Five Sugar story By Tomomi Minamoto

A Long time ago, the village of SWEET TOWN was in the country side far from Osaka. There were a few small houses in the neighborhood. This story is about one of the inhabitants of this town, his name is Mr.Tanaka. One day he gave a party in his house and he invited Mr.Sato. Mr.Sato was glad to receive the invitation and went to the party. He took some sweet cakes with him as a present. He knocked on the door.
"Hello! It's sato!” He said cheerfully. “What? Mr.Sato again?” Mr. Tanaka was confused.
“I’m Sato. Is this the place for the party?” He said.
“Oh, please come this way” Mr.Tanaka said.
Mr.Sato was still confused and came into the house.

He thought, “Am I seeing things? Unbelievable!”
There were four other people exactly like Mr.Sato, but each person was a different color. Mr.Tanaka still had a confused look on his face, but he began to talk.
“There are five Mr Satos in my house. Who is the real Mr.Sato that I invited?”
“It’s me! Im the real Sato.” Said Mr.Sato.
“Hey, don’t tell lies! I’m Sato.”
“I’m Sato too.” “Me!” “Me.” “Me too!” Whatever the others may say, “I am Sato.” None of them would give in, so Mr.Tanaka didn’t know what to say. However he was obliged to answer them.
“All right, I’ve got it. I have an idea. I’ll try to lick each of your hands and the sweetest person will be Mr Sato. Can we decide on this rule?”


Mr.Tanaka answered. All the Mr.Satos were astonished and said.
“Lick us? Why? How awful!” They cried. “Do you know what Sato means in Japanese? It means sugar which is very sweet, so I’m sure the real Sato’s skin is very sweet.” “Indeed! Then, please lick me.” They said. Mr.Tanaka licked their hands.
“Pero. Pero. Pero. Perororon. You are all sweet! You are all real Sato.”

“We don’t agree with you. Let’s solve this problem by having a wrestling tournament.” One of the Mr.Sato proposed. They began to wrestle.
“Hey, hey, hey, stop it! What are you doing in my house?
Don’t break anything!”
“There is nothing we can do about it, but I have a solution. I’ll give you each a new lovely name. Please form a line this way. All right, you’re Mr.Ito. You’re Mr.Kato, you’re Mr.Eto, You’re Mr.Mutou and you’re Mr.Naitou. And I’m Mr.Tanaka.

What a good idea! Does everyone agree?” Mr.Tanaka tried to calm them.
“However, We can’t agree.”

They said as theysang.
“♪We are all Mr.Sato.♪ Just as we thought, we’re Sato♪ Sharara Sato. Sharara Sato♪”
They sung loudly and in harmony.
“・・・What should I do?・・・?”Mr.Tanaka
was getting more and more confused. After the song, Mr.Tanaka thought of a lot of names for the Mr.Satos and thought of a good idea. Mr.Tanaka made an announcement.
“Your name is refined sugar, you’re powder sugar, you’re crystal sugar, you’re raw sugar, and you’re brown sugar.” Mr.Tanaka had done well. They all thanked him and said,
“Thank you so much Mr.Tanaka. We are very happy because these are suitable names and will be very famous in the future.”
“Well, Let’s begin our party!”
The End

Money & Brotherhood By Masanobu Iwakura

There were 4 men in Cali, Colombia. Pablo is the leader of their group and everyone trusts him. Carlos is a funny man, Diego is a rich man, Martine is serious, but he can’t speak Spanish. Diego got money from their boss because he worked very well. He said “Let’s go out and eat! I’ll treat you!” Everyone agreed and accepted his invitation. But Pablo said “You did a good job, so I’ll treat you. You’re my good brother!” Diego was moved, and said “Thank you brother! I look up to you.” They went out to a restaurant. A man was watching them. About 2 minutes later Diego noticed he forgot his cigarettes. He is heavy smoker, so he went back to their hideout. A man looked around and broke into the hideout. He looked for their baggage. His name was Javier. He was a member of another group. He had a very serious problem, so he needed a lot of money. He stole Diego’s money and ran away from there.

Then Diego came back and saw a strange car, but he didn’t care about it. He found his cigarettes. Then he remembered what Pablo said “I’ll treat you.” But I have a lot of money now, and I can invite them. I should pay. He looked for his wallet, but it never turned up. He couldn’t believe it. “Nothing!” His wallet was stolen by Javier. Diego thought for a few seconds, and remembered the strange car that he saw. He called Carlos up, and told him about this trouble. He explained about the strange car. Three men waited near the hideout. Then a silver sedan passed by in front of them. Martine sat by it. Carlos spoke to Pablo about the problem. Then Martine said “Follow the car!” They began to follow him. Diego left the hideout by motorcycle.
They cut around Javier’s car, but he drove very well. They couldn’t stop him. Carlos and Diego had called. So Diego knew where they were. He waited for the silver sedan on the corner. A few minutes later the car came out from around the

corner. Diego threw a grenade into the car. The engine blew up. They caught him.
They took Javier to their hideout. A guy saw them. It was Andreas. He was playing a guitar on the road.
In the hideout, Javier’s hands and feet were bound. He sat down on a chair. Carlos and Diego were slapping his face and asking “Who are you? Why did you steal our money?” But his answer was only “I don’t know!” They slapped him again. Then Javier spitted in Carlos face. He was angry and kicked the chair into a scrap machine. Then Andreas came into the hideout calling out “Javier!!” He flew at Carlos and went to help Javier. Then Javier called out to him “Get out of here!” But the three men had already closed in on him and they came at him. He was taken by surprise, and passed out. His hands and feet were bound to the chair.

Javier shouted Pablo “Stop! Stop! He has nothing to do with me! ” Pablo said Javier “Listen up! If you say nothing, he will surely die.” He answered “I’ll tell you everything, so stop the machine!” “But Pablo”, said Carlos “Turn on the machine.” He carried out his boss’s instructions. The machine began to move. Javier said “he is my brother!” Pablo stopped the machine.

Javier started to explain about Andreas “He is my brother Andreas, he has a very serious sickness. If he can’t have an operation, he will die. The operation is very expensive, but we don’t have enough money. So I stole your money, I apologize. I’ll do anything. So please help him! He has a dream, to become a good musician! Please help him! Please! Please!”
The four men spoke on about it. After few minutes, Pablo got some money for him, and said “keep it until you succeed.” Diego said “your brother can live his dream. I’ll give money to the musician.” Carlos said sorry. They went back to their hideout.

After Andreas came to, he learned everything. Javier said “we got the money, you can live your dream, and you don’t have to die!” They were moved to tears and thanked the four men. About an hour later, Andreas noticed something missing, “Where is my guitar?”
The End

Circle of friends By Shinichi Muraoka

“Hi, Shelly.” I said. “Hi, Rink. How are you doing? ” She said as smiled. I walked around on the first floor. Suddenly I stumbled on something. It was an extremely old book. I haven’t seen it before. I took it. There was no title.
“Do you know this book?” I asked Shelly, “I have no idea Rink.” She replied. “Is it ok if I lend it for a few days.” I asked. “Sure” She said.

When I arrived home and sat down on the sofa I started reading it. I found someone’s name. Jeford. “Jeford? Is this the author?” I have never heard his name. Anyway, I continued to read it. All right.” I said to myself. I couldn’t stop until I had finished all of the chapters. Suddenly, I felt very sleepy. I slept deeply. I had a dream. It was a strange dream. I was standing in a field. I was shocked, because I was sure that I’ve been there before, but I really don’t remember. I saw something.

“What’s that?” Something was coming toward me. “Now I am able to see clearly. A child?” I said to myself. He stopped and saw me for a while without a word. “Hi there” I said, but I couldn’t get a reply from him. “Hello? Where are you come from?” I continued. There was a cold silence. A few minutes later he opened his mouth and said something. “Only you can save her.” He whispered and then he ran away. “What? What the heck are you taking about? Hey, wait. wait!!!” I shouted but it was too late. “Who was he? What did he say? I didn’t catch it.” I said to myself. I saw his back. “Ok, I will chase him.” A few minutes later I found a small town. It was very similar to my own. It was an extremely quiet place. No sound, no people and no light. I found him. “Hey boy, who are you?” I asked, but he didn’t answer me. “You look pale, what’s wrong with you?” I asked again. “There was a library, but it was completely destroyed. ” He said in a weak voice. “Oh... I’m sorry to hear that. ” I felt sorry for him. “You know, it was torn down on October 30,1942. Today is October 30, 1943 which means it was last year, as you know this day is your birthday.” He continued. “Yes, yes, yes that’s interesting, but how did you know that? I haven’t told you about myself. How did you know about me?” I was a little upset with him, even though he was a child. “I know you and your best friend who is working at the library.” He continued. “I said that there was a library which was completely destroyed. There was a woman inside when it something big happened. It was a bad fire. She didn’t escape from it. No, she couldn’t.” His eyes had tears. “Why was there a fire?” I added. “Because, someone loved her very much, but she didn’t love him. She refused his proposal, so he changed his mind and he became a murderer. He had planed to kill her and then he did it. If I had known before what was going to happen, I could have stopped it and saved her. Shame on me. ” He angered himself. “Oh, I am sorry, sorry to hear that. I… I don’t really know what to say.” I whispered. “She died in a fire. Her name is…Shelly” He added. “What? What are you talking about?” I was surprised. “Yes, you know who she is, right? It’s time. Only you can save her life. Well, you can go back and save her. I trust you.” He said. Suddenly, his voice was very far from me and I heard pretty bird singing.

It was already morning. I slept the whole night. I turned on the TV and saw the current news. It was October 30, 2005, which means it was my 64th birthday. I was so happy, because I was still alive without disease. I was starting to forget my unbelievable dream. As I was heading for the library I hit someone. He seemed very angry. I arrived at the library. Shelly was usually standing at the front desk, but she wasn’t there. I called her name. “Shelly, where are you?” But there was no answer. A few minutes later, I heard a woman’s scream. I shouted many times I ran to where the woman’s scream came from. I saw Shelly and …the man who bumped into me before. “What the hell are you doing here?” I shouted. “You know, I wanted to marry her. I tried many times when you were not here, but she always refused my proposal, because she loves you. This is not enough for me, I am very angry with her. I loved her, but now I hate her, so I am going to kill her, but it is not interesting just to kill her. So, I arranged a great thing. What day is it today, my Shelly?” He asked Shelly. “Today? Today is…eh…Today is his birthday, Rink’s birthday. ” She shouted. “Yes, exactly, Rink, I know about you. I investigated you after Shelly refused my proposal.

I hate you, but I am a good man. I prepared your present today.” He said with a very cold voice. “Just leave her alone!!” I shouted again. “All right, Rink. I’ll obey you.” He left quickly. “Are you OK?” I caught her. “Thank you, Rink. I’m OK now. ” I could smell something burning. “What is that smell?” I could see a fire. Suddenly, I had flash back.
[ I saw a boy and a fire…and the boy said something to me. “Only you can save Shelly. Do it. Trust me!!”] I was back. I understood everything in my dream. I held Shelly’s hand and ran as fast as I could toward the entrance. We could get out, but we were exhausted. She was crying, but soon she said “Thank you for saving me, Rink.”
I bumped into someone again. “I’m sorry.” He apologized. I was surprised. I know his face. It was the boy in my dream. He said “Thank you for saving Shelly. I’m the boy you saw in your dream. I am Jeford.”
The end

"The Operation" By Shinya Tsutsubuchi

I’m Jerry, a 29-year-old man, from the Czech Republic. I’m a full time factory worker in Prague and live with my parents. My dear girlfriend, Lucy, a beautiful 24-year-old girl, helps me a lot and we have been together for nearly a year. My dad had been working hard as a carpenter. But, he developed a severe backache from overworking last month. We had to support our life and make money because he couldn’t work and it cost a lot for his operation. “It’s not possible for me to pay for the cost of his operation with my bloody low salary! What can I do? Am I going to just watch him suffering and waiting for his death?” I thought.
The next day, it was warm comfortable weather, the same as yesterday. It was my day off and I met my girlfriend and talked about my situation. She has a lot of international friends and she recommended that I work in the U.K.
“As you know, the U.K is a rich country and prices are extremely high compared to Czech. You could work away from home, darling” she said.
“But what’s happening between us!? I can’t leave you, I miss you, honey!”
“Yeah of course, I know, but don’t you think it’s about time to be independent and besides, you have to save your dad? You know better than to avoid it, don’t you?”
“But I ah…don’t want to leave…and I…can’t make up my mind to...to…um…” “To what!? You are always so indecisive. There is no time to think twice!!”
She persuaded me. I nodded at what she said. I realized that this opportunity was a turning point in life and my family’s bright fortune as well.
It was a miserable and foggy first thing in the morning when I got to Portsmouth, England. I caught a coach to Birmingham to meet Lucy’s friend, Monika. She lives in the north of Birmingham, Wolverhamptom. She was absolutely gorgeous and enchanting. I spoke little English, so I hoped she’d help me a lot about living in Britain. She had already prepared a cheap flat and a job for me. I worked in a small hotel, “the Wellington”, as a cook and a waiter. So far so good, but gradually I began to struggle with the work. I couldn’t communicate very well with customers or even the other staff. Many of the staff insulted me because of my broken English and they behaved discriminately forward me because of my nationality.
I put up with it. I studied English more than before, sometimes until 3 o’clock in the morning. In fact, I didn’t have enough time to sleep, but I want to look back at them in my improved English. Monika worried about me and sometimes she helped me and tried to cheer me up. Little by little, I was encouraged by her advice. Since then I don’t know why, but I began to feel a kind of love for her without knowing it. I felt that I stabbed my girlfriend in the back, but she was absorbed in my heart. Also I supposed that she might pay attention to me as a man for a love. She came to my flat and cooked dinner for me. She taught me English every single day. We became close and one day she confessed her love for me. I thought she was absolutely gorgeous and she hit it off with me, but I had to think of my dear girlfriend and I didn’t want to see her crying and hurting. Finally I decided to refuse her confession kindly.
“Please understand my situation, Monika. You are one of the nicest and most beautiful women I’ve ever met. But I have a partner and my purpose here is to save my family. Sorry Monika.”
“I couldn’t hide my feelings, I’m sorry for confusing you. Anyway if you need some help, give me a ring anytime, Jerry…bye for now.”
“Thank you, I’m glad to hear that.”
Since then I have been absorbed in my work to get money and send it to my parents. My salary still wasn’t enough in the U.K, but it was quite good money for my country. I kept sending half of my salary to my parents every week. I could manage to live on the rest of the money and I was happy with being in England. Afterwards, I realized my English was improving and I could work smoothly. My boss approved of my hard work and my improved English. I was given jobs as a receptionist and an accountant. My salary went up to double my previous salary. At last I looked back to the staff who had insulted me. I didn’t want to hurt them, just keep nice company with them. As a result of my effort, everyone approved of me and the atmosphere between us improved. I was satisfied with the result, and thanked Monika, the staff and my girlfriend, Lucy.
A month later, I earned quite enough money for my dad’s operation. His back had been getting worse. He’d been fighting with the symptoms. We decided to have his operation in a hospital called the Prague Central Hospital. In spite of the doctors’ elaborate effort, his operation wasn’t a complete success and he needed another operation in a more sophisticated hospital. My family was very disappointed at the bad result.
I had to start earning again and had to get some information about better hospitals and doctors in the world. One day, I remembered that one of my customers in London said he was a doctor, had stayed a night in our hotel. His name was Dr. Jack and according to rumor, he was really one of the shrewdest doctors in the world, but he was a private non-licensed doctor. Also he made a demand on anyone who needed his operation for an incredibly high fee. I was interested in finding out more about him. I soon found his address and mobile number from our resident cards and I went to meet him there. I told him everything about my background and situation.
“Let’s make a deal,” the doctor said.
“You know I can’t really pay much and I can’t even afford to support my family”
“In this case, I demand 50,000 pounds. However if I succeed, pay me only 500 pounds and let me stay for free in the best suite room for a year in the hotel that you worked at. If I fail, I’ll pay you 2,000 pounds for his recovery and for another operation,” he said confidently.
“I have no time to think…and I do believe you! Alright, then. It’s a deal”
“Bring him here and the operation will be on Sunday, four days from now, right?”
I didn’t have the confidence to confess my decision to the owner of the hotel, but I had to do it. I thought that the hotel owner would be against my decision. On the contrary, she was pleased and she supported me. Then I prepared everything I needed to take my dad.
It was a lovely Sunday morning, the operation started at 10 o’clock sharp and my mum and I hoped for success. It took about 4 hours and then the doctor came up to us. “I did it. It was a struggle, but I could sort it out. He needs to stay in bed only for a few days. Don’t forget the promise,” he said calmly.
I was sure that he had really great skills. He must be “Dr. Black Jack,” I thought. I quit my job straight after earning the 500 pounds and my boss agreed to allow him to stay. It was a precious experience in the U.K, and I thanked everyone around me, Monika, the staff, the owner of the hotel and Dr. Jack. It was possible for me to stay in the U.K to get more money. However I’d rather choose an ordinary life in my lovely Czech with my dearest family and Lucy.
The End

"Taku" by Ayumi Fujita
There was a boy who liked riding his bicycle and reading magazines about cycling. His name was Taku. He was 8 years old. He lived in the countryside in Aomori and he always dreamed of traveling to another place which had a beautiful sea. One day, he saw a book about Okinawa. There were some pictures in it, and he was really fascinated. That night he had a dream. He was by the sea in Okinawa, and there was his bicycle was beside him. He came to Okinawa on his own bicycle! Just as he was about to go into the sea, he woke up. He was very disappointed when he realized that it was a dream. He couldn’t forget about that dream, and he decided to go to Okinawa by bicycle!
The next day he packed up and left home on his bicycle. He didn’t tell his plan to anyone including his parents, because he knew that if he told them, they would not let him go. He left his home at 5:00 a.m. before his parents got up. Then he started towards Okinawa. After several hours riding, he was hungry , and he decided to stop to eat his lunch. He ate a rice ball that he made himself and he took a rest for a while. Then he started his journey again.
He kept on his journey with no anxiety, and gradually it got darker and darker. Farther he went on his journey in the darkness, he began to feel tired and afraid. He started thinking that he wanted to go back home, but he didn’t know which way he had come from. That is to say, he lost his way. He didn’t know what he should do and was almost crying. At that very moment, he heard a voice. “Hey, boy!” He looked back and saw that an old man was talking to him. “What are you doing there in the dark?” The old man asked. “I lost my way… I want to go back to my house, but I don’t know which way is right to go home.” He answered with tears in his eyes. “Where are you from? Did you come alone?” The old man asked. “I’m from Aomori and I was supposed to go to Okinawa by my bicycle. But now I don’t know where here is, and I’m tired and really miss my parents
…” He replied. He couldn’t keep back tears anymore. The old man said to him kindly. “I live alone near here and there is a phone in my house. You can call your parents from my house. This is Iwate, and not too far from your house. So they’ll be able to come and pick you up. You might be hungry after your long journey.
You can eat dinner while you wait for them.” He agreed with the old man and went to his house.
He called his parents and told them about his journey and where he was. They were really worrying about him and when they heard his voice on the telephone, they were relieved.
While he waited for his parents, an old man served him supper. As he was really hungry, the meal made him so happy and he really appreciated the old man. Taku talked about his journey over dinner and the old man happily listened to his story. He’d been living alone for a long time, he was happy listening to Taku’s story. About 3 hours later, Taku’s parents came to the old man’s house to pick him up. They really thanked the old man and asked a reward for his kindness. The old man refused the offer at first, but they said that they really wanted to pay him something, so he said to Taku, “Well…then, I want you to write a letter to me once a month. I live here alone, so I’d be so happy if you could send me a letter. It’ll be a great present for me.” Taku smiled and said, “Why not!? I promise to write you!” His parents smiled too.
From then on, Taku wrote a letter at least once a month. Now he is 18 years old, and he still write letters to that old man. Their good relationship last forever.
The End

“FRIENDSHIP” by Reiko Hamaguchi
Background
When I woke up, there was no sound and I was in complete darkness. So, I fell back to sleep again into a relaxed posture. Then, the sun shone on me brightly and I heard a voice talking to me. “good morning.” It was my friend ‘Erie’. She is a student at the YMCA here and we study English together. Everyday, we talk a lot. So, we know each other very well. I am very happy with that.
Complication
One day, I noticed that Erie was my only friend at the YMCA, so I decided to make more friends. I started being friendly to many people. However, all of them ignored me. I’m not sure why. I tried to speak to them again, but the outcome was the same. I tried again and again…
Rising Tension
While I was trying, I was starting to dislike Erie. She had many friends, but I didn’t. I started to ignore her. I liked her, but didn’t talk to her anymore, because I was envious of her. Suddenly she didn’t come to school at all. Day after day, I didn’t see her. One day I heard someone talking. “Erie was killed in a traffic accident!” to hear that, I was so shocked that I couldn’t stand straight. I regret what I had cone to her.
Climax
That night, I dreamt of my hometown. In the dream, my mother and I were playing. Suddenly a car crashed into my mother. She was fatally killed trying to protect me. I felt as if I lost everything. However, there was a tree that my mother left. She’d given her live to the tree as a child. When I saw it, it reminded me of my dead mother. I wished that I were the tree. I wished every single day. After I grew up, an unbelievable thing happened. I could become a part of the tree!! A God came to see me at night and asked if I wanted to become the tree. I answered, “YEN”.
Resolution
When I woke up, I was the tree and I was in school. However, I didn’t notice that I was the tree. After the death of Erie, I remembered that I was the tree. That’s why everybody ignored me except for Erie. She was so pure that she could talk to trees. Although it was unwise of me, I remembered everything, such as my mother’s death and that I was the tree, because of her death. I was bowed down by grief because I list two precious people. I didn’t do anything. I only wished to sloop forever. I pretended to sleep.
Ending
However, an unbelievable thing happened again. One morning I got up, there was a sweet smell and a singing voice. When I opened my eyes, I saw a flower and a butterfly. To my surprise, they were my precious people!! My mother was blooming beautifully and my friend, Erie, was flying around us..
I thanked god deeply.
The End

Cabbage Boy by Haruka Ono
I am a normal boy and live a usual life. However, I realized that my mother was not my real mother.
Please listen to my story.
I was a kindergarten student. One day I was playing with my friend at kindergarten, as always. My friend said to me proudly “I’m going to be a brother! I’ll get a younger brother. Now he is in mom’s body.” My friend seemed very happy, and I envied him. “That’s fine.” I said to my friend. After the conversation, I went home. When I was on my way home, I was wondering about where I came from. “How was I born?” This question confused me. So I went to my mother in the kitchen to ask her right away when I got home.
“Mom!! Where did I come from?” I asked her in a serious tone. This question bothered her. After a few seconds she replied “Oh,…well, You came from……a…..Oh! A cabbage field! Yes! At the back of our house! I picked you up from the cabbage field 5 years ago.” I was too shocked to say anything…I went to my room in despair. Even though I was only 4 years old, I decide to run away, because the woman who was in the kitchen was no longer my mother. I cried in my room, then left my house.
I didn’t know where I should go, so I went to the cabbage field. There were many cabbages covered with large leaves. I sat down in the field and thought about which cabbage was my mother. I didn’t have any idea, but I really wanted to find out my real cabbage mother.
First, I asked each of the cabbages. “Are you my mom?” But of course they couldn’t answer. Next, I asked a farmer, “Which cabbage is my mom?” But he didn’t know either. I was completely lost. It was getting darker and darker.
I was scared. My tears dropped onto the cabbages in the field. I heard someone’s voice!
“What are you doing here, little boy?” I looked around, but I couldn’t see anyone. “I’m here! On the ground!” I looked down and there she was, a cabbage! “Oh? You’re a cabbage!” I was surprised. “Yes, that’s right. What are you doing here all alone?” the cabbage asked. “ I’m looking for my mother. My mother is probably a cabbage!” I answered. “Oh, really? But you look like a human boy.” the cabbage lady said. Then I replied strongly “In fact I’m not human. I am a cabbage.” However the cabbage lady said that she couldn’t do anything for me.
The cabbage lady and the cabbage field around me just disappeared. I said to myself “Where am I. I am in the darkness alone. Suddenly, I could see the bright world around me. The sun was shining above me. There were a lot of other big cabbages around me. And I was in my usual place on the ground. I thought carefully…”I’ve got it!! I am a cabbage!! I am Cabbage boy! I was only dreaming that I had been a human boy. Oh, it was only a dream!” That’s right cabbage boy. You’ve always wanted to be a human boy. Your dream came true in your dream.
The End

The Seed
“Ah…I’m worn to the bone today…. He makes me talk too much! My chin hurts a lot…”
Ami Yasumatsu
He is a puppet, called Rick. He used to be an ordinary puppet, but one day when he woke up, he found that he was able to move. However, he doesn’t show that he can move in front of humans, because he looks like a puppet! He is used for a famous show by an old ventriloquist named Josh who is always in a bad mood and treats Rick very badly! Rick was fed up with being a puppet. It was his sincere dream to be human. However, there was no way to be a boy…he was at a loss.
One day, he was thinking about some ways to be human. “…there is, I believe, a witch who is able to do anything…, but how can I find her?!” Suddenly, an idea flashed into his mind! “Oh! I’ve got a good idea!!” Rick wrote a letter, then added the ventriloquist’s address on it, and bound it to a red balloon with a tiny carnation seed in it, just for a present for the witch. He let the balloon go and it flew up to the sky.
Two months later, an old lady named Mary found the red balloon caught on a tree in her backyard, and she read the letter. In it was written,
Hello, thank you for finding this balloon. I hope that you are the witch! Would you be able to change me into a human? I’m fed up with being a puppet please!!! 29 Elizabeth Street, Rick.
There was a seed in the envelope. “Wow…, what a cute letter…, but you must already be a human! Otherwise you could not have written this letter!!”, she said with a warm smile, and she didn’t really believe that the boy was a puppet.
She was not a witch, just an ordinary old woman. Mary was nearly 93 years old. Her husband had died in a car accident, and she had moved deep into the mountains to stay away from the city. They didn’t have any children. She was glad to receive the letter, because she hasn’t received a letter for a long time. She planted the seed, but she has never replied to Rick. However, Rick continued to believe that he’d get a reply. He waited day after day. He went outside to check the mailbox, but there was no letter as usual. “Again…” he sighed. He was gradually losing faith…
-Two years passed-
In Mary’s garden, there was a flower that bloomed beautifully. She has been cherishing the flower for two years. As she got older, she started to worry that if she died, no one would take care of the flower. So she decided to write a letter to that boy, named Rick. Rick was checking the mailbox hopelessly, when he found a letter. He opened it quickly and read.
Dear Rick,
Plant the seeds and cherish them. If you genuinely make a wish, you’ll get your wish some day Best wishes.124 Leonard Street, Mary “Wow! At last, I got a letter!!!” He was shaking with joy. Rick planted the seeds immediately, and he watered and cherished them day after day...
-A few months passed-
When Rick woke up, he felt something was wrong with his body, and he looked into a mirror. “Wow… I can’t believe it! It has happened!!” He was not a puppet anymore. He went outside and saw beautiful flowers. “I’m completely free!!” Rick decided to visit Mary to say thank you. He ran away from Josh’s house at midnight and headed for Mary’s place.
The house was quiet, nice and old. Rick knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He went into the house and he saw a paper on the table and read it.
Dear Rick,
Welcome to my house. I was waiting for you, Rick. I’m not here, because I have moved to heaven. I hope that your dream has come true. I have a wish, I want you to live here and take care of the flowers, instead of me Mary
Rick realized that Mary had already died. He went into the backyard with a feeling of sadness…, and he saw a large number of carnations which came out from the seed that he sent with the letter! He suddenly understood how Mary had loved carnations.
“Well, I haven’t decided yet where to go, in addition, I don’t have a house where I can live…, I could become a human by the grace of Mary!!!” He thought. He decided to live in the house and cherish those flowers forever, as Mary cherished them. He still believes that Mary is a witch. You might wonder why Rick could become a human, even though Mary was not a witch. Nobody knows why it had happened. It might be a miracle…
-The end-