Five minutes later...
Tim was back.
Rei looking annoyed yet relieved deep inside said. " Why did you come back?"
Tim smiled, a little breathless, holding something behind his back. "I never said I was leaving."
He brought his hand forward and held out a small, slightly crumpled yellow flower.
"This flower suits you," he said simply. "So I thought I'd bring it for you."
Rei stared at it, her body tensing. She glanced around - the park wasn't crowded, but people were walking by.
What is wrong with this boy? she thought, her mind racing. Doesn't he care what people say? What they'll assume?
She yanked the flower from his hand, clutching it quickly like it was contraband. "You'll put me in deep trouble," she muttered.
Tim looked genuinely puzzled. "But I just offered it because it fits you. It's... quiet, but nice."
Rei looked at the flower, pretending indifference, though her grip softened. "...Yeah. I guess it does," she said, trying to sound bored but her voice betrayed a sliver of surprise. And maybe something else.
"Glad to know that," Tim said cheerfully.
Then, without warning, he grabbed her wrist.
"Hey-what are you doing?!" Rei yelped, caught off guard.
"Nothing," Tim said with a grin. "Just helping you explore the world."
"You're trying your best to embarrass me," she muttered, cheeks burning.
"Nope," Tim replied. "Helping you discover life."
And like a whirlwind, he whisked her away.
They visited malls, bustling markets, open fields, and even nearby farms. Tim, loud and gleeful, chatted with strangers like they were lifelong friends.
He pointed at cloud shapes, waved at cats, tried on ridiculous hats from street vendors. All the while, Rei was dragged along - wide-eyed, awkward, silent but watching.
To her surprise, Tim's friend group - a ragtag crew of boys and girls between six and twelve - welcomed her without hesitation.
They didn't question her spiraling hair or her distant demeanor. A few stared, some whispered, but most were just curious.
Her conversations were short, clumsy, and stiff. A nod here. A quiet answer there. But the more she was exposed to this chaos, the less she flinched. Like a leaf learning to float on a river.
Yet through it all, her sharp eyes caught what Tim's optimism glossed over.
A group of teens mocking a lonely kid near the food court.
Two men arguing loudly outside a store, fists almost flying.
And then... a shady figure talking to a politician near the park gate - all smiles, but with a heavy envelope exchanged behind his back.
Rei said nothing about it. She simply watched, absorbing the layers of the world that Tim refused - or perhaps chose not - to see.
Still, it wasn't all bad.
A baker gave her a free sample cookie with a smile and no hesitation.
A little girl with freckles said she liked Rei's hair - said it looked like wind dancing.
Someone even said, "You're with Tim? He's kind of crazy, but cool. So I guess you're cool too."
Rei didn't know how to reply to that.
By the time the sky began to turn orange, she was mentally exhausted - her mind buzzing with too much input, too many new faces, too much emotion. But underneath all that, a strange feeling hummed quietly.
Was this... what it felt like? To belong - even for a second?
They ended up back at the park, where it had all started.
Rei was still clutching the now slightly wilted flower in one hand, her hair more windswept than ever.
Tim looked at her with a bright, open smile. "Told you the world isn't all bad."
Rei stared at him.
"You didn't see the full picture," she said flatly. "It's not all good, either."
Tim shrugged. "Maybe. But sometimes, all it takes is someone to show you the good parts first. The rest... you learn to fix."
Rei looked at him - at his smile, his dirt-smudged face, his ridiculous courage.
And for the first time, she said nothing to push him away.
Tim stretched, rubbing his stomach. "Oh man, I'm hungry."
From his pocket, he pulled out a slightly crumpled packaged sandwich. He unwrapped it clumsily, the plastic crackling.
Rei, still sitting beside him on the park bench, stared off in the opposite direction - arms crossed, deliberately avoiding eye contact.
Tim took a bite, chewed for a second, then paused. He looked at her.
Without a word, he tore the sandwich in half - not neatly, but with enough effort - and held one half out to her.
Rei glanced at it, then at him, and frowned. "I'm not hungry."
Tim just shrugged, his hand still outstretched. "Doesn't matter. If we're friends, sharing food makes us closer."
Rei turned to him sharply. "You don't even know what you're saying."
"I just say what I think," Tim replied, unfazed.
He looked down at his half, then up at her again. "Anyway, if you're not eating, I'm not eating mine either."
Rei's lips tightened. He wasn't bluffing. He just sat there, holding both halves, waiting - like this was some kind of sacred pact.
"...Fine," she muttered, snatching her half in a flash, as if it were a crime to be seen accepting it.
Tim beamed and began munching away on his part, humming between bites. "See? That’s how you make peace."
Rei didn't respond, but eventually took a small bite.
It was just a basic sandwich - bread, cheese, something vaguely meaty - but it tasted... good.
Better than expected.
Better when eaten together, a quieter voice in her head noted.
Tim kept blabbering between mouthfuls, telling stories about a stray cat he once befriended, a wild dream he had about flying bicycles, and how he once tried to build a kite using only paper and chewing gum.
He even managed to choke on a bite mid-sentence, coughing dramatically.
"You okay?" Rei asked instinctively.
Tim gave her a thumbs up while still coughing, then laughed when he caught his breath. "Worth it."
After they finished, Tim reached into his backpack and pulled out a small, slightly scuffed toy robot. It had blinking lights, moving arms, and a squeaky wheel on one side.
"This is Buddy," Tim said proudly. "My best toy. I let everyone play with him."
Rei looked at it, intrigued despite herself, though her expression remained guarded. "It's... kind of cool."
Tim offered it to her without hesitation. "Here. You can try. I don't mind."
Rei hesitated. Her fingers twitched.
Then, slowly, almost as if the air had grown heavier - she reached out and took it.
She pushed a button. The arms spun. The lights blinked. It let out a funny whirr.
She didn't smile, not quite but something in her eyes brightened. Just a flicker.
Tim watched with satisfaction.
And somehow, even though nothing particularly magical happened, the moment etched itself into Rei's memory like gold pressed into glass.
A simple toy. A shared sandwich. The first time someone gave her something without asking for anything in return.
After a while, the sky began to dim again.
Tim stood up, stretching. "Well, Rei - it was good spending time with you."
Rei looked down, then slowly stood too.
She hesitated for a second then said, firmly: "Tim."
He froze.
He turned, eyes wide.
"Be careful with your open-mindedness," she continued, arms crossed again. "It can get you into trouble."
Tim froze for a second feeling an unexpected chill out of nowhere but he shrugged it off.
Then he grinned like a kid who'd just found treasure.
"You called me by my name," he said.
Rei rolled her eyes, but didn't deny it. "Don't let it go to your head."
Tim simply nodded, pleased beyond reason. "Got it."