As Edward approached the fountain, he was now certain that what he was seeing wasn't an illusion—which only made the situation worse. Those children were clearly and completely out of their minds. They didn't even notice a stranger deliberately stepping louder than normal, kicking small stones, and crunching branches beneath his feet. Nothing got their attention.
When he was less than four meters away from the fountain, an unfamiliar voice called out, drawing Edward's attention.
"Children, what are you doing? Go home, now."
At the sound of that voice, the children stopped and placed their hands on their heads, confused expressions on their faces. All of them exited the fountain, and the moment their feet touched the ground, they broke into wide smiles, waving to the man with brown hair and red eyes.
"Thank you, mister!"
"Whoa, look at the time, guys!"
"Let's run, or we'll get in trouble!"
"Ah… I think we're already late!"
