The early morning was so cold it felt like the air itself was biting.
Mei was shivering, clinging tightly to the improvised sling.Harumi was shivering too — from the cold and from fear.
But she went.She went to the grandfather's house.
The same old house.The same crooked porch.The same feeling of abandonment.
Harumi pushed the door.
It wasn't locked.
The smell of dust, old wood, and something far too stagnant filled her nose.
Mei curled in on herself.
— It's okay, my love… — Harumi whispered, even though she didn't quite believe it herself.
The house was frozen.Silent.Clinging to her skin like a ghost.
Harumi turned on her phone flashlight.
— Okay… okay… let's find something. Anything…
She opened drawers, boxes, old cabinets.She searched carefully — but with just enough desperation to accidentally break a drawer.
— Crap… sorry… — she apologized to the drawer. Yes. The drawer.
Mei clutched her teddy bear tightly.
Harumi found:
old photos;overdue utility bills;medical documents;scribbled papers;Mei's childhood drawings;
But then…
A blue folder, hidden at the bottom of an old trunk.
Harumi opened it.
Stopped.
Read.
Swallowed hard.
Hospital documents from another city.The hospital where their mother was.
"Hospitalization.Companion: none.Expected discharge: none."
Attached to the papers was a hospital card — with an address and outdated visiting hours.
Harumi's heart began pounding so hard it hurt.
— …He's there.
She knew it.She felt it.It was as if someone had screamed inside her chest.
— MEI. — she said, far too firmly. — We need to run.
Mei's eyes widened.
— Takeru…?
Harumi pressed the documents to her chest.
— I'm bringing him back.
She didn't know how.But she would.
She ran out of the grandfather's house, slamming the door behind her.
When she entered her own house again, the silence felt even heavier.
She placed the documents on the table.Rubbed her eyes, desperate.
— I have to go after him… but I can't leave you alone, Mei… I… I don't know what to do…
Her voice cracked.Her chest hurt.Her head throbbed.
That's when—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Harumi startled.
She ran to the door.
And opened it, thinking it was Takeru.
— TAKERU?! — she shouted.
But it wasn't Takeru.
It was Sakura-san, the elderly neighbor from across the street.Known for being the mother of the handsome, hardworking neighbor.
She was holding a small bag of sweets and wearing an oversized pink coat.
— Harumi-chan… sorry to bother you so late… I saw you running outside from my window and thought something terrible had happe—
Harumi lost her breath.
The tears came before she could stop them.
— S-Sakura-san… he… he left… I… I don't know how to go after him… and I can't leave Mei alone… I… I ruined everything…
Sakura-san smiled so gently it felt like a warm blanket.
She approached slowly and touched Harumi's arm, the way you touch someone who's broken.
— Oh, dear… you're doing your best.
Sakura knelt in front of Mei and smiled.
— Would you like… to come to grandma's house and eat some sweets while Harumi goes to look for your brother?
Mei blinked.
Then nodded hard.
— YES! I WANT SWEETS!
Harumi froze.
— S-Sakura-san… I… I can't ask you—
— You didn't ask. I offered. — Sakura replied in that grandmotherly tone that allowed no arguments. — Go. Run. Before it gets colder.
She winked discreetly at Harumi.
— We'll take care of Mei. Bring that boy back.
And just like that, Harumi took a deep breath…Held her tears with both hands…And left.
Sakura picked Mei up calmly, as if she were her own granddaughter.
— Come on, my dear. Grandma made sweet bread.
Mei wrapped her arms around her neck.
Harumi watched the scene and almost cried again.
But she had a mission.
Harumi shot out of the house like a rocket.
Cold.Messy-haired.Shaking.
She grabbed the first coat she saw — far too thin.Put on a cap instead of a beanie.Forgot a scarf.Mismatched socks.Shoes from different pairs.
But she had dressed Mei properly before handing her to Sakura.
She ran.
But as she went down the front steps—
She ran straight into him.
THE HANDSOME, HARDWORKING NEIGHBOR.
Tall.Casual.Tired.Holding a work briefcase and a suitcase.Just back from a business trip.
He raised a hand.
— Good even—
Harumi zoomed past him like a missile.
— TAKERU!!! TAKERUUU!!! I'LL FIND YOU EVEN IF I DIIIIIEEE!!!
She slipped on the icy ground.Almost fell.Kept running like a madwoman.
The man stood frozen on the sidewalk.
Blinking. Twice.
— …I think… she's… busy.
And went inside, confused.
The search begins!
Harumi ran back to the grandfather's house — just to be sure.
Nothing.
She knocked on the door, sobbing.
— Takeru… please… please answer me…
She pressed her forehead against the cold wood.
Took a deep breath.
And whispered:
— I'll find you, kid. I swear.
And with the documents in her hand, intuition in her chest, and fear in her legs…
She headed for the hospital.
Toward the past.
Toward the place she knew — knew — he would be.