Shiori had never seen this many people in one place in his entire life. He'd never even know there were this many people in the entire world! Well, that wasn't entirely right. He'd sort of known, from all of those stories about far away places, but Shiori had never really thought that places like that actually existed. He simply couldn't have pictured it, not before now. The world had always seemed so small. Just him, his father, all of his many brothers, and his mom. And his sister too, sometimes.
He stared at all of the different kinds of people bustling by. There was a mother soothing her crying children, twins, over there. There was what appeared to be a group of business men strolling by. Near one of the fountains, a group of teens were joking around. One of them was laughing to the point of tears. Every single minute, more people entered the various stores and more people left. It was unbelievable.
Little Shiori couldn't make sense of it all. Before now, he hadn't thought that this many people could coexist. Here it was though, right in front of him. There was no one shouting across the plaza at each other, not right now at least. No one was getting into scuffles. Or pinning down someone to cut their hair off. His hand absentmindedly strayed to his messily cut hair at the thought. The entire plaza looked so very nice.
No.
It was more than nice.
Every single bit of it looked beautiful. Even the people were prettier than he'd ever seen, wearing clothes and jewelry and other accessories that he'd never even heard about in stories. If he'd been making up a place like this for a story, Shiori didn't think he would have been able to think up all of this. It was far beyond anything he could've imagined.
So amazed was Shiori, that he failed to notice how very out of place he looked amidst it all. His clothes hung on his small body and looked little more than rags that had been sown together. It wouldn't be long before all the many little holes in his clothes became big enough that the clothes would consist mostly of holes. Shiori had used to be better at not picking at the stray threads back home, but here he'd found himself constantly doing so. In all honesty, it wasn't a surprise at all that he received more than a few wary looks from others. Nearly everyone made sure to stay clear of him, and those that came too close to him often ended up double-checking their purses just in case.
Shiori didn't notice any of this, too caught up in awe. With small steps, he began to examine all of the various shops, markets, and eateries all over the place, trying not to miss a single detail. It wasn't long before he was focused on his self-given task of memorizing this place, that he tuned out of the immediate world around him.
He stared at all of the different kinds of people bustling by. There was a mother soothing her crying children, twins, over there. There was what appeared to be a group of business men strolling by. Near one of the fountains, a group of teens were joking around. One of them was laughing to the point of tears. Every single minute, more people entered the various stores and more people left. It was unbelievable.
Little Shiori couldn't make sense of it all. Before now, he hadn't thought that this many people could coexist. Here it was though, right in front of him. There was no one shouting across the plaza at each other, not right now at least. No one was getting into scuffles. Or pinning down someone to cut their hair off. His hand absentmindedly strayed to his messily cut hair at the thought. The entire plaza looked so very nice.
No.
It was more than nice.
Every single bit of it looked beautiful. Even the people were prettier than he'd ever seen, wearing clothes and jewelry and other accessories that he'd never even heard about in stories. If he'd been making up a place like this for a story, Shiori didn't think he would have been able to think up all of this. It was far beyond anything he could've imagined.
So amazed was Shiori, that he failed to notice how very out of place he looked amidst it all. His clothes hung on his small body and looked little more than rags that had been sown together. It wouldn't be long before all the many little holes in his clothes became big enough that the clothes would consist mostly of holes. Shiori had used to be better at not picking at the stray threads back home, but here he'd found himself constantly doing so. In all honesty, it wasn't a surprise at all that he received more than a few wary looks from others. Nearly everyone made sure to stay clear of him, and those that came too close to him often ended up double-checking their purses just in case.
Shiori didn't notice any of this, too caught up in awe. With small steps, he began to examine all of the various shops, markets, and eateries all over the place, trying not to miss a single detail. It wasn't long before he was focused on his self-given task of memorizing this place, that he tuned out of the immediate world around him.