A/N:

The Mini-Fic Masterclass Challenge, #8 – Not-so-secret Santa (from Aiko!)
Diversity Writing Challenge, f7 – write a drabble novel
Becoming the Tamer King, Training Peak task
Digimon World Dawn/Dusk Remake Challenge, Sunken Tunnel task

A Cold Snap
1.

There's a boy somewhere between me and my brother in age doing magic tricks in the park.

Maybe he's just finishing off elementary school and getting the last bit of a little kid out from inside of him.

Maybe he's just started junior high school and misses it already.

Or maybe he's trying to build that illusion because he's never been the type of kid people smile with otherwise. Maybe this is just his way of pretending and maybe he doesn't have an older brother that breaks all his masks so he can't use them any more and he's run out of clay to make new ones with.

Maybe he's got just enough friends to make it through life pretending like this.

'Hey, kid in the orange hat? You want to see?'

No, I don't.

But I don't say that. I don't say anything at all.

I just leave.