Okaasan No Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara Ne -

But his cheeks were wet.

“Mm?”

The next morning, walking home in the frozen dawn, Haruki kicked a can down the empty street. Yuki walked beside him, still wearing his scarf. okaasan no koto nanka zenzen suki janain dakara ne

And Haruki, for the first time in years, didn’t add his usual line.

One winter afternoon, Haruki came home to find the house silent. No smell of miso soup. No laundry folding on the sofa. Just a note on the table: “Gone to the hospital. Grandma fell. Back late. Rice is in the warmer.” But his cheeks were wet

When Yuki woke up an hour later, she found her son’s arm linked through hers. She kissed the top of his head. He pretended to stay asleep.

He found her asleep in a plastic chair outside the ICU, her hand still clutching a crumpled handkerchief. Her coat was thin. Her lips were pale. And Haruki, for the first time in years,

Yuki smiled. She didn’t say a word.