Chapter Text
Parrot ended up leaving the orphanage without even giving Wemmbu a proper word of comfort or goodbye.
Still, he held onto the hope that Wemmbu's father was alive somewhere out there.
He walked toward the outer edge of the village.
Parrot glanced lightly around him, making sure no one was present.
He lightly shook out his hair.
The sight of his green hair returning to view let him know he was back to his original self.
He unfurled his wings wide to fly into the sky.
After a brief stretch, he looked up at the sky.
Soon, he flapped his wings and leaped toward the heavens.
Flying through the sky, he scanned the ground carefully.
However, he could not find anything out of the ordinary.
Though he didn't know much about what kind of person Wemmbu's father was, he hoped at the very least that he hadn't abandoned Wemmbu and was safe.
In the end, he decided to fly straight back to his own realm.
He landed on the balcony of a solitary tower rising tall within the mountains.
Soon, Parrot stepped inside through the door.
As he entered, he could smell books and flowers.
The center of the ceiling was made of glass, allowing the sun to illuminate the interior.
Of course, the center of that ceiling wasn't always glass.
If he pulled the lever, a wooden roof would cover the ceiling.
Regardless, he sat at the desk in the center of the room.
On the desk, an ink bottle and a quill pen sat side by side.
A few sheets of paper were scattered loosely over the desk, and in a vase on top were a red amaryllis, a black pansy, and a delphinium.
Parrot stared at the flowers for a moment before pulling a sheet of letter paper from the desk drawer and laying it down.
He opened the ink bottle and picked up the quill.
His hand holding the quill hovered briefly in the air, as if contemplating what to write.
And soon, he began to write down his message on the paper.
To my dear friend, Wifies,
Hello. As you know, it’s Parrot.
I am writing because a situation has arisen where I would love to ask for your advice. While I wouldn’t say it directly involves you, I felt that you were someone who has experienced something similar. So, if you don't mind, I would really appreciate it if you could give me some guidance. Here is the situation I am currently facing.
.
.
.
Wemmbu touched a book he found in the corner of the small library inside the orphanage.
At first, the book seemed to have no title.
It looked very old, and the color of its cover had faded significantly.
As Wemmbu ran his hand over the cover, he discovered the book's title.
'The Myth of Seasons'
That was the title of the book.
Wemmbu was slightly disappointed, as he had thought it might be a mysterious book, but he decided to read it anyway.
He wanted to pass some time regardless.
He opened the book.
On a day in the ancient past, so long ago that the years could not be counted, this continent was like a world in black and white.
No matter the place, it was merely a land without individuality.
Seeing this, the Creator God added individuality to the world.
He created the seasons, and at the same time, created those who would manage them.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
They were not gods, but they were beings akin to gods.
However, as they were ultimately not gods, they received no offerings.
There were four of them in total, and they decided to manage the lands in the East, West, South, and North respectively.
The center where they gathered became a harmonious capital containing all seasons.
Furthermore, when they grew angry, thunder struck and volcanoes erupted; when they were sad, torrential rains poured and plagues arose.
Satisfied with the world made vibrant, the Creator God fell into a deep sleep beneath the earth.
"Just a common story."
Wemmbu closed the book.
He merely regarded it as a typical myth.
He didn't particularly believe in gods, and it felt like just a story explaining the seasons.
There's no way such beings actually exist in this world.
Wemmbu looked outside through one of the few windows in the room.
It was snowing.
Wifies loaded a pumpkin onto the cart.
Beside him, the cat hybrid placed the last pumpkin onto the cart.
Then he looked at Wifies and smiled.
"Thanks for helping today. See you tomorrow."
Saying so, he walked toward the front of the cart.
Wifies looked at him and opened his mouth.
"See you."
He waved at Wifies.
Wifies waved back at him and turned toward his house.
Because it had rained yesterday, the ground was covered in wet maple leaves.
It wasn't that he disliked people, but he felt uncomfortable being close to the townspeople.
Thus, he lived just a short distance away from the village.
Being too far away from them might look even stranger.
Still, he had at least two friends in this village.
Wifies knew the village was busy preparing for the upcoming festival.
However, since he wasn't the host of the festival, he was at ease.
In the first place, he hadn't even decided yet whether he would participate in this festival or not.
He was walking along with these thoughts in mind.
Then, he heard the chirping of a bird behind him.
The cry sounded familiar, so Wifies turned his head to look back.
A yellow cockatiel was flying toward him.
Birds with such vivid colors were rare in the region where he lived.
The birds they usually saw were crows or sparrows.
Yet Wifies wasn't flustered and extended his arm in the direction the bird was coming from.
The bird then landed familiarly on his arm.
In the bird's beak was a letter.
Wifies reached out toward the letter, and the bird did not stop him from taking it.
"Hello. Thank you for delivering the letter today as well. You look quite thirsty; would you like to drink some water before you go?"
The cockatiel didn't chirp and simply stared at Wifies.
Wifies took that as an acceptance and continued walking toward his house.
His home was built of wood and gray brick.
In his yard, there was a rocking chair and a small, low wooden table.
On top of it sat a lantern and a tray containing food for birds.
The cockatiel on Wifies' arm naturally flew up and landed on the table.
Wifies paid it no mind and walked past the yard directly into the house.
He filled a mug with water and immediately stepped back outside.
Now, a man was leaning back in the rocking chair in the yard.
He had hair that was yellow with a bit of white, and he was wearing sunglasses.
He was casually brushing back his hair.
Wifies casually placed the mug on the table as well.
He picked up the cup and drank the water.
Wifies went back inside the house.
He sat at his wooden desk.
Then, he took out the letter he had received from him.
The letter was sealed with red wax.
The pattern on the wax seal was a flower.
Wifies carefully opened the letter.
To my dear friend, Wifies,
Hello. As you know, it’s Parrot.
I am writing because a situation has arisen where I would love to ask for your advice. While I wouldn’t say it directly involves you, I felt that you were someone who has experienced something similar. So, if you don't mind, I would really appreciate it if you could give me some guidance. Here is the situation I am currently facing.
I know your memories of the Unstable Universe are not fully intact. However, I believe you at least know who Wemmbu is.
Anyway, I met Wemmbu a few days ago. He didn't seem to retain his memories, but he didn't look to be in bad shape.
However, when I visited him again, I learned that both of Wemmbu's parents had left him. Since his condition wasn't good, I couldn't ask in detail, but it seemed he had a good relationship with his parents, so it appears to have come as a massive shock to him.
Wemmbu is a precious friend of mine. If possible, I would like to adopt him, but I'm not sure if that would be a good choice for him.
As you know, I am not just a bird hybrid, and this could pose a problem. I mean, perhaps Wemmbu would be happier being adopted by an ordinary person.
Of course, I know it's really odd of me to ask you for advice like this. So, you don't have to write back.
Also, how have you been doing? I'm curious about how your days are going in that region. I hope we can meet up sometime soon. Always stay healthy.
From Spring, ParrotX2.
Having read all of Parrot's letter, Wifies leaned back in his chair.
He rested his chin on his hand and thought it over.
He completely understood what Parrot was worried about.
Then Wifies thought back on what he himself had experienced.
That thought didn't last very long.
Wifies picked up the quill pen to write a reply to Parrot.
"Have a safe trip back."
Wifies said, looking at him.
"Yeah."
He answered casually and gathered the letter he received from Wifies.
Wifies didn't say anything further either and turned around.
He could hear the sound of wings flapping behind him.
Wemmbu returned to his bed after finishing dinner.
However, he was flustered.
The book he had left on the bed was gone.
Wemmbu knew that because it was a library book, he shouldn't lose it.
Wemmbu checked around his bed and glanced surrounding the area.
Inside the room were a few children who had returned after finishing their dinner.
Since Wemmbu hadn't been at this orphanage for very long, he suspected he might be getting picked on.
However, all the children there seemed uninterested in Wemmbu.
At least, Wemmbu didn't hear any giggling directed at him.
Regardless, while searching for the book around his bed, he saw something moving beyond the window and raised his head.
Smoke was rising past the window.
Wemmbu suddenly thought it might be a fire and decided to go outside to check.
Of course, also simply curious.
He grabbed his outerwear and went down the stairs.
As he grabbed the doorknob of the orphanage entrance, a man's voice called out from behind.
"Where are you going, little one?"
Wemmbu turned his head to look back.
The orphanage administrator was standing there.
Wemmbu unconsciously scanned his face quickly.
He didn't seem angry at all.
It seemed he was just asking Wemmbu where he was going for management purposes.
"I'm just going out for a brief walk."
Wemmbu answered.
Then he readily let Wemmbu go.
"Be back before prayer time."
"Yes."
Wemmbu answered quickly and turned the door handle.
As he opened the door, a cold wind brushed past his face.
Wemmbu stepped outside and closed the door before the inside grew any colder.
Then he walked toward the place where the smoke was rising.
Wemmbu carefully poked his head out from around the corner.
Soon, Wemmbu realized that the smoke was rising from a fire.
However, it wasn't an accidental fire.
A woman wearing a black religious habit was standing in front of the flames.
Wemmbu shifted his gaze downward from the woman.
There was a fire there, burning various miscellaneous items.
And among those miscellaneous items was the book Wemmbu had been looking for.
Wemmbu blinked silently in shock.
Wemmbu couldn't tell whether the book was meant to be discarded, or if that woman was intending to get him into trouble.
However, Wemmbu had never spoken with that woman and had rarely even run into her.
"What are you doing?"
The woman asked Wemmbu without turning around.
Wemmbu flinched violently in surprise.
Wemmbu pondered whether he should answer.
And a silence fell between them.
"..."
After hesitating, Wemmbu ended up turning around and running back inside the orphanage.