it is reaL

Lying sprawled across the bedroom floor with a sour look on his face, Danny stares up at the ceiling of his new room in his grandfather’s house. His new room contains no manga at all—nothing but a single bed and a small desk.

He feels longing, anger, and resentment.

Longing for his old days and the summer vacations he used to spend enjoying his video games.

Anger at his parents for taking those things away from him and sending him to his grandfather’s house in the countryside.

And resentment at being punished by his parents like a little child, even though he is already in high school.

“Ugh…”

He yawns from sheer boredom.

“Ugh…”

He shakes his head from side to side.

“Is there an echo in this room?”

“Ugh…”

Only to hear another yawn.

He gets to his feet and follows the sound, which refuses to stop. He opens the window and looks down, but there is no one there.

Then his gaze drifts upward toward the rooftop, and his eyes widen.

Above him, he sees a girl as white as snow, with thick, pale-white hair so translucent that he can almost see through it. She is lying atop a massive staff, staring down at him with her prominent eyes.

“Who are you?!”

“Aren’t you surprised to see me?!”

With a faint smile, he says,

“What I see before me is a beautiful girl floating above my rooftop.”

She replies in amazement,

“My appearance doesn’t surprise you? My bright-white skin, my eyes… even the fact that I’m floating?”

“I’ve always dreamed of seeing a girl like you.”

He says it with a smile that grows wider and wider across his face.

The girl continues staring at him for a moment.

Then, in a flash, she leaps into his room with remarkable grace, startling him so badly that he instinctively shields himself in fear.

When he turns around, he finds her sitting behind him, staring intently.

“What’s your name?”

She asks for his name.

“Danny. And you?”

“You can call me Shinma.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“And you.”

“I’m pleased to meet you too.”

Shinma continues staring at him for a moment with an expression completely devoid of emotion, while Danny looks back at her with every kind of feeling imaginable—excitement, admiration, and pure fascination.

Shinma stands up and hurls her staff forcefully outside. Then, with her right foot, she launches herself forward.

Danny’s eyes follow her as she leaps.

He rushes toward the window, heading for the very place she jumped from.

There she is, standing atop the staff, gazing upward as a gentle breeze brushes against her, making her light, sleepwear-like robe flutter softly.

“No… no. What I’m seeing is real. She’s right there. I can see her. I won’t let her leave.”

“I’ve always read about girls like her in the fantasy and fiction stories in my room. I laughed when they laughed, felt sad when they were sad, and enjoyed their adventures.”

“In manga, I always felt like I wanted to join them in their challenges.”

“And in video games, I played and talked with them, trying to keep up with that constant feeling inside me that one day, they would become real.”

“She’s right in front of me.”

“She’s more real now than she’s ever been.”

The stick suddenly shakes and veers off course.

Shinma looks behind her in surprise.

“What are you doing?!”

Danny is gripping the stick tightly with his fingers.

“What’s wrong with you?! Why did you jump onto the stick like that?!”

He continues clinging to it with all his strength.

“Can’t you see how high up we are?! You could have fallen!”

He breathes heavily.

“Could you help me ?!!

“Can’t you see the staff can’t support both of us?!”

“Yeah. I realized that a little too late.”

“Then why did you do it?!”

His fingers are beginning to ache.

“Fine! I’ll do it. Now, will you just help me?!”

“You have to tell me why you did it first!”

Danny snaps back angrily, raising his voice.

“I’ll tell you… just help me first! Can’t you see I’m about to fall, you idiot?!”

Shinma falls silent for a moment, swallowing her irritation.

Then she lowers her staff to the ground.

“I’m sorry, fingers. I didn’t mean to do that on purpose.”

He says this while looking down at his aching fingers.

Then, after a moment, he turns toward her and finds her glaring at him, her face twisted into an exaggerated frown, with one eyebrow raised from sheer annoyance.

“Sorry for calling you an idiot, Shinma.”

Her frown doesn’t disappear. She simply turns away from him.

Danny thinks for a moment.

“I don’t want you to keep frowning… but I suppose it’s fine if you stay like that for a while. Pretty girls always do that.”

The air falls silent for a moment.

Then Shinma gives a small cough before asking,

“Fine. I forgive you… Now tell me, why did you jump onto the staff so recklessly?”

He hides his smile, speaking to himself:

“It actually worked!! She really liked that kind of compliment. She acts as if she stepped straight out of a fantasy novel… Ugh, my dream is coming true…”

Then, with a hint of excitement, he says to her:

“Because I wanted to follow you.”

She turns toward him.

“Haaah?!”

A look of disgust spreads across her face.

Danny’s face turns red as he waves his hands.

“Not what you think! My intentions are pure.”

“Then why do you want to follow me?”

She asks in a rough, hesitant voice.

He looks at her with a firm, serious expression, standing perfectly straight. His gaze makes her, in turn, pay close attention to him.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve dreamed of a world like yours—a world filled with people like you, a world full of strange and impossible things. That’s why I read every kind of fantasy novel I could find, watched manga and anime, and played video games. Those were the only things that brought me closer to the world I dreamed of. I stayed away from everything ordinary in this boring human life.”

His gaze drops toward the ground, his expression carrying a hint of sadness.

“I always seemed strange to everyone—even to my parents. But to me, it was the other way around. They were the ones who seemed strange.”

“How can they live their lives with the same routine every single day?”

“Those who study keep studying every day.”

“Those who work keep working every day.”

“And so on…”

“That’s why, when I opened a manga for the first time, I felt like I had discovered another world, completely different from the one we live in.”

“And when I read a book, I met characters who lived each day as if it were their own adventure.”

Danny raises his gaze toward Shinma, his voice filled with excitement.

“I never thought I could actually live from one day to the next like that.”

“But with you, I can believe it.”

“That it’s real.”

He lowers his head again.

“So please… let me come with you.”

Silence settles between them.

Shinma is stunned, unsure of what to say, while Danny keeps his head bowed, waiting for her answer.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but…”

He raises his head, looking at her with confusion and fear of rejection.

“Do you refuse to let me come with you?”

She shakes her head.

“No. I don’t mean that I refuse to let you come with me, but… this time, I’m not going on any adventure like the ones you’ve read about in those books or anything like that.”

He remains standing there, completely still.

“Then… what are you doing now?”

She raises her staff toward the sky.

“There’s a crystal I need for my staff, and I’ve been searching for it. I’ve looked all over this town.”

“What about the townspeople? Didn’t they panic when they saw you?”

She waves her hand dismissively.

“There are very few people living here, and they’re all old. They just think I’m a lost girl.”

She looks away, her annoyance barely concealed.

“One of those old men thought I was a little girl playing with her staff. And when I told him I was an adult, he started calling me ‘Shorty.’”

“He’s lucky his wife was kind enough to give me some candy.”

She pulls the candy from her pocket, unwraps it, and pops it into her mouth.

“Oh my God… it’s delicious!”

She places both hands against her cheeks, savoring the sweetness, her mouth filling with saliva mixed with the sugary taste of the candy.

Danny thinks for a moment.

“So, how old are you, Shinma?”

“What a rude question.”

She finishes her candy.

“How dare you ask a girl her age?”

Danny places a hand on his head.

“I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding between us. Besides, I’m not as lucky as that old man who has a wife to give you candy whenever you get angry.”

She looks at him reassuringly.

“I’m more than five billion years old.”

“Uuuugh!”

Danny screams in shock, both hands on top of his head.

“That’s older than the planet Earth!”

Before he can say anything else, he stops for a moment.

“That actually makes sense… and it’s awesome too!”

He says it as he jumps excitedly from side to side.

Then, suddenly, he stops and takes two steps toward her.

“There’s a place in this town I’m certain you haven’t searched yet. Let me show you.”

She raises her head.

“I doubt that. I searched very thoroughly.”

He continues looking at her with determination.

“I come here every summer. Trust me.”

They stare at each other for a moment.

“Fine.”

She turns around and jumps onto her staff.

“Wait, wait! Aren’t I going to ride with you on the staff?”

She looks down at him.

“Didn’t I tell you the staff can’t carry both of us?”

Danny feels a pang of regret.

“But that place is far away.”

With a smile on her face, she asks,

“Didn’t you want to come with me and discover something new?”

Danny lowers his head and begins leading the way on foot along the town’s main road, while Shinma rides on the back of her floating staff, hovering close behind him.