Back to the Future 1999: Raining at the Same Time

"Let's go, Paper Letter Circle. We have to continue looking for your name."

The lantern bearer held the paper letter ring and followed the guidance of the fireflies, but was soon stopped by a demon.

"Hey, you better not go any further. That crazy woman is back again."

When the demon spoke, his expression could not hide his irritation, disgust and helplessness.

"You mean the 'garden lady'? I've heard about her."

The lantern operator widened his eyes slightly, seeming a little frightened by its sudden appearance.

"The garden isn't hers alone, but when it blooms, she takes over the entire garden."

The demon didn't notice the lamplighter's reaction and continued to complain to himself, like a child full of resentment when being blamed by his parents for no reason.

"The flowers are already in bloom. I saw them from a distance, and they're beautiful... What a shame."

"That's not someone you can communicate with at all. If you don't want to be attacked by her, you'd better leave as soon as possible."

After a brief moment of melancholy, there were even more intense accusations. After leaving my own suggestions, it vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared. Only the paper letter with a thank you remained, falling silently, and I wondered if it had ever found a home.

……

"Oh, look, what a beautiful flower."

"My baby...what should I do with you?"

The paper letter holder and the lantern bearer hid behind the flowers, watching the woman standing alone in the middle of the garden in the distance, pick a flower, and sniff it.

Apart from the somewhat concerning dark red stains on her clothes, she looked like an ordinary flower-loving woman.

"I thought she was some horrible monster, but she looks so gentle."

"It's hard to say. I've heard a lot of rumors about this lady. People say she—"

The lantern attendant stopped talking because they saw the garden lady suddenly throw the flowers in her hand to the ground.

"...Of course, it's like this! Like this! Like this! Like this!"

"And then it was like this! Like this! Hahahahahahaha——"

The garden lady repeated the trampling action frantically, and the blooming flowers soon turned into a mess.

"...Well, it seems I jumped to conclusions too early."

The paper letter circle retracted its previous comments, the girls looked at each other, and began to retreat at the same time - but it seemed too late.

"Who is there!"

In the blink of an eye, the Garden Lady was in front of the girls. They gasped and froze in their places.

"Again! This uneducated kid came from nowhere! How dare he trespass into my garden without permission!"

"……Um?"

A certain statement in the speech caught the attention of the paper letter circle.

"Wait, you mean... you planted all these flowers?"

"Me? Yes... yes! I cultivated them, one by one, beautiful flowers..."

The conversation suddenly fell into a soft and warm atmosphere, as if some beautiful memories were brought back.

"And then break them off! Crush them! Eat them! Throw them in the mud! Hahahahahaha!"

The sudden madness made Zhixinquaner shrink back a little, but she still couldn't help asking the doubts in her heart.

"That's a little strange. Why would you cultivate them and then destroy them? Don't you like flowers?"

"Like? Flowers? Me? No..."

The sudden question made her momentum stagnate, and then she burst out in a more intense way.

"No! They're disgusting! I don't want to see them again, they're disgusting!"

"Then...then why do you want to plant them?"

Sincerely puzzled by this question, Zhixinquan'er's eyes widened a little more than usual, and he held his chin with one hand as he thought about it.

"because……"

Ms. Garden's aura suddenly weakened, and for a moment she even had a holy glow.

"I can't live without them."

"Their fragrance...their vibrant colors...I must have them..."

The garden lady bent down and pinched off a branch that had not yet bloomed, stroking its outline.

"Ah, that's it. When it blooms, it becomes a nightmare that torments me day and night..."

Her movements were gentle, but veins bulged on her trembling hands, as if she was trying hard to suppress some violent impulse.

"You can't live without flowers? But you hate them, and it makes you miserable..."

“…But these flowers are blooming so beautifully.”

“If you don’t love flowers, I don’t think they’ll bloom so well.”

"Beautiful? ... Do you think they are beautiful?"

"Yes, they are beautiful."

"Is that so? They seem beautiful to you?"

"That's... really great. So great..."

The lady in the garden stood up in a trance, muttering to herself, and walked step by step into the depths of the garden.

"where are you going?"

She didn't answer. The branch slipped from her fingertips and was caught by the other flowers.

As the paper letter circle watched, the figure of the garden lady finally disappeared among the flowers.

"Look, those are the fireflies!"

The lamplighter's voice called back the attention of the paper letter circle.

Then she saw a light spot similar to the one before flying out from the branch that the garden lady had fallen from.

"My name... the third letter."

"I thought things might not go smoothly for us this time, but it seems I was worrying too much."

The lantern bearer also expressed his joy at the right time.

"So these flowers are indeed something precious to that lady. Hmm..."

"What's wrong? You look distressed."

Holding the abandoned child in her arms, the letter-holder pouted and asked the lamplighter seriously:

"Do you think it can still bloom?"

"what?"

It seemed that every word in the paper letter circle was beyond the lantern bearer's expectations.

"This branch."

The paper letter circle also began to caress the flower bud that had not yet bloomed.

"Maybe after everything is over, I put it in a bottle with water and it will still bloom beautiful flowers."

The paper letter ring put the branch that the garden lady had left among the flowers into his pocket.

……

"Anyway, that's three of us now. Come on, let's find the fourth letter in your name."

"The fireflies are pointing in this direction. Is this...?"

"West, towards the Afternoon Tea Club."

Continuing walking, they stopped in front of a grand clubhouse.

When I opened the door, I heard a sharp noise coming from inside.

"Dear members! Let's see what we have? What do we have?"

The leading demon shouted, igniting the lively atmosphere of afternoon tea.

“Smoked salmon!”

“Scone with blueberry jam!”

“Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes!”

"Great! Tea time! Tea time!

What else do we have?

“Deviled eggs!”

“Peas!”

“Pistachio macarons!”

Something seemed to be out of place among the high-end dishes.

"Great! Tea time—wait!"

The picky demon master soon realized that something was wrong.

"No one here likes pea soup! Get it out! Get it out!"

“Eh?! Ugh, uh, uh—”

The demon being carried away shook its fur and struggled as it was carried out of the hall.

The letter circle and the lantern bearer watched helplessly as the goblin who brought the bowl of pea soup was caught by other goblins and thrown out the door.

"Hey! What a waste! I admit that the pea soup isn't that tasty, but you shouldn't waste food, right?"

After all, my dinner last night was pea soup. As one of the staple foods in the family, Zhixinquan still cherishes these foods very much.

"These guys are always like this. Don't be fooled by their small size. They are the richest goblins in the entire cross street."

“Only the most delicious afternoon tea can be served on our table. Please sit down, please sit down!”

As if to supplement the lantern attendant's words, the demon spirit introduced the rules here.

"You are the manager's guests, so of course you can enjoy it with us. Enjoy it together!"

Faced with a table full of delicious food and the demon's enthusiastic invitation, the Paper Letter Circle showed an unexpected refusal.

"Thank you, but no thanks. We're actually here to look for something, it's..."

The gluttons looked at each other in confusion and panic, and interrupted Paper Letter Circle before she finished speaking.

"What is that? Is it worth anything? We don't have anything valuable, nothing!"

Oh my God, this feeling of trying to cover up one's own faults really makes it hard not to think of the evil landlord and his stupid son.

But to the simple children, none of this matters.

"No, it's not valuable in itself, but... the goblins might have hidden it inside something you value."

"Have you seen it?"

The goblins gathered together and murmured for a moment.

"That means you want our most precious thing! The most precious thing!"

It must be said that the aggressive appearance of the gluttons gathered together was indeed quite intimidating. The paper letter circle quickly responded in panic:

"No, no, I just want you to help me take a look. Maybe what I'm looking for is hidden inside it..."

But the gluttons interrupted her again:

"Our most precious thing! We can give it to you! To you!"

"……what?"

The paper letter circle, who had originally thought that it would take some time to explain, suddenly widened his eyes and then showed a surprised smile.

"Really? You guys are so nice—"

However, she spoke too early again.

"But you have to pay! Money!"

"..."

This time it was the Paper Letter Circle's turn to be silent.

"money."

It was a bit difficult to utter this word.

A group of round-headed monsters asked him for money... The paper letter circle couldn't help but feel confused.

"Okay, okay... It doesn't seem right to ask you for help for no reason."

"How much do you want?"

……

"Thank you for your patronage! Welcome to visit us next time! Come!"

When I looked at the two of them again, the deal was done.

Back at the crossroads, both Zhixinquan'er and the lantern bearer were stunned and silent.

"You know what? I think you could bargain with them."

"It's too late to say this now! Why didn't you help me just now?"

The letter carrier looked at the lantern attendant with some anger, blaming her with her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm not very good at bargaining..."

The lantern operator's tone immediately weakened, and his aggrieved look made the people in the paper letter circle panic for a moment.

"No...don't apologize, I was wrong."

"You're willing to help me, and you didn't ask me for money, which is very good... Thank you, Lantern Operator. You are a true friend of mine." (You see, she also has to thank me)

"What nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly ask you for money?"

The girl responded to the paper letter circle's thanks in a playful manner, but she sighed and looked down at the "most precious thing" of the monsters that she had just bought at a high price.

"anyway……"

"Do you think this is really their treasure?"

"Uh...I can't say."

The two looked at the thing in amazement.

"If Sarah knew I spent all my money on a rock, she would kill me..."

"........."

"Ok?"

"Who's Sarah?"

Just then, fireflies flew out from the stone.

"Oh……!"

"Oh, yeah... Sarah is my sister, now I remember."

The faint light of the fireflies briefly illuminated the surroundings, and Paper Letter Circle struggled to remember the meaning of the name.

But then, her memory was once again swallowed by a chaotic darkness.

"Paper letter circle...you..."

The lantern keeper looked at his friend worriedly; her amnesia was getting worse.

"……I know."

"That's not a good sign, is it?"