Assisi reacted after a long time as I tried to put up with some tickly feeling. He was acting just like a shy girl who hesitated and stretched her hand. However, Assisi was a man, right?
âHey, Assisi.â
What was happening? I seriously looked down at my hand and sighed.
âAssisi, this isnât holding hands. Youâre hardly even touching mine.â
Was my hand too dirty? He was barely grazing it, and heâs grazing it so softly, I couldnât even say anything. What kind of a new way of holding hands was this? Was this a popular style of holding hands these days? Was I out of style?
Assisi answered while I thought about how he held hands.
âThatâs alright.â
I was saying that he was doing it wrong! Whatâs alright about this?
âAssisi, youâre not holding my hand right now. Youâre just sort of touching it.â
âIâm fine like this.â
No, I was not okay with it.
What in the world was making him so anxious about simply holding hands?! I gazed up at Assisi. He was already frowning as if he was worried about something when he was just simply grabbing my hand. Oh, well.
I sighed, turned my hand, and held Assisiâs hand. Assisi flinched when my hand grabbed his hand first. I was embarrassed when Assisi released his strength when I grabbed his hand.
Whatâs wrong with him?
I wished he would hold it tighter since if we kept our hands like this, it would fall out if I shook my hand a little bit. As I hastened myself, Assisi started looking like he was going to cry. Why, though? I was just asking him to hold my hand! Was he really that disgusted by this? People might think Iâm trying to rob you or something.
I was seriously worrying if heâs actually disgusted by this, and Assisi bites his lips.
âI donât know⦠with how much strength I should hold your hand.â
⦠Huh? What?
I was so disconcerted at the moment that I made a strange noise without even realizing it.
No, wait a minute. What did he just say?
â⦠are you telling me⦠you couldnât hold my hand because you werenât sure how to adjust your strength while holding it? â
Thereâs no way thatâs it.
However, even today, that âno wayâ betrayed me mercilessly as well. Assisi nodded. I became speechless.
âYour hand seems so small and delicate Iâm afraid it might burst if I held it too strongly.â
Asisi spoke with all seriousness. He seemed so, so serious; I got confused for a second. Was my hand made out of balloons or something?
Of course, that wouldnât happen!