With her outfit now neat and her hair well-groomed, Iris transformed into an adorable girl, apart from her pale complexion and slightly thin frame. Compared to her previous unkempt hair and tattered clothes, she was unrecognizable.
“Dad, where are we going from here?”
Iris, walking beside Aldo, asked nervously. Aldo looked up at the clear sky.
“Well, it’s around lunchtime, so how about we get something to eat?”
Iris followed closely beside Aldo, who adjusted his stride to match her pace. He wanted to hold her hand to keep her from getting lost, but since Iris seemed to still be wary of him, Aldo gave up on that idea.
Instead, he made sure to keep a close watch on her as he led her to a café.
“Iris, you can order anything you like.”
“Um… um…”
Iris looked around at the menu, seemingly overwhelmed. Aldo guessed that she was quite unfamiliar with this sort of thing.
“Take your time to choose,” he said.
Aldo intended to wait until Iris decided on her order. However, she showed no signs of making a decision. She was just scanning the pictures on the menu, lacking the courage to choose for herself.
“Uh… I’m sorry,” Iris said, feeling guilty for keeping Aldo waiting. But the more anxious she became, the less clear-headed she was.
“Uh, this one…”
What she pointed to was an alcoholic beverage.
“Iris, that’s not something for kids to drink.”
“Ah, s-sorry, Dad.”
“There’s no need to rush. What do you want to eat?”
“Well, um… what would be good…?”
For Iris, who had never been given proper food before, ordering from the café menu was a significant challenge. But Aldo, not feeling frustrated, gently stayed close to her.
“Let’s change the question. Between pizza and pasta, which would you prefer?”
“Um, I think pizza sounds tastier.”
“Okay, then how about pizza or pancakes?”
“Pancakes!”
Iris’s eyes sparkled at that moment, and Aldo didn’t miss it, a grin spreading across his face.
“Great, then let’s get pancakes for you.”
Aldo called the waitress and placed their orders—pasta and coffee for himself, pancakes and orange juice for Iris.
When the food arrived, Iris began to eat her pancakes. Using a knife and fork, she cut the pancakes and closed her eyes, savoring the taste, a smile spreading across her face.
Seeing her blissful expression made Aldo smile as well. His daughter’s joyful smile shared a bit of happiness with him.
“How is it? Is it good?”
“Yeah, Dad. Thank you!”
She beamed with a full smile. Seeing that, Aldo felt a sense of accomplishment. He sensed that he was gradually melting Iris’s frozen heart, and this meal made him feel even closer to her.
Just a little more, with one last push, they could have a normal parent-child relationship. Thinking that, Aldo decided to finally make that confession.
“Iris, don’t you think I’ve been acting a bit strange since yesterday?”
“Huh?”
“The truth is, I… lost my memory after being hit on the head.”
“Oh, really…?”
Aldo thought that revealing his amnesia would shock Iris, making her realize that she had forgotten him. However, based on her reaction, it seemed that wasn’t the case. To Iris, Aldo was merely an object of fear.
To dispel that fear, he could only tell her that the source of it no longer existed.
“It’s okay. Dad isn’t strange! He’s kind!”
Iris put forth her best effort in answering. To her, the father she had now was much more likeable than the one she had known before. There was no reason not to accept the father she liked.
“Really? But if I do anything even slightly strange, I want you to tell me. I want to be your father—not just in name, but truly an ideal and good father.”
Aldo’s sincere gaze didn’t seem to carry any deception. Iris believed in him wholeheartedly.
“Yeah… I like my current dad.”
“The ‘current.’” That word caught Aldo’s attention. His hypothesis—that he had abused Iris—was beginning to take on a chilling truth.
“I’m sorry, Iris. I must have been a terrible father back then.”
“That’s not true…”
Iris almost denied it, but couldn’t. To her, Aldo had genuinely been a bad father. Even so, he had also been kind at times, and there were feelings of parental affection. Iris had interacted with him, hoping that someday she would earn his recognition, feeling as though she was the one at fault.
In a way, there was a dependency on the father figure. Because of that, Iris couldn’t escape from Aldo.
Yet now, Aldo was recognizing her existence. For Iris, that was the greatest joy.
“Iris, the past was filled with painful things that we don’t want to look back on. So let’s talk about fun things now. Let’s talk about the future. What kind of adult do you want to be?”
“Um… I want to be a magician!”
“Ahaha, a magician, huh? I hope you can be one.”
Aldo smiled at his daughter’s dream. According to his common sense, magic didn’t exist. However, in this world, magic was real. Thus, Iris’s dream was not something unattainable.
“Hey, Dad. If I become a magician, will you grant me one wish?”
“Hmm? Oh, sure. I’ll grant you anything you ask for.”
“Yay!”
Iris squinted her eyes and wiggled her upper body while seated, expressing her joy in a dance, which made Aldo smile fondly.
“So, what’s your wish?”
“Hmm… It’s a secret until I become a magician!”
Iris laughed innocently.
After finishing their meal at the café, Aldo and Iris settled the bill and set off for home.
Iris walked beside Aldo, a bit fidgety and shy. She seemed like she wanted to say something but, being a child, couldn’t quite express her feelings properly.
Iris reached out her hand towards Aldo only to retract it a few times. It took several attempts for Aldo to finally understand her intention.
He extended his hand towards Iris. Upon seeing this, Iris’s eyes widened in excitement. She took Aldo’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
“Hehehe.”
Iris didn’t say anything more. She expressed her joy at holding Aldo’s hand by swinging it back and forth vigorously.
Aldo felt certain. Iris was going to be okay now. Although the scars of past abuse hadn’t completely healed, he understood that a psychological wound inflicted once could last a lifetime.
Even so, Iris had begun to open her heart to him in this moment. She trusted him. Determined to never betray that trust, Aldo firmly resolved in his heart to be a good father.
“Alright, we’ve arrived home, Iris.”
“Yeah! I’m back!”
Iris said “I’m back” to the empty house, and Aldo echoed her words. The two returned to a place where their hearts could truly find peace.
Thus, the new life of these two began. Iris, who had endured so much suffering until now, was set to walk toward happiness from here on out. A story of such beginnings was about to unfold.
