I grew up in a very rural area. The elementary school I went to had only one class in each grade, and it has already closed. My junior high school had six classes in each grade, and there I met classmates who were called “delinquents” for the first time. Even so, my school life was slow and peaceful, as it often is in the countryside.

I finished reading Kurione no Shippo by Natsumi Nagasaki.

While reading, one question stayed in my mind: “Are there really so many violent junior high school girls in Tokyo?”

The scenes where children walk around the city late at night did not match my own experience as someone who grew up in the countryside. The author is older than I am, and the story seems to show the “danger of the city” that was often talked about in that time.

But even with that in mind, I could not fully enter the world of the story. The children in the book are too hurt, and they are pushed around by the problems of adults. It made my heart feel tight as I read.

My parents were sometimes unreasonable too. But I still had a place to sleep, food to eat, and a little freedom. So the situation of the children in the story felt extremely harsh to me.

The “violence” in the story is probably a sign of their weakness and loneliness.

I believe that children should be protected. They should be cared for and respected. I want every child to be as happy as possible.

I want more children to sleep safely, go to school safely, and grow up without being controlled by adults’ problems.

The “shadow” in fiction also exists in real life. But I hope real children can see more light. I hope society does not push children into darkness with adult problems, but instead gives them a safe place to grow.

Children are the foundation of society. A society where children can grow up safely will become a more stable society.