Immortal

On New Year's Day, everyone seemed to have agreed beforehand as they all changed into the best clothes they had at home and stepped out their doors.

They shared a common destination: the cemetery behind the mountain.

No one spoke, and they simply walked along in silence. Even the children who loved to play and make a fuss were unusually quiet.

The stream of people gradually gathered at the cemetery gates and then filed in.

Just inside the gate of the cemetery, what met the eye was a paved stone plaza, and right in the middle of the plaza stood a ten-meter-high, six-meter-wide grand stone.

Carved near the top of the stone were three large characters: Heroes' Tomb, and below them was a line of smaller text commemorating the combat heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect the people.

Further down were individual names: Watanabe Ryota, Yamamoto Matsuko, Fujiwara Kazuya, Kobayashi Keiko...

"That's Mom's name! Big brother, I saw Mom's name!" A little girl tugged at her brother's hand and shook it hard.

"Yes, it's Mom's name!" Her brother's eyes welled with tears, his voice hoarse yet firm. "Mom is a great hero, and from now on everyone will be able to see her name."

Another elderly woman found her son's name.

"That's my son. My son didn't disgrace me; he blew up three enemies all by himself—three of them... three."

By the end, the old woman choked back her sobs several times.

There was also a son who recognized his mother's name.

"That's my mom's name! My mom is seventy-six this year; she grabbed an Explosive Stone, jumped down from the roof, and took five thieving ninja with her. Hahaha, my mom, she... she locked the door and wouldn't let me go. Actually, the one who should've died is