Inscription on John Wayne's headstone.

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learnt something from yesterday."

Learning from Yesterday

Tohma Seguchi sat at his polished oak desk, drinking out of a silver coffee mug, staring at the letter his wife had handed him earlier that morning. Tears shown in his eyes and he let them fall as he smiled a truly happy smile. It wasn't a huge grin, nor was it a simple, ordinary smile. It was a little tug at the corners of his mouth that slowly lifted his lips in a small smile that so very few had seen.

He thought back to the day before. Mika and he had a terrible argument, and he winced at the memory of Mika storming out of their room and slamming the door. He had brushed off the argument like it was no big matter.

To Mika, it hadn't been a fight of the light topic that Tohma made it out to be.

Now he sat there, holding the letter that changed his future into one that he only dreamed of. So many of his worries were suddenly laid to rest.

That morning he had made up his shallowness by taking her out to her favorite breakfast diner, and then taking her back home and handing her a bouquet of white and red roses before leaving for work. Then, she had given him the letter.

She spoke softly, barely contained excitement putting an edge on her words. "Open it later, at work."

The letter stated some facts he knew already. Her pregnancy took a great toll on her, physically, and she was more tired and weak than she should have been. At the end of the letter, it stated, "We are going to have a baby girl. She's as healthy as she can be."

Tohma's dream was to have a daughter. He really hadn't wanted a son because he dealt with plenty of boys at his job.

Also in the letter, Mika said she had even more good news for him. They were going to the doctor together the next day to see a woman who specialized in difficult pregnancies.

Tohma was skeptical about his wife having more good news. He thought wistfully that even better news than a baby girl would be twin baby girls.

:..x…x..X..x…x..:

At the doctor's office the next day, Tohma knew that no other man could have been happier.

Gravitation and all of its characters—copyright—Maki Murakami

Finished
April 26, 2007

Uploaded
June 6, 2007