Breaking out of the forest, I ran up the hill and stopped at the top, panting. To my surprise, the clearing was shrouded with a similar haze. But because of the wide open space, it was even more noticeable here. It was as if I were looking through a window covered with the steam of a boiling pot, except there was a tint of yellow as well. The grass was pale. The hills merged into one. The mountains in the distance were barely distinguishable.
There were two other children in the clearing, standing under the shade of a wimpy, solitary tree. Their backs were turned, seemingly gazing into the horizon, hands over their eyes. I steadied my breath, then walked down to greet them.
“Evening.”
“Evening, Ai!” the girl, Akemi was the first to speak. Daisuke followed.
“What is all of this?”
“Who knows?” the boy shrugged. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
“Ah,” I breathed.
Akemi curiously gazed at me. “Are you gasping?”
“… Um…”
She dug into her own bag and took out a watch. “It’s still very early. What were you running for?”
“I was… running to see what the smoke was about.”
“You could see it in the forest too?!” Daisuke stood up on his toes, looking over my shoulder towards the forest.
“… Yeah. Just as I thought, it’s out here as well.”
We waited under the tree for the other two to show up. Two siblings, Katsuo and Etsuko. I crouched down with Akemi, drawing in the dirt with sticks. Eventually, they arrived.
“You’re late!” Akemi teased.
“Sorry, sorry.” The girl held up her sling. “We had to wait for our rations.”
“Ah, amazing!”
“Look at this smog!” Katsuo exclaimed, scanning around with a hand to his forehead. “This bodes well for today’s adventure!”
“This what…?” I squinted my eyes at him, a little annoyed.
“It’s the devils’ work! They brought this fog down upon us!” There was an exaggerated grandeur in his voice. He was getting into the roleplay already. “But little do they know, they’ve provided us cover!”
“Oh, they have made a grave mistake!” Daisuke joined him. “They’ll never expect children like us to sneak behind enemy lines!”
“Yeah, yeah, we get the point.” Akemi turned around and prodded Etsuko and me. “Let’s get on with it, before they get too wrapped up in their soldier games.”
Etsuko giggled, and the three of us started to head out. Katsuo whipped around and barked at us. “Hey! Where are you going? Who do you think is in charge?”
“Oh yeah? Who do you think has the food?” Akemi grabbed Etsuko by the arm and pulled her to her side. She was still clutching to her sling, shining an innocent smile with her food.
The boys’ spirit slowly melted away as they realized their own shortcomings in this situation. Akemi and I laughed at their drooping faces as the three of us turned around and skipped our way towards the fields. The two boys had no choice but to follow.