Okaasan No Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara Ne -

The next morning, walking home in the frozen dawn, Haruki kicked a can down the empty street. Yuki walked beside him, still wearing his scarf.

“Mm?”

When Yuki woke up an hour later, she found her son’s arm linked through hers. She kissed the top of his head. He pretended to stay asleep. okaasan no koto nanka zenzen suki janain dakara ne

But his cheeks were wet.

And Haruki, for the first time in years, didn’t add his usual line. The next morning, walking home in the frozen

He stared at the note. Then he ate his rice alone, watching the snow pile on the windowsill. At 8 p.m., she still wasn’t home. At 10 p.m., he called her phone. No answer. At midnight, he pulled on his jacket and walked two miles through the blizzard to the city hospital. She kissed the top of his head

“Hey, Mom.”