The early morning cold felt like the air was biting.
Mei shivered inside the makeshift sling.Harumi shivered too—from cold and 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 too still filled her nose.
Mei shrank closer.
— It's okay, my love…
Harumi whispered—even though she didn't fully 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.Carefully—but desperately enough to break one drawer.
— Crap… sorry… — she apologized to a drawer. Yes.
Mei clutched the teddy bear tightly.
Harumi found:
old photos;unpaid bills;medical documents;scribbled papers;drawings Mei made when she was little;
But then…
A blue folder.Hidden at the bottom of a chest.
Harumi opened it.
Stopped.
Read.
Swallowed hard.
Documents from a hospital in another city.The hospital where their mother was.
"Admission.Guardian: none.Discharge: none scheduled."
And attached to it—a hospital card with an address and old visiting hours.
Harumi's heart started pounding painfully fast.
— …He's there.
She knew.
She felt it.
Like something screamed inside her chest.
— MEI. — she said, way too firm. — We need to run.
Mei's eyes widened.
— Takeru…?
Harumi clutched 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 got home, 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 broke.
Her chest hurt.Her head throbbed.
Then—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Harumi jumped.
Ran to the door.
Opened it, thinking it was Takeru.
— TAKERU?!
But it wasn't.
It was Sakura, the elderly neighbor from next door.Known as the mother of the handsome, hardworking neighbor.
She held a small bag of sweets and wore a big pink coat.
— Harumi… sorry to bother you so late… I saw you running outside, you looked desperate, I thought something happe—
Harumi lost her breath.
The tears came before she could stop them.
— S-Sakura… he… he left… I… I don't know… I don't know how to go after him… and I can't leave Mei alone… I… I ruined everything…
Sakura smiled so gently it felt like a warm blanket.
She stepped closer, touched Harumi's arm like she was handling something fragile.
— Oh, dear… you're doing your best.
She crouched down to Mei and smiled.
— Would you like… to come to grandma's house and have some sweets while Harumi goes to get your brother?
Mei blinked.
Then nodded hard.
— YES! I want sweets!
Harumi froze.
— S-Sakura… I… I can't ask you that—
— You didn't. I offered. — Sakura said, in that firm grandma tone that allows no argument. — Go. Run. Before it gets colder.
She winked softly.
— 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, like she was her own granddaughter.
— Come on, my dear. Grandma made sweet bread.
Mei hugged her neck.
Harumi saw that and almost cried again.
But she had a mission.
Harumi shot out of the house like a rocket.
Cold.Messy.Shaking.
She grabbed the first coat she saw—way too light.Put on a cap instead of a beanie.Forgot a scarf.Mismatched socks.Wrong pair of shoes.
But she had dressed Mei properly before handing her to Sakura.
She ran.
But as she stepped down the front stairs—
She ran straight into him.
THE HANDSOME, HARDWORKING NEIGHBOR.
Tall.Casual.Tired.Holding a work bag and suitcase.
Back from a business trip.
He raised a hand:
— Good eve—
Harumi flew past like a missile.
— TAKERU!!! TAKERUUU!!! I'LL FIND YOU EVEN IF IT KILLS MEEEEE!!!
She slipped on the icy ground.Almost fell.Kept running like a maniac.
The guy stood there on the sidewalk.
Blinking twice.
— …I think… she's… busy.
And walked inside, confused.
The Search Begins Again!
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'm going to find you, kid. I swear.
And with the documents in her hands, intuition in her chest, and fear in her legs…
She headed for the hospital.
For the past.
For the place she knew—knew—he would be.