Editing Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 5===

“Gappy…”

The fragment lands deep into the back, stabs through the abdomen, and into the floor. He’s unable to move, like an insect that’s made into a sample. The brave robot grimaces in agony,

“I-I-I-I can’t…”

“You can’t, Gappy. Just stay there, don’t move.”

I know my voice is trembling. Gappy’s lower body fall limp, like organs spilled out, and his head is tilted to the other side.

“Wait. I’ll get the Mind Circuit out—”

“N-no, need, for, that…”

He barely tilts his head,

“I-I-I’m, not…going, to, make, it.”

“Don’t say day!”

I yell out to deny him. However, I know that he’s wounded critically, beyond the point of salvaging. The arms are showing cracks, about to break apart.

“M-m-m-my…M-M-Mi-Mind…Circuit, is…gone.”

After hearing it, I search from the hole on his body, and cut the cables apart to check on the rectangular Mind Circuit. The frozen circuit is full of cracks, like a melting lake, waiting to break apart.

For us villagers, there is no backup to that. The Memory that can store important data have been offered to the Snow White. Thus, once the Mind Circuits are wrecked, we can’t repair them anymore.

In other words, we will die.

“I-I-I—”

Gappy tries his best to say,

“W-want to, give…”

“Eh?”

“Give, Daisy…this...”

Gappy opens his mouth, and in the mouth that’s as dark as a cave, there is a little ice fragment.

“U, ggg…”

With his trembling hands, he takes out the ice fragment from his mouth. This fragment continues a pink petal, and though its uneven and not too good looking, it’s—a flower medal.

—I want to give this medal, to Daisy.

These were the words he said at the park, in the middle of the night.

Finally, I realize why Gappy came to the ‘REM forest’.

He came here for Daisy. Daisy really wanted the medal of the prayer festival, and so Gappy came to the ‘REM forest’ to pick a flower.

“This, is, for, Daisy…”

“No, Gappy. You need, to, give this, to her…”

“I-I…cannot…”



“—We’ll take it.”





A pair of hands are placed on my shoulders before I know it. I turn around, and see Eisbahn standing there.

“But.”

“Just go with Gappy’s feelings here…okay?”

He nods towards me. I have never seen him so serious before.

“…Right.”

I receive the medal from Gappy’s hands.

“Th-thank you.”

After that, Gappy’s body sinks down, as though all his energy is depleted.

The lights deep inside the roun lenses are slowly vanishing.

“No, Gappy. Let’s go back to the village together.”

Again, I grasp his hand hard.

“Have…”

Gappy looks up at the Snow White, asking with a feeble voice,

“I…contributed…anything…”

The voice gets weaker,

“To…masters…?”

“Yes.”

I hold in my tears, eking out these words,

“You’re so cool, so courageous when you protected that Cradle.”

“I, se…”

“Yes…so…”

I pull out the pendant hanging on my neck. It’s the ‘Grand Prix’ flower medal I was awarded during the Prayer Festival.

“Gappy, I hereby award this ‘Grand Prix’ to you.”

I hang the flower medal on his neck. Tiingg, the medal collides with his body like a chime, giving off a tragic sound.

“I-I-I-I’ve received, the Grand, Prix…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is this, okay?”

“You risked your life to protect our masters. This medal really suits you well.”

“Hehe…I, Did, it…”

He smiles with all his might.

“If, Daisy, knows.”

He ekes out his final words.

“She, will, surely, be, shocked.”

Vbbring, and a sharp sound echoes. Stunned, I look at the large hole in Gappy’s abdomen. The silver rectangular item inside, the –Mind Circuit—falls to the fall, shattering into fragments of various sizes like glass. This is the terminal symptom of a metal frostbite.

Thus, Gappy would never move, forever.







<strong>Memory</strong>

Gaooo Gooo. I continue to move forward.

“Alright, charge! Charge!”

I could hear Daisy shouting from above.

“It’s Gappy!” “Scrappy! Scrappy’s attacking!” “Everyone, run!”

The children all run away with much enthusiasm, Gaooo Gaoo, and I give chase,

“Hey, faster! Gappy!”

Daisy prompts me. However, I could no longer accelerate, and ended up being abandoned by everyone.

The short hide-and-seek ended.

“Ahh~ahh, Gappy, you’re so slow, stupid…”

“I-I-I did my best, there.”

“Your best isn’t enough here.”

Before I realized it, only Daisy and I were left in the park. As usual, we’re both alone.

“D-D-Daisy.”

“What?”

“Wh-why, aren’t, you, leaving?”

“Huh?”

Daisy bends down, looking at me.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I’m an, idiot, so, everyone, ran away. But, Daisy, you, didn’t leave…why?”

“What why…I don’t care about that.”

“I-I-I-I want to know. I, want, to, know, what you’re thinking, Daisy.”

Daisy looked at me. After a short pause,

“–Back then.” she started to talk about her past, a rare thing at that, “When Papa and Mama were still alive, I had a toy who often played with me. He had the same appearance as you, and kept running and shouting, Gaoo Gaoo, like that.”

“I-I, see…”

“So, when I first met you, I thought it’s like we’re reunited…that’s all.”

And for some reason, Daisy awkwardly emphasized “Really, that’s all there is.”

I love Daisy. More than anyone else in the world.

It will be great, if we can make amends, tomorrow.


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