The Miracles Happen Every Single Day

Kei stood in front of the funeral hall.

Beside him, his aunt Yuriko gently squeezed his hand.

“Kei, I’m here for you in your mother’s place. Let’s go inside.”

His mother, Koharu, had died suddenly at the age of thirty-five.

Kei was in his second year of high school, but he still needed his mother.

He sniffed, trying to hold back his tears as grief and loneliness overwhelmed him.

His eyes fell on the urn in Yuriko’s hands.

The cool, pale-blue surface made him realize, for the first time, that his mother was truly gone.

Kei began to cry silently.

At that moment, someone quietly offered him a handkerchief.

Kei raised his face.

A tall, sophisticated man in his mid-thirties stood before him.

There was something strangely familiar about him.

Kei looked into the man’s soft, almond-shaped eyes behind his silver-framed glasses and felt an inexplicable sense of nostalgia.

“Hi. I’m Kai Kono. I’m your biological father.”

Kei stared at him.

“I was your mother Koharu’s boyfriend when we were in high school. From now on, I’ll take responsibility for you.”

Kei glanced at Yuriko.

Her expression told him everything.

Kai turned toward her and bowed slightly.

“Hello. It’s been a long time, Ms. Yuriko.”

Yuriko stared at him, looking slightly perplexed.

“I never imagined you would come.”

“I still love her,” Kai said quietly.

2.

Kei woke up in a comfortable bed in his new room.

A month had passed since he had moved into his father’s home.

The apartment was enormous, furnished with luxurious pieces, and had seven rooms.

The view from his room was breathtaking.

Kei stretched and relaxed beneath the morning light.

Then he walked over to the window and opened it.

A cool morning breeze brushed against his face.

His room was on the twentieth floor of a high-end apartment building.

Kei had grown up in a small regional city in central Japan. His father’s apartment was a world away from anything he had ever known.

Kai had inherited an automobile company from his father and now ran it himself.

The previous week, Kai had taken Kei to meet his grandparents for the first time.

Their home was less like an ordinary house and more like an old family residence.

Kei’s grandparents had been delighted to meet him and were already trying to build a relationship with him.

“Kei.”

Someone knocked on the door.

Kei walked over and opened it.

“Sorry,” Kai said with a small smile.

He stood on the other side of the door.

“I think you should get ready for school.”

“Sure, Kai.”

Kei nodded.

Kei was about 1.74 meters tall, with a medium build and a gentle, pleasant face.

He had played baseball since he was a child and dreamed of becoming a professional player.

He played second base for his high school team, where he was valued for his quick feet and steady defense.

Kai smiled.

“Breakfast is on the table. I’m waiting for you.”

Kei looked at him.

Kai’s eyes, behind his silver-framed glasses, were calm and gentle.

Kei had liked those eyes ever since he first saw them.

————

Kei joined the morning practice of his baseball club with the other members.

Their coach was Yusuke, a former professional baseball player.

Yusuke was tall and well-built, and it was easy to tell that he had once been a professional athlete. His voice was loud and carried clearly across the field.

“Good job, guys. We’re done for this morning,” Yusuke called out.

“Kei, your performance this morning was really great.”

As Kei washed his face at the sink, Yusuke stood nearby with a smile.

“Thanks, Coach,” Kei said quietly.

“Well, Coach… I heard my teammates talking about some scouts coming to see us today.”

Yusuke’s expression changed subtly.

“Yeah, I heard about that. But Kei, you’re good at your studies as well as baseball. I hope you’ll go on to university.”

“Yep… Coach, you have a point.”

Kei nodded, though he still wasn’t completely satisfied.

“But I’d like to go pro. Mom really hoped I would become a professional baseball player.”

Yusuke looked at Kei with concern.

“You’re going to apply to cram school, aren’t you? You told me that before.”

“Oh… I completely forgot about that,” Kei groaned.

“Well, Kei, cram school is important if you want to get into university.”

“Yeah.”

Kei nodded.

“That’s it,” Yusuke said with a smile.

“Well, Kei… I promised Yuriko I’d take her to the movies this weekend,” he added shyly.

“Wow. You finally asked her out.”

Kei smiled.

“Yep…”

Yusuke scratched his head.

Yusuke and Yuriko had once been lovers in high school, but they had separated after graduation.

“Well, Kei… can I be your uncle-in-law?” Yusuke asked modestly.

“I won’t object if Auntie is happy.”

“You’re really an understanding kid.”

Yusuke gently ruffled Kei’s hair.

“Yusuke, you need to learn about flowers, since Yuri really loves them.”

“No problem, Kei. To tell you the truth, I like flowers too, especially the ones Yuri arranges.”

His cheeks turned crimson.

“Hey, Coach! You’re like a teenage boy.”

“Yep… My spirit is still the same as when I was in high school.”

Kei snickered.

Then his expression turned serious.

“Yusuke, you and Kai went to the same high school. If you remember anything about him and my mom, please tell me.”

Yusuke looked at him seriously.

“All I can tell you is this… Kai and your mom really cared about each other.”

3.

That Sunday marked one month since his mother’s death.

Kei visited her grave with Kai.

After they finished cleaning the grave, they placed a bouquet of flowers beside the headstone.

When Kei finished praying, Kai raised his head and looked at him.

“Well, shall we go?”

Kei nodded.

“Kai, you knew Mom’s favorite flowers,” Kei said softly.

Kai smiled.

“Of course. Your mom had loved gardenias ever since she was in high school. She taught me the names of many flowers, and gardenia was one of the first.”

Kei imagined his mother and Kai as teenagers, standing side by side.

“Kei, what are you going to do now? I can take you home.”

Kei thought for a moment and shrugged.

“I don’t have any plans.”

Kai hesitated before asking,

“If you don’t mind, would you like to come with me?”

“Sure.”

————

The father and son spent the rest of the day together.

After a quick lunch, Kai took Kei to an arcade.

They played a two-player game together, something Kei had never expected to do with his father.

To his surprise, Kai was incredibly good at it.

During a short break, Kei looked at him admiringly.

“Kai, you’re so cool. I thought we were going somewhere more formal, like a museum.”

Kai smiled shyly.

He even won several prizes from the claw machine and gave some of them to Kei.

While they were playing, the store clerks repeatedly mistook Kai for Kei’s older brother.

Every time, Kai politely corrected them.

—————

After leaving the arcade, they walked side by side through a nearby park.

Kai slipped his arm around Kei’s.

For the first time in a long while, Kei felt some of his sadness begin to fade.

There was something comforting about having his father beside him.

Kei realized that he truly liked Kai—just as his mother had.

“Kei,” Kai said quietly.

“When you were born, your mother and I were barely eighteen. I left you and your mother behind, but I never stopped thinking about you.”

He looked at Kei.

“I will never let you go again.”

“Thanks, Kai…”

Kei hesitated.

“No. Dad.”

The moment Kei called him “Dad,” Kai gently pulled him into his arms.

A clean, delicate scent lingered on him.

Kei felt his father trembling.

Kai was crying.

“……”

Kei quietly stroked his father’s back.

4.

Today, Kei had a three-way meeting at school with his homeroom teacher.

Kai and Yuriko attended the meeting with him. Kei was planning to apply to his chosen university the following year, but he also wanted to pursue his dream of entering the professional baseball draft.

His homeroom teacher began the meeting.

“Kono is a very capable student. His grades are always among the top ten in his class.”

Kai looked at Kei with pleasant surprise.

“Kei has told us that he wants to enter the professional baseball draft,” the teacher continued. “We know he is a very promising baseball player. But he also excels in his studies and other areas. We hope he will consider going to university.”

“Teacher, I…”

Kei struggled to explain how he truly felt.

Before he could continue, Kai gently raised a hand.

“You’re right, Sensei. We hope Kei will go to university and broaden his knowledge. He is my successor in the company.”

Kei froze.

His successor?

“Well, Kei, you’re going to continue your education, right?” the teacher asked.

“Please do,” Kai said, glancing at Yuriko, who was sitting beside Kei.

“Ms. Yuriko, what do you think?”

Yuriko looked at Kei.

“I value Kei’s wishes. But Mr. Kono is his father, and he cares deeply about Kei’s future. I think Kei should talk with Mr. Kono about it.”

“Just wait.”

Kei finally exploded.

“It’s my life. I’m the one who gets to decide!”

Everyone fell silent.

“First, I’m going to enter the professional draft and try to become a professional baseball player. I promised Mom.”

“Kei…”

Yuriko tried to calm him down.

“Let’s talk about this later, just the three of us.”

But Kai spoke calmly.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ve already made my decision.”

Kei shot to his feet and rushed out of the classroom.

————-

He wandered around the school grounds until he noticed Yusuke getting ready for practice.

Yusuke was talking with some of his students when he noticed Kei and waved.

“…”

Kei took a deep breath.

Yusuke listened carefully as Kei told him everything.

When Kei finished, Yusuke spoke quietly.

“I know how you feel, Kei.”

He paused.

“But I also know how Kai feels. He has always cared about you.”

“…”

“To tell you the truth, I knew Kai and your mom when we were in high school. They were really good together.”

Yusuke looked toward the field.

“I saw your mother force Kai to break up with her because she wanted to protect his future. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if they had stayed together back then.”

He paused again.

“But the last time I saw them together, they were standing side by side in the rain for a long time.”

“Kei.”

A soft, gentle voice came from behind him.

Kei turned around and saw Yuriko standing there.

“Kei, Kai went back to his office ahead of us.”

Kei nodded.

His mind had begun to settle.

He looked at Yusuke and Yuriko, then smiled teasingly.

“I should go. You two probably want some time alone.”

Yusuke’s face turned crimson.

———-

Kei left them behind and wandered through the small city at dusk, thinking about Kai.

Just as Yusuke had said, he could feel how much Kai cared about him.

Kai thought about him more than anyone else in the world.

Life with Kai was comfortable and warm.

“…”

Kei couldn’t give up on his dream.

But Kai had become so precious to him that he wanted to stay by his side.

The sky above the station rotary was growing darker as evening fell.

“Kei.”

Someone called his name.

Kei turned around.

Kai was standing there calmly.

“Let’s go home.”

End