"Hey sis, what's so fun about sitting here?" I ask, looking at my sister.
"Huh? What are you saying? It's fun. Just sit beside me, and you'll get it," Saki responds, pointing to the swing next to her.
Today, our mother went to her new workplace, so it was just the two of us in the home. With things getting boring, I suggested Saki to come to this park.
I don't quite understand why she finds sitting on the swing amusing, but I shake my head and settle onto the swing next to her anyway.
"Look at me," I say, pushing off and swinging back and forth. The gentle breeze touching my face feels nice. It's been many ages since I last rode a swing.
"Like this?" Saki asks as she tries to move the swing, managing to move it only a few inches.
"Wow, this is so much fun," she exclaims in excitement.
I guess children find fun in everything, don't they? Maybe I'm just too old and not able to find the same joy in it.
"Look, little bro, I know how to have fun on this swing thing... Ah... Um... What... Yay, I want to know how you learned it yourself, how to have fun on... On Swing?" Saki says with a smile on her face, somehow looking proud.
Playing along, I respond, "Oh, it's like this, well, sister, I know this now."
"Call me elder sister."
"Okay, my elder sister."
Then Saki's attention shifts to the side, and she points towards it, saying, "Now come with me, let's go there."
'Her interest has quickly shifted to the slides now, just like that of any kid,' I think as I follow her while she climbs the slide quickly.
"I hope she won't fall."
I follow closely, keeping an eye on her as she climbs up, ready to catch her if she were to fall. I don't know how confident I am about catching her, but it's better than doing nothing.
Thankfully, she climbs up safely.
"Haha, it's fun, little brother, climb up, climb up," once up, she urged me.
"She is definitely having fun just from climbing up on slides," I sigh and shake my head before climbing up the slide and getting beside her.
Once next to her, I pointed to the slide and said, "You also have to slide down from here."
"I know, I know," saying that, she runs down the slide.
Once on the ground, she jumps and pats her bum before looking at me and saying, "Little brother, it's fun, you should also do it. Hehe, I'm going to do it again. Hehe"
She grins before heading back to the stairs.
"I don't remember Saki being this silly," I wonder and put my hand on my head. "Ryuki, man, she is just five. Why do I expect her to be smart?"
Shaking my head, I realize that Saki is already at the top again and standing behind me.
"Come on, little brother, you should also go down," she says and gives me a push. However, not being completely ready, my balance breaks before I feel the ground rushing towards me and I hit it face-first.
"Little brother," I hear Saki's voice followed by her scream before I manage to stabilize myself from that fall and see her on the ground. She gets up but falls again with tears welling up in her eyes.
Only then did I notice that she had a scratch on her head, and a bit of blood was coming out. Did she also fall?
"Idiot, she fell too, that's why she's hurt in the head," I scold myself and get up but then feel a sharp pain in my knees. I take a look at them and realize that I was also injured.
"Damn it," I curse and run to Saki, pulling her into a hug and patting her head, saying everything is okay and she doesn't need to cry. I try saying something like closing her eyes and imagining that a fairy will take away the pain or other childish things.
Luckily, these childish things seem to work, and the girl stops crying while continuing to sob occasionally.
"Let's go home," I say.
She nods, her red eyes and stretches out her hand, "Carry me."
I smile and lift her to carry her on my back. Walking with injured knees and carrying a five-year-old with a body of a five-year-old isn't easy, nonetheless, I use my willpower to muster the strength to get us home.
After getting inside the house, I put Saki down and noticed that she was clutching her dress tightly, with tears threatening to come out yet again.
"What happened? Does it still hurt?" I ask, worried about her, before she starts crying again.
"Bro... *sob* *sob* sorry... sorry," she cries while apologizing, though I don't understand why she's doing that, but I pat her head and speak in a gentle tone, "Don't say sorry, it's not your fault. It's the slide's fault that made me fall, not Saki's."
Still sniffling, she asked, "Saki is not bad. Is it the slide that's bad?"
"Yes, yes, it's the slide that is the bad guy, not you, Saki." I could only nod while responding like a child.
"I... I will call the good guys *sob* they will... they will catch the bad slide," Saki says while sobbing. Despite her tears, I can't help but find what she was saying to be quite amusing.
After that, I pat her head and say, "Yes, the good guys will catch the bad slides."