The whole house smelled like wet wood, soap, and a faint trace of emotional trauma caused by cleaning products.
The trio was COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED.
Harumi collapsed onto the tatami like she had just been defeated by an invisible final boss.
"I'm going to die…"
Takeru didn't even lift his head.
"You're not."
"How do you know?"
"Because dead people don't complain that much."
Harumi stared at the ceiling.
"That was cruel."
"It was realistic."
Mei, who somehow still had infinite energy after a full day of cleaning, flopped down next to Harumi and rested on her arm.
"Haru… you're strong."
Harumi sighed dramatically.
"No… I'm stubborn."
"That's almost the same thing."
"…Yeah… I guess it is, Mei…"
She closed her eyes.
Just for a moment.
Just to rest her eyelids.
Maybe three seconds.
And then—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Harumi's eyes snapped open like a cat hearing a bag of food being opened.
"Huh??"
She jumped up so fast she almost tripped over her own foot.
She opened the door.
And then…
Stopped.
Because there were people.
A lot of people.
A small crowd of neighbors, all holding boxes, bags, and baskets.
At the front stood Sakura, smiling like this was the most normal thing in the world.
"Dear Harumi!" she said cheerfully.
Harumi was currently:
hair a complete mess
sweaty
wearing only one sock
a cleaning rag tied around her waist
and a streak of dust across her face
"Ah… hi…"
Sakura tilted her head.
"We saw you working very hard this week."
Harumi glanced behind her.
The house looked like it had just survived a war against mold.
"Oh… that…"
"So we brought a few things!"
And then it began.
The boxes started coming in.
One.
Two.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
SEVENTEEN BOXES.
Takeru appeared in the hallway.
Then froze.
"…Why does it feel like we're being invaded?"
Inside the boxes there were:
warm clothes
school supplies
toys
books
brand-new blankets
cooking pots
pillows
a giant food basket
and even an electric kettle
Harumi stared at everything with wide eyes.
And then…
She started crying.
Suddenly.
"I… I…"
Sakura immediately hugged her.
"There, there… no need to cry."
"YOU BROUGHT AN ENTIRE HOUSE!!"
An old man in the back raised a pot.
"This used to belong to my daughter!"
Another neighbor lifted a bag.
"Winter clothes!"
Another elderly woman appeared with books.
"For studying!"
Harumi tried to speak.
Failed.
Tried again.
"I… don't know how to thank you…"
Silence.
Then a man shouted from the back:
"COOK DINNER FOR THE WHOLE TOWN!"
Harumi answered instantly, without thinking, her tears drying mid-sentence:
"SATURDAY!!"
Takeru almost collapsed.
"HARUMI!!" he whispered urgently.
"What?!"
"This town has seven thousand people!!"
Harumi took a deep breath.
"THEN I BETTER START CHOPPING ONIONS NOW!!!"
The neighbors laughed.
Sakura laughed.
Even Takeru had to hide a smile.
And the two kids?
Mei and Takeru looked radiant.
In the middle of that warm chaos, Harumi realized something strange.
She was tired.
Her arms hurt.
Her house was suddenly full of things.
She had just made impossible promises.
And yet…
She was happy.
Ridiculously happy.
Three days.
Just three days.
And her heart had already changed its address.
When the neighbors finally left, the sun had already disappeared.
The house became quiet.
But not that empty kind of quiet.
It was the kind filled with anticipation.
Mei stood in front of the boxes.
Watching them.
Not blinking.
Like they were forbidden treasure.
Takeru stood with his arms crossed, pretending not to care.
But his foot was tapping against the tatami.
Harumi put her hands on her hips.
"I was going to leave this for tomorrow…"
Mei's eyes widened.
Takeru raised an eyebrow.
"…but do you want to open them today?"
Mei exploded:
"YEEEEEEES!!!"
Takeru said nothing.
But he took three steps forward.
In Takeru language, that meant:
please.
Harumi lifted the first box.
"Then the official season of Not-Christmas-But-It-Feels-Like-Christmas Presents is now open!"
She opened it.
POOF!
Colorful paper, folded clothes, and a wooden toy fell onto the tatami.
Mei grabbed the toy first.
"It's a horse!!"
Harumi inspected it.
"Looks like me after cleaning."
"You don't have to be that honest," Takeru said.
Another box.
Inside there were:
sweaters
socks
a brand-new coat
And a pink school backpack with a little bow.
Mei froze.
She picked it up slowly.
"Is this… mine?"
Harumi smiled.
"Yours."
"For real?"
"For real-real."
Mei hugged the backpack so tightly it looked like it might fuse with her body.
Then she hugged Harumi.
"Thank you… thank you… thank you, Haru!!"
Takeru looked away.
But the tip of his ear turned red.
The third box was for him.
Dark clothes.
A nice hoodie.
A pair of sneakers.
And then…
He stopped.
Inside the box was an old handheld game console.
The kind someone had kept carefully for years.
Takeru picked it up like it was made of glass.
"…Can I?"
Harumi blinked.
"Of course you can."
"…It's for me?"
"Yes."
She tilted her head.
"But why are you so shocked? It's just a game."
Takeru looked up.
"IT'S NOT JUST A GAME, HARUMI."
She fell silent.
And understood it meant more than it looked.
So she just smiled.
"Then take good care of it… hahaha…"
After that…
The boxes kept coming.
Toy cars.
Building blocks.
Little books.
Notebooks.
Colored pencils.
And even a new teddy bear to keep Kuma-chan company.
Mei laughed.
Takeru played.
Harumi…
Ended up playing too.
At some point:
Mei put a party hat on Harumi's head.
And a fairy costume on Takeru that, according to Mei, "totally matched him."
Takeru clearly could not stand the itchy skirt.
Takeru handed Harumi a controller.
And the three of them spent hours playing, building toys, trying on ridiculous clothes, and making a happy mess.
Harumi tried to play seriously.
She lost every match.
"Takeru, this is unfair!"
"It's not my fault you don't know how to go right."
"I AM GOING RIGHT!"
"You're going up."
"DON'T CONTRADICT MY EMOTIONS!"
Mei laughed so hard she almost fell over.
Time passed without asking permission.
When Harumi finally looked at the clock—
"GUYS!!"
"Hm?" Takeru said.
"IT'S PAST MIDNIGHT!"
Silence.
Mei was sitting on top of toys.
Takeru was still playing.
Harumi had two toy cars stuck in her hair.
She blinked.
"Time for bed!"
No one moved.
"We're already sleeping," Takeru muttered without looking away from the screen.
"That's not sleeping."
"It is."
"It isn't."
"Yes it is."
"I'M THE ADULT HERE!"
"You have two toy cars in your hair."
"THAT IS NOT RELEVANT!"
Mei slowly started tipping over with sleep.
Harumi sighed.
Tried to carry both of them.
Failed.
And in the end…
No one went to the bedroom.
The three of them stayed right there on the tatami.
Surrounded by open boxes.
Scattered toys.
New clothes.
Colorful wrapping paper.
Mei rested her head on Harumi's lap.
Harumi adjusted her hair.
Takeru, pretending independence until the very last second…
Leaned against Harumi's shoulder.
Slowly.
Like he didn't want to.
But needed to.
Harumi yawned.
"I'll… take you to bed in a minu—"
She didn't.
She fell asleep first.
Mei fell asleep hugging her.
Takeru stayed awake for a few minutes.
Watching the two of them.
Then he stood up quietly.
He grabbed the thickest blanket in the house—the one Sakura brought saying, "so you don't freeze together."
He covered them both.
Then sat down beside them.
Wearing his new pajamas.
And murmured softly:
"Good night."
Harumi was already snoring.
He sighed.
And fell asleep there too.
The house that just days ago had felt huge and empty…
Was now full.
Full of toys.
Of mess.
Of warmth.
Of laughter.
And of something Harumi hadn't fully realized yet.
A family beginning to be born.