Today, all of us in MixPalette went to a summer festival together.
Rows of red lanterns lined the path leading up to the shrine.
There was the sweet smell of cotton candy, the savory scent of yakisoba, and the distant sound of festival drums.
Crowded places still make me a little nervous sometimes, but when I'm with everyone, even that becomes part of a happy memory.
🧡 Hinata: "Look, look! Candy apples! Yakisoba! Shaved ice!"
🩵 Ruka: "We're still at the entrance. Are you planning to buy everything?"
🧡 Hinata: "Of course!"
💙 Rei: "You're not going to finish all of that."
🩷 Aine: "Maybe we can if we all share?"
🩵 Ruka: "Aine, don't join Hinata's side."
While we were talking and walking along, Hinata suddenly stopped.
🧡 Hinata: "Ah! Goldfish scooping!"
Inside the shallow pool, red and white goldfish swam gently through the water.
The lantern lights reflected on the surface, and it looked so beautiful.
🩷 Aine: "They're so cute…! I want to try!"
🧡 Hinata: "Let's make it a contest! Who can catch the most?"
💙 Rei: "That paper scoop is going to tear instantly."
🧡 Hinata: "No way!"
Hinata took the scoop with full confidence.
And then, only a few seconds later—
Rip.
🧡 Hinata: "Ah."
There was now a perfect hole in the paper scoop.
She hadn't caught a single fish.
🩵 Ruka: "Rei's prediction came true way too fast."
💙 Rei: "Because it was Hinata."
Next was Aine.
She carefully moved her scoop toward the fish, but every time she got close, they slipped away at the last moment.
🩷 Aine: "Wait, come back—just one more time…!"
She ended up chasing them too much, and the scoop soaked through before quietly tearing apart.
🩷 Aine: "I didn't catch even one…"
🩵 Ruka: "If you chase them, they run away. Maybe you're supposed to wait?"
Then Ruka gave it a try while filming on her phone.
Her posture was elegant, and even the way she held the scoop looked stylish.
But—
🩵 Ruka: "No way. I got distracted by recording."
Just as a fish was about to slip into the scoop, it got away.
💙 Rei: "That's what happens when you try filming and scooping at the same time."
🩵 Ruka: "The video matters too, okay?"
Rei studied the water quietly for a moment, then lowered the scoop with smooth, efficient movement.
One fish.
Neatly into the bowl.
🧡 Hinata: "Ooh! As expected of Rei!"
💙 Rei: "If you're noisy, they run."
But when she went for a second fish, the edge of the scoop tore.
💙 Rei: "…Not bad."
She looked a little satisfied, even with just one.
And then it was finally my turn.
🩷 Aine: "Shizuku, do your best!"
💜 Shizuku: "Yes. I'll try."
I held the scoop and knelt in front of the pool.
Instead of chasing the fish, I watched the flow of the water.
When one drifted close to the surface, I gently slipped the scoop underneath it.
Then, slowly, I guided it toward the bowl.
One.
Then another.
And another.
🧡 Hinata: "Huh?"
🩵 Ruka: "Wait a second. Shizuku, why are you so good at this?"
I simply kept repeating the same motion.
Three.
Four.
Five.
The scoop still hadn't broken.
💙 Rei: "She's barely fighting the water resistance."
🩷 Aine: "Shizuku, have you done this before?"
💜 Shizuku: "A little… when I was a child."
🩵 Ruka: "That kind of 'a little' is never trustworthy."
Before I realized it, the bowl was full of goldfish.
Even the stall owner had stopped working and was watching me.
"You're really good at this, young lady."
He even brought out another bowl for me.
🧡 Hinata: "Shizuku! You can do another round!"
💙 Rei: "Don't encourage her."
Even so, my scoop lasted much longer than expected.
By the end, I had caught so many goldfish that even I was surprised.
🩷 Aine: "What are you going to do with all of them?"
At that moment, I finally realized something.
There were so many goldfish swimming in the bowl.
I had been so focused on catching them that I hadn't really thought about what would happen afterward.
💜 Shizuku: "…I'll take good care of them at home."
🩵 Ruka: "All of them?"
💜 Shizuku: "Yes."
🧡 Hinata: "You have a tank!?"
💜 Shizuku: "A small one…"
💙 Rei: "I don't think a small tank will be enough."
When I explained everything after getting home, Sebastian looked surprised for just a moment.
But then he immediately began preparing a proper home for the goldfish.
The next day—
A large aquarium had been set up in one corner of the living room.
There were water plants, little hiding places, and the goldfish seemed much calmer than they had been the night before.
Homa and Momo were very curious about them too, but Sebastian made sure the tank had a secure lid so they couldn't get too close.
That afternoon, everyone came by to see them.
🧡 Hinata: "That tank is huge!?"
🩵 Ruka: "This is not what people usually mean by 'I have a small one.'"
💙 Rei: "We made the mistake of measuring it by Shizuku's standards."
🩷 Aine: "I'm so glad they all look healthy!"
The goldfish floated gently through the aquarium, their red and white tails swaying in the light.
It was different from the glow of the festival lanterns, but they looked just as beautiful in the sunlight streaming through the windows.
🧡 Hinata: "Let's give them names!"
💜 Shizuku: "All of them?"
🧡 Hinata: "Of course!"
🩵 Ruka: "Shizuku… do you even know how many there are?"
I looked into the tank and began to count.
One.
Two.
Three—
Then two of them crossed in front of each other, and I lost count immediately.
💜 Shizuku: "…I'll start over from the beginning."
💙 Rei: "That probably won't be finished today."
Everyone laughed, while the goldfish continued to swim around peacefully, as if none of this concerned them at all.
Goldfish scooping was very fun.
But next time, I think I should check the size of the tank before I start catching them.
…Probably.
To Be Continued...