The cold night wind sliced across Harumi's face.Mei was wrapped in Harumi's bathrobe like a tiny, trembling burrito.
And Harumi shivered—Not just from the cold,but from the quiet, creeping panic that hits when your brain starts connecting dots you really wish it wouldn't.
Grandpa's house.They had been alone.Wandering the streets when she found them at the market…
Oh no…They ran away from home…?Their grandfather must be losing his mind with worry…
They probably went to the market to buy supplies to escape…
And I—I kidnapped them?!I'm a kidnapper by accident?!?
Harumi swallowed her scream and tried to look dignified.— So… which one is your grandpa's house?
Takeru pointed.
— That one.
A crooked old house.Dusty porch.Sagging roof.The type of house that appears in low-budget horror films right before someone screams.
Harumi inhaled dramatically.
— Okay. Maximum stealth mode.
Takeru squinted.— Do you even know how to walk quietly?
Harumi struck a ninja pose.
— Of course I—
She took exactly one step.
NHOOOOOOOOOOON
A wooden board cried for help.
Takeru closed his eyes.— …You don't know.
— I doooo! — Harumi whispered loudly.
They climbed the porch.Harumi slipped.Hit her knee.Nearly reenacted the tragic life of a loose manhole cover.
How am I going to explain anything to this poor grandfather?!What do I say? "Hi, I borrowed your grandchildren by accident"? HELP.
— Harumi, let me—
— NO! I am the responsible adult here! — she declared, tripping again.
Mei suddenly pointed.
— Kuma-chan!!
There he was.Sitting on a chair.Frozen.Looking like a tiny warrior who had accepted his fate.
Mei dashed forward, hugging him with all her soul.
— I FOUND YOUUU!!
Harumi clutched her chest.
— My heart… froze just like my school report card…
Takeru crossed his arms.— Can we go home now?
— NO! — Harumi gasped.— Takeru… your grandfather must be worried! I need to apologize! And you two should as well!!
Takeru frowned.
— Why?
— Ué… you ran away from home… he must be suffering… crying… desperate…
Takeru looked at her with a cold, flat stare.
— He's dead. He's not worried.
The world stopped.
Silence.Cold.Air leaving her lungs.
Mei hugged the stuffed monkey tighter.
— It's true! The lady who took care of Grandpa said I'll only see him when I'm super old…
Harumi felt the ground shift under her feet.
She understood.Everything.
She understood what the caretaker meant.Understood why the house was empty.Why they wandered alone.Why Takeru was so stiff, so adult.Why Mei clung to any scrap of affection.
These children…had no one.
No one.
Her hands trembled—not from the cold this time.
I picked up two children… entirely alone.I brought them home without thinking… and now?Where would they have gone if I hadn't?Back to an empty house? Back to nothing?
She looked at Takeru.At Mei.At Kuma-chan in her arms.
And something inside her shifted—painful, warm, terrifying, beautiful.
She wasn't just rescuing a stuffed toy.
She was rescuing them.
And maybe…maybe they were rescuing her too.
Harumi wiped her eyes quickly, secretly.
— Takeru… Mei… let's go home, okay?
Takeru looked at her.A look full of broken pieces, and unspoken strength.
He nodded once.
And the three walked back together:— Harumi hiding her ache,— Mei clutching her hero-monkey,— Takeru watching everything, always alert.
In that freezing night…
Something unnamed was born between them.
Something huge.Warm.Alive.
Like the first sparkof a homefinally being lit.