Huh…?
(What was I at this place fer again?)
(I’m pretty sure I should be arrivin' in Paris with Teach fer MM…)
(Uuugh. My head feels kinda fuzzy for some reason. But, I kinda recognize this scenery.)
(Hm? There’s a little kid over there. He’s lookin' all over the place, is he lost?)
(He looks like he’s about to burst into tears at any second, I’m worried.)
(But if I walk up to him, he might be even more afraid because I’m a stranger…)
(Oh, looks like an adult found him.)
(What’s that thing he’s holding in his palm, could it be he's showin'…?)
—This small thing will never open its eyes again, Mika.
(…? Whaddya mean by that?)
(Did I mishear? Did that person say “Mika”…?)
This small thing will neither make sound nor eat ever again.
Its life has ended. It’s dead.
–Ah!
(Why’d it take me ‘til now to realize? I know this person.)
(Dad… He's the person who taught me so many things.)
(This place is the orphanage where I grew up. Which means, that little kid over there is......)
(Me when I was a child.)
(I’m startin' ta remember… One morning, I happened ta get up early. Inside a cage, there was this small bird the orphanage was taking care of, and I found it lyin' down.)
(At first, I thought it was just sleeping, but no matter what I said, its eyes never opened. I was absolutely terrified…)
(I took it out of the cage and went ta look for mom and dad.)
What should we do with the small thing?
(He told me that the small bird I was cradlin' would never open its eyes again… When he said that, my mind went blank.)
(I just wanted to cry, but I held back my tears. I hung onto dad and asked him what I should do.)
If we leave it like this, it’ll get cold. Shall we bury it in the ground?
(In the ground? Is that what he said?)
(If we do that, then we won’t be able ta see the bird anymore. It’s only natural ta be confused at that suggestion.)
When a life ends, it should be buried in the ground. By burying it, we help guide the soul towards Heaven.
If we leave its body like this, then the little bird might want to come back and see you, Mika.
But this body will no longer move.
We'll will hide this little bird somewhere where it won’t be disturbed, and make sure its soul goes straight to Heaven.
(I didn’t really understand what he was sayin' back then. But he was sayin' that we should honor all the lives that have passed, right?)
(We made the grave, and I thanked the little bird. That way at least it could be happy in Heaven…)
(That’s the prayer I offered up. That was what I was taught ta do ta make sure the little bird would sleep peacefully.)
Wash your face, Mika. Soon, everyone will be awake as well.
If everyone sees their big brother’s face all tearstained, they might all break into tears too.
(That was another thing.)
(…This orphanage was a quiet place where I could calm down.)
(But around that time, a lot more children began ta enter the orphanage, and I had to be even more patient as “Big Brother Mika”.)
(The little kids got more attention. Nothing went like I wanted it ta…)
(Whenever I had lots of pent-up frustrations, I spent time lookin' at the beautiful starry sky.)
(I was a child too. There were times where I couldn’t be patient.)
(And at those times, the thing that healed my heart–)
(～♪～♪～♪)
(Yeah, this melody♪ It’s been a while.)
(Hearin' it made my heart race. Passing the time by playin' games with all the little kids at the orphanage was my favorite, but…)
(That was what I really cared about. I always wondered what kinds of amazing things I would see each day♪)
(…And a travelling circus is not somethin' you see much these days.)
(Dad took me ta watch the circus perform, and that’s where I met “that kid”.)