Silence | Book 2

3-1: Sandcastles and English

17 July – 2005

「Hibiki, come on, I want to build sandcastles!」Hayate ran past the crowded pool terrace of the Californian resort. He carried a bright red plastic bucket and spades, while Hibiki followed behind with a small sea-themed notebook and a pencil. They weaved past the guests to the cliffside stairs that would lead them down to the beach.

「Young masters Hayate and Hibiki! Please do not move so fast, I cannot keep sight of you!」Their nanny shouted as politely as she could, urging them to stop even if she didn't have much control. Hibiki immediately listened, stopping at the top of the stairs to wait for her. Hayate on the other hand was already down two flights of the stairs, hopping up and down impatiently.

「But I want to go build sandcastles Takara!」

「I understand, but the beach will be here all day, young master Hayate. If you fell, we would have to get you taken care of, and that would only delay you further. So please do take care.」She made a deep bow at the top of the stairs, which caused Hayate to frown and cross his arms. Yet he didn't move from where he was, accepting that he had to stay still.

Meanwhile Takara held out her hand for Hibiki to take, so she could lead him down as well. He very lightly took it, giving her a polite nod of his head to say he understood as well. Together they walked down the stairs towards Hayate, where Takara held out her hand for him as well. Begrudgingly, Hayate grabbed it and let her lead them to the beach.

It was a bright, sun-laden day. The soft breeze caused the palm trees to sway and rustle every so often, and offer some respite from the heat. Despite the beautiful weather, the private beach wasn't crowded: instead it was pleasantly filled with rich guests and their personnel. But neither Hibiki nor Hayate cared about them.

They both pulled Takara out to a far corner, away from all the other guests, where they began to make their sandcastle. While Hibiki planned out the design in his book, Hayate and Takara gathered up sand and seashells to build the castle with. Before long both boys set to constructing their project, using the bucket and their hands to make towers, while their nanny helped out.

「This isn't fast enough,」Hayate pouted, as they had to share the one bucket and use only their hands. 「You speak English better than me, can you go ask? Maybe she wants to help.」He pointed towards a dark-skinned girl, maybe one or two years older than them, building her own sandcastle alone.

Hibiki gave a trepidatious look at Takara, but she nodded encouragingly.

「You can show her how well you're learning English, I bet your father would be really proud of you.」

「But what if I can't?」He mumbled softly, looking at the sand beneath his slippers.

「Then you've tried your best, young master Hibiki, and you know your father will be proud of that as well. I will tell him how brave you were.」She smiled widely, which made Hibiki nod, ever so slightly more determined – just enough to walk over, clutching his booklet to his chest.

The girl didn't notice him approaching, too busy building her own. For a few moments he awkwardly hovered at a few metres distance, not sure how to talk to her. Quickly he flipped open his book, and wrote down his sentence in English, so he could read it out.

「Hibiki! Talk!」Hayate shouted at the top of his lungs, causing a few of the nearby guests to give an annoyed glance and for Takara to tell him to please be quieter – but he didn't care in the slightest.

The loud, Japanese shouting caused the girl to look up from her sandcastle, only to see Hibiki standing there. Their eyes met for a second, which startled him so much he quickly bowed down in embarrassment.