"Excuse me, where did the Moribe family who used to live here move to?"
The day before, on May 3, Tosu Hideo had emerged from the Shinkansen exit at Osaka Station, taken the Midosuji Line subway, and arrived in Tennoji Ward.
Holding a slip of paper with an address written on it, Tosu Hideo asked for directions as he walked and soon found his destination.
The Moribe home was an ordinary detached house, with two stories and an attic, as well as a small yard and a parking space outside. Looking at the house, which bore some resemblance to his own, Tosu Hideo could not help feeling both sorrow and familiarity.
Even their taste in houses was similar. Mr. Moribe was so much like him!
The sight stirred his feelings. Although he had left Shizuoka City less than half a day ago, the thought that he would have to conceal his identity from now on and never see the Tosu mother and daughter again made his eyes sting, and he nearly shed tears.
Mr. Moribe passed away in Aokigahara in Heisei 31, the first year of Reiwa. Four years have already passed since then.
Tosu Hideo wiped his damp eyes and touched the two letters against his chest, which seemed to weigh more heavily the closer he came to the Moribe home, as he thought.
Mr. Moribe's daughter, Moribe Mamiya, was only in her third year of middle school then. She should be in university now, like Hua Ling. I wonder how she'll view her... father after learning of Mr. Moribe's death and reading the letter he left her.
Although Mr. Moribe's farewell letter had offered only a limited glimpse, as a fellow father, Tosu Hideo could feel his profound love for his daughter. The bond between father and daughter