Morning sunlight slipped through the shoji screens in a warm golden glow—Not that any of it mattered, because Harumi woke up with her face buried in the futon and her brain going at two horsepower.
She sat up slowly, stretched her arms, and sighed:
"Wow… what a weird dream."
She scratched her disaster-hair and chuckled to herself.
"I dreamed I was at the market, and there was this crying little girl, then her brother showed up, and the cashier was a rude witch… then I brought the kids home… then in the middle of the night someone lost a stuffed monkey… and when I went to apologize thinking they ran away from home, their grandfather was DEAD! Hahaha… what an imagination…"
She laughed, laughed, laughed—
WHAP!WHAP!
Two brutal pillow-strikes smashed into her head.
"AAAAAAAH?!" Harumi rolled off the futon. "IS THIS A NIGHT ATTACK?!"
Izumi stood beside her with a pillow.Takeru held another pillow, staring at her like it was obvious.
"You weren't dreaming," Izumi said.
Takeru added,"Dummy."
Mei peeked from behind them, hugging Kuma-chan.
"Harumi… good morning…"
Harumi stared at the three of them.
………
And then it hit.
The Realization.
Like lightning.Like a divine kick.Like the electric bill arriving.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT WAS REAL!!"
Harumi jumped so violently that the futon slid away and she fell on her butt.
But she sprang back up instantly, possessed by the Spirit of Late Responsibility.
Mei sat between them, hugging Kuma-chan so tightly the bear seemed to cry for help.Takeru ate rice in complete silence, as if chaos was simply his natural habitat.
Izumi leaned forward.
"So… just confirm one thing. You REALLY went outside in pajamas, at two in the morning, to look for a stuffed toy?"
Harumi drank more coffee.
"In my defense… it was cold."
"That's your defense?!" Izumi slapped the table. "You looked like a wandering ghost in pajamas!"
"I COULD'VE FROZEN, YES!" Harumi snapped back.
"In a bathrobe?!"
Mei looked between them, totally lost.
Takeru sighed.
"Harumi's crazy."
Izumi tapped the table lightly, satisfied.
"Finally, someone sensible in this house."
Harumi lifted her chin with questionable dignity.
"Alright, alright. Mission complete, stuffed animal rescued, no casualties. Let's move on to normal life."
Izumi stared at her like she had just said, "I'm becoming an astronaut."
"Haru… you have two children, zero proper clothing for them, only two pillows in the whole house, and ONE frying pan. Where exactly are you seeing 'normal life'?"
Harumi froze for three seconds.
"…Realism accepted. Thank you."
She clapped her hands on the table with new determination.
"NEW MISSION: SHOPPING!"
Mei raised her little arms enthusiastically.Takeru sighed in defeat.
The Mission "Get the Kids Ready"!
Status: almost failed.
Harumi dashed around the house like a disorganized tornado.
"Okay! Clothes… clothes… CLOTHES! Where are clothes?!" she yelled, opening random boxes.
"Harumi, that box has pots," Izumi warned.
"A pot can be an emergency hat!" Harumi replied, desperate.
Mei watched everything, fascinated, as if attending a live comedy show.
In the end, Harumi found some old clothes of Izumi's and one oversized shirt of her own.
Results:
Mei: looked like a lost woodland fairy wearing a T-shirt down to her knees.Takeru: wore simple clothes from Izumi that miraculously fit.
Harumi looked at them, emotional.
"You two look… perfect."
Izumi shook her head.
"Harumi… Mei looks like a tiny garden gnome in adult clothes."
"It's conceptual fashion!" Harumi declared.
The small town had a simple downtown with a few shops.Harumi entered the first little clothing store with confidence—
And walked out two seconds later.
"IZUMI IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE!" she cried, falling to her knees dramatically. "This is daylight robbery!"
"Haru, it's just a normal store," Izumi said. "What did you expect?"
"I expected… a 'I-just-moved-in-and-I'm-broke' discount! I don't know!"
Takeru crossed his arms seriously.
"We don't need anything."
"There is no such thing as a child who 'doesn't need anything,' young man," Harumi replied. "You will get clothes."
Mei raised her hand.
"I want clothes with… a bear."
Harumi put a hand on her chest, moved.
"I will sell a kidney, but you will have your bear outfit, Mei."
After comparing prices and discovering every shop was cruelly expensive, Harumi arrived at a bitter conclusion:
"Izumi… we can't shop here. I'll have to go to the bigger city."
Izumi exhaled.
"So… train?"
"Train."
Harumi made the dramatic face of a protagonist accepting her destiny.
"Children! Prepare yourselves! We will ride… The Train of Responsibility!"
Takeru blinked slowly.
"It's just a regular train."
"WRONG!" Harumi pointed dramatically. "It's the train where I watch my adult life slipping away!"
Izumi tried not to laugh.
On the Train — A Glimpse of the Future
They boarded. The train rocked gently, full of people traveling between small towns.
Then, at the far end of the car…
It began.
A four-year-old threw himself on the floor screaming like he was being exorcised.
"I WANT CANDYYYYY!!! AAAAAAHHH!!!"
His mother, utterly defeated, tried to contain him.
Harumi watched in slow motion.Cold sweat hit.
She thought:
"Oh no… that could be me. That WILL be me. That maybe already IS me."
She looked at Mei sitting politely, hugging Kuma-chan.She looked at Takeru, quiet, staring out the window.
And she whispered:
"…Thank you… just for today…"
Izumi smirked.
"Motherly thoughts, Harumi?"
"S–SHUT UP!" Harumi hissed, red."Ahaaa… Mother. With a capital M."
Takeru glanced at her.
"Aunt Haru looks more like an adult when she's scared."
"D-Don't say stuff like that! Of course I get nervous!"
And the train kept moving, carrying the four of them together—Like a family that didn't yet know it was already a family.