Part-1 Ex-01 Ep-02

 When Maki entered middle school, it happened all at once. I heard her voice call out, “I’m home,” from the front door, and in the very next moment the living-room door was flung open roughly as she burst in.

I had never seen her act so violently before, so to be honest, I braced myself.

 —Here it comes, adolescence, I thought.

I hurriedly marshaled everything I had learned from neighbors, parenting books, and television dramas, steeling myself for what lay ahead.

And that wasn’t all. Life in a group would surely be very different from elementary school. The children in her class would all be at a sensitive age as well.

Maybe something had happened at school… bullying, perhaps. I even went that far in my thinking, then abruptly reconsidered. If someone had done that to her, she would probably have fought back.

By then, Maki had grown strong, both mentally and physically. It was almost as if the days when she was small and simply adorable had been a lie. In any case, standing before me now was my adolescent daughter.

“Maki-chan, what’s wrong?” I asked, doing my best to sound casual despite the nervousness churning inside me.

“.........”

My daughter bit her lip and stayed silent for a while, but when I waited patiently, she finally spoke.

“Mari…”

“Eh, Mari-chan… what? Did you two have a fight?”

When Maki shook her head no, I secretly let out a sigh of relief. Whenever Maki fought with Mari-chan, she became deeply depressed.

Most of the time, it was Maki getting upset on her own, while Mari-chan would simply grin carelessly or tilt her head with a puzzled, “Eh? Why are you mad?”

If it wasn’t a fight, then what was it?

“She went out with a junior from school, just the two of them.”

“Heh?”

At that moment, I probably had a very foolish expression on my face.

“I told her we’d go home together today, but she said she already had plans and told me to go on ahead, so I followed her.”

“You followed her!? What are you doing!”

“Then she went into a cake shop with that junior girl, and they ate cake at the café there…”

“Eh… that’s all? You watched the whole thing and then came home? And that’s why you’re depressed?”

“Yeah…”

“Ah, I see…”

What should I say?

Honestly, I couldn’t understand why my daughter was so distressed over something like that. What could I, as her parent, possibly say in response?

“Well, for now, Maki-chan, you mustn’t follow people around, okay?”

“But Papa taught me how to tail someone.”

“I’ll punish Papa later!”

What on earth was my husband teaching our daughter?

Now that I thought about it, ever since Maki had become quite skilled at judo, he had been cheerfully saying that she might grow up to become a police officer like him.

As her mother, I didn’t really want her to take on such a dangerous profession. But her happiness came first. Even to outsiders, she had grown into a rather cute girl. Still, Papa, why teach her how to tail people…

That conversation ended there, but similar “Mari…” incidents continued after that. By the time my daughter entered high school, even I had begun to notice something, vaguely.

Soon after she started high school, there was another day when Maki came home in a foul mood. It was very similar to that day in middle school, so I didn’t panic. I calmly asked her what was wrong.

When I did, she began to explain.

“Today, we had a study session at the library with Mari and everyone from class, but…”

Apparently, there was a boy who had been flirting with Mari-chan. And for some reason, Mari-chan was speaking familiarly with him and even seemed ready to go home together, Maki included.

“That guy is on my blacklist.”

“I-I see…”

Once again, I didn’t know what to say.

Still, she seemed to be getting along well with her classmates overall, and one day, while watching the two of them chatting happily, I received a call from Mari-chan’s mother.

It turned out that Mari-chan’s parents were planning a one-night trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Mari-chan herself had encouraged them, saying, “You two hardly ever get to go out together.”

Even so, they were uneasy about leaving her alone at home, so they asked whether she might stay over at our place. As a fellow parent, I completely understood that anxiety.

Of course, I agreed.

As expected, having already heard about it from Mari-chan at school, my daughter came home brimming with excitement.

“That day, I’m going to stay at Mari’s house!”

“No, you’re not.”

“Why not!”

When I explained that it was dangerous for girls to be alone, she puffed up her cheeks and protested.

“It’s fine. I’ll protect her!”

“No.”

“Why! I’m strong! Even if a burglar came, I could beat them.”

“Oh, honestly…”

As she continued pressing the issue, my voice grew unintentionally sharp.

“Who do you think would truly be in danger if you were put into a risky situation?”

“.........”

“At the recent sports festival, Mari-chan helped you, didn’t she?”

Having gone that far, she should have understood. On Maki’s face, perhaps recalling that incident, there appeared an awkward, frustrated expression.

“If you want to cherish that girl, then you have to cherish her properly.”

“I understand…”

As I watched my daughter’s retreating back while she left the living room, I let out a sigh. Somehow, it was true that I worried more about Mari-chan’s safety than Maki’s. If possible, I wanted both of them to remain within my sight.

In many ways.

“She said she’ll stop by her house to change first, then come here.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Mama, you always only say ‘yes’ once.”

“Yeees.”

My daughter, now a little sulky, plopped down onto the sofa and turned on the television.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

“I’m sure you’ve already heard from my mother, but I’ll be staying over for one night soon. Thank you in advance!”

✧✧✧✧✧

“Maki, what foods does Mari-chan like again?”

“Fried shrimp, pasta dishes, consomme soup, potatoes, and also…”

“Hmm, got it. Then we’ll make those for dinner during the sleepover.”

When I said that, Maki turned around with an exasperated look.

“Mama, you really like Mari a lot, don’t you?”

“You do too, right?”

“Well… yeah, but…”

The meaning behind that “but…” was probably a little special to my daughter. As she turned her attention back to the television, I noticed that the tips of her ears were faintly red.

As long as my daughter is happy, that’s enough.

For now, I’ll think of it that way. Being a parent is difficult.

The end.