Okaasan No Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara Ne «Trusted»

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.”

Haruki sat beside her. Quietly, he took off his own scarf and wrapped it around her neck. Then he leaned his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes. 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

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. Just a note on the table: “Gone to the hospital

Yuki smiled. She didn’t say a word.

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.