Tayumori News - 43rd Leaf - 🩵 The Beginning of Walnut Candy

“Whoa...
Walnut candy
is dancing
inside my mouth!”
(🍄 Mash-kun)

＊～＊～＊～＊～＊

Once upon a time,
🐿️ when Ricca was still little—
under the big walnut tree
in the north part of the forest,
she used to take naps
with her grandmother often.

Every time the wind rustled,
the nuts would fall
from between the leaves with a soft thud.

🐿️👵 “That thud is
a gift from the forest.”
Grandmother would say that,

and she would always
gently
stroke the walnuts
she picked up.

One day—
when 🐿️ Ricca was crying a little,
couldn't find the words,
and was feeling shy,

Grandmother cracked open
a walnut shell,
and boiled the nut inside
in warm nectar.

Then,
she gently returned
the pieces of walnut,
now sweet and syrupy,
back into the shell.
“This becomes a candy

that connects the wind and the heart,” she said.
That is
the beginning of the walnut candy

that 🐿️ Ricca makes now.
That’s why—
inside, there is a small
piece of walnut.
It leaves behind a faint,
crispy, nutty flavor,

and that becomes a guidepost for the wind.
Grandmother taught me:
“Kindness spreads even further

when you mix it in.”

⸻

🐿️ “This is the taste of ‘something precious’...”
That is why 🐿️ Ricca,
whenever someone is feeling down,
takes one out of her pocket
without saying a word,

and places it gently on a leaf.
🎩 Morito-kun

secretly told me:
🎩 “When you lick that,
it makes a soft sound
deep inside your chest...”

Perhaps that is
the ‘thank you’
that couldn't be put into words,
or the ‘you did a good job’
at the end of a hard day;
maybe those feelings
are packed into it entirely.

🌿 Fuyuri-chan said:

🌿 “🐿️ Ricca’s candy
contains the magic of the wind.”

Hearing that, 🐿️ Ricca
curled her tail
in a circle,
and seemed to be
a little embarrassed.

So,
🐿️ Ricca’s candy
gently wraps up
the walnuts and Grandmother’s memories
along with the sound of the wind... 🐿️🌰👵🍬
One tucked away in a pocket again today;

it might just be
a charm for when you feel like crying. 🌬️💫

🌲 A word from the forest sprite today 🌲

“This goes well with cookies...”
“One isn't enough!
But maybe that’s why
it’s good.”
(💌 Posu-suke)