Tales from the Café

IV The Married Couple

People tend to feel happy when spring arrives, especially after a cold winter.

When spring begins, however, cannot be pinpointed to one particular moment. There is no one day that clearly marks when winter ends and spring begins. Spring hides inside winter. We notice it emerging with our eyes, our skin and other senses. We find it in new buds, a comfortable breeze and the warmth of the sun. It exists alongside winter.

‘Is your mind still on Kaname?’ asked Nagare Tokita, as if speaking to himself. He was sitting on a counter stool dexterously folding paper napkins into cranes.

Nagare’s muttering was directed at Kazu Tokita, who was behind him. But Kazu continued to wipe the table silently and adjusted the position of the coaster on which the sugar pot sat.

Nagare placed the seventh paper crane on the table.

‘I think you should have the baby,’ he said, directing his thin almond-shaped eyes at Kazu as she went about her work. ‘I think Kaname definitely—’

The sound of the doorbell cut him off mid-sentence, but neither Nagare nor Kazu said, ‘Hello, welcome.’

In this cafe, once a visitor had come through the door with the bell attached to it, they had to cross the hall before entering the room. Nagare watched the entrance in silence.

After a moment, Kiyoshi Manda appeared looking sheepish. Kiyoshi was a detective who had reached retirement age that spring. He wore a trench coat and an old hunting cap, and looked like a detective in a TV police drama from the seventies. Despite being a detective, there was nothing intimidating or hard about him. He was about the same height as Kazu and smiled often. He resembled any other sociable man in his later years, whom you might meet anywhere.

The hands of the clock in the middle of the wall were pointing to ten minutes to eight. The cafe closed at eight.

‘Is it all right?’ he asked tentatively.

Kazu replied as always, ‘Yes, come in,’ but Nagare just nodded in a somewhat subdued manner.

When Kiyoshi visited the cafe, he would always sit at the table closest to the entrance and order a coffee. But today, instead of sitting in his regular chair, he stood in the same place, uncertainly.

‘Please, take a seat,’ offered Kazu from behind the counter as she presented him with a glass of water and gestured for him to sit down.

Kiyoshi raised his tattered hunting cap politely. ‘Thank you,’ he replied and sat on a stool, leaving the one between him and Nagare vacant.

Nagare carefully gathered together the paper cranes and asked, ‘Will it be a coffee as usual?’ as he stood up and started heading for the kitchen.

‘Er, no, actually. Today…’ and as Nagare paused on his way to the kitchen, Kiyoshi looked over at the woman in the dress. Nagare followed Kiyoshi’s gaze and narrowed his eyes.

‘Oh?’

‘Actually, I’ve come to give this…’ he said, pulling out a small box, the kind a pen might come in, wrapped up like a present, ‘…to my wife.’

‘Is that…?’ asked Kazu, recognizing it.

‘Yes. It’s the necklace you helped choose for me,’ replied Kiyoshi bashfully as he scratched his head through his hunting cap.

The previous autumn Kiyoshi had asked for advice on what would make a good birthday present for his wife. Kazu had suggested a necklace. In the end, unable to decide by himself, Kiyoshi took her along with him to help him choose it.

‘I had promised to give it to her here, but when the day came, I was called in for an emergency and I never did…’

Listening to Kiyoshi’s words, Nagare locked eyes with Kazu. ‘So, are you saying you want to return to your wife’s birthday?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’

Nagare bit his lip and went silent. Two or three seconds passed with no one saying a word. Sitting in the quiet cafe, it must have seemed a very long stretch of silence to Kiyoshi.

‘Don’t worry, it’s all right. I know the rules well,’ he hastened to add.

Even with that, however, Nagare maintained his silence as the crevices in his brow deepened.

Kiyoshi could tell there was something strange about his reaction.

‘What is it?’ he asked uneasily.

‘I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t see why you have to return to the past just to give your wife a present,’ he said, in a soft apologetic voice.

Kiyoshi nodded, as if he now understood the reason for Nagare’s awkward silence. ‘Ha, ha, ha. For sure… I see what you are saying…’ he said, scratching his head.

‘I’m sorry.’ Nagare bowed his head hastily.

‘No, no. It’s fine… It’s my fault for not providing a proper explanation,’ Kiyoshi said, reaching out to pick up the glass that Kazu had served him. He took a small sip.

‘Explanation?’

‘Yes,’ Kiyoshi replied. ‘It was exactly one year ago when I found out that you can return to the past in this cafe.’

Kiyoshi’s explanation was going right back to when he first visited this cafe.

When Kiyoshi walked in, a red-faced man was crying at the far table, and a frail elderly woman was sitting opposite him. At the counter was a boy about elementary-school age and behind the counter was a man two metres tall, presumably a staff member.

The tall man did not greet Kiyoshi as he entered the cafe. He was too busy watching the couple at the far table. Only the young boy, who was slurping his orange juice through a straw, was staring at Kiyoshi.

Not being noticed when entering a cafe is nothing to make a fuss about. I’m sure he’ll notice me in a moment… Kiyoshi nodded to the boy in acknowledgement and took a seat at the table closest to the entrance.

As soon as he had sat down, the crying man was suddenly enveloped in a puff of vapour. And then he seemed to vanish, sucked up into the ceiling.

What?

As Kiyoshi stared with bulging eyes, a woman wearing a white dress appeared in the chair that the man had vanished from. These bizarre events seemed like something you might see in a magic show.

What happened just now?

As he watched in amazement, the elderly woman was talking to the woman in the white dress. From what he could pick up, she was saying, ‘Now, if there was only something I could do to make Kazu happy…’

The old woman was Kinuyo Mita and the man who had disappeared was Kinuyo’s son, Yukio. It was upon witnessing this incident that Kiyoshi came to realize that you really could return to the past in this cafe.

When he later learned from Kazu and Nagare about the annoying rules that applied when travelling back in time, he was astonished that anyone would want to make the journey. If it is not possible to change the present no matter how hard you try while in the past, then why bother? He became very interested in learning about the people who, even after knowing the rules, decided to go back.

‘…It was rude of me, I know, but I decided to look into the people who have returned to the past here.’

Kiyoshi bowed his head at Nagare, still paused in the entrance to the kitchen, and Kazu, who was standing behind the counter.

‘I found out from my investigation…’ Kiyoshi brought out a small black notebook before continuing, ‘…that over the last thirty years, forty-one people have sat in that chair and travelled back in time. They each had their own reasons for doing so, to meet a lover, a husband, a daughter, and so forth, but of those forty-one people, four returned to the past to meet someone who had died.

‘There were two last year, one seven years ago, and then there was your mother twenty-two years ago… four people.’

Listening to Kiyoshi’s explanation, Nagare’s face seemed to turn blue.

‘How on earth did you learn all that?’ he asked. In contrast with Nagare’s troubled expression, Kazu was staring into space vacantly.

Kiyoshi inhaled slowly.

‘Kinuyo told me all this before she died,’ he said sympathetically, and looked at Kazu.

On hearing his words, she lowered her gaze.

‘The last thing she told me was that she thought of you as her daughter,’ he said.

Kazu closed her eyes slowly.

‘I was very curious. I wondered why there were four people who, despite knowing the rule that you cannot change the present no matter how hard you try, were able to go and meet people who had died.’ Kiyoshi turned the page of his notebook.

‘There was one woman who went back to meet her younger sister, who had died in a road accident. Her name was Yaeko Hirai… I assume you know her, right?’

Only Nagare replied. ‘Yeah.’

Hirai’s family ran an old travellers’ inn in Sendai, and as the eldest child she had been meant to take over. But she didn’t want to, and when she was eighteen, she left to make her own life. Her parents disinherited her. Only her sister stayed in contact. Year after year, she had visited Hirai, trying to persuade her to return home. Then, tragically, she had died in a road accident on the way home from one such visit.

Hirai travelled to the past to meet her sister.

‘After visiting her sister in the past, she immediately returned to the inn and took it over. I wanted to hear her side of the story, so I went to Sendai.’

Seven years had passed. Hirai was now thriving as the manager of the inn.

‘I asked her, “Why did you go and meet your dead sister, even though you knew that the present would not change?” She laughed at my rude and nosy question, and then said this.

‘ “If I had led a sad life as a result of my sister’s death, then it would have been as if her death had caused it. So, I thought I mustn’t allow that to happen. I swore to myself that I would make sure that I was happy. My joy would be the legacy of my sister’s life.”

‘On hearing this, it occurred to me what I had been missing. I had always thought that because my wife had died, I, on my own, should never be happy.’

After he stopped talking, he slowly looked down at the present he was holding in his hands.

‘Your wife is no longer with us, then?’ Nagare asked in a soft voice.

Kiyoshi seemed determined not to let this news dampen the atmosphere.

‘No. But it happened thirty years ago,’ he said, trying to tone down the impact.

On hearing this, Kazu asked, ‘So it was your late wife’s birthday?’

‘Yes,’ he replied and looked over at the centre table. ‘That day, we had arranged to meet here, but I couldn’t make it because of work. Back then, none of us had mobile phones, so she waited until closing time. Then, when she was walking home, she got caught up in a mugging that took place in the neighbourhood.’

When he finished talking, he adjusted his hunting cap so that it fitted snugly on his head.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I must have sounded rude before…’ said Nagare, bowing his head low. He now felt bad for questioning Kiyoshi’s need to go back to the past just to deliver a gift.

Of course, he wasn’t to know that Kiyoshi’s wife was dead, so it couldn’t be helped. But still, he was chastising himself for acting so rashly.

I jumped to conclusions when I should have listened to the full explanation.

‘Oh, no, no. On the contrary, I should have explained from the beginning. I’m sorry for the confusion,’ Kiyoshi said hurriedly, bowing his head.

‘For these thirty years, I have lived with a constant regret. If only I had kept my promise, my wife would not have died, and everything would have been different. But…’

He paused, and slowly turned his gaze to Kazu.

‘No matter how much I regret it, it won’t bring back the dead.’

Moved by Kiyoshi’s words, Nagare’s eyes widened. He looked at Kazu.

He seemed to want to say something, but he couldn’t find his voice. Kazu was staring into the distance in the direction of the woman in the dress. Kiyoshi looked down lovingly at the box that contained the necklace.

‘And so, I want to give this to my wife while she was alive,’ he said quietly.

Dong… Dong… Dong…

The clock on the wall struck eight times, and the sound reverberated through the cafe.

Kiyoshi stood up.

‘Please allow me to return to that day when my wife was still alive thirty years ago, her last birthday,’ he said, bowing his head deeply.

But Nagare’s expression remained dark.

‘Er, Kiyoshi, there is something you should know…’ he began. It was obviously something he found difficult to say, and he was struggling with how to word it. ‘Um… you see… well, it’s like this…’

Kiyoshi cocked his head to one side, looking at Nagare. It was Kazu who spoke next, with her regular cool expression.

‘Well, due to certain circumstances, it is no longer possible to return to the past under my pouring,’ she stated.

While Nagare clearly found the situation awkward, Kazu spoke matter-of-factly as if announcing that the lunch menu had finished.

‘Oh…’ Kiyoshi appeared to be stunned by the news. ‘Well, if that’s the case,’ he muttered and slowly closed his eyes.

‘Kiyoshi…’

He turned to Nagare, who was beginning to say something.

‘No, no, that’s fine… I sort of sensed that there was some issue when I came in just now,’ he said with a smile. ‘It’s disappointing of course, but it can’t be helped, right?’

He was doing his best not to let his disappointment show, letting his gaze wander around the room for no reason and avoiding eye contact with the others. It would have been reasonable for him to ask why he couldn’t return to the past. But he didn’t. Even if he had, his detective’s instinct, which he had honed over his long career, told him that he would not get an answer, so there was no point in hanging around. He had no wish to waste their time. He nodded politely.

‘…Well, I guess you were just about to close,’ he said, reaching for his zipped portfolio to put away the birthday present.

Just then…

Flap!

The sound of the woman in the dress shutting her novel echoed throughout the room.

‘Oh,’ said Kiyoshi involuntarily.

The woman in the dress rose slowly and started walking towards the toilet without making a sound. The chair was vacant. A person sitting there could travel to the time of their choice. Kiyoshi couldn’t help but be completely preoccupied by the empty chair. But then he remembered. There is no one to pour the coffee.

He thought it was a shame, but there was no point dwelling on things one couldn’t control.

‘…Well, I guess I’ll be off then.’ Kiyoshi bowed to Kazu and Nagare, and turned to leave the cafe.

‘Kiyoshi, wait,’ Nagare called out to him. ‘Please give that present to your wife.’

Kiyoshi looked confused for a moment as he pondered Nagare’s words.

‘But if Kazu cannot pour the coffee, how would that be possible?’

‘It’s possible…’

‘I’m sorry, what do you mean?’

Over the last year, Kiyoshi had become well versed in the rules for returning to the past. One of the things he had learned was that only the women of the Tokita family were able to pour the coffee for returning to the past.

‘Wait just a minute,’ said Nagare as he disappeared into the back room.

When Kiyoshi looked at Kazu in puzzlement, she said calmly, ‘I’m not the only woman in the Tokita family…’

How could there possibly be another woman at this cafe that I have never met?

As Kiyoshi was trying to work out who it could be, he heard Nagare in the back room. ‘Come on, hurry up!’

Then he heard a second voice.

‘Finally, moi’s turn has arrived!’

It was a young girl’s voice, speaking in a rather peculiar tone.

‘…Ooh,’ said Kiyoshi as he recognized it.

‘Thank you for waiting, monsieur!’ Miki said in an unexpectedly loud voice as she entered the cafe. Kiyoshi had assumed that only grown-up women could serve the coffee.

‘Is it you, monsieur, who wants to return to the past?’

‘Miki, please, speak proper Japanese,’ said Nagare, aghast at her attitude. But Miki tsk-tsked him with a wave of her finger.

‘That is not possible, moi is not Japanese,’ she retorted.

Nagare gave an exaggerated frown as if he had been expecting such a response. ‘Oh, what a shame! It is a rule of the cafe that the person who pours the coffee must be Japanese.’

‘Only kidding! I’m Japanese!’ she exclaimed, flip-flopping shamelessly.

With a sigh of exasperation Nagare said, ‘Yes, yes. We all know that. Hurry up and get ready.’

He motioned with his hand for her to go to the kitchen.

‘OK,’ Miki replied enthusiastically and hurried off.

While this exchange was taking place, Kazu appeared completely detached, standing quietly as if she wasn’t even present in the room.

‘Kazu, help her please,’ Nagare called out.

‘Yes, sure,’ Kazu said. She excused herself from Kiyoshi with a bow and silently vanished into the kitchen.

After watching her go, Nagare turned to Kiyoshi.

‘Er, I’m sorry…’ he said as a way of apologizing for Miki’s messing around when Kiyoshi wanted to return to the past to meet his dead wife. But Kiyoshi hadn’t been bothered by it, at all. He had found the exchange between Miki and Nagare amusing, heart-warming even. Besides, he was just happy to learn that he could return to the past. His heart raced in anticipation.

Kiyoshi looked at the vacant chair.

‘It never even occurred to me that Miki would pour my coffee,’ he said.

‘Last week she turned seven,’ Nagare replied, looking towards the kitchen.

‘Oh, now that you mention it…’ Kiyoshi said, suddenly recalling.

The pourer of the coffee not only had to be a woman of the Tokita family, she also had to be at least seven years of age. Kazu had once told him this. At the time, he hadn’t considered it especially important information and had forgotten it.

Kiyoshi again looked to the chair that would take him back in time and began walking towards it, as if it was pulling him.

I’m going back to the past.

The thought made his chest feel hot. He looked at Nagare.

‘Go ahead and sit down…’ Nagare urged.

Kiyoshi drew a deep breath and slowly edged his way between the table and the chair. His heart raced even faster.

He sat down in the chair and pulled out the gift that he had just stowed in his portfolio.

‘Kiyoshi,’ Nagare called as he walked towards him, one eye still on the kitchen.

‘Yes, what is it?’ Kiyoshi asked, lifting his head up.

Nagare stooped down low and whispered with his hand up against Kiyoshi’s ear as if telling secret information.

‘About Miki, it will be her first time pouring the coffee. I think you can expect her to be a bit over the top. She will probably lecture you on all the rules. I’m sorry about that, but do you think you could just go along with it?’

Kiyoshi understood perfectly what Nagare, as a father, was asking. ‘Yes, of course.’ He smiled.

A moment later, Miki returned from the kitchen and approached them, taking little steps. She was not dressed in the bow tie and sommelier’s apron that Kazu wore when she poured the coffee. Instead, she was wearing her favourite cherry-blossom-pink dress with a wine-red apron over it. The apron, which had been her mother Kei’s, fitted her well thanks to Nagare’s tailoring.

Miki held the tray bearing the silver kettle and white coffee cup unsteadily, her jerky walk making the cup rattle on the saucer.

Kazu stood at the kitchen entrance, watching over her.

When Miki reached Kiyoshi’s side, Nagare spoke.

‘Miki,’ he began, ‘from now on, you will take Kazu’s place in serving coffee to the customers who sit in this chair. Are you willing to do this?’

He spoke with a reverent tone.

Finally, this day had arrived.

His innocent little girl was going to take on a special role. Judging by his serious expression, he felt like a father giving away the bride at a wedding. Miki, however, was taking no notice of what he might be thinking. She was putting all her concentration in not letting the cup and kettle on the tray fall.

‘Uh? What?’ she replied impatiently. She neither understood Nagare’s sentiment, nor grasped the importance of the task at hand.

Observing that she was struggling with all her might to do the job of pouring the coffee, Nagare realized that she was still a child – a thought that made him happy.

‘It’s OK. Nothing…’ he said with a little sigh. ‘Keep at it, you’re doing fine,’ he muttered, his eyes showing a hint of a smile.

Miki, however, had no time for his comments.

‘Do you know the rules?’ She had turned to Kiyoshi and begun the explanation. Kiyoshi glanced over to Nagare questioningly and Nagare gave a small silent nod. Kiyoshi turned back to Miki.

‘Could you explain them to me? I’ll take the cup and tray if you like,’ he replied kindly.

She nodded deeply and then gave him the tray. Holding only the silver kettle, she began to explain the rules.

As Kiyoshi was already familiar with the rules, Miki’s explanation was over in just two or three minutes.

She forgot to explain the rule that you cannot get up off the chair, and there were other places where she didn’t explain everything fully, but Nagare let it go. He knows the rules, so it will be fine, he thought.

Miki seemed pleased with how she had explained the rules, as she turned to Nagare with a proud smile and expelled a ‘humph’ of triumph through her nose.

‘Splendid,’ Nagare said immediately but added, ‘but don’t keep Kiyoshi waiting!’

‘OK!’ Miki replied happily and turned back to Kiyoshi. ‘Shall we continue?’

Up until now, when Kazu had poured the coffee, these words had carried with them a serious air, so much so that the temperature of the cafe seemed to drop a little.

However, it was different with Miki. Her smiling expression was lovely, like a mother looking lovingly at her baby. Her smile radiated warmth and seemed out of place on a seven-year-old girl. If people had auras whose colours were somehow visible, there is no doubt that Kazu would be surrounded by pale aqua, while Miki’s would be orange. This was how warm and welcoming the atmosphere around her was.

When she smiled, it seemed that the temperature had risen slightly.

Her smile is as radiant as the spring sun’s rays, Kiyoshi thought. ‘Yes, let’s,’ he said, nodding.

‘OK,’ replied Miki. ‘REMEMBER, BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD!’

Shouting boisterously, her voice reverberated around the room.

Way too loud… thought Nagare as he gave a wry smile.

Miki held the silver kettle above her head and began pouring. The coffee formed a thin line as it streamed into the bright white cup.

It must have been heavy for seven-year-old Miki to hold up the kettle full of coffee like that. She was doing her best to pour with just one hand, but the spout was swaying from side to side and coffee spilled from the cup, leaving a brown puddle on the saucer.

She was taking it seriously, but her mood was not as serious as when Kazu poured. Her earnest attempt to do her best was heart-warming. While Kiyoshi’s attention was fixed on Miki’s performance, the cup was filled with coffee and a plume of vapour began to rise.

At that moment, Kiyoshi felt his surroundings beginning to warp as they seemed to waver and shimmer. Being sixty, he was worried that the sudden dizziness was a sign that he was unwell.

Of all the times for something like this to happen, he thought. But his concerns were fleeting.

He soon realized that his body was turning into vapour. He was startled, but at the same time, he felt relieved that the dizziness had nothing to do with his health.

His body seemed to billow as his surroundings began flowing past him.

‘Oh!’ he exclaimed – not because he was startled, but rather because he suddenly realized that he had not even decided yet what he was going to say to his wife, whom he had not met for thirty years, when he gave her the gift.

I’m sure that Kimiko wouldn’t have known you can return to the past in this cafe…

While his consciousness was fading, he considered how he might give her the necklace.

Kiyoshi’s wife Kimiko was a woman with a strong sense of right and wrong. She and Kiyoshi had known each other since high school, and they shared the ambition of wanting to join the police force.

However, although they both passed the recruitment exam, the number of female recruits taken on was still low back then and Kimiko never became a police officer. Kiyoshi was assigned the role of police-box constable, but his passion for the job did not go unnoticed: he earned a posting in the First Criminal Investigation Division when he was thirty. When this happened, they had been married for two years. Kimiko was genuinely happy to hear that Kiyoshi was to start work as a detective. Kiyoshi, however, began to doubt whether he was cut out for such a role.

He was warm and friendly. His motivation for joining the police was to serve people. And he wanted to please Kimiko, who had dreamed of becoming a police officer. However, once he had become an officer, he found it a struggle. The First Criminal Investigation Division handled homicide and manslaughter cases. He was continuously confronted with the dark side of humanity, where people took the lives of others, spurred on by selfish desires or self-preservation. He never felt mentally tough enough to withstand this reality on the strength of his own beliefs and sense of purpose alone. He often thought, If I go on like this, I’ll have a mental breakdown.

Fearing that he was at breaking point, he had decided to admit to Kimiko that he wanted to quit being a detective. Finding it difficult to bring up the subject at home, he had invited her to the cafe on the pretext of it being her birthday, and was planning to tell her then. But on the chosen date, work came up and he thought, I’ll just tell her another day. Kiyoshi chose the work that he claimed to hate over going to the cafe. As a result, Kimiko got caught up in the incident that took her life.

A tragic incident was really the only way to describe it. When Kiyoshi didn’t turn up at the arranged time, Kimiko waited for him until the cafe closed. After leaving, she turned down a narrow street. It was dark, but it was the shortest route to the station. It was on that street that she encountered a mugger robbing an old woman. Coming face-to-face with a crime taking place, her strong sense of right and wrong made it impossible for her to look the other way. Instead, she decided to try to reason quietly with the mugger, but to do so she had to approach him – carefully. If she gave the mugger cause to panic, he might do anything to the old woman. He had a knife, but she felt confident she could persuade him to stand down once she had his attention. But just at that moment, someone from the other side of the street yelled, ‘Hey you! What do you think you’re doing?’

When the mugger heard this, he pushed the old woman away and started running as fast as he could in Kimiko’s direction. While attempting to run past her, panicking or stumbling, he ended up crashing into her as he held the knife in his hand. It was a box-cutter with a thin disposable type of blade that wouldn’t have made much damage if it struck her coat. But as he fell, the knife struck Kimiko’s bare neck and severed a carotid artery. She died from loss of blood.

If only I had kept my promise and was there to look after her…

The impact of this incident on Kiyoshi was profound. Simply walking past the cafe, he experienced severe palpitations. It was a traumatic shock that scarred his heart deeply. Psychological trauma is not visible on the outside, and such wounds do not easily heal, especially for someone like Kiyoshi, who was left thinking that it was his fault that the person he loved died. After all, nothing will bring that person back.

He thought that by breaking his promise, he had caused Kimiko’s death. Even if his rational brain accepted another version of reality, his heart never would. Finally, he had succumbed to thinking, With Kimiko’s death on my conscience, what right do I have to happiness?

But after interviewing the people who had returned to the past at the cafe, he decided that it was time to change.

‘Wow, it’s true! A man just appeared out of nowhere!’ said a male voice. It was the first thing Kiyoshi heard after coming to. He had lost consciousness while travelling back through time. Behind the counter, a man wearing an apron that didn’t suit him – and looking like a university researcher performing an experiment – was looking at him. When Kiyoshi looked at the man and made a sign of acknowledgement, the man called out, ‘Kaname!’ and then shuffled away into the back room.

He doesn’t look suited for the cafe, even for a casual staff member. He must be new?

While Kiyoshi’s train of thought went on in this vein, he looked around the room. Although he was in the cafe thirty years in the past, the interior was no different from the present. Everything, down to the smallest detail, was the same. Nevertheless, he felt confident that he had indeed gone back: the man had called out for Kaname, and he had heard from Kinuyo that Kaname was the name of Kazu’s mother.

There didn’t seem to be any other customers in the cafe. He was about to sink into his own thoughts when a woman appeared from the back room. She was wearing a reddish-brown apron over a white-collared, floral-patterned dress, and she had an obvious bulge in her stomach.

She must be…

It was Kaname, pregnant with Kazu.

Kaname smiled.

‘Hello, welcome,’ she said to Kiyoshi with a quick polite nod. Wearing such a carefree expression, she looked like an entirely different person from the ghost called Kaname who sat in the chair.

The type of person who could easily break the ice and get on well with anyone.

That was Kiyoshi’s impression of Kaname.

Behind her, he could see a man hiding in her shadow, looking as if he had seen a ghost. Kiyoshi looked apologetic.

‘Oh, did I startle someone with my sudden appearance?’ he asked Kaname.

‘Please excuse us. It was the first time my husband has witnessed someone appearing in that chair.’

Although she was saying this in apology, she did not conceal her amusement. Also, judging by the man’s red face, he was embarrassed to have reacted in such a way.

‘I’m sorry…’ he said in a small voice.

‘Oh, no need to apologize,’ Kiyoshi replied.

They look happy, he thought.

‘Have you come to meet someone?’ Kaname asked.

‘Yes, I have,’ he replied.

Kaname looked around the empty cafe and showed a sympathetic face.

‘It’s all right. I know what time she arrives…’ He looked at the middle of the three clocks on the wall as he spoke, to reassure her that he knew what the actual time was and when the person he was waiting for was due.

‘Oh, I see. That’s good, then…’

She smiled, looking relieved.

The man standing in the background was still regarding Kiyoshi as something mysterious. Kiyoshi had a question.

‘Hasn’t your husband ever seen you pour the coffee?’ There was still a little time before Kimiko would come. He couldn’t resist asking Kaname, Kazu’s mother, some questions.

‘My husband only helps out when he has a day off from work. Also, it is currently no longer possible to return to the past under my pouring,’ she replied.

That’s the same expression that Kazu used.

‘It is not possible to return to the past when you pour the coffee? Why is that?’ Kiyoshi found himself asking. It was like the detective in him had been switched on. In his mind, he was smiling at his inability to refrain from asking questions whenever he was the slightest bit unclear on anything.

In reply, Kaname placed her hand on her stomach.

‘Because of my baby…’ She smiled happily.

‘Really? Why is that?’

‘When a pourer becomes pregnant with a girl, the pourer’s power is transferred to the baby…’

Kiyoshi’s eyes opened in surprise.

‘Is it right that your daughter will be able to pour coffee to return people to the past when she turns seven?’

‘Yes. That’s right! You’re quite well informed, aren’t you?’

Kiyoshi was no longer listening.

Kazu is pregnant. Yet she didn’t seem the least bit happy.

If Kazu had been happy about her pregnancy, he thought he would have seen at least a smile like the one Kaname gave standing before him.

Maybe that’s because…

A certain thought struck Kiyoshi’s heart.

At that moment…

As the doorbell rang, the clock on the wall chimed.

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong…

It was the time when Kimiko would arrive.

Immersed in thoughts of Kazu and Kimiko, Kiyoshi’s mind was racing.

‘It seems the person you are waiting for has arrived.’

While hearing Kaname’s relieved tone, he took a deep breath and decided to do what he came to do.

‘I can do this…’

Upon observing Kiyoshi mutter this, Kaname signalled with a wink to her husband to go to the back room. She was not willing to risk him becoming a distraction for whoever Kiyoshi had come to meet.

No one had yet entered the cafe, but clearly someone was there.

… Will Kimiko recognize me?

Kiyoshi’s heart was beginning to race.

Kimiko did not know that this was a cafe where you could return to the past. There was therefore no chance that she could imagine the possibility of a sixty-year-old Kiyoshi coming to see her. So, she definitely would not recognize him.

But, just to be sure, he adjusted his tattered hunting cap so that it fitted more snugly on his head as he waited.

‘Hello, welcome,’ Kaname’s voice rang out.

Then a moment later Kimiko entered.

Kiyoshi looked up ever so slightly to get a glimpse of her. She was glancing around the cafe. Then, after slowly removing her thin spring coat, she sat down at the middle of the three tables. Several cherry blossom petals fell from her shoulders and fluttered to the floor. When Kiyoshi looked up, he could see her face front on.

Kaname served Kimiko a glass of water.

‘Could I have a coffee, please?’ she requested.

‘Hot coffee?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘One hot coffee coming right up.’

As Kaname took the order she glanced over at Kiyoshi. As they locked eyes, she smiled and turned to Kimiko.

‘We freshly grind the beans when we make coffee, if you don’t mind waiting?’ she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

‘Yes, that’s fine. I’m waiting for someone, anyway,’ Kimiko replied pleasantly.

‘Well then, please relax and enjoy your stay here.’

Kaname looked over at Kiyoshi as she said this. She walked back to the kitchen, seemingly enjoying herself. This left just Kiyoshi and Kimiko in the room. The way they were seated meant they could look at each other. Kiyoshi reached for the cup in front of him and pretended to drink as he studied Kimiko’s face.

Thirty years ago had been the peak of Japan’s financial boom, and a wide selection of fashions had been in the stores. The women of that time could be seen parading around the city wearing colourful and elaborate clothes. Kimiko, however, was not interested in fashion. That day, under her light coat, she wore a plain outfit: a brown jumper over a grey trouser suit. Nevertheless, her straight posture and shoulder-length hair tied up at the back gave her a dignified air.

From under the peak of his hunting cap, he looked again, this time immediately locking eyes with Kimiko. She smiled at him.

‘Hello,’ she said.

Kimiko was not shy. If the other person was advanced in age, she would always be the first to offer a greeting. Kiyoshi nodded in return. She didn’t seem to have noticed that it was Kiyoshi as an old man sitting in front of her.

It looks like things will go smoothly…

Kiyoshi decided to go ahead.

‘Are you Kimiko Manda?’ he asked.

‘Huh?’

Kimiko was startled that an old man she didn’t know had called her name.

‘Yes, that’s right… and, who are you?’ she answered. As you would expect from someone cut out to be a police officer, she responded to the unexpected situation with calm.

‘Well actually, a man called Kiyoshi Manda gave me this to give to you…’

‘That’s from my husband?’

‘Yes.’

Upon saying this, Kiyoshi looked like he was about to stand up from the chair to give her the present.

‘Aahh! Aahh! Sir!’ someone shrieked loudly in alarm at Kiyoshi. ‘Stop right there! You know you shouldn’t do that!’ said Kaname as she approached him with a hand cradling her stomach. Both Kiyoshi and Kimiko looked at her, startled by the sudden loud voice.

‘Sir, didn’t you just say you have a slipped disc and can hardly walk?’ Kaname said to him with a wink.

‘Oh!’

Kiyoshi had completely forgotten about the rule that while in the past you couldn’t stand up from the chair. If he had even taken his bottom off the seat, he would have been returned to the future by force.

‘Ah! Yeow! Ooh, that hurt…’ He hurriedly placed his hand on his lower back and feigned a grimace of pain.

The acting may not have fooled everyone, but Kimiko didn’t seem to suspect.

‘What? You’ve herniated a disc? Are you all right?’

‘Yes… I’m fine,’ he answered, admiring how Kimiko was so kind to anyone without prejudice. He found himself holding back tears.

Kimiko genuinely cared about everyone, and she showed kindness to anyone. During such times, she never hesitated and always proceeded with complete confidence. Some people thought her actions were those of a nosy do-gooder, but that didn’t worry her. She was always the first person to give up her seat on a train for a pregnant woman or an elderly person, and if she saw someone looking lost on a street corner, she would ask if they needed help.

Kimiko didn’t do this because she had wanted to be a police officer. It was just in her nature. This side of her personality was what had attracted Kiyoshi most when they were high-school students.

‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Kimiko asked him with concern.

‘Yes, thank you,’ he replied unnaturally, averting his eyes.

He was defensive not because he was worried that his lie would be revealed, but rather out of concern that Kimiko’s irresistible kindness would penetrate his heart.

‘Well, be careful now, won’t you,’ said Kaname to Kiyoshi. ‘Oh, and the coffee is better while it’s hot…’ she added before going into the kitchen again.

Kiyoshi looked at Kimiko apologetically.

‘Sorry about that,’ he said with a nod.

But rather than sitting down again, she asked, looking at his hands, ‘So is that what you were about to give me?’

‘Er, yes…’

Kiyoshi hastily held out the box for her to take.

Kimiko accepted it and looked at it quizzically. ‘What could this be?’

‘It’s your birthday, isn’t it?’

‘Huh?’

‘Today.’

‘Uh-huh.’

Kimiko’s eyes widened in surprise and looked hard at the box in her hands.

‘…Your husband told me he desperately wanted you to enjoy this gift today. He said there was some emergency and he had to travel up north, and before he rushed off, he asked me to give it to you. He was in here just thirty minutes ago.’

This was happening at a time when the average person didn’t walk around town with a mobile phone or pager. If it was necessary to cancel a date, then the person would have to call the place of the meeting directly or get an acquaintance to pass on a message. If neither was possible, then the person would simply be left waiting for hours.

Kiyoshi frequently had to change his schedule because of urgent police business, and sometimes, when he had a date with Kimiko, he asked strangers to pass on the message. So, even though she had been told by this old stranger that her husband had asked him to give her this present, she did not appear surprised.

‘Oh, really?’ she muttered as she noisily tore open the wrapping paper. Inside was a necklace with a very tiny diamond. Until then, Kiyoshi had never given Kimiko a birthday present. Partly this was because he was always too busy to find the time, but it was also because Kimiko had been mildly traumatized by birthdays in the past.

Her birthday was on the first of April: April Fool’s Day. When she was a child, friends would often give her a present, say, Happy birthday, then immediately say, April fool, and take the present away. They probably didn’t mean to be nasty, but Kimiko found being called an April fool straight after the elation of thinking she was about to receive a present very upsetting. Kiyoshi had witnessed her in such a state back in high school.

It was the first of April, the cherry blossoms were in bloom and school was on spring break. Her class friends had met to wish Kimiko happy birthday. Upon giving her a present, they shouted, April fool! Of course, her friends didn’t do it to be mean, and they immediately handed the present back to her after the joke.

Kimiko said, Thank you, with a smile, but for a moment Kiyoshi had glimpsed the sadness that she was attempting to hide. If he hadn’t been so fond of her, he probably would not have noticed. Even after they were going steady, Kimiko made other arrangements and avoided being in a position where she might receive a birthday present. Despite that, Kiyoshi wanted to wish her happy birthday properly, on her last one at least, and decided to travel back in time to do it.

Kimiko looked at the necklace.

‘Happy birthday…’ said Kiyoshi softly.

At this remark Kimiko looked at him in surprise.

‘Did my husband say that?’

‘Huh? Yes…’

As soon as she heard his reply, large tears began to flow from her eyes. Kiyoshi began to feel agitated seeing her cry like that. It was the first time since they had met that he had seen her tearful face. He had always seen her as the strong woman who would remain unshakeable in the face of anything. Even after being told on multiple occasions that she had not been accepted into the police force because of the limited number of openings for women officers, she had never cried. She simply said with grit and determination, I’ll get in next time. That was the Kimiko that Kiyoshi had known. So, seeing her cry like this was beyond his comprehension.

‘Wha-what’s wrong?’ he asked nervously.

He didn’t know whether she would open up to a complete stranger. But he desperately wanted to know the reason for her tears.

‘Sorry, you’ll have to forgive me,’ she muttered. Returning to the table where she had been sitting, she took a handkerchief from her bag and began wiping her tears as if trying to stem the flow. Kiyoshi looked at her anxiously. She sniffed, put on a brave face and smiled.

‘Well, the truth is that I thought my husband was going to break up with me today,’ she said.

‘…What?’ Kiyoshi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Her words were totally unexpected.

It was such a shock, he thought, Have I travelled back to a completely alternative reality?

‘Oh, umm…’

Although he felt the need to say something, no words came from his mouth. To play for time, he grabbed the coffee cup and took a sip of coffee. Clearly much cooler than just a while ago, it was no more than lukewarm.

‘If I am not intruding, could you elaborate a little?’ The request that popped out of Kiyoshi’s mouth was an expression he often used. It made Kimiko chuckle.

‘You sound like a detective!’ she observed with tear-reddened eyes.

‘Only if you feel comfortable talking to me about it, of course…’

He had slipped for a moment into using police lingo, but he felt unable to return to the present without some explanation for Kimiko’s tears. Sometimes people will only confide in someone they trust, but other times they need the listener to be a complete stranger.

Kiyoshi did not say anything more. He simply waited for Kimiko to respond. He couldn’t exactly insist that she tell him. Time was running out, but he had a feeling she would reply. Kimiko stood in front of the table she had been sitting at.

The silence was broken by Kaname arriving with a delicious-smelling coffee.

‘Shall I put it here?’ She resourcefully placed the coffee not on the table where Kimiko was sitting but instead on the one where Kiyoshi sat.

Kimiko did not hesitate in her reply. ‘That will be fine.’

Kaname placed the coffee and the bill on Kiyoshi’s table and once again stepped off into the kitchen.

Gripping her bag, Kimiko walked over to Kiyoshi’s table.

‘Do you mind if I join you?’ she asked with one hand on the chair facing him.

‘No, of course not,’ Kiyoshi replied with a smile. ‘…So?’ he prompted.

She took a quiet, deep breath.

‘For the last six months or so, my husband has constantly looked grim, and we haven’t had one proper conversation,’ she began.

‘He is often not home because of work, and lately, even when he is home, all he says is, uh-huh, OK, sure, sorry, I’m tired tonight…’

She once again brought her handkerchief to her eyes.

‘Today, he told me he had something important to discuss. I thought that for sure he was going to say he wanted to end the marriage,’ she quavered.

Kimiko looked at the necklace she received from Kiyoshi.

‘I was sure that he had forgotten my birthday…’

Covering her drooping face with both hands, her shoulders began to heave.

Kiyoshi tried to take in what he was hearing. He had never once thought about splitting up. But presented with Kimiko’s account, he could see how she could have interpreted it that way. At the time, he had been swamped with a load of big cases, and his lack of sleep and rest never seemed to end. At the same time, he was doubly burdened by his own doubt that he was cut out to be a detective. He had been avoiding any kind of conversation with her out of fear that he would reveal that he was thinking of quitting. He saw now how she could have interpreted his attitude as symptomatic of feeling unhappy in the marriage.

I feel terrible that I gave that impression…

We can never truly see into the hearts of others. When people get lost in their own worries, they can be blind to the feelings of those most important to them. Kiyoshi didn’t know what he should say to his wife crying in front of him. He was currently pretending to be just a stranger who happened to be in the cafe on this day. Moreover, in just a few hours from now, she would lose her life. Although he knew it would happen, there was nothing he could do.

He reached out slowly and picked up the cup. Judging by the temperature of the cup against his palm, the coffee was nearly cold. The next moment, he found himself saying words that even took him by surprise.

‘After I married you, I never once thought of breaking up.’

He knew he could not change reality. However, the thought that Kimiko was going to die with such unease lingering was more than he could bear. He didn’t care whether she believed him or not, he wanted to reveal his identity and dismiss just one cause of her suffering. Only he could do this.

‘I’ve come from thirty years in the future…’ he announced to Kimiko, who was staring at him wide-eyed. ‘The important matter I wanted to tell you was about something else.’

He gave a little cough and sat up straight. Feeling embarrassed and apologetic as Kimiko stared at him intensely, he pulled his cap further over his head.

‘The truth is, I planned on telling you that I wanted to give up being a detective,’ he explained. He had the peak of the cap covering his eyes, so he could not see how Kimiko was reacting to his story. Nevertheless, he continued.

‘Every day, I had to visit murder scenes and deal with deplorable human beings… I was tired of it. I’d see those depraved killers who think nothing of hurting children and the elderly. It made me feel more than sad; despair is a better word… it was tough. No matter how much effort we put into our work, none of it stops the crimes from occurring. I began to wonder, why am I doing this to myself, what good is it? But I thought that if I told you this… well, I thought you would be angry. So, I kept putting off the conversation…’

There must have been only a short time left before the coffee was completely cold. It didn’t matter to him whether Kimiko believed him; he simply wanted to say what he thought he should have said.

‘But, don’t worry. I never quit being a detective…’ he said, taking a deep breath.

‘And we never separated…’ he added softly.

Kiyoshi was lying with desperate abandon. He noticed his palms were soaking wet. Kimiko had not yet responded. He just stared at the cup in front of him, unable to do anything else. But he had said what he needed. He was too afraid to look at Kimiko’s face in fear of what it might show, but he had no regrets.

‘…My time is up, I must go now,’ he said. But as he reached for his cup, she spoke.

‘I knew it… Kiyoshi, is that really you?’

He could tell from the tone of her voice that she was still in disbelief. But hearing her say his name reminded him of how she had called him that since they were in high school.

Hearing it brought a warm glow to his eyes. Yet she had said she’d known, which confused him. He didn’t think she knew that this cafe allowed you to return to the past.

‘How did you know?’

‘Your hunting cap…’

‘Oh…’

The tattered hunting cap he was wearing was a present from Kimiko. She had it custom-made for him when he first became a detective.

She looked at it.

‘I see you’ve worn it a lot,’ she said with a smile.

‘Yeah.’

More than thirty years had passed since he received it as a present. Now, he couldn’t imagine not wearing it.

‘Your work must have been tough.’

‘Yeah, I guess.’

‘Why didn’t you quit?’ she asked, her voice trailing off.

The real reason was because he couldn’t free himself from the guilt of believing that he was to blame for Kimiko getting caught up in the mugging, by not turning up to meet her. Going on being a detective was his way of punishing himself for ever. In reply to the question, Kiyoshi looked straight into her eyes.

‘You were there for me…’ he replied.

‘I was?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Really?’

‘Uh-huh,’ he replied without hint of doubt or hesitation. Sensing something in the corner of his vision, he turned to see Kaname looking at him. She simply blinked once, subtly.

You’d better go very soon.

Kiyoshi understood exactly what that blink meant. He looked at Kaname with a hand on her large stomach and remembered Kazu.

Kazu and I, our situations are similar.

Kiyoshi gave a small nod to Kaname and looked down at the cup.

‘Well, I have to return now.’

‘Kiyoshi…’

Kimiko called his name as he brought the cup to his mouth. She had realized from the exchange between him and Kaname that it was time to say goodbye.

‘…and were you happy?’ she asked, her voice trailing off.

‘Of course,’ he replied and drank the entire cup in one gulp. As he tasted it, his heart skipped a beat. The coffee was already cooler than body temperature.

If Kaname had not distracted me right now, the coffee might have gone cold.

Kiyoshi looked over at Kaname, and she returned an indescribably wonderful smile.

He was engulfed in dizziness. His surroundings slowly started moving past him. A moment later his body was turning into white vapour.

‘Thanks…’

He saw Kimiko clutching the necklace to her chest.

‘…for this.’

She was looking at Kiyoshi, smiling happily.

‘It suits you!’ he remarked in his bashful shy way. But he never knew whether his words reached her.

‘He’s back!’ Miki exclaimed loudly as Kiyoshi regained consciousness.

Miki looked around and smiled broadly at Nagare. The first customer she had sent back to the past had returned. She looked immensely pleased with herself. Nagare too let out a sigh of relief. He gently fondled Miki’s head. ‘Good job.’

Only Kazu maintained her always cool expression as she started to clear away Kiyoshi’s cup for Miki, who was still very excited.

‘How was it?’ she asked.

‘So, you’re pregnant?’ he replied.

Crash, clang-clang-clang…

The noisy sound of a tray dropping onto the floor rang through the cafe. The culprit was Nagare.

‘Daddy! Don’t be so noisy!’ Miki scolded him.

‘So sorry…’ he said, quickly picking up the tray.

Kazu’s expression hardly changed.

‘Yes, I am,’ she answered.

‘…How did you know that?’ asked Nagare.

‘I met your mother while she was pregnant with you,’ Kiyoshi explained, looking at Kazu. ‘Your mother told me that she couldn’t act as coffee pourer while she was pregnant.’

‘Oh, did she?’ Kazu said as she walked off to the kitchen to take away the cup that Kiyoshi had used.

At that moment, the woman in the dress, Kaname, appeared from the toilet. Kiyoshi stood up and gave her a short bow. As he gave up the seat, Kazu returned from the kitchen carrying a coffee for Kaname.

As she placed the coffee down in front of her, Kiyoshi said to her softly, ‘Your mother looked happy.’

Kazu stopped moving after she’d placed the cup on the table.

It was for no more than a second. Both Nagare and Kiyoshi waited anxiously for Kazu’s response before Miki saved everyone from an awkward silence.

‘Ah!’ said Miki. ‘Look!’

She crouched down and picked something up from the floor. Clenched between her thumb and index finger was a single cherry blossom petal. It must have been carried in on someone’s head or shoulder.

Glimpsing a single flower petal is another way of noticing spring.

Miki held out the petal in her fingers.

‘Spring is here!’ she announced, and Kazu smiled gently.

‘Ever since that day when Mum never returned from the past…’ Kazu began, in a calm voice. ‘I was always afraid of being happy.’

She spoke as if she was telling this to someone other than those around her. In fact, it seemed as though she was addressing the cafe itself.

‘That was because on that day, when my mother suddenly disappeared… the constant stream of happy days and the happiness of the person most precious to me just came to an end.’

Tears began to stream down her face.

Since the day Kaname had failed to return from the past, Kazu had never made any friends, not even at school. The fear of losing them was too great. She never joined a club or formed part of a clique, not in junior high or high school. Even if she was invited to play, she never went. After school finished, she immediately returned to the cafe, where she would help out. She had no relationship with anyone and showed no interest in others. Behind this all was her thought: I cannot be happy. All her life, this was what she had been telling herself.

She devoted herself to the cafe. She did not ask for anything else, she did not hope for anything else. She only lived to pour coffee. That was her way of punishing herself for what happened to her mother.

Tears sprang from Nagare’s eyes. They were the tears of a man who had been by Kazu’s side constantly since that day, watching over her.

‘I was the same,’ Kiyoshi said. ‘If I had not broken our date, my wife might not have died. I thought that her death was my fault for not meeting her. I didn’t think I deserved to be happy.’

Kiyoshi had likewise become a slave to his work as a detective. He deliberately chose a hard path for himself. He was imprisoned by the thought: I don’t deserve happiness.

‘But I was wrong. I learned this from the people I met through this cafe.’

He hadn’t only interviewed Kaname, and Hirai, who had gone back to see her dead sister. He had also talked to a woman who had gone back to see the boyfriend she had broken up with, and a woman who had gone back to see her husband whose memory was fading. Then there was the man who went back the previous spring to see his close friend who died twenty-two years before, and the man who went back the previous autumn to see his mother who died in hospital. Then in the winter, a man who knew he was dying came from the past to bring happiness to the lover he left behind.

‘I found the words that he left behind particularly touching.’

Kiyoshi brought out his small black notebook and read aloud.

‘ “If you try to find happiness after this, then this child will have put those seventy days towards making you happy. In that case, its life has meaning. You are the one who is able to create meaning for why that child was granted life. Therefore, you absolutely must try to be happy. The one person who would want that for you the most is that child.”

‘In other words, the way I live my life creates happiness for my wife.’

Kiyoshi had read those words over and over so many times, just that one page in his notebook was creased and stained.

These words also seemed to strike a chord with Kazu – a new stream of tears began to flow.

Kiyoshi put the notebook away in his jacket pocket and pulled down his hunting cap to fit more snugly on his head.

‘I do not think it is at all possible that your mother didn’t return so that you would be miserable. So, have your baby… and…’

He took a deep breath and turned to Kazu, who was looking at Kaname.

‘You’re allowed to be happy,’ he added.

Without saying anything, Kazu slowly closed her eyes.

‘Well, thanks for the coffee.’ Kiyoshi placed the money on the counter and walked towards the exit. Nagare gave a small nod in reply.

‘Oh…’ Kiyoshi said, suddenly turning round.

‘Forget something?’ asked Nagare.

‘No…’ he replied and turned to Kazu.

‘That necklace you helped choose, my wife really loved it,’ he said, and with a bow of the head, he went out.

Once again, silence filled the cafe.

Miki, no doubt relieved that her work was done, started nodding off while holding Nagare’s hand.

‘Oh, of course.’

Nagare realized why Miki had suddenly grown so quiet. He picked her up with an ‘alley-oop’.

The cherry blossom petal, released from Miki’s fingers, fluttered to the ground.

‘Spring, huh?’ he muttered.

‘Big brother…’

‘Hmm?’

‘I… I guess I’m allowed to be happy, aren’t I?’

‘Yeah, of course. She can take over from you now…’

Nagare readjusted Miki in his arms.

‘No problem at all…’ he said, walking off into the back room.

‘…Hmm.’

A long winter was about to end.

The interior had remained unchanged since that day.

‘Mum…’

Hanging from the ceiling, the wooden fan rotated slowly.

‘I’m…’

The three large clocks on the wall each showed different times. The shaded lamps tinted the interior with a sepia hue.

Kazu drew in a deep breath in this cafe where time seemed to stand still and placed her hand on her stomach.

‘I am going to be happy,’ she exclaimed.

As she said this, Kaname, while still looking down at her novel, smiled warmly. It was the same smile that Kaname had given Kazu when she was alive.

‘Mum?’ said Kazu, and at that moment Kaname’s body, like vapour rising from freshly poured coffee, rose upwards.

The vapour hung in the air for a moment and then simply vanished into the ceiling.

Kazu slowly closed her eyes.

Kaname had disappeared and a gentleman in his early old age was sitting in the chair. He picked up the novel that was left on the table and turned to the first page.

‘I’ll have a coffee, if I may?’ he said to Kazu.

For a moment, she stood motionless, silently staring up at the ceiling. Then she finally slowly looked down at the gentleman.

‘…Certainly, I’ll go and make it,’ she said and walked off sprightly to the kitchen.

Seasons flow in a cycle.

Life too, passes through difficult winters.

But after any winter, spring will follow.

Here, one spring had arrived.

Kazu’s spring had just begun.