Time had already slipped into noon. The sun stood high above, and the light in the house had changed — softer, longer shadows, like the day was stretching before a nap.
Mama Yui looked at her daughter and said gently, "Yui, it's already noon. Let's go home. Papa's waiting."
Yui nodded. "Yes, Mama," she said quietly.
I stood by Mama's leg, holding onto her dress, eyes watching Yui as she began to walk toward the door.
My heart felt a little heavy, like the end of something magical.
"Yui..." I called softly. "Will you come again?"
She turned to her mama with a questioning look. Mama Yui knelt down and whispered something to her ear. I couldn't hear it, but when Yui turned back to me, she was smiling like sunshine.
She ran straight to me and grabbed both of my hands in hers.
"Hideki," she said, her voice full of excitement, "come to Yui's house!"
I blinked. "Hideki... to Yui house?"
She nodded big. "Yui birthday... on New Year's Eve. We spend New Year together!"
My heart jumped like a little bird. "Yeeaaaahhh!!" I shouted, bouncing on my toes.
Yui giggled and ran back to her mama, who stood waiting with her arms open.
Then Yui turned around again and waved.
"Bye, Hideki!"
I waved both hands as hard as I could. "Bye-bye, Yuiiiiii!"
She nodded with the biggest smile, then turned and walked away. Their figures slowly faded into the light of the afternoon, until I couldn't see them anymore.
I stood there, still and quiet.
Then I reached for Mama's hand — the one by my side the whole time. I tugged gently until she knelt down in front of me.
I wrapped my arms around her and pressed my face into her chest.
Then I looked up at her, eyes wide and full of everything I felt.
"Mama..." I whispered, "I loooove you. Hideki looooove Mama."
"Arigatou, Mama."
Her arms wrapped tight around me, holding me close.
She rubbed the back of my head softly. "Anything for you, sweetheart."
Then she pulled back, brushing my cheek.
"Don't forget to tell Papa too," she said with a wink.
I nodded fast. "Mmm!"
Then I ran into the house to find Papa.
He was standing by the door, watching quietly. As soon as he saw me, he opened his arms and swept me up high into the air.
He spun me around once, twice — my laugh flying into the air like a balloon — then held me close against his chest.
"What is it, buddy?" he asked, smiling.
I hugged him tight and buried my face in his shirt.
"Papa... Hideki love Papaaaaa... Arigatou, Papa..."
He placed his hand gently on my head and ruffled my hair until it was a mess.
Then he said, his voice soft and deep, "Always remember this, okay buddy?"
He paused.
"Don't forget this moment that made you so happy."
I nodded again, my face still pressed to his chest. His shirt smelled like sunshine and something safe.
I felt so sleepy.
So warm.
My eyes... started to close all by themselves.
Papa looked down and chuckled softly. "Our little boy must be having a beautiful dream."
Mama stood nearby, smiling.
Then Mama came over and they carried me gently to my room, laying me down beside my Shiba plushie.
The light outside my window danced like quiet music on the walls.
And before I could say another word, I was fast asleep...
Still holding the song in my heart.
Time passed by like always.
And just like always... Sunday morning came to our house.
The light poured through the windows gently, painting gold across the floor. The smell of breakfast was somewhere in the air — eggs, maybe rice — but what filled the living room wasn't just the scent of food.
It was music.
Papa was at the piano again. His fingers danced across the black and white keys, soft and light — like they were skipping on a river.
I sat nearby with Shiba in my lap, watching him. The music felt like magic, like a morning lullaby that floated in the air.
Then a question bubbled up inside me.
"Papa... Papa... how to play it?" I asked, eyes wide.
Papa turned his head and saw me.
He smiled — that warm, gentle smile that always made me feel safe — and opened his arms.
"Come here, little buddy," he said.
He lifted me up and sat me on his lap, just like he always did when I was small — even though I was getting bigger now.
My feet dangled over the bench, not touching the floor. My hands were small, hovering above the keys.
Papa put his hands gently over mine.
"Let Papa show you," he whispered.
Then he moved my fingers softly, one by one, helping them press the keys.
The sound that came out was soft — delicate — like tiny stars blinking into the sky.
Twinkle...
Twinkle...
Little star...
I blinked. My heart fluttered.
Was that me?
Did I just make that sound?
Did I just... play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?
I looked up at Papa, then back at the piano.
My fingers trembled a little.
But I smiled.
Because for the first time, the song wasn't just something Papa played.
It was something we made — together.
Then I looked up at Papa, my eyes still wide from the sound we just made.
"Papa..." I asked softly, "can I play it like you someday?"
Papa didn't answer right away. Instead, he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.
I felt it — warm and safe — like sunshine landing gently on my hair.
Then he smiled and said in his deep, gentle voice, "You will, little buddy. You'll be an even brighter player than your Papa."
"Really?" I blinked up at him.
He nodded. "Yes. But do you know why Papa can make beautiful sounds from this piano?"
I shook my head, lips pressed together. "Mmm-mm..."
Papa looked at the keys for a moment, then back at me.
"The secret," he said softly, "is not to play with your fingers or your eyes."
I blinked.
He tapped my chest with one hand. "Play it with your heart."
Then he touched my ear. "Feel it with your ears..."
And tapped my forehead. "Imagine it in your mind. The moment, the memory — whatever your heart wants to say."
He took both my hands gently in his and rested them on the keys again.
"Our fingers," he whispered, "are just the storytellers. They tell the world how our hearts feel... through sound."
He smiled, and his eyes looked shiny — not sad, just full.
"That's the little secret, buddy."
I stared up into his eyes.
They sparkled — like stars in the brightest night sky.
And something deep inside me stirred. I couldn't explain it, not with words, not even in my thoughts... but I felt it.
Like a song without lyrics — only feeling.
Even if my mind didn't understand every word Papa said, my heart did.
I nodded slowly and whispered, "Thanks, Papa..."
He looked at me with so much love, I almost couldn't breathe.
"You're welcome, little buddy," he said.
And in that moment, I knew...
One day, I would play.
With my fingers.
With my ears.
With my heart.
Just like Papa.
From the side of the room, Mama watched us quietly.
Her hands held her phone, but her eyes held something bigger — something warmer.
As Papa guided my little fingers across the piano, she lifted the phone gently and snap — took a picture.
But I think, in her heart, she didn't just capture a photo.
She captured a piece of forever.
She smiled so wide — the kind of smile that lights up a whole day.
In her eyes, I saw it.
She wasn't just looking at a piano or two people sitting together.
She was looking at her world.
Her sun.
Her moon.
Right there, side by side.
Me.
And Papa.
Her everything.
And somehow... I could feel her love wrapping around us — like a soft blanket we didn't even know was there.