Three days feel so small when looking at it as a whole; it is lower than a single week and a month, but to the young boy, it felt long.
Long, tiresome, and comforting days that consist of twenty-four-hours each within a single day
Three days feels short to some while others consider two days even shorter than that.
Time and the days go fast because of one focusing on the single day and not thinking about tomorrow yet, and it is only looking back after passing those many days that one can understand how fast it was, but when you think about it during the start of the first day, you would agree that the days, hours, and minutes are long.
Three days had gone by since that whole traumatizing event at the beach happened, and the parents of the young boy noticed the shift.
The young boy, after having gotten home three days ago after experiencing that whole situation, began to have this tendency to feel more tired and prefer to stay at home rather than go out as he did before.
Ren and So-mang stopped visiting his house after that day, instead going to Nanami's house to pick her up and bring her to their house for either Yuiko or In-ah to play with her.
Hao Xian was the only one who went to the young boy's house.
Whenever he visited, the young boy felt calm since Hao Xian was the only one who talked to him normally after that painful and agonizing day.
Hao Xian hung out with him and did not convince him to come out, but it was just not yet time to go out because it might shatter him psychologically, and despite him being the eldest and more understanding of the three boys, he was still a ten-year-old and so topics and situations like this are difficult for him as he did not know what to do.
So whenever they hang out in the young boy's house, they would either play video games or watch shows together while eating chips and drinking hot chocolate made by the young boy's mother.
Hao Xian did his best, and he is succeeding as the young boy opened up and let out his natural smile sometimes, but he is rather mellow now.
The parents of the young boy are worried about him.
Hao Xian then approached the parents on the third day.
Hao Xian: "So Auntie Colette and Uncle Isaac....what happened during that trip with Nanami that made her seem so scared and angry at him?"
Mom: "Uhhh, that's....well."
Auntie Colette seemed to flinch and attempted to sugarcoat the event, but Uncle Isaac came forward and then recounted the whole event that had happened.
Dad: "Last week, it happened the day after we arrived at the hotel. All five of us went off to the buffet to get something to eat, and he had that book he borrowed from So-mang."
Hao Xian: "Okay."
Dad: "Then Nanami, in her excitement and carelessness, ended up spilling her water on the book, and he yelled at her, causing a scene and making her scared. After that day, I made sure to scold him, but then Nanami refused to talk to him until the last day. Lunette even wanted to hit him, but I talked some sense into her. I understand she cares about her daughter, but even though he made a mistake, hitting him will just make him feel miserable."
Hao Xian: "Yeah, that makes sense."
Dad: "His mother was also mad because he talked back at her, and I had to talk some sense into her before she was going to do something she might regret. Well, I do not know about what happened with Lunette, Colette, and Nanami, but I took him out swimming, trying to salvage...."
Hao Xian: "Salvage?"
Dad: "Ummmm, what is another word for... save...save the opportunity because you know we all came there for a hotel vacation, and so I wanted him to enjoy himself still since he admitted his guilt. Lunette was too harsh on him, too, but do not tell her she might get mad."
Mom: "I left him alone that time, huh?"
Dad: "Past is the past, just do better now, okay."
Mom: "Yeah..."
Dad: "During the last day, I convinced his mother to tell him to apologize to Nanami with Auntie Lunette watching....he did just that, but I guess we realized to late the negative effects that are plaguing....no not plaguing.....affecting Nanami still.
Hao Xian: "Yeah
Dad: "Lunette told me what happened from that trip, but Lunette did not understand either because Nanami could not say anything other than I made big brother cry because of me."
Hao Xian: "She must be sorry too."
Dad: "Yeah, well, the situation resulted in a role reversal now."
Auntie Lunette: "Yeah....by the way, I will admit I was too harsh on him."
That was a voice that came from the front door, which was Auntie Lunette looking apologetic alongside Auntie Eun-hee, and Yuna nee san.
Auntie Lunette: "I came here to apologize in Nanami's stead."
Hao Xian: "Why not make her come apologize herself?"
Auntie Lunette: "She said she is too scared....."
Hao Xian: "That does not exc...."
Auntie Lunette: "I know!...ahem i know....okay, it is just....your friend is more brave than Nanami, being able to face them and apologize after feeling so guilty is commendable."
Hao Xian: "Ohhh."
Yuna then came up to Hao Xian.
Yuna: "So, Hao Xian, is he doing okay?"
Hao Xian: "Somewhat."
That was the only answer as he can not say he is fine, nor could he say he was not....Hao Xian had given up trying to understand the complicated feelings that were affecting the young boy at that moment.
Hao Xian: "Big Sister Yuna."
Yuna: "Yes?"
Hao Xian: "You want to go see him with me? I do not want him to be alone with me too much because I know he is feeling lonely if it were just me and his mommy and daddy coming in to talk with him.
Yuna: "Sure."
Yuna and Hao Xian would often hang out in his room.
During the afternoon, the young boy's parents, along with Auntie Lunette and Auntie Eun-hee, would make lunch together while Hao Xian and Yuna talked to him about TV shows they enjoyed watching a while ago, and the young boy felt happy.
He avoided the thought of saying he wished things would remain the same, but rather he would just enjoy the small company that is Hao Xian, Yuna-nee-san, Auntie Eun-hee, and Auntie Lunette.
These people are the only ones who were able to talk to him normally because the rest did not, either out of guilt or anger.
Later in the day, Auntie Eun-hee and Auntie Lunette went home while Yuna-nee-san tucked the young boy to bed.
In the living room were both of the young boy's parents and Hao Xian.
It was about to be 5:30, but the parents wanted to hear it all from Hao Xian's perspective without the young boy present, so he would not feel uncomfortable or traumatised hearing it.
Dad: "So tell us again what happened."
Hao Xian: "We were all at the beach as Yuna and Auntie Lunette said we were, then my sister, Ningyi, as well as In-ah, So-mang's sister, and Yuiko, Ren's sister, came over to him and started to yell at him to apologize to the young boy."
Mom: "Ohhh....was Nanami mad at him?"
Hao Xian: "No, but she was trying to defend him, then she, for some reason, cried, thinking he would hit her. I think she is still scared of him getting mad at her."
Dad: "Sigh....and then what happened?"
Hao Xian: "Then their angry screams made all of us approach them. Then Ren and So-mang, as well as their siblings, began to shout at him to apolgize to him for what he did wrong."
Mom: "But he apolgized didn't he?"
Hao Xian: "Auntie Lunette said he did."
Dad: "Why didn't he just apologized to them?"
Yuna then came down from the young boy's room.
Yuna: "He said he got scared of them from all their accusations and cries."
Dad: "Sigh, that is why, huh....he should not have been scared of them and just apologized."
Mom: "Hey, dear, he is still ten years old, just a kid still."
Dad: "Yeah, our son, who is already ten."
Mom: "Dear!"
Dad: "Fine, fine, fine, anyway, what happened next? Did he yell back at them?"
Hao Xian: "No, Uncle Isaac, he cried, and then they all stopped. Auntie Eun-hee and Yuna shouted at them for making him cry, then I tried to calm him down...he kept on saying I am sorry, I said I was sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, mommy, daddy, save me and all that.
Dad: "Sigh, that kid....I can not blame him for acting out like that...."
Mom: "Dear, what do you think we should do, hire special help?"
Dad: "Uhhh."
Both parents were stuck, wondering what they could do to help their son get better and not stay stuck in his room moping, then someone came forward.
Yuna: "I have an idea."
Hao Xian: "What is it, Yuna-nee-san?"
Everyone listened to the plan of Yuna-nee-san
Hao Xian: "You sure this will work, big sister Yuna?"
Yuna: "Yeah, I am sure it will."
Dad: "I can not believe that is the solution."
Mom: "It is okay, dear, if this will help him, then we should say yes to this."
Dad: "Fine."
The Next Day came for the young boy, and he woke him having rested well, then approached his tablet to watch some YouTube videos just then.
Hao Xian: "Hey, dude, come on down, you should see it!"
The Young Boy: "What?"
Hao Xian burst in for some reason, and then he left.
The young boy made a big sigh, then followed Hao Xian downstairs, and there he saw.
Woof!
Was some small black puppy that had its eyes covered by their long hair and was running around the living room with Auntie Lunette laughing and Auntie Eun-hee preparing dog food for the little dog.
The Young Boy: "Wow! A dog! Whose is it?"
Dad: "It is yours, son."
The Young Boy: "What?"
Hao Xian: "Yeah, last night after your parents heard what happened to you, big sister Yuna came in with Auntie Eun-hee and got you a puppy to cheer you up!"
The Young Boy: "Wow, seriously, thank you!"
Mom: "Okay, but you, Hao Xian, and Yuna are responsible, okay."
The Young Boy: "Thank you all!"
The young boy then held the energetic puppy dog, which they all figured was a boy, in his arms.
The Young Boy: "I am going to call you....Re'yon."
Dad: "Re'yon?"
Mom: "Why?"
The Young Boy: "I do not know, it just popped into my head."
The name Re'yon derives from the English word Rayon "ray" or "beam of light", it can also mean the word, Rea, a Hebrew word meaning "friend" or "companion" in the modern context which is said to appear in the Old Testament refering to Jonathan and David, and is linked to qualities not just friendship but loyalty as well.
The name which just popped into the young boy's head seemed to make him smile as he happily played with Re'yon.
Re'yon seemed to be happy as the young boy, and Hao Xian played with him.
Yuna planned to get him a dog for three reasons: one was to cheer him up, two was to give him a new friend to play with, and third was to help him go outside, as playing with a dog is mostly done while playing outside, according to Yuna.
And so Yuna's plan worked as she watched both Hao Xian and the young boy play during her free time.
Yuna only plays with them whenever she goes out to run errands, but does not spend too much time with them as she has younger siblings to watch and take care of.
The young boy and Re'yon would run around the park together, along with Hao Xian, playing with them.
In the far distance, Nanami, Ren, and Sena were watching the two boys playing with a dog.
Nanami: "Big brother got a new dog?"
Ren: "Wow...so that is the present from Yuna-nee."
Sena: "I want to play with that dog awe."
Ningyi, In-ah, and So-mang then came and saw them
So-mang: "Where did he get them?"
Ren: "Yuna and Auntie Eun-hee got him that dog to cheer him up."
Ninyi: "Big brother....."
In-ah: "I want to say sorry to hyung."
So-mang: I do not know if we can....Hao Xian seemed to be having the time of his life."
Ren: "He deserves it....let's go, guys, we do not want to disturb him."
Nanami: "Big brother i miss you..."
The six of them left.
Without Hao Xian or the young boy noticing at all as they were running around while holding on to Re-yon.
One Week Before School Begins.
Hao Xian hangs out with the young boy more often to play games and assist him in taking care of Re'yon.
Yuna has lately visited the young boy to help him with training Re'yon, as she is responsible for getting him that dog.
Auntie Lunette currently has time as Nanami after the beach trip has begun to hang out with Ningyi, In-ah, and Yuiko and their older siblings from morning to late afternoon and so she has time to do this now while Auntie Eun-hee was having a week off from work and instead of window shopping like she planned, she decided to help the young boy train Re'yon.
The parents are always out on their duties.
Yuna and Auntie Lunette were teaching the young boy how to train a dog.
Yuna: "Okay, listen, young man, what you have to do is to give him treats as a reward for doing good behavior just like how you feed kids candy if they do something good."
The Young Boy: "Okay!"
Auntie Lunette: "..."
Yuna: "Next, you have to establish some rules to help your dog distinguish what behaviors they must follow and what behaviors they should not follow, just like how you teach kids the meaning of right and wrong behavior."
The Young Boy: "Okay!"
Auntie Lunette: "Uhhh."
Yuna: "You next have to expose your dog to different environments and people to help them become more confident and adaptable, just like how kids are when you take them outside or enroll them at school to socialize."
The Young Boy: "Okay!"
Auntie Lunette: "Hold on, wait...."
Yuna: "Next, you have to scold your dog for any unwanted and bad behaviour, make sure to be stern, just like how kids are when you need to scold them for any bad behavior they do."
The Young Boy: "Okay!"
Auntie Lunette: "Hey....!"
Yuna: "Next, you have to keep the training sessions short and engaging, recommended around five to ten minutes, since dogs have short attention spans, so many short training sessions throughout the day can work more than a long session, just like kids who have a short attention span and are needed to focus on what is important for their growth."
The Young Boy: Okay!"
Auntie Lunette: "Yuna, hold on sto...."
Yuna: "Next, you have to make sure you are calm and assertive during training, which gives a positive learning environment just like kids who...
Auntie Lunette: "Eun-hee!....stop!....hold on!....sorry, young boy, but I need to talk to your auntie Eun-hee for a moment, okay, you stay here.
Auntie Lunette dragged Yuna into the room next door, so she would not disturb or frighten the young boy, and then she began to yell.....this was unnecessary since the young boy could still hear the shouting.
Auntie Lunette: "Yuna! What are you doing!?"
Yuna: "Teaching him how to train his dog?....weren't you listening to me?"
Auntie Lunette: "I was...if I wasn't listening i would not have dragged you away from him! Yuna, why are you comparing training a dog to educating a kid?"
Yuna: "Because that is a way for him to understand."
Auntie Lunette: "You serious now! Sigh! Yuna! You could have used another example!?"
Yuna: "What other example is there?"
Auntie Lunette: "I do not know, but there are other better examples than a kid."
Yuna: "But I was right, those examples do make sense."
Auntie Lunette: "Despite that, you can not just.....!"
Auntie Lunette kept on shouting and Yuna continued to argue, both indulging and conversing over nonsense, though the examples Yuna mentioned made sense and were clear for the young boy to understand.
The shouting and arguing became incoherent as they both began to talk over each other.
Is this seriously how grown-ups should act?
The young boy decided to head off to Re'yon to try to follow what Yuna had taught him with Re'yon, who was currently being potty trained by Auntie Eun-hee and Hao Xian.
Hao Xian was laughing at Re'yon, who stuck out his tongue while Auntie Eun-hee kept on yelling at him to go pee.
Potty training a dog according to Auntie Lunette requires consistency by making him go outside every 2–4 hours, and positive reinforcement.
Auntie Lunette and Auntie Eun-hee have together both established a strict routine to take Re'yon outside every three to four hours after waking, eating, or playing.
What Auntine Eun-hee is doing, yelling at Re'yon, was her attempt to establish a verbal command used for letting the dogs know when it is time for them to use the bathroom.
Hao Xian, meanwhile, sat by with the treats to reward Re'yon's ever-increasing success in effectively using the bathroom.
The young boy enjoyed the simplicity of the days before school started.
The Next Day
The Young Boy: "Re'yon!"
Yuna: "Come back, you stupid mutt!"
Hao Xian: "This was your idea, not Yuna's?"
Yuna: "Be quiet, Hao Xian, and stop laughing!"
Currently the young boy, Hao Xian, and Yuna was running after Re'yon who seemed to run after the young boy accidentally dropped the leash.
Re'yon kept on running while Yuna-nee-san seemed to stop running, and yelled something out, but neither of them could hear nor could they stop because they did not want to lose sight of Re'yon. Then both of them ran farther from where Yuna-nee-san stopped.
The Young Boy: "Re'yon!"
Hao Xian: "Hahaha, this is too funn.....?...Ren?"
Ren: "Re'yon? Is that what he named his dog?"
Hao Xian: "Why are you here?"
Ren: "You both ran past a playground."
Hao Xian: "Ohhh."
Ren then looked at the young boy, took a deep breath, and.....
Ren: "I know this may be too late, but I am sorry for yelling. I panicked and yelled at you."
The Young Boy: "Y-yeah, it is fine."
The young boy ran faster, not away from Ren, but wanting to be closer to Re'yon.
Hao Xian: "It will take a while."
Ren: "You sure about that?"
Hao Xian: "Come on, we were friends for a whole year, and we did fun stuff together, so let's try to fix this friendship of ours!"
Ren: "Okay."
Hao Xian: "Dude, how about you....you down for letting Ren help us?"
Ren: "Please."
The Young Boy: "F-fine."
Ren, Hao Xian, and the young boy kept on running after Re'yon. Ren and Hao Xian began to use their athletic abilities to get closer to him, and then they jumped and pounced on him. Then, the young boy quickly got the leash and held it tight.
Hao Xian: "Hahaha...well that was fun....let's do it again....."
The Young Boy: "No, we are not doing it again."
Ren: "I think I hurt my knee when I landed on the sidewalk."
Ren, Hao Xian, and the young boy who was holding Re'yon then stared at each other.
Ren and the young boy was awkward.
Hao Xian, meanwhile, was still laughing at the whole scene.
Ren: "Hey....ummm.....I was wrong about what happened and for making you feel bad, so one of these days, when you are ready, tell me what happened, and then I can try to forgive you."
The young boy looked at Ren, and then he made a natural smile.
The Young Boy: "Sure."
The young boy still felt nervous around Ren, but tried to not to let it bother him.
He didn't want to be like Nanami, who tells small lies and avoids talking about feelings until things get really bad.
That isn't to say Nanami is bad, but she made a mistake.
Ren and Hao Xian smiled back as the young boy smiled and accepted the apology....they were about to have a bro hug, but stopped.
Ren: "Ewww....dude, your dog stinks."
Hao Xian: "Re'yon, you ran so fast, Hahahahaha!"
Ren: "Hao Xian, stop always laughing at everything."
The Young Boy: "Sigh!....Re'yon!....do not run off again, okay?!"
Re'yon the dog stared at him, breathing a little bit faster because of him losing his breath from running, while sticking his tongue out, looking at him, not grasping the gravity of the situation.