Taku left home as soon as he could, moving in with our childhood friend, Nanami Ito. Not long after, they married and had a daughter—Kugo. She grew up faster than I could keep track of, and somewhere along the way, I lost mine.

Now I'm drifting through a midlife crisis, wondering if I’ll ever have a child of my own.

Kenzo, our younger brother, took over Taku’s old room and, in his own way, seems to be taking over the family too. He pushed our parents into retirement and talks about university like it’s his escape plan. I want to believe in him—but if you ask him, nothing ever goes right.

As for me, work has started giving me small responsibilities—organizing community events. It’s not much, but it’s something. Sometimes I wonder if I might meet someone there… if there’s still time for me.

Kugo has a baby now. I’m an aunt twice over, yet still feel like I’m standing at the starting line. The rest of the family doesn’t think I should have a child at this point—but they don’t understand.