“I don’t know,” Haru said. “I feel… lighter.”
Ren climbed the spiral slide. At the top, the Joker card glowed. Instead of sliding down, he stepped into the inside of a memory — the park, fifty years ago, burning. Children playing a game of hide-and-seek while the real world collapsed. The game master was a boy in a fox mask. “You remember now,” the voice said. Ren forgot his own name. IV. The Secret In the center of the park, where the old oak tree had been cut down, a stump remained. Carved into it: Kouen no Himitsu no Game Asobi — For those who forget, the park survives. kouen no himitsu no game asobi
Ren looked at his grandmother’s cards — all Jokers now, all faceless. “I don’t know,” Haru said
“Did we go in?” Mika asked.