Terrible Storm

"A typhoon with a very strong force will soon land in Japan.”  A TV announcer was talking to appeal to viewers with a serious look.

     The wind was getting stronger and it seemed to rain. Haruto looked out. He thought he couldn't get the laundry out. He has only mother. His father died two years ago. At that time he was seven years old. He was trying to forget about that time. But it was not easy to forget. When he goes to school, he has friends and teachers, so he doesn't have to remember his father for a while.

     His mother is busy taking care of his sister Kana. She is four years old. When Haruto leave the house, he is usually alone. There have been many times that his father wanted to be alive. He left the entrance and looked up at the sky. The sky could not help remembering that day. I felt very sad from the morning.

     That day two years ago, it was heavy rain outside in the morning. His father left home early that morning and went to work. His mother took care of Kana at home. Looking outside from the window, heavy rain hits the ground. His mother told him to go to school soon and he left the house. Around it, rain from the dark sky made something like a pool. It was stronger than usual rain, and the wind was so intense that it seemed to be blown away. The wind and rain soaked the shoes and wet the socks. He doesn't feel good in the morning. He arrived in the classroom. The usual boring lessons were past.

     When He finished the class and returned from school, there was no one at home. He took the chocolate out of the refrigerator and ate it. He thought my mother would come back soon. But my mother did not come home. I noticed at that time. The key was free when I returned. I thought it was strange that there was no one in the house and the key was open.

     His father had returned from his business partner to the company. He managed to get rid of the rain with a wiper. Along the riverside path, a human figure was seen from the window toward the river. It was certainly a person. He wondered what the person was doing in this rain. He got out of the car and approached the river. As soon as he left the car, he heard a small voice. The voice was silenced by the sound of the rain and the river, so he didn't know what he was saying. When he approached a place where he could hear the voice, he found a small girl being swept away. He managed to speak to her with the man, but there was no reaction. He jumped into the river without thinking. The river was so dirty that he couldn't see the bottom, but it was quite deep when he jumped in. He tried to swim to help the child, but it seemed he wasn't moving as he thought. He tried to help but he was finally swept away and was not found afterwards.

     His mother picked up her sister from a nursery school, and she bought dinner ingredients at the supermarket and went home. There was a phone call when making dinner. It was the call from her husband. He said today will be quite late.

     Haruto was walking down the street the day of the typhoon two years after his father's death. At that time, Haruto saw his father. It was clearly his father's figure. Haruto has never forgotten his father. Haruto ran up. His father saw Haruto's face. But the man didn't know it was his son. He seemed very surprised.

     His father came back from the typhoon. But his father didn't know about his son. He didn't remember. Haruto thinks it is hope, not despair. He  could meet with his father again and might be able to live with him again. But is he his father?