It was a dark and stormy afternoon at the Lucky Cat Café. With the exception of a couple of regulars, the place was desolate and quiet. Despite its eeriness of atmosphere, it was common for Lucky Cat's owner, Cass Hamada, to come up with contingencies to fill up her day. Cass, or Aunt Cass as she liked to be called by her nephew and his friends, went into the kitchen to gather materials to clean the restaurant. She thought that the rain would give her an opportunity to catch up on her spring cleaning.

Aunt Cass was the kind of woman who believed in order. Since the death of her nephew, Tadashi, she had tried really hard to gain control of her life; and the life of her only nephew, Hiro. There have been moments in which the pair would constantly squabble, but it was out of love and compassion of Aunt Cass. Ever since she allowed the young Hiro to begin college, she had tried her best to work on getting her life back together. She had plans of going back to community college with intentions of expanding her business. She had received counseling to work on her stress eating. The therapist she has been seeing has told her to keep herself occupied throughout the day in order to maintain her grip on her life. So maintaining is something that she was going to do.

So much so, she even had begun dating. Her nephew, Hiro, although he thought it was too soon, supported her in her venture in finding a companion. Her dates, unfortunately, did not go any further than coffee dates. She felt that she could not find anyone to relate with for companionship. Telling her nephew about her failed conquests, he always supported her and reminded her that there was no rush in finding that special someone—there was always tomorrow.

Aunt Cass went into the broom closet to gather her materials for cleaning. She looked at the clock and saw that Hiro should be close to heading home from school. She had always looked forward to his arrivals. Since her nephew, Tadashi's death, it had been just the two of them. It took time, but they adjusted that they were now a duo and no longer a trio. Aunt Cass could remember the nights in which she would be in her bedroom crying as the tears absorbed her pillow like a sponge. She did her best to hide her emotions from Hiro, not wanting to show her vulnerable side. However, Hiro began to catch on when she would forget to open up shop or there were not any preparations made for the day. But by the grace of God, Hiro would simply take the role of owner and prepare for the day. Aunt Cass watched as Hiro would set up shop in her absence. It made her proud to see the young Hiro was taking up her slack. Just the thought of those moments brought a tear to the proud aunt's eye.

She always questioned on why Hiro would not ask about her absence during those moments. She wondered if he was afraid to ask or they were on the same wavelength of emotion. They did their best on not to mention Tadashi's name for the fear of opening up another wave of tears.

Hiro, if your parents and Tadashi could see how much of a man you are becoming, Aunt Cass thought to herself. She closed her eyes and exited her thoughts to resume to the matter at hand—catching up with her chores.

Later that afternoon, after finishing her cleaning duties, she prepared for the dinner rush. She looked at the clock and realized that Hiro has yet to come home. She paid it no worry because with his being in college, there were numerous of projects that needed to be completed for the talented genius. However, as the afternoon dwindled into dusk, then became the cause of concern. Worried, she pulled out her cell phone to dial for Hiro. When she called, the phone went straight to voicemail.

Yo! This is Hiro. Sorry, I can't come to the phone. Please leave a message. Peace!

After hearing the voicemail, she placed the phone on the counter.

This is not like Hiro to not answer his phone, she thought to herself. After waiting for a few minutes, the worried Aunt decided to call again. When she dialed, once again, it went to voicemail. Only this time she left a message.

Hi, sweetie, Aunt Cass here. I just called to see where you are. You have not shown up yet and that is not like you. I am bit worried. Please call me back. Love you.

She hanged up the phone and sat on the counter. As she looked outside, the dark and stormy sky turned into a picturesque of pastel pink, purple, and orange. Dusk had arrived and so did the influx of customers. She decided to place her worry of Hiro on hold to begin the evening rush.

As dusk turned into night and the last of her customers exited her restaurant, there was still no sign of Hiro. This was the time in which Aunt Cass should worry. If anything, Hiro would have at least left a text message, giving her his whereabouts, but nothing. Pressure began to build in Aunt Cass's brain. Where was her Hiro? Why would he do such a thing without warning her on what he was doing? Avoiding thinking of the worst, she decided to call one of his friends if they have seen Hiro.

Still, in the dining area, she sat on one of the chairs and dialed for Hiro's friend, Wasabi. With her leg shaking and her heart pounding quickly, she was anxious for him to answer. When the phone was picked up, Wasabi answered.

"Hello," answered Wasabi.

"Hi, Wasabi, this is Aunt Cass," said Aunt Cass.

"Oh, hello, how are you?"

"A bit worried, I am afraid. Have you seen Hiro any time today?"

"Yeah, I have. But not since two-thirty going on three."

The feeling of anxiety is trying to penetrate the wall of what was left of Aunt Cass's composure. She could feel her legs trembling and her teeth were chattering. She whispered a prayer to maintain control. Gripping hard on the cell phone, she asked, "Did Hiro said anything about where he was going? Or if he was going to see someone."

"No, ma'am, not at all," said Wasabi worriedly. "The only thing I could remember him telling me and the others that he was coming back home, and that was it."

"Was everybody present with you guys when Hiro was there?"

"Yeah, everybody was there. Me, Honey, GoGo, Fred, the whole gang."

Her worried mind began to flood like a swimming pool. Something had to be wrong. She was trying her hardest to not fear the worst, but even with that was facing a certainty of doubt.

"Is there something wrong, Aunt Cass," asked Wasabi with the intent of worry coming from his voice.

"Yes," answered Aunt Cass, "Hiro has not shown up at the café and it is passed closing time."

"Have you tried calling his cell phone?"

"Yes, dozens of times and it always ended up in a voicemail."

"That is concerning."

There was silence between both lines for the moment. Wasabi broke the silence.

"Look, I am going to call Hiro to see if I can get him. If he does, I will call you back."

"Please do Wasabi, please," asked Aunt Cass worriedly.

"I will call you back I promise."

"Thanks, Wasabi."

"No problem, Aunt Cass. I am sure there is nothing to be worried about. I hope for our sake."

"Thanks, once again."

"No problem, talk to you soon."

Aunt Cass hanged up the phone and tossed it on the counter. She placed her elbows on the counter as her vision was being blurred by tears. It seemed that tears have been the common theme when it was time to worry. She thought why she couldn't be one of the women who remained strong in the time of crisis. She talked a big game when she in front of her nephews and others. But behind the thin curtain was a woman of defeat. She thought at times that she was not much a role model for the boys that she let on to be. She sat in the empty restaurant trying to soak up the tears of her missing Hiro.

Stay strong, Cass, stay strong. Woman up, damn it, woman up, Aunt Cass thought to herself through the words of advice that Hiro's friend, GoGo Tamago, would have said.

She looked at the clock and it was approaching midnight. She had tried contacting more of Hiro's friends, but it was always the same result. She wanted to call the police, but she could not file a missing person's report until 24 hours after his disappearance. And that was more than enough that she could bear.

Fearing the worst, she tried to distract herself. She then caught sight of the leftover sugar cookies that were on the table. It triggered her urge for stress eating. Not only because it was there, those were the sugary treats Hiro prepared the day before. As she reached for the cookies, she heard a sound of lock coming from the front door of the restaurant.