After dinner, silence arrived.
That dangerous kind of silence.
The kind that asks:
"Okay. Now what?"
Harumi looked at the kids.
The kids looked at Harumi.
Izumi already knew what was coming.
"Don't even start," she warned.
"I didn't say anything!"
"Your brain is making noise."
Outside, the wind began slamming against the windows.
Then came the rain.
Heavy.
Thick.
Freezing.
Takeru stood up immediately.
"We're leaving now."
Harumi spun around at the exact same second.
"No, you're not."
"We were just going to have dinner."
"You already did. Now you're staying to sleep."
"That's not necessary."
She opened the door.
The wind burst in like it wanted to join the argument.
The rain was slanted. Violent. Cold.
Mei grabbed her brother's sleeve.
"…It's really cold." The look on her face was heartbreaking.
Takeru clenched his jaw.
He wanted to leave. He didn't want to depend on anyone.
But he didn't want her shivering either.
Harumi crossed her arms.
"Not happening. You're staying. We'll figure it out here."
He hesitated.
Mei decided for him.
"Let's stay!" she whispered in his ear. "She's really nice!"
They stepped inside.
Takeru sighed in defeat and followed.
Izumi muttered,
"And so it begins."
Now came the real problem.
Harumi looked toward the bedroom.
One futon.
One.
She and Izumi were already sharing it.
She blinked.
"Okay."
Izumi slowly closed her eyes.
"No."
"You two take the futon," Harumi announced.
Izumi turned her head slowly, like something out of a horror movie.
"Excuse me?"
"Kids need to sleep comfortably."
"And what am I? A lamppost?"
Harumi grabbed her sister's face dramatically.
"You're strong. You're resilient. You can sleep on the floor for one night."
"I have bones, Harumi."
Takeru interrupted.
"We can sleep anywhere."
Harumi was already pacing around the house.
Thinking out loud.
Dangerous.
"There has to be something. This house is huge. Uselessly huge, but huge."
She opened one door.
Closed it.
Opened another.
"I HAVE AN INFLATABLE POOL."
Silence.
Izumi:
"You want to… sleep… in a pool?"
"We inflate it with my powerful lungs! Put blankets on top! It'll be soft!"
"It'll be loud," Izumi replied flatly.
Harumi turned to her.
"Have you tested that?"
"No."
"Then don't criticize my genius before trying it."
Izumi dragged a hand down her face.
"I refuse to participate in a nighttime inflatable circus."
Harumi dropped the pool onto the floor.
Thought harder.
"THE DOOR."
"No," Izumi answered before she could explain.
"We take the door that fell off, lay it on the floor, turn it into like… a platform!"
"Harumi."
"It's wood. Wood is less cold than the floor."
"You want to sleep ON A DOOR."
"I am creative under pressure!"
Takeru was starting to look genuinely concerned.
Mei thought it was amazing.
"I can hold the door," she offered.
Izumi pointed at her.
"Don't encourage her."
Harumi dropped the door.
Thought again.
Looked at the stack of clean curtains folded over a chair.
"THE CURTAIN."
"You are not sleeping on a curtain."
"It's fabric!"
"It's thin!"
"It's symbolic!"
Takeru finally spoke again.
"We can just leave."
Harumi turned slowly.
"No."
He got serious.
"We don't want to be a burden."
And there it was.
Not pride.
Not stubbornness.
Fear of being too much.
Harumi walked over and crouched to his height.
"Listen. We are walking chaos. You being here doesn't make anything worse."
Izumi confirmed,
"To be clear, only she is chaos. She was like this before you showed up."
Mei giggled.
Takeru was still stiff.
But he wasn't trying to run anymore.
Harumi took a deep breath.
"Okay. Final plan."
Cut to:
All of them on the same futon.
Yes.
All of them.
Izumi behind Harumi, clearly rethinking her life choices.
Mei in the middle.
Takeru at the edge, rigid like he was on a secret mission.
"Don't touch me," he warned.
Harumi was already pulling the blanket up.
"Relax. I snore, but I'm harmless."
"That's not reassuring."
Izumi muttered,
"If anyone kicks me, I'm kicking back."
Mei adjusted herself.
Looked at Harumi.
"Can I braid your hair?"
"Sure…" Harumi answered.
Five seconds later, she was out.
Just like that.
Mid-sentence.
Blink.
Asleep.
Izumi looked at Takeru.
"She does that."
"I noticed."
Mei carefully got off the futon.
Had to do a tiny hop to reach the light switch.
Turned it off.
Came back.
Lay down in the middle.
Curled up.
Without asking.
Takeru stayed perfectly still.
She turned toward him.
"It's warm."
He sighed.
Tried to keep his distance.
Impossible.
The futon refused to cooperate.
Izumi, almost asleep, murmured,
"If you complain, I'm switching your side."
"I didn't complain."
"You thought loudly."
Mei absently played with the ends of Harumi's hair.
Who was already softly snoring.
Heavy rain outside.
Wind against the windows.
Absurdly cold for August.
But in there?
Warm.
Cramped.
Improvised.
Takeru stared at the ceiling.
Listened to his sister's steady breathing.
It had been a long time since she hadn't looked worried before falling asleep.
He closed his eyes.
Just in case.
Just for one night.
"Just tonight…" he murmured quietly.
Izumi answered, half asleep,
"Mhm."
"How do you hear everything?!"
A faint chuckle.
And just like that, the huge, empty house felt small.
Small and full.
Harumi was now hugging both of them like pillows.
Takeru didn't move at all.
Mei hugged back.
And Izumi stole the blanket for herself.
No extra mattress.No plan.No space.
But full.
And the night seemed peaceful.
Seemed.