Evening comes on the day when Arisa's dad is cremated. His coworkers visited Arisa's house to pay condolences to the little girl. Arisa receives their good wills and bows respectfully to those who are concerned for her.

 

"Thank you for your support. I think Dad will be fine over there. So, I'll also be fine here. Don't worry about it."

 

She is not trying to be strong or anything because Arisa is an orphan now, and the officials put her into a childcare support association backed up by the city government. The adults look at each other with worry before they eventually go home.

 

Johann also visited her in the afternoon with his father. Arisa respects that. 

 

The burial procedure and ceremony last almost a whole day, which takes a toll on Arisa's body. So, the little girl can finally take a break after those visits to the chair. She stares at the ceiling for a bit before turning on the television for the atmosphere to change.

 

"...the police are currently undergoing the investigation for the accident that resulted in a scientist passing away. The clues lead towards the Outer Zone's bandits that can be held accountable for this matter. The head sector of the police said that…."

 

"Even the news is talking about Dad."

Little Arisa turns off the television and takes a peek towards the window. Everything is going on just as usual. Those flying buses, people on the street being busy on their own, and others who are busy inside those tall buildings are doing what they usually do.

 

Even if Dad's death happened, the world is still moving as usual.

So, what am I going to do now? Go back to that school? Or going back to that laboratory?

…

Where do I belong, exactly?

 

Feeling bored, Arisa goes outside to take a walk.

She doesn't have anything in mind. Arisa will make her feet decide for her as long as she can see a different scene than her house at the moment.

 

Upon a closer look, little Arisa observes some people busy on the street. Some are talking to each other. Some are trying their best to promote their goods. A police officer is having a coffee while answering the question of his friends who are having a hot dog. Arisa also needs to pay attention so she won't bump into the floating bike.

 

Nothing interests Arisa at the moment, so she resumes her walk.

 

She arrives at one of the food centers of the city since she might try to take a little bite. Arisa is looking through every stall nearby. It's easier for her to compare or browse through what kind of food she will buy.

 

The little girl goes inside the cafe on the corner with its walls made from glass, and they're selling some cold snacks. Arisa wonders why they're making a cafe here when the others are just small stalls. Still, the place isn't that big, and they only got four cute-designed tables aside from the long table in the center for the staff to serve. 

 

Arisa comes inside and sits on one of the tables. Accessing the menu that automatically connected with her ring, she looks through the variation of the ice cream served there. There are other cold snacks, but they specialize in ice cream.

 

"... I've been here," she mumbles while choosing what kind of flavor she will have.

 

Indeed, she's been there. But she can't recall exactly when she visited this place. It's like the memory is in the corner of her brain and hard to reach. Arisa will leave that aside and pick a vanilla flavor.

 

It's been a while since I had ice cream. I'll have some now.

 

A drone flies towards her and gently drops the vanilla-flavored ice cream in front of Arisa. She waves at the staff at the back of the long table to gesture thanks before enjoying the cold snack.

 

The moment the cold, sweet sensation hits her taste bud, that memory in the corner finally comes.

 

"Oh, right. It's when I got lost and met that person."

 

Arisa is quiet while scooping her portion steadily. Yet, her mind reassessed those memories that she put in the corner in the first place.

 

Around four years ago, when Arisa was going home, she wanted to try something outside her routine–since going home meant she would meet her dad, and he would assign something for her to learn. As a result, she got lost in this place–a food court between tall buildings offered many options to eat.

 

Little Arisa can easily find her way again using a GPS on her ring. Still, her attention is quickly taken away by a particular cafe that sells ice cream. She stares hard at the staff serving the cold snacks since Arisa has never tried them.

 

"Hey, you're looking at them really hard, you know."

"Ah–"

 

She doesn't notice that someone much older is standing right beside her. The stranger smiles sweetly to greet little Arisa. Her appearance is similar to Arisa's when she looks at this stranger squatting in front of her so they can talk at the same level. She just got her hair longer than the little girl.

"Are you curious what their ice cream tastes like? Want to go inside together?"

 

Little Arisa steps back a bit since she knows she shouldn't get involved with a stranger. Looking at the little girl, the stranger giggles a bit.

 

"I can assure you that I'm not suspicious. All I want is to have ice cream together with you. It's totally okay for you not to go with me."

 

She smiles once again. And that makes Arisa wonder if her words can be trusted or not.

She is giving Arisa five minutes to think about the offer. Since it's been five minutes, she stands back up.

 

"Alright, then. I guess you're not interested in having their ice cream. See you later."

"Wait, take me with you." Little Arisa is muttering up her courage. But she really wants that old snack.

The stranger smiles a bit. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"I can tell since you're drooling. Alright, then. It's settled!"

 

They go inside the cafe shortly as the staff greets them. Arisa looks thoroughly at every aspect of that cafe with her own two eyes, especially those desserts on another table. It's pretty crowded now as the staff and the drones are going back and forth to serve the orders.

 

"Right, now that we've got our own table, what do you want to choose?"

 

Little Arisa is staring hard at the menu projection. It's her first time, so she has yet to learn what the menu means. She wants to find the information beforehand using her ring, but it'll take more time to do that. The stranger is waiting for her patiently.

 

"I can give you some nice suggestions for what kind of delicious ice cream you can take here. Want to hear me out?"

Arisa is looking at the stranger as she nods hesitantly. "....please."

"Alright. For starters, we never go wrong with the classics. Let's see, chocolate and vanilla will do for now."

 

The little girl is paying close attention to her, who is currently picking the flavors, to learn what kind of ice creams she could have in the future. The stranger seemed to know what to choose as she quickly submitted the orders.

 

"Now, we just have to wait for the drone to give us the ice creams. Aren't you excited?"

"Seems so. I never tried this ice cream thing."

"Ah…."

 

The stranger shifted her sitting position and straightened her back, looking at the little girl in front of her gently.

 

"I'm sure you'll like it. It's quite different from other foods because of its low temperature, obviously. If you're not careful, you can get a brain freeze."

"Is that something bad?"

"It's something that you would not rather get. Well, it's harmless as far as I know, just a heads up. Also, since it'll feel cool and refresh our minds, ice cream can become our friend. So, try eating some ice cream whenever you feel lonely, and your mind will be fresh."

"You treat food as a friend?"

"You can treat anything as your friend, actually!"

 

The cold treats finally arrived on their table. Arisa is taking a careful approach to inspecting what kind of food is prepared before her. When she hesitantly scooped some into her mouth, Arisa's eyes widened.

 

"It's delicious, super delicious."

"Take it easy. Or, it'll freeze your brain."

"Aaahh, my head!!"

"Now, listen to me, will you? Hmm, what is this? Did we order this?"

 

The stranger looks at a small box wrapped nicely with a ribbon. When she opened it, she found an ice cream-shaped hair clip. Little Arisa peeks in.

 

"This is rare. When I scanned it with my ring, it said that we'd got a hair clip as a bonus from this cafe. Look, isn't it nice?"

"Yes. It's cute."

"Right. I can't really wear it, so you take it."

"Eh?"

 

She put the hair clip on Arisa's hair suddenly. Before Arisa knows it, the hair clip is on her head.

 

"That looks great on you."

"You really meant it?"

"I don't have any reason to lie just for saying that it really looks good on you."

 

Arisa nods and goes to have her ice cream again. It's so mesmerizing for her taste bud, so she can't stop tasting that sweet cold sensation on her tongue. Looking at her companion enjoying the desserts, the stranger is also taking her ice cream.

 

"Thank you very much. It's sweet and delicious that I want to eat more."

"It's no big deal. Enjoy it while you can."

 

Arisa, at that time, smiles wide. She doesn't expect that she will find another thing that can lighten her mood between her monotonous routine.

 

And Arisa, this time, sits alone at her table. There is no one else besides her and the staff behind the long table. She is still quiet and keeps scooping her portion.

 

"In the end, I don't know that kind person's identity. We parted right away without anything to exchange." 

 

When she finished chewing on a spoonful of ice cream, Arisa put her spoon and stared into the ice cream cup.

 

"The dark clouds in my head aren't going away. Are you lying about eating ice cream can make me feel better?"

 

Arisa is looking at the side of the table where a single portion is left. She picks it up and quickly eats it away without pause.

If a brain freeze can clear her mind from those hazy clouds, then that's what Arisa is looking for right now.