"Toma…" That's the name Arman said as he woke up from a dream.
He muttered, "Toma… so that's the name of this boy," and thought about the dream that had just jolted him awake.
Arman now believed that everything that had been happening to him over the past few days might be pieces of Toma's memory—or, at least, that was the conclusion he came to after this dream.
He saw Toma, just like any other day, heading to the fish stall for work. But on the way, he saw a little kid—maybe two years older than him—lying on the road. He rushed to help, only to notice it was a girl.
He tried to wake her up by shaking her gently. She only stirred slightly, so Toma gave her some water he had brought from home before leaving.
Then, Toma asked her, "Are you okay?"
Hearing this, the girl replied, "Hmm… thank you."
As she said that, she tried to stand up by herself but lost her balance and fell again. Toma helped her to her feet and asked, "Are you really okay, or are you just saying that because you think I'm younger than you? Is it too much for your pride to ask for help from a boy who's younger?"
Hearing this, the girl's face turned stoic, with barely any emotion. She smacked the back of Toma's head and said, "My leg is just a little numb, that's all."
Toma, picking his bag up from the ground, replied, "That's all you have to say to the one who just saved you, girl?"
Her face turned slightly red, and for a blink of an eye, she looked embarrassed.
"My name is Kaia," she said loudly. "And I already thanked you for helping me."
Hearing that, Toma packed his things into his bag, started walking toward the market, and waved to Kaia as he said, "Goodbye."
At the stall, Toma was working hard and arguing with Nana to avoid chores. Because of that, he ended up doing almost all the work.
Toma said to Nana, "Do some work, you old lady! You're so lazy—that's why no one's marrying you!"
Hearing that, Nana started smacking Toma and shouted, "If I wanted to get married, I could! I just don't want to!"
While they argued, the old man at the seafood stall nearby laughed and said, "Sure, young ones are really energetic."
Then, pausing for a moment, he added to the still-bickering pair, "You two look and fight like a real family."
Hearing this, both Toma and Nana shouted, "We're not!" at the same time.
The old man chuckled and said, "There's your proof—you both said the same thing at the same time."
With that, he continued laughing.
After hearing that, both Toma and Nana stopped fighting and returned to work.
A customer came and asked for some fish. Toma said, "Choose what you want and put it in the basket on the table."
Hearing this, Nana threw a fish at Toma and said, "Do your work properly! Don't slack off!"
"You work here?" the customer asked Toma.
Looking at the customer, Toma replied, "You're the girl who doesn't take help from someone younger than herself."
Hearing that, Nana burst out laughing, and Toma joined in. While laughing, Nana came near them and smacked the back of Toma's head, making him bow. She said, "Say sorry to this young lady!"
Hearing Nana, Toma started to protest—but when he saw Kaia's eyes filled with tears, he said softly, "Sorry… I didn't mean what I said. I was just joking. I'm really sorry."
Nana also added, "Sorry. I wasn't able to educate him properly," and gave Kaia some fish as an apology.
But Kaia paid half the money and refused to take the fish for free. Before she left, she said to Toma, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have talked to you like that. And… thank you for helping me."
She turned away as she spoke, and with a bright smile on her face, she looked angelic to Toma.
He murmured, "Pretty."
For the rest of the day, he could only think about the smile on her face.
That night, lying in bed before falling asleep, he whispered, "When will I get to see her again…?"
Some days passed, but he didn't see her again. He couldn't find out anything about her either.
But a week later, in the evening, as he was walking home after a full day of work and arguments with Nana, he saw Kaia standing at the same spot where they had first met.
She was wearing a lovely blue prairie dress, and her long golden hair reached down to the back of her knees. A white tulip was in her hand, held gently by the stem. Her brown shoes and the golden evening sunlight made the scene more magnificent and perfect than anything else in the world.
He stood there in the distance, frozen. He couldn't move forward or backward—just paused, caught in the moment.
Seeing him standing still, Kaia walked toward him. And with every step, she looked more perfect and beautiful than ever.
Approaching him, she said softly, "Hello."