Go? Or Stay?

In the sandbox, Nono and Mii were building a tall, tall tower of sand. "Just a little more and it's done!" The two of them giggled together. Moka's tail went pat-pat. — Just then. "Whoa, amazing!" A boy she didn't know came running up. "Hey, did you know there's a big slide over there? Nobody's on it right now! Let's go!" Nono's heart gave a little sway.

The boy was Haru. He'd just moved here from the next town over. "Hurry! If we don't go now, other kids will come!" Haru held out his hand. Sparkling eyes. A new friend. A big slide. Her heart raced. — But beside her, Mii was holding the last little bucket. "Nono… we're so close to finishing, aren't we?" Nono's heart swayed again.

Nono looked at the sand tower. She and Mii had been building it together all this time. Laughing, fixing it over and over, until finally — this far. It had been so much fun. — But the slide over there glittered. With Haru, she felt like she could go somewhere she'd never been. Moka gazed steadily up at Nono. If I go… what will happen? If I stay…? Her heart swayed.

"Okay, I'm going on ahead!" Haru dashed off toward the slide. Ah… Mii looked down at the sand tower, then gently up at Nono. "…What about you, Nono?" Nono clenched her sandy hands tight. Her heart thumped. I have to decide now. Her heart swayed — a big, wide sway.

Two feelings collided inside Nono. If I go — a new friend, Haru, and the slide for the very first time. A world she'd never seen would open up in a flash. But the tower with Mii would be left behind. If I stay — the promised tower with Mii, all the way to the end. The time the two of them shared would hold fast together. But she couldn't go to that slide. Both are Nono's true feelings.

Moka gazed steadily up at Nono. The sand on her hands was warm. Haru was already near the slide. Mii waited beside the tower. To leap into a new world, and to keep going with the friend she was already with — neither one is wrong. Nono drew in a breath. Her heart swayed. And now —.

"Nono… are you coming?" Haru is calling from the slide. Mii waits quietly, still holding the last little bucket. Nono looked back and forth between the sand tower and the slide. Go? With a new friend, to a world she's never seen? Or stay? With the friend she's with, to keep the promise all the way to the end? It's okay to go. It's okay to stay. …What will Nono do?