Winter had come once again. The dark came early, and clouds covered the sky. It was going to snow soon.
Hana sat at the wooden table under a dim light. She ran her fingers over a sheet of stationery, a wide smile on her face. Looking up at the photo of her beloved, her eyes twinkled with joy. This was the first winter after she was left alone in that house in the countryside. And this would be the first winter her daughter would come visit.
"She sent another letter," Hana almost laughed. "It's winter break, so she'll be coming home to visit." Her gaze fell onto the stationery once again, her eyes rereading the words. She warmly read them aloud:
"'Dear Mom,
I hope you've been doing well since my last letter. To update you on what's happened from before, turns out Michiko wasn't angry at me, she was just upset at her situation. Thanks for the advice in your last letter— it practically saved me.'"
Hana giggled and continued:
"'I'll tell you more about the details later. I can't wait to come home. I've missed you very much. I have so much to tell you. Much more than I could ever say in a letter, or a phone call. I'll come and see you very soon.
With much love,
Yuki.'"
Hana's smile grew wider, and she folded the letter and put it on the shelf beside her love. She stopped in front of him, her eyes cast downward in reflection. "I wonder how much she's grown." She began. "What new things she's learned, the friends she's made. How different she's become..." It's been a year since she's seen her last, at the airport to Yuki's boarding school. "She spent her summer away, she turned fourteen on her own, and now she's coming back." Hana laughed. "It's not like she went off to a university, but, wow, does it feel like it." Her eyes returned to the license. "Well, I won't find out anything until tomorrow, huh." She turned her gaze to look outside.
Tomorrow.