Wolf Children: The Awaited Reunion

By Adam DeLand

Based on the film by Mamoru Hosoda

In the Japanese countryside, a vegetable farm stood isolated from most of the other farms in the area. This farm belonged to a woman named Hana, who lived on and tended the farm by herself. She had initially bought the property back when she was still raising her two children, as she had a hard time raising them in the bustling city. Her children, a daughter named Yuki and a son named Ame, carried the unique ability of their late father: being able to willingly shapeshift into a Honshū wolf, which has been extinct for over a century. Hana wanted to raise the two like their father, hoping that they would be able to live both a human and a wolf life in complete secrecy. Instead, the two siblings went completely separate paths: Yuki chose to only remain a human due to her preference to fit in with society, while Ame felt more at peace being a wolf out in the wilderness away from everybody. Hana now had only the farm to look after, with Yuki now in junior high school and Ame gone completely from the human world. She was proud of how her children managed to carve their own lives by themselves, but while she knew her daughter could always come to her when needed, she still felt sorrow that she may never see her son again, only being able to know that he's still out there when she hears his howls from far off in the mountains.

Yuki, meanwhile, had just moved into the dormitories of the junior high school she had started. She was still aware of her shapeshifting ability, but she had taught herself to lock that away. As she still wanted to be treated like a normal girl, she knew trying to bring out any instinct of that kind would only turn all her peers away, just like back when she first started school. That, and she was still traumatized by the time a boy who was inquisitive about her nature caused her to partially let her wolf self out due to aggravation and injured him. That boy, named Sōhei, would later reveal that he knew all along that Yuki was the wolf that accidentally attacked her and didn't mind it all, promising to keep that a secret. Yuki would continue to have a friendship with him but was still afraid of being too close due to all the flashbacks of the incident. She had learned about her brother's choice in life before moving into the dorms, and she can sometimes hear his howls off in the distance just like her mother does. She wishes she could somehow locate him so that she can patch up their relationship after the major fight they had over their disagreements on how to live their lives, but she has no idea where he could possibly be now.

##

Yuki managed to complete seventh grade without any trouble. Months after starting eighth grade, the summer holidays began. She rode the bus back to the countryside to be at the farm she was raised on and see her mother, whom she hadn't seen since last summer. As she finally reached the house, she saw her mother managing the refrigerator of vegetables she had harvested.

"Mother! I'm back!" Yuki called out to her.

Hana turned around and looked towards her in elation. "Yuki, my dear! Welcome back!"

The two of them went over to each other and shared a hug. Even though they've managed to keep in contact, this was the first time in a long while they've ever gotten to see each other face-to-face. Hana asked how she had been holding up, and she said it went as average as it could be; her social life was much better than it was in grade school, and she had become quite popular. She didn't want to tell her about her relationship with Sōhei, as she didn't know how she would react due to their history.

"How have things been here with you tending the farm by yourself?" Yuki then asked.

"Well, of course you know I'm never alone with that," Hana responded. "All the neighbors still lend a hand whenever I need it."

"I guess that was kind of a stupid question." Yuki said back.

"As for myself," Hana continued, "I've been getting by just fine enough with my profits from selling the crops. I haven't felt too lonely since the chats I've had with the neighbors have been uplifting, and I have still been able to hear from you when you're not here. However, it's still been hard for me to cope due to..."

Hana began to nod in depression; Yuki could obviously tell what she was thinking about.

"Ame, right?" Yuki asked. "You still miss him, don't you?"

Hana paused for a couple seconds and then responded. "I knew that the only way for him to be happy was to let him go; I just wished that he realized that shouldn't mean forever. I keep hearing him, but I'm always afraid that he has forgotten about all of us and is now completely feral."

Yuki grabbed her mother's hand. "I miss him too," she said, "but I don't think that's what's keeping him away. The fight we had still haunts me to this day, and I think it's the same for him; I think he's just afraid. I've always wanted to try and go find him myself so that we could possibly make up for all of that, but I just don't know where or how."

"Well, you do realize you have that ability, right?" Hana said back.

Yuki realized what her mother was referring to and began to negatively flash back. "S-sorry mom," she nervously said, "but I just can't bring myself to do that anymore."

"I know what you mean," Hana responded. "I was just getting my hopes up there for a moment. I guess I still haven't really learned."

The rest of the day continued with the mother and daughter bonding over more farm management. That evening, Hana prepared her husband's specialty of kushiyaki dipped in tare sauce for dinner; after that, she drew her daughter a bath. Yuki had forgotten what all of that was like back home, and it felt like a rush of nostalgia even though it hadn't been that long. The two then settled into bed and fell asleep, both of them hearing the faint sound of a wolf's howl just before closing their eyes.

##

The next morning, Hana and Yuki both woke up when they heard the sound of the neighbor's roosters. After having a good breakfast, they both got dressed into day clothes. Yuki decided on wearing a pink dress that her mother had just recently sewed for her, similar to the dress she liked wearing as a little kid. Yuki then thought about the conversation she had with her mother yesterday, and it brought many thoughts about the past back to her. She thought it was kind of ironic how she and Ame ended up the opposite of when they were kids, as it was herself that loved being a wolf then, while Ame didn't like his gift to begin with at all. She would often hear her mother talk about dreams she had where she would come across her father, who would remind her that she has always been a good mother despite the different circumstances her children ended up with. Since Yuki hardly got to know her father, he has never appeared in her own dreams. As Hana continued to tend to the kitchen, Yuki stepped outside and sat on the front steps to continue her reminiscing. After an hour passed, she saw the bus from the city come up and stop nearby, and someone got off and started heading toward the house. She took a look at who it was and recognized the person immediately; it was Sōhei.

"Yuki!" He greeted her, "Glad you're here!"

"Sōhei?" Yuki responded confusedly. "W-why are you here?"

"It's just..." Sōhei responded, "Just that I wanted to have a chance to talk to you alone now that it's summer holidays. Can I come inside?"

Yuki answered nervously, thinking about how her mother would respond, "I-I don't know if that's a good..."

"Who's out here?" Hana stepped outside and asked. She then noticed the boy and recognized the scars on his ear. "Oh, it's Sōhei, right?"

"Yes, miss," Sōhei responded. "I just want to say to you that I still have no problem with your daughter, and I just want to see if she's okay."

"Well, you can come on in then," Hana said. "That is, if you don't mind helping out with some of the chores."

"He...he really doesn't need to," an embarrassed Yuki said as they all went in anyway. "Besides, why would you even have a problem with me when I didn't even do anything to you?"

"Yuki, stop pretending," ordered Sōhei. "You know very well why."

"Please, don't." Yuki said to him nervously.

"What exactly happened between the two of you at school?" Hana questioned.

"This was years ago we're talking about," Sōhei responded. "It has to do with the whole ear situation."

"No, it doesn't!" Yuki shouted out frighteningly.

"But you said it was a wolf that did..." Hana mentioned before coming to a realization.

Yuki knew that she was in trouble now and braced herself for the consequences by closing her eyes and clenching her mouth.

"You knew all along, didn't you, Sōhei?" Hana said.

"Wait, what?" Yuki said as she felt a sense of relief and surprise when she heard her mother say something different than what she expected.

"Yes, miss." Sōhei said. "I knew when I first met Yuki that something made her different from all the rest. When she attacked me, I told everyone that it was only a wolf and not her because I wanted to protect her from the whole truth coming out. Your daughter is clearly someone special, and I don't want to see her be ostracized because of it."

Yuki only remained silent.

"You don't have a problem with wolves, don't you?" Hana questioned.

"No, miss," Sōhei answered. "I've always found them fascinating. They're not the savage beasts people make them out to be; they're intelligent creatures who just want to make their own living like we do, but in a different way. It's not fair that people have always seen them as bad guys."

Both Yuki and Hana just stood in silence with chills running down them, as that phrase sounded familiar to them.

"Interesting," Hana finally said. "You remind me a lot of...him."

"Your husband?" Sōhei asked.

"No; my son Ame." Hana answered.

"You mean that shy little boy in the grade below us that kept skipping school?" Sōhei questioned.

Hana responded, "He has the same ability as his father and Yuki. He initially was afraid to be a wolf because of how people see them, but he soon learned to embrace that side of him to the point where he felt like that was the only life he wanted. He then left to live out in the mountains; now I'm afraid that he lost his original sense of self and that I'll never see him again because of that."

Sōhei paused for a few seconds then spoke, "I really doubt he's forgotten the two of you. Even though my mom divorced my dad and started a new family, she still hasn't forgotten about me. She knows that she's responsible for bringing me into this world and is proud of it. I'm sure your son still thinks the same way; nobody can ever forget their own family."

All three remained silent and pensive about that statement, wondering if it could really be true. After a minute, Sōhei spoke up.

"Yuki, if you don't mind, I'd actually like to see your wolf form in full," he said. "I've only ever seen your partial transformation."

Yuki suddenly snapped back to reality. "What, no! I chose to leave that life behind. Besides, the whole incident with you is a major reason I decided on that!"

"Please, Yuki," Hana said back to her. "I think it's for the best."

"Why are you siding with him?!" Yuki shouted back to her mother, "This just makes you seem like a hypocrite!"

"Just because you chose to only live as one half of yourself doesn't mean you should be completely afraid of the other!" Hana replied back to her. "Your wolf side is a part of you, and nobody should be afraid of themselves. Now that you've found another person who appreciates you for what you really are, I think it's only fair that he sees that. After all, I'm pretty sure that's what your father would've wanted." Hana finished that line right as she looked over to the driver's license on the bookshelf—the one single photo she had of her late husband. Then she spoke back to her daughter, "You are an adult now; you have more self-control than you ever did as a child."

Yuki remained silent for a minute, then made the decision. "Alright, Sōhei," she said to him. "You may see."

Yuki then closed her eyes and tried to remember how to fully shapeshift back into a wolf. She then felt the familiar sensations as her head and body remade themselves into one of a wolf. As it happened, she removed the dress from her body and any other clothes she had on her as well. As she landed on all fours, the two other people now saw the thirteen-year-old girl replaced with a tan adult wolf with a brunette mane.

"Well," Yuki said to Sōhei, "how do I look?"

Sōhei only stood with an agape expression on his face, which later morphed into a smile. Hana, meanwhile, started to hold back her tears as this moment reminded her of one that happened to her thirteen years ago. Hana then picked up the removed dress from the floor and tied it around her daughter's neck like a cape, just like she had done when she was little.

"There, how does that make you feel?" She asked Yuki while petting her head.

"It certainly feels nostalgic," Yuki answered. "Even though it's much different now that..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Yuki started to sense something in her nose. A scent that was familiar but hadn't been around in a long time. With her sense of smell heightened in wolf form, she could even tell that its source was way out in the distance and could easily track it.

"Mom! I...I think I know where he is!" Yuki shouted out.

"What? Who?" Sōhei asked in confusion.

"Ame! I remember his scent and can follow it to the source." Yuki eagerly responded.

"I knew you could do it!" Hana happily exclaimed.

"Come on and follow me! It shouldn't take long with me by your side!" Yuki happily ordered.

The excited wolf bolted out the door, while Hana and Sōhei grabbed things they thought they would need for the trek into the mountains.

##

It was a little past 11 a.m. when the group of three left the house. Hana and Sōhei made sure to bring along suitable hiking gear, food, and water. They knew that there would be no way they could be as fast as Yuki while in her wolf form and full of adrenaline, so they had to constantly remind her to not go far ahead. Yuki managed to track the scent into a clearing in the wooded mountainside. Hana recognized this place immediately; it was the residing place of an elderly fox whom Ame referred to as his sensei, the one who showed him how to properly survive in the wilderness and from whom he would inherit his role as guardian of the mountain. As they stopped here to take a breather, they also tried to look around for any evidence of Ame's presence. The two humans, unfortunately, couldn't find a single inkling.

"The scent doesn't stop here." Yuki excitedly noticed.

"He must've only stopped here recently to pay respects." Hana suggested, "He must be further ahead."

"Yuki! You said this wasn't going to take long!" Sōhei complained.

"Sorry, I got so excited that I wasn't thinking much of you." Yuki said, calming down. "Wow, I never thought that rediscovering my wolf self would be such a rush for me; it's almost like if Ame is right by my side, even though that's who we're searching for."

"Don't worry, I'm excited too." Hana reassured her daughter. "Though I'm still nervous—that even if we find him, he won't act like we hope he will."

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Yuki eagerly exclaimed.

With that, the group recovered much of their stamina, got back up, and continued following the trail that Yuki was detecting.

Almost an hour had passed since stopping, and the group kept trudging along through the rocky path. Eventually, Yuki started to act more excited as she detected a certain spot where the scent was much more concentrated. She knew that this must be where her brother was.

"Right there!" she pointed out. "That must be where he's living!"

The group soon made their way into the area, where they found another clearing that was surrounded by rock and shaded by trees. It clearly looked like it could be a lone wolf's den, what with the various scraps laying around and what looked like a primal bed made of leaves tucked away in a concave area. However, it was completely unoccupied, and Yuki noticed the scent stopped here.

"Ame?" Hana and Yuki called out several times.

There was no response; no human voice or wolf sounds came back to them.

"There's got to be some clues here," Sōhei stated. "If his scent is still here, he must still use this location.

Hana, on the other hand, began to feel despair in her heart. With sorrow, she made her way to a small boulder she could sit down on and hung her head. For a moment, she thought she heard something move, but she just assumed that was just Yuki coming up to her, which she did.

"Mom, why are you worrying so much?" Yuki said. "We've already made it this far."

"Yet he is not here." Hana woefully wept. "I'm really beginning to believe my worst fear: that he is no longer himself. I mean, when I saw him off the last time, he didn't really acknowledge me when I called out to him. It's like that was all part of his plan."

Yuki rubbed her muzzle against her mother's leg in comfort. "Please don't think that. I mean, just before leaving you, he carried you to safety after you had a bad fall in that mudslide. He must still care for you if that's the case. I firmly believe in what Sōhei said about how families can never forget about each other."

Hana gave an uneasy smile to her daughter as she petted her head. "Thanks for that, yet even if he's still himself inside, how would we know that he'd be happy to see us?"

As they were having that conversation, Sōhei kept looking over the den for clues when he took a closer look at the sleeping area.

"Hey! You might want to have a look at this!" he called out to them.

Hana and Yuki made their way over to where he was. They saw the bed, but Hana soon turned her attention to something that was set next to it: a set of human clothes that consisted of a periwinkle long-sleeve t-shirt with a stretched collar and a pair of navy pants.

"These were his clothes, just like his father wore." Hana tearfully described. "He left them behind when I last saw him, and I didn't think he'd ever go back to get them."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Sōhei stated. "Look at this."

Sōhei pointed to the side of the rock that faced the bed, and what Hana and Yuki saw on it left them completely speechless. Drawings have been made onto the rock; they were crudely made but still identifiable by what they represented. They depicted Ame with his mother and sister in several of their happiest memories, including riding the bike through the country roads, growing their first successful crops, and even playing gleefully in the snow during their first winter in the countryside. Yuki showed tears of joy, but Hana was just frozen in shock. Did she really have nothing to fear? Did her son really draw these moments of his childhood right where he could sleep so he could always be happily reminded of the family he left behind? Was he really still Ame inside? This was not as shocking as what they heard next.

"You really thought I'd forget everything, didn't you?" a voice said from behind.

All three of them quickly turned around in surprise to see who said that, and Hana began to tremble at what she saw: a wolf with grayish-blue fur and a navy mane walked up to them from the entrance to the den. She knew that this was the same exact wolf she saw her son turn into right after he saved her and left without saying a word. Despite knowing that this was indeed her son, she was still concerned about how he would react. Would he greet her with open arms, or would he berate them all for trespassing on his property when he didn't want them around? Regardless, there was only one way for her to find out.

"Ame? Is it really you?" She called out to the wolf as it stopped in the middle of the den.

The wolf stood silent for a few seconds, with Hana still gripping onto the fears of a possible negative outcome, but those fears were immediately let go as she saw his expression turn from stoic to a light smile with closed eyes.

"Yes, mom, it's still me!" He happily replied.

Both of them suddenly rushed right up to each other, and Hana embraced her reunited son while Ame placed his head on his mother's shoulder, neither even trying to hold back their own tears.

"I'm so happy to finally see you again! You have no idea how much I missed you!" Hana exclaimed while sobbing.

"Oh, I think I do, mom. It's good to see you again too." Ame tearfully replied.

As Hana and Ame continued their comforting reunion, Yuki happily ran up to them and sat down, making sure to give them enough room. Sōhei decided to stay back and let them have their moment, but he was also happy because he was right.

"I was so afraid you'd never want to see me again after you left me that day without saying goodbye." Hana said to her son, still hugging him.

"I'm sorry about all of that; I realize now that I was acting like a jerk then." Ame apologized. "After the fight with Yuki, I thought neither of you would want to have me around if you were to let me go and live the life I wanted. Because of that, I was too afraid to ever return to the farm."

Ame then turned his attention to his sister, whom he noticed was still in her wolf form, then back to his mother. "Mom, can you give me my clothes, please?"

Hana did what she was told. She and Yuki then got surprised by Ame changing back into his human form, placing the clothes on him as he did.

"Brother, you didn't have to do that." Yuki frowned.

"Yuki, I don't think you understand the importance of this," Ame said to her. "You know that we're both to blame for the fight we had, and I know you came here to apologize for that, just as much as I wanted to but just couldn't find the courage to. Not only I never thought that I would ever see you again after that, I especially didn't think it'd be in your wolf form, and now just look at yourself. Right now, I feel like it's only fair that I should also be in the form that I said I would leave behind." He then kneeled down to hug his sister, just like his mother did to him. "I'm so proud of you, sis; you're much braver than I'll ever be."

Yuki only smiled right back, wrapping one of her paws around him as he was hugging. After a minute, she remembered that Sōhei was still here and hadn't been properly introduced.

"Oh, I don't know if you remember Sōhei, the new kid when I was in fourth grade that I accidentally injured?" Yuki introduced him to her brother.

"Please understand, I take full responsibility for what she did to me." Sōhei nervously stated. "I was only trying to figure your sister out because she was different than the others, and I ended up taking her aggression too far. She later told me that she was the wolf that scratched my ear and apologized for it; I forgave her instantly, saying that I knew all along and wanted to help keep her secret safe."

Ame then went up to him and gave him a friendly handshake while displaying a content smile. Sōhei clearly understood that gesture and smiled right back.

"Wow, this has got to be the most surreal family reunion ever." Hana said to herself. "I already thought my child-rearing days were like a fairy tale, but it turns out that story hasn't ended after all!"

"If only there were some way we could make this even more nostalgic." Ame said.

"Want to run around, just like the old days?" Yuki asked her brother.

"I don't see any reason why not." Ame happily said. He then changed back into his wolf form. Hana then tied his clothes around his neck just like she did to Yuki. Ame felt a bit embarrassed by this, yet it also felt just right. The two wolves then raced out of the den and through the mountain path. Hana and Sōhei knew there was no way to keep up with them, so they figured they should just follow the path at their own pace. As the siblings continued to race each other, they had never felt such a release of childlike joy, despite being much older than the first time. This even made them want to playfully wrestle with each other at certain points; though they would later laugh at the childish nature they displayed, they also figured that at that time they desperately needed it. After a good length of playing, the two wolves soon found themselves back at the edge of the farmlands. Tired from all of it, they lied down in the fields, laughing at all the fun they had, but not before they both turned back into human form so as not to call attention to any of the other farmers nearby. Hana and Sōhei caught up with them several minutes later and joined them lying in the grass.

##

All four made it back to the house by 4 p.m. Ame had nearly forgotten what it was like since it had been so long, and spotting old things like his and Yuki's growth chart as well as dad's driver's license brought a tear to his eye. He said that just for today, he was willing to join for dinner since he felt like he deserved it, and of course, Sōhei was invited to feast as well. After dinner, everyone went outside to see Ame off back to his den; this time, they all knew it was going to be a proper goodbye and definitely not the last one.

"Thank you so much for today! I don't think this day would've ever happened if you didn't try to come and find me." Ame said to his mom. "I may not feel like I belong in the human world, but now I know I'm still welcome here."

"My door is always open for you, my precious son," Hana replied in an assuring tone. "Besides, it's really Yuki you should thank for that."

"Well, I'm pretty sure she won't have any problem finding me if she needs it." Ame said back.

"She'll remain here for six more weeks until school starts back up again; I'll need all the help on the farm during that time."

"You know, it's not just mom you should thank for convincing me to rediscover myself; Sōhei was the one who brought forth the notion first!" Yuki replied. Sōhei then started to blush.

Ame then put his hand on Sōhei's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "Please continue to look out for my sister. You are the only one outside our family that understands her for what she really is, and I trust you for that."

"Thank you very much; your family's secret will always be safe with me." Sōhei swore solemnly.

After that, Ame turned back into his wolf form and let his mother tie his clothes around him again. Each said farewell, with Hana and Yuki giving him another hug. Ame then ran back off toward the mountains. As he was still in view, he stood on a high mound and let out a howl. Yuki partially turned into her wolf form and howled right back. Hana also gave a howl of her own, just like she did when she played along with them in the snow, and Sōhei even managed to let one out. The group howl made all four realize that they had solidified a new unity within them—not just because the family mended their fractured relationship, but also because Sōhei had become accepted among them. Also, while they would eventually dismiss it as just an echo, during that moment, they thought they heard a fifth howl coming off from somewhere in the vicinity.

With the family's bond now repaired, the following years would show that they would make the effort to maintain that. Ame would regularly visit the mom on the farm, mostly so that he could share with her some of the wild game he hunted, but also sometimes to help out with farm work when Yuki was back at school. Yuki, meanwhile, would make her relationship with Sōhei more of a romantic one, with the two of them frequently dating; this would continue as they eventually made it into senior high school. Yuki would then return home every school break to be back with her family in person, with Sōhei making occasional visits as well, and she would celebrate her return with Ame by running around as wolves just like they had done before. From the day since the reunion, all family members knew that they had nothing to worry about when it came to their connection, even though they would soon realize that unpredictable changes in their lives wouldn't stop happening.