Accidentally become a father-Chapter 85: Observer

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It was enough.

For now.

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I stopped.

Looked at the whole thing.

The main road.

The side streets.

The housing blocks.

The tanks.

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It could still be expanded.

But not now.

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Footsteps approaching.

Light.

I didn’t turn around.

"...Papa..."

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Yuna.

"Yes? What is it."

She stopped beside me.

Not too close.

Her eyes fell to the sand.

Silence.

A few seconds.

Then longer.

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"...what is this..."

"A sand city."

She didn’t answer right away.

Looked again.

In more detail.

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Her fingers moved slightly.

As if wanting to touch it.

But stopped.

"A main road..."

She pointed slightly.

"...are these houses?"

"Yes."

Silence again.

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Two quick sets of footsteps approached.

"...what’s that?"

One of her friends.

"...when did you make it?"

The other one.

They immediately stopped on the other side.

Leaning in a bit.

Looking.

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"...wow..."

A small sound slipped out.

"...it’s so pretty..."

"...how is it so straight..."

I didn’t answer.

I wasn’t being asked directly.

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Yuna remained silent.

Still watching.

One of them pointed at the road.

"...is this for cars?"

"Yes."

"...where are the cars?"

"There aren’t any yet."

Because they were hard to make.

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She paused.

Thinking.

"...oh..."

The other one pointed at the water tank.

"...what’s this?"

"A water tank."

"...what for?"

I looked at her for a moment.

".?."

She nodded.

Not fully understanding.

But accepting it.

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Yuna finally sat down.

Slowly.

Near me.

Her hands sank into the sand.

Slowly.

She scooped up a little.

Placed it on an empty side.

I watched.

"It’s empty here..."

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She pressed the sand.

Messy.

Uneven.

I took the cigarette box.

Pressed it gently against the side she had made.

Tidying it up.

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Yuna watched.

Closer.

She copied me.

With her own hands.

Not perfect.

But better.

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Her two friends sat down as well.

Closer now.

"I want to join too..."

They began touching the sand.

Their movements were uncoordinated.

But not destructive.

Still careful.

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I watched.

Didn’t stop them.

Let them be.

Because they were someone else’s kids.

Other sounds started approaching.

Small footsteps.

Other kids.

Two.

Then three.

They stopped at the edge.

Didn’t jump right in.

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"...what are you doing..."

"...building a city..."

One of them answered.

"...wow..."

They moved a bit closer.

Still hesitant.

One of them squatted down.

Looking closer.

"...can I join?"

I didn’t answer right away.

Looked at their hands.

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Not rough.

Not destructive.

"Don’t destroy it."

They nodded immediately.

Quickly.

"Alright."

They stepped in.

Sat on the empty sides.

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The sand began to shift more.

No longer just one pair of hands.

Several.

The structure changed.

Slightly.

I fixed the parts that needed it.

Without comment.

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They watched.

Copied.

Slowly—

the patterns began to match.

Not neat.

But no longer random.

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In the distance—

an adult was standing.

Looking in this direction.

Not approaching.

Just observing.

A few seconds.

Then closer.

Slow footsteps.

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Stopped a few meters away from the sandbox.

Their eyes cast downward.

At the structure.

Not speaking.

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My hands returned to the sand.

Continuing.

The sun rose a little higher.

The light grew brighter.

Shadows grew shorter.

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Time continued to pass.

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