307 po~po~po~

The old man had a very long white beard and stood on the beach, the sea water dripping down his exceedingly vibrant kimono.

"Come."

The old man beckoned to Asakawa Hanpei.

Hanpei's dream ended there for the moment; he turned over in bed, seemingly falling into a deeper sleep.

But in reality, Hanpei's experience in the dream wasn't entirely false.

Two days earlier, he and a few friends had indeed been playing on that beach in the dream, the one on the west side of Oguri Island.

They were playing hide and seek, hiding behind rocks just as in the dream.

However, Hanpei couldn't remember what happened after that.

During that game of hide and seek two days earlier, he had passed out.

When he awoke again, he was lying in his own bed at home.

His playmates had found him passed out on the beach and had promptly informed the adults.

No one knew why Asakawa Hanpei had fainted.

Not even he himself knew.