The rain wouldn’t stop…
and the world around Punch felt like it was slowly disappearing beneath the rising water.

He hid under a rock, his tiny body trembling, clutching his orange toy as tightly as he could. He was soaked. Cold. Exhausted.

But none of that mattered.

All he cared about… was protecting the only thing that had ever stayed with him.

The water began to rise.
Slowly at first…
then faster.

Punch lifted the toy above his head, stretching his small arms as high as he could—keeping it safe, even if he wasn’t.

Then suddenly—

The current surged.

His grip slipped.

And in an instant… the toy was gone.

Carried away by the rushing water.

“No…”

Without thinking, Punch ran after it. Through the cold. Through the fear. Through the danger that surrounded him. He didn’t stop. He didn’t hesitate.

Because to him, that toy wasn’t just an object.

It was comfort.
It was safety.
It was everything he had left.

Then—

A strong figure rushed in.

The water broke around them.
The toy was caught.

And so was Punch.

In one swift moment, he was lifted out of the current—pulled into warm, steady arms. Held tightly, safely, as if nothing would ever hurt him again.

The toy was placed back into his hands…

But this time, something was different.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

Because sometimes…
we try so hard to hold on to the things we love—
we don’t realize someone is right there,
trying to hold on to us.