Two children were playing in their backyard. It was the height of summer, so they could afford to stay indoors in the morning, now bathed in the bright sunlight. Seated on the remaining piece of wood outside the living room, under a tarpaulin that cast a gentle shade, were the children's mother and grandmother.
To tell the truth, the yard wasn't very big, but it was enough for the kids. Their giggles echoed as they, in their father's words, acted silly.
"This is the sword my father gave me! I won't go down with it!" A boy full of energy. His mother's cooking apron was draped over his back, tied around his neck to resemble a cape. It barely touched the ground. He was also using a rolled-up newspaper as a weapon.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Your efforts are useless!" Opposing him was a girl, a little older than him, about 10 years old. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a ribbon that had a yellow bow. She wore a pirate patch over her left eye and was using a cardboard tube the same length as the boy's newspaper as a weapon.
Both their mother and grandmother watched them without any concern, as they were merely clashing their "swords" repeatedly, not with enough force to cause harm, in case a slash was accidentally thrown. Between them was a tray with a teapot from which a delicate aroma wafted, and two small teacups with their respective coasters.
Well, maybe the mother was a little worried.
"…All that emotion is going to cause them to hurt themselves." The comment itself was one of total concern, but from the tone she used, it seemed to bother her more than anything.
"Let them have fun, let them enjoy the summer as much as they can." In contrast, the grandmother wanted them to keep playing, and she certainly didn't want to ruin the moment.
"I won't stop them, but if Riku hurts Amaya…"
"Hiyaaaa!"
While the mother expressed her concern for Amaya, Amaya prepared to unleash a vertical slash. Riku held his legendary sword above his head with both hands, ready to block the blow.
"He's not going to do anything with a newspaper. The only thing that could happen is—"
"Oh!"
Before the grandmother could finish speaking, what she had imagined happened. The legendary sword slipped from Riku's hands as he braced himself for the blow, and he took the impact head-on. He flinched slightly from the blow, but then he got up and put a hand to his head.
The grandmother reacted somewhat calmly, but the mother was startled.
"Amaya, you need to be more careful!"
Even so, she didn't run toward Riku. She got up a little hurriedly, but then her pace evened out. Riku was on the verge of tears, and before he did, he pointed at the ground.
"My… My sword! Waaaaaa!" She burst into tears after seeing her legendary sword bent on the ground.
"Ah… uh…" Amaya had absolutely no idea what to do.
When his mother arrived, she placed her hand on Riku's cheek. "Riku, are you okay? Does it hurt?" She focused on the blow Amaya had given him, placing her hand on the point of impact, beneath Riku's. She didn't feel any lump, and he didn't react when she touched him there.
" sniff Amaya broke my sword! Woohoo!"
"It was an accident, Mom!"
The mother turned to look at her daughter for a moment, and then returned her attention to Riku.
"Riku, it's okay. Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"
"…N-no, but, my sword…"
After crying for a while, Riku now sounded annoyed, staring intently at Amaya. She had already apologized several times.
Seeing what Riku wanted, his mother stepped away from him for a moment and picked up the folded and slightly wrinkled newspaper. First, she flattened it again, and then she rolled it up.
"Look, Riku, here's your sword!"
"Really?! Mom, I love you!"
When Riku saw the repaired newspaper, his legendary sword returning to its former form, he rushed to his mother and hugged her. She bent down to hug him back...
"… Blehhh ."
…and stuck her tongue out at Amaya while she was hugging her mother. Amaya got a little angry about that and soon told on her.
"Mom, Riku stuck his tongue out at me!"
"Mom, Amaya is a liar."
"Amaya, if you keep teasing your brother, you won't get any ice cream."
"Huh? But it's true! Grandma, it's true!"
"I haven't seen anything. Age isn't doing my eyesight any favors."
When Riku stopped hugging his mother, she went back to his grandmother. Amaya continued complaining as she left, but Riku decided not to flatter her anymore.
"Amaya, you are very bad."
" Me?! You'll be-"
"Amaya." Her mother interrupted her in a more serious tone than before.
"Okay."
After that, Riku insisted on continuing to play, but Amaya was no longer in the mood. Although she did warm up after Riku flattered her for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, both her mother and grandmother continued to keep a watchful eye on them.
"See, in the end nothing happened," Grandma said to Mom when she sat down beside her. "So, will you pour me some tea, dear?"
She nodded, and spoke as she picked up the teapot and poured some into both cups. "Riku worries about nothing. I'm surprised he didn't complain about the bump."
"Well, I think he's been flattering you a bit." Having seen everything from a different perspective, the grandmother surely knew something she didn't. "Just like you when you were little."
"Grandma, that... huh, never mind."
Grandma picked up the cup by the handle and took a sip of tea, then put it back. Mother did the same shortly after.
"And you're still just as cute."
"Thank you, although I already know that. Kenzo must be very happy with me."
"And you feel the same way about him. In the end, everything balances out."
The mother had completely calmed down from that little accident, and could talk about her husband, Kenzo, now that he was at work.
"Yes… Although sometimes it gets on my nerves."
"But that's normal. If I told you all the times your father has nagged me, I wouldn't finish talking until tomorrow."
The grandmother let out a small laugh at her daughter's complaint, watching her grandchildren play with affection.
"Now I know what Dad was like."
"And yet, I loved him, and I still love him. If he were here, he would think the same."
The mother's tone sounded slightly annoyed when discussing the memory of her father, something countered by the grandmother's voice.
"If I'm still here, it's because I'm too stubborn. I want to keep seeing my grandchildren grow up, even more than I already have."
"And you're going to be with us for a long time, Mom."
You could say what Grandma said was rather sad, but her tone showed the opposite. An immaculate joy at having come so far. But both she and my mother knew it wasn't going to last that long.
"You know what they told me in the analysis. Yes, I still have time, but not as much as I would like."
"Don't worry, you're still going to be with us for a while longer. What the doctor said is just a possibility; it doesn't have to be that way."
"Yuki, I'm not saying I want to leave anytime soon. Of course, God willing, I could be here a long time. But only God knows that."
The grandmother tried to calm the mother, Yuki, who seemed genuinely worried. Unlike Kenzo's family, both she and her daughter were believers, though that had never been a problem in their marriage.
"I'm most worried about Riku and Amaya. They've both grown very attached to you, I suppose because you're their only grandmother. Especially Riku. He's changed a lot thanks to you. Before, he couldn't even talk to the cashier, but now he could even go to the bakery by himself."
"And he doesn't go because you won't let him."
"I don't want to imagine what could happen to him. How could I let him go after hearing what happened in the city…"
Yuki's voice sounded grateful for how much Grandma Irie Arita meant to the boys. For everything she had done to help Riku. Part of her even felt helpless because of it.
"You're right to worry about him, about both of them. But sometimes you go too far. You're a wonderful mother, of that I have no doubt. When you turned 35 last year I thought the same thing, and I always will. You're so grown up now, a far cry from the little girl you once were."
"… Thank you, Mom."
"You're welcome. Could you pour me some more tea?"
Irie asked Yuki for more tea after finishing her cup, having said everything she wanted to say to Yuki. Afterward, they continued watching Riku and Amaya play, now more carefully than before. Despite this, their good humor remained unaffected.
"It's a nice day, isn't it?" Irie said.
"It's a little hot, but yes. I hope Kenzo gets home from work soon." Yuki smiled slightly in reply to her grandmother. Her children continued playing for a while longer, until Riku got tired.
He was always the one who got tired first.