I said that nonsense about the sky earlier—it was because I heard Finn say something like that before." Jamie admitted.

What? Is this Finn really seven or so years old? Does he memorise quotes in his free-time or something?

"He once told me 'the magic you're looking for is in the work you're avoiding' but how did he know my homework was about magic?" Bill asked, perplexed.

Uh Bill, I don't think that's what that quote means. From what I could tell this Finn person was what kids nowadays would call an 'aura farmer'.

"I didn't." A childish but unique voice echoed out from next to me.

"Ahhh." Bill stumbled backwards in surprise. "Can you stop showing up out of nowhere Finn!?"

He was dressed in all black, with black hair and brown eyes. His stance was closed off, his arms folding over each other on his chest.

He had on a red scarf which elegantly swayed in the wind. His gaze stayed on Bill for a moment before it returned to the distance, where he clearly preferred to look.

A scarf and all black in this blistering weather? Still, it seemed more like he was opting to not make eye contact because it made him uncomfortable rather than to look cool.

"Hmph." He shrugged.

"Now that we're all here I'll start the introductions. First let's start with our newest friend, Reno!" Jamie raised both his arms in a grand gesture.

""Oh."" "Hm" They all clapped.

"Nice to meet you all." I added.

"Reno has beat me in a race before."

Their eyes collectively widened in shock.

"Not bad." Finn said.

"He managed to beat you even though you always start early boss?" Bill said with surprise.

Jamie choked. "M-moving on, these two are the farming twins, Phill and Bill."

We all clapped.

"This is Finn, the aspiring ninja."

We clapped. What an interesting aspiration. I guess kids dream of becoming all sorts of things.

"And finally I'm Jamie, the leader of our elite group called the—"

"Wait wait—" Phill and Bill cried in unison.

Finn looked towards Jamie briefly before returning to look into the distance. "Don't do it." He murmured, slightly furrowing his brows.

"We're the Epic Gang!" Jamie cried out with a smile.

Cringe.

Bill facepalmed, "Did he just say it Phill?"

"Yeah I think he did Bill…" Phill said dejectedly.

"Tch, I knew that name wasn't cool enough." Finn said, grimacing.

"What do you think about the name Reno?" Jamie asked, his eyes full of stars.

Everyone else paused and turned to look at me.

Ah, peer pressure. I didn't miss this feeling.

"I think it's… a pretty lame name." I said my honest opinion.

"Aww shucks." Jamie said scratching his head.

"Told you boss." Bill said shaking his head, as if this moment was inevitable.

"Have you got any ideas for a better name for us, Reno?" Jamie said, looking towards me as if I was his last hope.

A better name? Anything would be better than that.

"Well…" I thought for a moment. "Is there anything you all have in common?"

"I like toast." Bill said. No surprises there.

"We're all quite fast and good at hide and seek?" Jamie said.

"I like toast too." Phill said, copying his twin brother.

"I'm like the wind." Finn said softly, his scarf swaying dramatically as he turned away from us.

That was not helpful at all Finn. In fact, none of these facts were very useful. Maybe I had to reframe the question somehow.

"How about a shared goal? Like a dream you all have for your futures?" I said as I realised it'd be best to name the group after some shared motivation.

"A goal?" Bill rubbed his cheek.

"Hm." Finn adjusted his scarf.

"Dreams…" Phill murmured.

"That's it!" Jamie's eyes lit up. "From now on we'll be The Little Dreamers!"

The Little Dreamers. It was a silly name. But also, maybe the best kind of name.

"Hm, better." Finn said nonchalantly.

"It's better right, Bill?" Phill said unsure.

"Of course Phill!" Bill said puffing his chest out. Apart from Jamie, he seemed the happiest about the new name.

"Perfect! Then from today onwards we're the Little Dreamers and Reno is our newest member!" Jamie said excitedly.

I still don't recall saying I wanted to join—but whatever.

"But why are we dreamers?" Bill asked.

"That's simple." Jamie said. "You and Phill both want to be famous farmers like your dad, right?"

"That's true." They both answered in unison.

"We know that Finn wants to be a ninja."

"Hm." He nodded as he flicked his scarf.

"And I want to be the best merchant ever!"

"Boss," Phill said. "Didn't you miss someone out?"

"Ah, Reno." His expression turned complicated. "We can't name ourselves the Little Dreamers if even one of us doesn't have a dream…"

That was an interesting way of thinking—I understood why Jamie was the leader. He was always considerate of everyone in the group.

"Don't worry there's something I want to do in the future, too." I said.

"What is it?" Bill asked. They all collectively turned their heads - even Finn, briefly.

"Become the best magician ever!" I said grandly with a grin.

The Little Dreamers huh? A warm feeling settled in my chest. But at the same time, a part of me wondered: how many of us would stick to our dreams when the pressures of adult life mounted? When we weren't kids anymore?

"Woah!" Jamie smiled, "That's so cool!"

"You can do it Reno—we saw you use magic already!" Phill said in encouragement. Finn's eyes lit up.

"You can use magic already Reno?" Finn asked clearly surprised.

"Yeah—a little." I rubbed my nose. The gazes of admiration from my peers did feel pretty nice.

"So Reno and Jamie want to be the best ever, your dreams are really similar." Phill noted.

"Then…" Finn's scarf shifted, revealing his mouth. "Then I'll keep up with you too and be the greatest ninja that ever lived." He moved his scarf back over his mouth. His words made me think he was going to say 'believe it!' next.

Everyone's expression - other than mine - turned to shock. "You're really talkative today Finn. Usually you just say 'hm' and 'ah'." Bill said. Finn turned away, ignoring him.

"Fine since everyone wants to be the best, I'll be the greatest farmer too!" Bill paused. "You'll be right there with me too, right, Phill?"

"Uh I'm not sure but," Phill said, taking a moment to think about his next words carefully. "If I can make dad happy and if I can farm together with you Bill, I don't need the greatest farm." Phill smiled. "Wouldn't you be happy as long as we had our own farm?"

"O-of course. Y-yeah." Bill said nervously.

Well it was normal to want to have as much as possible when you were young. Perhaps when they were older Phill and Bill's perspectives would swap. Maybe Phill would realise the power of money and change his mind, or Bill would experience the ruinous consequences of greed and settle for what he has.

"Now that we all know our dreams, we have a new member to welcome in!" Jamie said, changing the subject.

"Didn't you just do that with the introduction?" I said, confused that he wanted to welcome me again.

"Nope. That was uhm," he itched his nose. "Part one of the welcome. Now it's time for the real thing."

"Hm, finally." Finn said.

"Boss is it the usual?" Bill said as he yawned.

"Of course." Jamie said. "Reno, let's play a game."

"What game?" A welcome game, that sounded nice.

"Chaos tag."

Isn't that what Silvia mentioned I didn't want to know about earlier? I was getting a bad feeling about this.

"Don't worry it'll be fun, I'll tell you all the rules but for now—" they all took off, sprinting towards the central plaza's exit. "Just run!"

"Wa-wait!"

"Don't worry about it Reno and just run like last time—last one to the inner district is a rotten Mereon fruit!"

"Ahh whatever!" I chased after them hoping to make up the distance they'd covered as I did.

The first person in front of me was Bill, the first farming twin. Considering his size he was pretty speedy, but I managed to close the gap after a couple strides.

"What? No way—already?" Bill said as I passed him.

Next was Phill, the second farming twin. He was considerably behind Finn and not too far in front of Bill. It seemed like he could've went quite a bit faster but he preferred to be next to his twin.

"You really are fast Reno." Phill smiled as I sprinted past.

Next was Finn, the aspiring ninja. He was only slightly behind Jamie. If Jamie didn't have a head start they would definitely be neck and neck.

"N-not bad, newbie." Finn said through baited breaths, his scarf muffling his voice slightly.

If he had chosen to wear shorts and dropped the scarf he'd probably be the fastest. Except for me, of course.

"Coming through." I blitzed past him, my final target in sight.

"Remember this Reno, the best pace is one that challenges you but allows you to enjoy the journey." Finn said from behind me, his voice trailing off as I put more distance between us.

Ah—it's another one of Finn's signature quotes. It sounded like one of those things adults preached but never really lived by.

But… maybe there was some truth to it. Maybe that's what this second life was about: finding my own pace. Not too fast. Not too slow. Just fast enough to enjoy the run without burning out halfway.

I tried not to dwell on it too much. I still had a race to finish, after all. Seriously though, where does Finn get these quotes from? Honestly, he should start a podcast.

"Catch me if you can!" Jamie said as he tried speeding up after seeing my approach.

Just a little further—

Zoom!

"Ah?"

I zoomed past him, no one else's figure in front of me to chase after anymore.

Ahh, that was fun.

I kept running, forgetting about everyone and everything else. Step after step, I watched as the scenery around me blurred, changing from clean prestigious shops to impromptu stalls and various plants sprawled around.

Before I noticed, I was back in the inner district. This time, I hoped to avoid being abducted by a witch.