Crybaby Boy

Because the novel offers no illustrated design, the child is known only through his circumstances rather than any physical detail. He is a small boy who passed through an abusive household before ending up in an orphanage, and beyond his youth and the tears that gave him his label, nothing about his looks is described.

The boy carries deep wounds from his early years, and for a long stretch he cannot keep himself from sobbing once night falls. That grief slowly eases after another child in the home reaches out to him, and the crying that once defined him gradually fades away.

Raised by parents who mistreated him, the boy is eventually handed over to the same children's home where Takuma Hasumi lives. His habit of weeping after dark keeps the other residents awake, so they mock him and throw soap at him once the lights go out. Takuma, blessed with perfect recall of anything he has ever seen, starts recounting a story each evening to soothe him, and the bond that grows between them draws the rest of the children in until they gather to listen rather than bully. Mistaking Takuma's endless supply of tales for pure genius, the staff marvel at the boy who can tell a new one every night. Before a relative adopts him and takes him off to Kyushu, the boy presses a pen into Takuma's hand so that their friendship will not be forgotten.