Suzuno Osugi tapped the dirt off the sole of her foot as she entered the house before slipping them off her feet at the steps. "Father?" She called out into the messy hallway. "Father are you home, yet?"

There was no response. Suzuno sighed quietly to herself. Her father was always coming home late from work. It really wasn't fair of his boss to have him constantly working overtime. Especially since today was her seventeenth birthday… "but knowing how busy father is," she said smiling to herself "he's probably forgotten about it."

It was true that Suzuno's father had forgotten that today was his only daughter's seventeenth birthday, but it wasn't true that he wasn't home from work yet, which Suzuno would discover soon. She put her backpack down on the steps and started into the kitchen. She knew her father would be hungry when he returned from work in the odd hours of the night. She would wait up for him to return, or else fall asleep at the kitchen table doing her homework. And when her father came home, he would take off his long trench coat, brush off the rain and hang it over her shoulders to keep her warm, and would be gone in the morning before she woke up for school. Most of the time it happened like that. Sometimes she would wake up when he was eating his cold dinner, and he would smile at her, and tell her to go to bed. She would give him back his coat, kiss his cheek, apologize for the cold meal, and then go to her room and sleep. She wondered what she should make for his dinner tonight.

She searched the cabinets and found that they were almost empty. All that was left was a few boxes of Aunt Annie's Peanut Sauced noodles. She pulled the boxes from the shelf, coughing as a cloud of dust descended over her. Closing the little doors, she made a mental note to dust them out over the weekend.

"Quite messy, aren't they?"

Suzuno was so surprised that she jumped out of her skin, and gasping, turned around to see her father standing in the kitchen door. His dark hair fell into his eyes, which weren't framed by his usual thin, round glasses. Suzuno noticed that he needed another haircut soon. His stripped shirt was halfway tucked into his pants, and all buttoned up except for the top three. His hair was a mess, and Suzuno knew that it was from running his fingers through it constantly, which he did whenever he was frustrated or concentrating. It looked like he had had a hard day at work.

"Daddy." She breathed. "You scared me."

He smiled tiredly at her. "Sorry, baby."

Suzuno just smiled at him and turned to the stove, watching as the plate began to turn red. "What are you doing home from work on time?" She asked, filling up a pot of water to the mid-rim.

Her father sighed, pulling out his chair from underneath the wooden table and sat, slouched in the chair. "I didn't go to work today."

Suzuno turned to her father in surprise, but he wasn't looking at her, he was staring at the table with wide, unseeing eyes.

"Daddy," Suzuno, put the box of Aunt Annie's Peanut Sauced Noodles down on the stove and went to her father. "What's wrong?"

Sighing, Mr. Osugi leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I got a letter from an old friend today… from Einosuke Okuda."

"Einosuke Okuda?" Suzuno didn't understand why a letter from the old man would have upset her father so much. "Is he alright?"

"No." Was her father's blunt reply.

"What happened?"

"His daughter,Kaley, died two weeks ago."

Suzuno stared in shock at her father. "Oh no… but… but they just found her."

"Yes." Her father said. "It appears that she was… sick with something… she died four days after she returned home."

"Oh God," Suzuno could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "That's horrible."

Her father stared blankly at the table. "Yes… I imagine it must be."

Suzuno was about to reach out and touch her father's shoulder, when thick black smoke thrust itself into her face. Her father jumped, and Suzuno began to cough, turning to see the box of Aunt Annie's Peanut Sauced Noodles had caught on fire on the stove, where she had left them. Panic spread through her body, and quickly, Suzuno jumped up from beside her father and leapt to the stove, turning the dial so that it was off, then, grabbing the pot of water that she had filled for the noodles, she dumped it over the smoking box of noodles. Which hissed angrily and steamed before going out. The thin red embers of burnt paper floated in the puddle of water and turned black.

Suzuno stepped away from the mess and pressed her hands up against her face, feeling the way her heart beat in her chest. She turned, breathless to her father, who sat there, staring at the stove behind her.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly after a while, finding a rag to mop up the water and throw out the burnt box of noodles. As she did so she fought back tears, something was very wrong with her father. If he had been normal, he wouldn't have not gone to work just because of a letter, and he would have helped her with the fire. And he didn't seem to want to tell her what else was bothering him, which hurt her the most. He had always confided in her, and she had always confided in him… ever since her mother had died…

Suzuno bit her lip when she thought about her mother. She could still remember everything about her, the way her silvery hair fell around her face and cupped under her chin. The way her gentle green eyes and pale green skin would shine whenever she smiled. The way she would take Suzuno out during the night, under the tin roof to listen to the rain.

She used to always sing a song to Suzuno when they were sitting under the tin roof listening to the rain… Without even realizing it, Suzuno slipped into the familiar song as she mopped up the rest of the water with her pale hands. She sung the song whenever she was scared or upset, it seemed to help her for some reason.

"Tonight the brightest moon,

On St. Steven's Green,

Floods the Streets of Rome.

And I am standing here,

Wondering where the ghosts of Antiquities,

Hide on nights like this… once a century

Where do shadows fall, when there's only light?

And why'd you follow me half way 'round the world tonight?

And what I'd give right now,

Not to even care.

And then this could be someone else's prayer.

And on a sleepless night,

By St. Steven's Green

Oh I turned and tossed with my Irish dreams.

And when the morning shone through the burned off mist.

I could sense you still, just as close as this.

Just as close as lips brush against a cheek.

Its your voice I hear,

And its your name I speak.

But when I look around there's no one there.

How I wish you were someone else's prayer.

And now the twilight comes as a silent guest.

And of all its gifts I like stillness best,

Except for tin-roof rains that commence with springs.

It's a lullaby when that tin roof sings.

You can look for me on the streets of Rome

Or in Dublin town, but I've gone back home.

I would always be just a stranger there,

And now you are free to be someone else's prayer."

When she finished mopping, she stopped singing, and rung the water out into the sink. "I don't think there's anything else in the house for me to make for you." She said, turning to her father. "I can run out to the supermarket if you like."

Her father stared at her quietly for a long time before muttering. "You sound just like your mother when you sing that song."

Suzuno stared quietly back at her father. He still missed her so much, even after an entire year. She was happy that she sounded like her mother, but at the same time she felt badly that she had reminded her father of his loss. "Do you want me to go the supermarket?" She asked again, readying herself for the trip.

"No." He said, sighing. "I don't expect I'll be very hungry tonight. Thank you, Suzie."

She felt the worry start to seep into her again. Something was sort of wrong with her father. She could feel it; he was acting so strangely. "Daddy," She said as he was rounding the corner in the hallway. He stopped and turned to look at her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

For the first time, Mr. Osugi seemed to notice that his daughter was worried about him. He smiled as best he could at her, but he looked worn and tired even as he did so. "I'm fine, Suzie… I just… need some rest I think."

Suzuno watched as her father disappeared with slow footsteps around the corner before turning back to the sink, where the dirty rag was lying. "What's wrong, Daddy." She said quietly. "You didn't even remember my birthday…"