Chapter 82: Chapter 78.5: The boy at the window
Kai had always been the quiet one, the kind of child who could sit for hours in the same spot, lost in thought.
Even at six years old, he was different from other boys his age.
While they ran outside, playing games and getting lost in the imaginary worlds they created, Kai found solace in his own space, in the quiet corners of the house where his thoughts could wander freely.
The loneliness brought by his rich family seemed to have made him build an entire world into himself and his home.
Yes, the little Kai still had a few friends , but he couldn't see them so much often.
So, there was one particular corner of his house that had become his favorite place in the world: a small nook by the living room window.
The window itself was large, its glass panes always slightly smudged from the constant rain, and outside, the world unfolded in ways that seemed endless and unreachable to him.
He kept imagining a lot of things , about how the world was outside the four walls of his big and luxurious home.
He never played at the park like normal children and he barely socialized with other people, but that wasn't his fault or his parents'.
Having everything can sometimes mean having nothing.
The little boy always wondered how the world worked, how other people lived…
And he was only 6 years old.
Every day, he kept looking at the window of his home to dream.
It was on a gray afternoon, much like any other, that young Kai found himself sitting on the cushioned bench by the window, his legs crossed beneath him.
His tiny fingers traced shapes on the glass, following the trails of raindrops as they slowly slithered down to the edge of the frame.
The gentle pitter-patter of the rain was like a soft lullaby, one that coaxed him into a quiet trance.
From his vantage point, he could see the (rich) neighborhood stretching out before him… neatly trimmed lawns, houses standing in rigid rows, their lights flickering on as the day dimmed into twilight.
During this time of his life, Kai lived with in a different city called "Hanasawa", one of the most important cities of the country due to its beautiful nature scenery mixed with modern architecture.
His family lived in a rich quarter full of important people.
Kai kept looking at the lights, and the world outside.
But beyond that, far in the distance, was where his real fascination lay.
Beyond the familiar houses and streets was the forest, its towering trees a dark green curtain that blocked the horizon.
He often wondered what lay beyond it.
There was a strange, magnetic pull to the unknown that the forest represented.
Kai imagined a world teeming with adventure just beyond those trees.
He would imagine strange creatures—some friendly, others less so—lurking in the shadows.
He dreamed of rivers that flowed like molten gold and mountains that touched the sky.
To a boy like him, the world outside his window was more than just a place; it was a canvas for his imagination.
He'd sometimes talk to himself in a whisper, voicing his thoughts like secret confessions to the windowpane.
"If I could fly," Kai murmured, pressing his palm against the cool glass, "I'd go over the forest, past the hills, and see everything."
He squinted at the sky, imagining himself soaring above the clouds.
In his mind, he was weightless, gliding through the air like a bird.
The world below would stretch on and on, with cities so big they seemed endless, oceans so vast they looked like liquid mirrors reflecting the heavens.
Kai's father, Fumihiro, had often told him stories about the world, but they always felt incomplete—just fragments of something much bigger.
The faraway places, the bustling cities, the people he'd never met—it all felt distant, like a dream he couldn't quite grasp.
His young mind wandered further as he imagined people in different lands.
Were they like him? Did they also sit by their windows, wondering about the world beyond their own? Or were they too busy living their lives, running through forests, sailing across seas, doing things he could only dream of?
Suddenly, a bird swooped into view, landing on a branch just outside the window.
Its feathers were soaked from the rain, and it shook itself vigorously, droplets scattering everywhere.
Kai's eyes widened, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"I'd like to be like you," he whispered to the bird. "Flying anywhere I want. Not having to stay in one place."
The bird, as if hearing his words, tilted its head to one side, peering at the boy through the glass with beady black eyes.
For a moment, they shared a quiet connection.
Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the bird flapped its wings and darted off into the gray sky, vanishing from sight.
Kai watched it go, his heart stirring with a longing he couldn't quite understand. At such a young age, he already felt the weight of the world's boundaries pressing against him—the walls of his home, the limits of his town, and the vast, mysterious world that lay just out of reach.
But even as a child, there was something in Kai that yearned to break free from those invisible confines.
He didn't just want to observe the world from his window—he wanted to step into it. To explore it. To understand it.
He shifted on the bench, resting his chin on his knees, watching as the rain eased, leaving the world outside washed and fresh.
One day, he promised himself, he would step beyond the trees, beyond the boundaries of his small place, and find out what the world was truly like. Not just in stories, but with his own eyes.
"Kai?"
His mother's soft voice broke through his thoughts.
He turned to see her standing in the doorway, a gentle smile on her face.
"Dinner's ready," she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Come on now."
Kai glanced back out the window one last time before sliding off the bench and following his mother.
As he walked away, the world outside continued on, indifferent to the dreams of a boy watching from behind the glass.
But Kai knew that, someday, he'd no longer be just the boy at the window.
Someday, he'd step into that world and make it his own.
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