리틀팍스

                                    Little men, after 5 years #Prologue

It has been almost 5 years passed since the kids first met. The children had grown up more mature than they ever had before. It was clear that the other boys and girls had also changed in the past 5 years. Demi and Daisy, there was no exaggeration to say they are already ladies and gentlemen. Jack, who had been plump, was now muscular and slim, fascinating the town girls. Tommy, who was quick in action, became a famous baseball player. Nat, who was always fond of his fiddle, grew up to be a talented fiddle player. Dan, who was the oldest of all, became eminent naturalist. Among them, however, the most remarkable change was in Nan. All traces of old Nan, including shouting and her unladylike behavior, were replaced by intelligent, lovely, well-mannered young woman. "Mrs, see you~!" Tommy called out as he was putting on his shoes. Jo came over.

"Tommy dear, have a nice first game" She said, with a concerned look. Tommy announced with a bright tone, "Don't worry Mrs. I'm going to smash them!" Everyone could not help laughing by his waggish gesture. "Good luck, bro!" Jack smacked him a high-five. Meanwhile, Dan was out examining insects-followed by Nan and Rob. Nan was almost 17, and Rob was 11. 

"Dan, what's this?" Nan called out in curiosity. Dan explained in detail whenever the younger kids asked. Nan was busy asking about this and that, she didn't have time to care for Rob. "Nan, I'm bored, when do we go home?" Rob kept bugging her to go home. "Be quiet Rob! We won't take you home if you keep bothering" Nan chafed at his continuing urge. "Yeah, Rob, you should be patient and wait" Dan reasoned with him quietly. Rob, who was in a bad mood because of two older kids, pissed off. While inspecting various insects with Nan, Dan discovered that Rob was no where in sight. "Hey, Nan...Where's Rob?" Nan looked around. She stood up. They started looking for Rob. Dan groaned. "What should we do? It's getting dark" Nan buried her face in her hands. "We're doomed. What should we do?" Dan kept grumbling. "Oh stop complaining! It's all your fault. You're the one who insisted on taking Rob on the first place." Nan remarked, irritated. "My fault? You're the one who told Rob to be quiet!" Dan pointed out in outrage. "No, you did too!" The argument went on. "Oh calm down, it's none of our fault. We should have looked after Rob..." Dan said in regret. "Yeah, I'm sorry I said those things to you..." Nan apologized. "I'm sorry, too" Dan said quietly. There was awkward atmosphere between two. Dan glanced at the one next to him. Her blond hair was softly waving from the twilight. Was it just his thought? or did she seem to be prettier every day? He blushed by the thought of this. 

Nan stood up suddenly. "Come on, let's go find Rob" They went on walking. The forest fulled off high trees. "It's so dark in here, I can't see anything" They called out Rob again, and again. But no response came. "Wait a minute, we don't know where we are going. We could be lost, too." "I know," Dan stuffed his bag, and found a loaf of bread. "What are you gonna do with that?" Nan said in alarm. "We could trace the way by tearing some of it" He started to tear off some of the breads.

"What are you doing? You have no idea!" Nan snatched away the thing. "H-hey!" Dan yelled. "Think about it Dan. What if the birds chop all the breads? And besides, this is our last provision. We can't spend it like that." Dan nodded as he was convinced by Nan's idea. She was really smart at times. "Let's guide the way by this" She picked up a long, thick branch indicating the way they had came from. They walked and walked. "Dan..." Nan whispered. "How long have we walked? I'm tired" Indeed, Dan can feel that her voice was very weak, unlike her usual cheerful voice. She looked up, Dan did it too, and saw a bright moon shining brightly. "What if...what if we can't find Rob? What if he's gone for good?" Dan didn't respond, and went on walking. "It won't happen" He said in a quiet tone, but firmly. Meanwhile, Jo and other kids were alarmed. Where are Dan, Nan and Rob? It was dark and cold tonight. "Where are the kids? Where is my Rob?" Jo finally burst into tears. Her husband patted her on the back. "I promise, it won't happen. Dan and Nan are now alike adults, I'm sure everything will be alright." But Mr. Bauer was the same with Jo. He was anxious. The twins stood up. "I'll go find them!" "Yeah, we'll find them!" They all exclaimed together. "No kids, it's dangero-" Tommy cut off her word. "It's okay, we're now 16, not a kid anymore." "Alright then, let's go find them together" Jo sighed and nodded in agreement. So they took off courageously. 

                                                                                                                          Written by. YENI