He was clearly confused. Her hasty explanation wasn’t enough; it only served to bewilder him. She regretted it.

‘Where are we? This castle, the Wolf Queen. What is it all?’

She had to leave quickly, but what she really wanted to do was call the Wolf Queen. Get her to give them some answers.

Rion murmured, ‘I was thinking, too, the whole thing feels a bit fake.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The way the Wolf Queen calls us all Little Red Riding Hoods.’ He paused. ‘I gotta go, too. I snuck out during a time-out from football practice. I thought today was going to be an important battle for you all, and I had to find out how it went.’

‘What time is it in Hawaii?’

‘About five-thirty in the afternoon.’ Rion had his own tight daily schedule, but was concerned enough about all of them to come over. Kokoro began to feel less tense.

A question suddenly occurred to her that she just had to ask. She and Rion seldom got a chance to talk on their own. So this was her one opportunity.

‘What would you do, Rion, if it was you?’

‘Do?’

‘If you found the Wishing Key.’

Rion’s eyes looked clear, as if gazing off into the distance.

‘My wish is—’

Kokoro didn’t want to hear what his wish was. Having a wish come true meant everyone here would lose their memory. So she was expecting him to say that he didn’t care about the key if it meant he would lose his memory.

But instead, he carried on.

‘Please bring my older sister back home.’

Their eyes met. Rion’s lips trembled, as if he had surprised himself by saying it aloud.

Kokoro had no clue what to say, and Rion gave a resigned smile.

‘The year I started elementary school, my sister died. She was sick.’

Kokoro was suddenly filled with pity. She looked patiently at Rion, willing him to continue.

‘Sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to hear this. I’m not expecting you to respond or anything.’

‘No, it’s OK.’

Did Rion want to talk about his dead sister? Or not? She couldn’t tell.

She didn’t think he’d picked up on her thoughts, but he gave a relieved smile, and went on.

‘If there really is a Wishing Key, and my sister can come back, then I might use it. If any wish can come true.’

‘Oh … I see what you mean.’

‘I haven’t talked about this for a long time. I’ve never told it to any of my friends at school over there.’

Seeing how uncomfortable he was, Kokoro stayed stock still.

She felt a lump in her throat, and thought: I am so terribly small.

In the face of Rion’s wish, her problems with Miori Sanada faded. What a pathetically small thing I’ve been wishing for, she thought. She felt her heart beating audibly within her.