While riding in the car with little Shirakawa Yui, Yakutsu Tōru finally worked up the courage to ask the question that had been weighing on him.
"Yui, Uncle wants to ask you something. If one day your father and mother weren't here anymore… what would you do?"
He tried to sound calm, but his voice trembled slightly. Deep down, he had already been thinking about adopting her. From what he knew, Yui had no relatives left other than her parents. But would a child so young be able to handle the truth about their deaths?
"Not here anymore?" The girl in his arms blinked up at him in confusion. Her small face was still carefree, not realizing the weight behind his words. "Do you mean they went on a trip? How mean! They didn't even take Yui with them~~~" She pouted, puffing up her cheeks in protest.
"Not a trip… They… they're up in the sky," Tōru said awkwardly, his throat tightening. "Watching over you from above."
"Like Grandpa and Grandma?"
"Uh… yes, that's right."
For the first time, the little girl fell silent.
Then, all of a sudden, her small body trembled violently in his arms. Tōru looked down in alarm and saw her face streaked with tears.
"Uuuh… Mama said when Grandpa and Grandma died, they went to the sky to watch over Yui… Uuuh… But Papa and Mama aren't dead! I don't want Papa and Mama to watch me from the sky!"
Her soft sobs quickly broke into heartbreaking wails. Tōru panicked—he had never faced anything like this before. What was he supposed to do?
"Don't cry, don't cry. Yui's the best, isn't she? Even if Papa and Mama aren't here anymore, you still have Uncle. And Uncle's house has your big brother too… Oh, that's right! Uncle's wife makes the best cake. Uncle will take you to eat some, okay?"
As he clumsily wiped the tears from her cheeks, his brow furrowed in helplessness. No matter what he said, the girl shook her head.
"I want Papa and Mama… uuuuuh…"
With no other choice, Tōru finally brought Yui to the morgue.
The little girl stared at the two pale, lifeless bodies laid out before her. She simply couldn't accept it—just yesterday, those same parents had been laughing with her on the Ferris wheel.
"Papa! Mama!"
She rushed forward, collapsing beside her mother's body, her cries echoing painfully through the room. The sight forced the doctors and nurses nearby to lower their heads, eyes reddening. A few of the younger nurses couldn't hold back their own tears.
Suddenly, Yui sprang up and stumbled toward one of the doctors. With a desperate thud, she fell to her knees before him.
"Please! I beg you—please save my Papa and Mama!"
She was only eight years old… How could a child possibly accept such a cruel reality?
The doctor quickly bent down and helped her up, crouching so their eyes met. With gentle hands, he wiped her tears away.
"Child, you must be brave. Your parents wouldn't want to see you like this, would they? Do you want to make them sad? Listen… This hospital is also a home—a final home for many. Now, your Papa and Mama have joined this family. You can still come see them. Even though your eyes can't see them anymore, they can still see you."
Yui sniffled, her sobs gradually subsiding. She stood quietly, listening to the doctor's soft words.