Skipping Stones

“Here you are,” Minoru’s grandmother placed down a porcelain plate filled with a variety of snacks on a glass coffee table just as the two children entered the living room. She then made her way over to a wooden rocking chair and sat on the pink cushion.

Saki plopped down on a similar blue cushion before her hands darted out to grab a wafer.

“How are they?” Minoru’s grandmother smiled warmly at them as Minoru sat down on the floor. It was a nostalgic taste as he hadn’t had her cooking in a long time. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that these were the delicacies made by his grandmother.

“It’s… it’s really good!” He stated with a childish grin accompanied by warmness. Noticing Azurillia’s quiet mumbling in his mind, Minoru broke off a small piece and dropped it into her container.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she let out a hearty laugh. His grandmother leaned back against her seat and let out a deep breath. “Are you going to be staying tonight?”

“I…I hadn’t thought about that,” Minoru pondered with his hands resting in his lap before nodding. “I would like to stay overnight!”

“Can I stay too?” Saki eagerly asked with crumbs on her face. Noticing her messiness, Minoru scooted over and handed her a white handkerchief.

“Of course, you can, Saki,” his grandmother replied while she slowly. “It just so happens that I have a spare futon you can use.”

“Thank you!”

“Why don’t you two go out and have some fun? You shouldn’t be cooped inside all day on such a sunny afternoon.”

“Come on, Minoru,” Saki excited beamed as she shot up from her seat. “There’s still so much I haven’t shown you!”

“But… I want to stay here,” he said, glancing at his grandmother.

“You’ll have plenty of time to relax later,” his grandmother announced as if aware of his thoughts. “For now, you should go have fun with Saki!”

“Fine…” Minoru gave in.

“We’re going to go to the lake then,” Saki announced. She gestured for Minoru to follow who was still eating another cookie.

“Master! Could you leave me here, please?” Azurillia requested with hopeful eyes.

“Are you going to eat all the snacks?” Minoru figured, earning a bashful look from the dragon fish.

“I just don’t want to interrupt you and Saki,” she lied as she swam in a small circle. “Besides, if anything happens here, I’ll let you know!”

Minoru let out a sigh but removed the bag from his belt. As he gently placed it on the table, the plastic bag transformed into a round glass bowl.

“Thank you, Master!” Azurillia beamed, her eyes filled with gratitude. While the others were momentarily distracted, she couldn’t resist indulging in a little treat. Casually, her tail extended out of the bowl, skillfully breaking off a piece of a cookie nearby before gently dragging it inside her bowl, savoring the delightful taste with a hint of mischievous satisfaction.

Shaking his head disapprovingly, Minoru stood up before following Saki out of the room. His grandmother waved behind them as they left.

“Please come back before it gets dark!”

The aging effects from whatever magic around had faded away when Minoru and Saki arrived at the lakeside. Surrounded by mossy rocks and some luscious trees with blue leaves, the calm breeze rustled the branches with a few leaves gently caught in the wind.

Despite the unique color of the petals, the place reminded him of when he and Saki would play together by a pond when they were little. Back then, they would frolic along the water’s edge, playfully avoiding any missteps that might send them splashing into its cool depths and joyfully kicking their feet through the refreshing pond.

Minoru turned his attention toward Saki who passed by him holding her arms behind her. Saki strolled closer towards the edge of the lake with her boots making a crunching sound on the gravel. Her gaze followed her feet, glancing around as if searching for something before her eyes glimmered. As she turned to face Minoru with a smile, he already knew what she was going to say.

“Want to have a rock skipping competition?” The two of them asked at the same time. Saki held back a snicker before laughing with Minoru joining her as well.

After each of them had gathered a small pile of flat stones for skipping, the two teenagers took their turns tossing the rocks across the lake and watching the ripples before the stone sank. With Saki reaching a record of nine, she had a smug grin on her face, confident that Minoru couldn’t beat her.

“You’ve never been good at this, Minoru,” she snickered as the boy’s rock fell short of her record. Seven.

“I’m not too far behind you,” he countered as Saki tossed a rock up in the air before catching it. She flung her wrist forward, tossing the stone. Nine.

“It’s kind of funny because you were the one who taught me how to skip a stone,” Saki reminded him as she picked up the last rock they had gathered.

“You begged me to teach you,” Minoru snickered, recalling how the young girl had annoyingly tugged on his shirt.

Minoru had skipped class that day and was resting by a pond next to the road. He had failed a test the week before and didn’t want to attend school. Instead, he had found himself stopping on his bike during his trip to school and decided to relax by the pond.

Saki had searched for him during her lunch break, spotting his white school uniform and bike that lay by the side of the street. She scolded Minoru, having been worried about his absence but also mad that he had decided to skip classes.

“That was a fun day,” Saki reminisced just as Minoru tossed his last stone. Twelve skips.

“H-hey!” Saki shot her head at him. “You’re not supposed to beat me.”

“I just did,” Minoru chuckled as he clapped his hands together. “And we’re out of stones so that means I win!”

“Not yet! I get one more try!” Saki declared as she scuffled around to search for another stone. Unaware of her surroundings, her foot got entangled in a loose branch, and she stumbled forward.

“Saki, be careful—” Minrou reached out to catch her. As she fell against him, the two of them collapsed upon the damp gravel ground with Saki laying on top of him. For a brief moment, Minoru hardly felt the impact before his back gently met the soft ground.

“A-are you alright?” Minoru asked, feeling Saki’s head resting upon his chest.

“Y-yes! I’m sorry,” Saki quickly got up to her knees, scrambling to get off of Minoru. The young boy slowly stood up, brushing his pants as he glanced at Saki. Part of him wished they could have remained embraced a little longer.

“It’ll be getting dark soon,” Minoru noticed the sun setting. “Let’s go home now.”

“Yes, we probably should…” Saki sheepishly smiled as she tugged at her skirt.

“So do you accept that it's my victory?” Minoru teased, a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Oh shut up,” Saki rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed but unable to hide the suppressed giggle that escaped her lips. She playfully nudged his shoulder.

As they returned to the front of the temple, a peculiar transformation took place once more. Passing under the red torii gate, their physical appearances shifted back to a younger, more childlike version of themselves.

The sun, now halfway below the horizon, cast a soft glow over the temple grounds. With the mountain to the west, the area had grown slightly darker, the temple now enveloped in a gentle, soothing shadow.

A delightful aroma of cooking food wafted from inside the temple, immediately capturing their attention. Saki couldn’t resist her mouthwatering response, and she hastened her steps, eager to discover the source of the tantalizing scent.

“We’re back!” Saki cheerfully announced as she dashed into the house, quickly kicking off her shoes before stepping onto the wooden floor. Her footsteps echoed loudly as she hurried down the corridor. Meanwhile, Minoru took his time to remove his shoes and neatly place them aside.

As he followed down the same corridor Saki had gone, Minoru found himself immersed in the coziness of the temple’s interior. While it was new to him, something about the layout felt quite familiar to his grandparent’s house. The soft radiance of paper lanterns cast a gentle glow, enhancing the beauty of the traditional decorations and creating an inviting aura.

As he rounded a corner, Minoru's gaze was captivated by a breathtakingly ornate altar. However, in his momentary distraction, he accidentally collided with a yellow object, causing him to stumble backward and fall to the ground with a thud.

“Ouch…” Minoru rubbed the back of his head as he slowly sat up on the floor. As he lifted his head, his eyes met an Apolocheep standing at the doorway.

However, compared to most Apolocheeps he had seen, this one wore a red apron around its egg-shaped body with a small red hat as well. On either side of its chest, a pair of seemingly golden framework of wings jutted out, acting almost like long fingers.

The Apolocheep stared at Minoru as it towered menacingly over him. Its wings extended forward, seemingly encircling him in a dark and foreboding presence.

“👍︎♒︎♏︎♏︎◻︎?” The creature cheeped in a low tone.