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"Mthe Dark World," he murmurs "Very appropriate"

I close my eyes, my lips parted, and soak in the war h scars of his knuckles brush past my waist as his hands pull me close There is a shyness in his eyes now that sor e stop, or when he leans againstof heat and dusk, and I don’t knohere the tiht falls in the blink of an eye, and soon the evening has sed us We’re quiet now, leaning our heads against the stones lining the spring and watching the hanging lanterns illu one by one into existence--real stars, not a virtual simulation It’s barely after dusk, but already I can seethe sky in a sheet of light

Hideo has his face turned up to the stars, too "Sasuke was playing in the park," he finally says, his words quiet in the eainst the stones to hear hihtful now, his mind somewhere far from here

This is e cahs on hi for hi whether letting e hs, closes his eyes for a moment, and then makes a subtle motion with one hand A screen appears between us Hideo is sharing one of his Memories with me

I accept it without a word In the next instant, the onsen and nightfall and view around us vanish, and both Hideo and I find ourselves standing at the edge of a park, surrounded by a golden, autumn afternoon, where the sun outlines the trees in a haze of light A few auto-cars are parked along the sidewalk Red and orange leaves drift lazily to the ground, dotting the green grass ar into the park I i Hideo; the other must be his brother

"You hadn’t invented the NeuroLink yet when this happened, did you?" I say as atch the boys enter the park "How did you create this Memory?"

"I remember every last detail about that day," Hideo replies "I was nine Sasuke was seven" He nods at the ie of the brothers "The park’s layout, the placeolden leaves, the tehtI reo So I reconstructed thisnew details to it every year"

We now follow the point of view of young Hideo as he walks cal under his boots, his coat’s collar pulled up high against the chilly day He’s yanking a bright blue scarf out of his backpack Running a few feet in front of hirins and laughs, his boots crunching in the leaves as he sprints forward When the boys speak, it is in Japanese

"Yukkuri, Sasuke-kun!" the young Hideo shouts at his brother, waving the blue scarf in the air I read the English translations in my view as he continues "Slon, Sasuke! Put on your scarf Monores his, all colored blue "Okay, this time you’re red," he calls back at Hideo over his shoulder "I’m blue If I snatch all of yours before the sun hits that tree over there"--he pauses to point--"I get to have your favorite h as they reached the park’s central clearing "But it’s part of a set!" he argues, even though he doesn’t say no He finally catches up to his brother Despite Sasuke’s protests, Hideo forces him to stand still while he wraps the blue scarf around his brother’s neck and tugs his collar up higher "We can’t stay out for long Dad needs our help at the shop before dinner, and Mom needs to be at the lab until late"

Sasuke pouts like a little brother would "Fine," he mutters

The boys separate and head off to opposite ends of the park As they go, Hideo pulls out a bag of plastic red eggs fro thereat pains to hide the into view, and Hideo looks up to see Sasuke wearing a goofy grin "Threw it too hard!" he shouts "Can you toss it back?"