...I don't know what to do.

My name is Ichirou Maebara, and I am

hopelessly lost.

I came to Hinamizawa on a tour to find a lot for a vacation home.

When the realtor finished explaining some details, he told us to take a walk until the departure time.

Such beautiful scenery and fresh air...

I let my senses guide me and...

Here I am.

Where am I?

I still have a little time before the departure, but I am completely lost.

This is basically the middle of nowhere, but people actually do live here.

If I keep walking, I should run into somebody. Then I can ask for directions.

Don't worry,

ha ha ha.

The only thing I need to keep in mind is the departure time for the bullet train.

But the more time passes, the more I start to think I was being too optimistic about running into somebody.

...Because I can't find anybody at all.

Maybe I'm walking farther and farther away from where people are, in which case I'm in serious trouble.

So upon hearing someone's voice, I feel immensely relieved.

It sounds like little girls are playing nearby.

If it's a place where little kids can play, it must be a safe village.

I followed those voices.

Upon rounding the wild pampas grass, I can see a beautiful field.

Two girls are playing there.

They're dancing in the field filled with blooming wild flowers.

What I'm seeing is more beautiful than all of the great works of art I've ever seen put together.

Maybe I'm exaggerating, but this looks holier than any religious painting...

Why is it that seeing innocent girls dance around like this makes people feel this way?

...It's probably because we're sinners.

You can't live with pleasure and glory alone.

...We sin, even as we live.

That's why we feel awed by the sight of innocence. It reminds us of the time when we were pure.

We grow up naturally

and we lose innocence as we do...

And we admire and adore the children who symbolize that which we've lost.

"......Meep.

There's a suspicious person who's mumbling some weird stuff over there."

"Au au au.

Rika, that's not a suspicious person."

"...Eh?

Aaah!!

Ahh, aah, s-sorry!!

I'm not suspicious!

Wahahahaha...!!"

"......But you've been staring at my chest and legs.

Nipah~☆."

"N-No, no! I'm not!

Don't turn me in! I really wasn't staring!

I was using this mirror to fix my hair!!"

"...Ahahahahaha.

I don't know what you're talking about, but it sure sounds interesting."

"......Like father, like son."

The girls teased me for a while, and when they got tired of doing that, they went back to dancing around.

Realizing that whatever I said would backfire,

I decided to leave them alone and sat down to watch them play.

...I wonder how old they are.

They seem rather young, but maybe they could be close to Keiichi's age.

If we move here, Keiichi might meet them at school.

If he would see them at school, then...

...they were girls that lived here.

If all the children in Hinamizawa are like them,

then even if living a rural life may have some challenges... there's a good reason for us to move here.

...We're not very good parents.

We didn't understand what Keiichi was going through, and left him alone until the very end.

According to the parenting book I bought, the first few problems are calls for help.

It doesn't matter what the action itself is, but the fact that those actions are occuring is a primitive appeal from the child seeking communication.

...Humans can speak, and that's one of the reasons why we don't notice such signs.

We can only hear words through our ears, and we can't sense the signs coming from our son's heart.

Keiichi... probably thinks it's all his fault.

...Of course, he's not absent of blame.

Humans aren't dogs or cats.

We should know what's right and what's wrong.

But... it's our fault too, as his parents.

To let him think that he had to go that far for us to be able to understand him is really pathetic and disappointing of us.

If we had understood him and hadn't cornered him,

Keiichi wouldn't have done that.

So the incidents weren't only Keiichi's fault.

Everyone in the Maebara family was to blame.

I want to explain that to him, but he's still too young and hotheaded to be able to understand.

Right now, the guilt he's feeling is basically crushing him under its weight. He doesn't even have the will to live.

My wife is the same.

...She's blaming herself for forcing him to study for better grades. She thinks that's why the incidents took place.

And I'm no different.

I'm blaming myself for not being involved in my son's education. I think that's why the incidents took place.

The cross will be forever on our shoulders, even after the injured child accepts our apologies.

Yet our cold society would tell us to die under the weight of that cross.

...Even so, we have to live.

We have to accept our sins and carry our burdens on our shoulders.

Maybe we can start a new life here in this village.

...I thought about all that as I watched the girls dance.

Keiichi needs friends like them.

Friends like those girls will offer him so much more than the friends who only talked about cram schools and exam results.

The girls are playing near a sign that doesn't fit in to this open field.

It's a sign about lots for sale, and the name of the realtor who brought me here for the tour is written on it.

...Does that mean

we can live

even in this beautiful area if we want to?

One of the girls spoke as if reading my mind.

"......This is a wonderful village.

You will find lots of things you don't have in a big city."

"Yeah, that's right.

I think so too."

"......But I think you'll bring some things from the city to this village that we don't have."

"Do we have anything?"

"Sure you do.

Au au."

"......We've lived in this village for hundreds of years just like this.

Nobody comes to visit, and nothing happens.

...And so, nothing ever changes."

"Isn't that what's good about this place?"

"......Didn't you come here because you wanted to change something?"

"Yeah...

you're right about that."

"...We want new people to come here too.

It's like breaking the dam that keeps the swamp water from flowing out.

Water is purified by moving. If it stays motionless, then it's just a swamp."

"In fact, this village used to be named after a swamp up until the Meiji era.

...But the name was changed to 'Hinamizawa'.

The water in a swamp stagnates because it doesn't flow,

but the water in a stream stays fresh."

".....Hee hee.

Besides, you all are the ones who will teach us that.

That dams can be broken, should be broken."

Are they playing riddles with me?

I have no idea what they're trying to say.

But there's one thing I know.

The villagers are waiting for new people to come here, and they want to build a future with those newcomers.

I looked at the sign behind the girls one more time.

So that I'd remember this place.

I've already decided.

".....We'll be waiting for you to move here.

Maebara."

"Oh,

there you are!

Sir!

How did you get this far out?"

A raspy voice from the distance ended this innocent moment.

It's the realtor.

I guess he's been looking for me because I didn't return.

"Sorry about that!

I got lost."

I apologized while scratching my head.

I turned around to look for the girls, but they weren't there anymore.