The mother asked the boy this question.

He lowered his head.

"……have no idea……"

...

The boy's voice was too vague, and the boy lowered his head again, making the woman unable to see the boy's mouth shape, and the woman turned her face sideways.

"What?"

"What did you say just now?"

...

The boy pursed his lips hard.

He raised his face.

But his eyes were still a little erratic.

I dare not meet my mother's eyes.

“…I don’t know when the maple leaves disappeared…”

...

"I obviously remember to put it in the notebook!"

The boy explained urgently.

"But I searched all the books..."

The boy looked disappointed and puzzled.

"Just no maple leaves were found..."

"I just wonder if it will..."

"The maple leaves fell out of the book."

"I searched the whole room."

“No maple leaves were found.”

"I wonder if it was you who mistakenly treated it as garbage when you helped me clean the room?"

“Or you’ve seen it…”

“Have it been put somewhere else?”

...

"Then why did you suddenly think of finding it?"

The woman's eyebrows raised slightly.

Since I didn't find it missing immediately, then...

This maple leaf should not be a particularly important item for children.

Why did you suddenly look like you never give up until you find it?

“Is that maple leaf important?”

It's just a maple leaf...

The most important thing is not the maple leaves themselves.

It is the meaning contained on the maple leaves.

Woman looks at the boy.

"Who gave you a gift?"

...

The boy suddenly opened his eyes wide.

How did mom know?!

...

"I guessed it right."

The woman smiled.

"It's easy to guess."

She bent her eyebrows and eyes.

"Maple leaves are just ordinary maple leaves."

"If you like it, there will be maple trees in the community where we live."

"You can pick maple leaves again."

"Then why do you have to work so much to find that maple leaf?"

"Yes or no?"

...

The boy pinched his fingers.

He responded in a low voice, "Yes."

“…It was a gift from my friend…”

"A very important friend..."

...

"That's right."

really.

The woman guessed it right.

She reached out and gently touched the child's head.

Then, her movements became softer and softer.

It seems to be a very important gift from a friend.

Because when the child touched his head, he didn't react at all.

...

At the earliest, when she touched the child's head, the child would shake off her hand with an unhappy look and say angrily not to touch his head.

Later, although the child did not shake off her hand, his expression still looked a little unhappy.

There is no reaction like this...

Obviously, the child's mind was on the missing maple leaf.

...

But the child still has one question that he didn't answer.

Since it is a gift from such an important friend...

"Why just now I find that the maple leaves are missing?"

The woman suddenly thought of a possibility.

"I have put it away and I haven't seen it. Today I want to take it out and take it out, but I find it is gone, right?"

...

The boy's lips moved.

He nodded.

No sound.

Mom said this...it seems to be the case.

...

The woman nodded in a clear understanding.

I see.

But it is not easy to find the maple leaf in this way.

"Are you sure you're holding the maple leaves in your notebook?"

The woman asked.

...

The boy nodded.
Chapter completed!