Year: 2017 – Mid Spring
Ren Akihara (Age 11) – 6th Grade
Haruto Akihara (Age 12) – 1st Year Junior High
The rain had come unexpectedly.
Thin droplets tapped against the roof of the Akihara house, creating a soft percussion that filled the quiet living room. Ren sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, a book open on his lap. Not a textbook, but a dense novel he'd borrowed from the library—something about logic puzzles and cryptic murders.
Ayaka entered with folded laundry in her arms. "Ren, can you bring Haruto's shirts to his room?"
Ren didn't respond right away. He read another sentence before gently placing a bookmark. "Okay," he said, standing.
He took the shirts upstairs. Haruto's room was half-open. Inside, his older brother was on his phone, earphones plugged in, eyes blank as the screen glowed blue. Ren placed the clothes on the desk.
"Thanks," Haruto muttered, not looking.
Ren didn't reply. He simply turned and left.
Downstairs, Ayaka was quietly humming in the kitchen. The smell of simmering nikujaga spread gently through the house. Warm, familiar.
Yet the warmth didn't quite reach the corners anymore.
Later that evening, Ren sat on the porch, watching the raindrops form tiny rivers on the pavement. He thought of nothing in particular. Just... listened. Listened to the quiet hum of a home where voices were starting to fade.
He wasn't lonely.
Not yet.
But he understood now—
Something was changing.