• Furude Juu is the average high school boy in northern Japan. At his old school in New Tōkyō, he was considered one of the most popular students until his family had to move north to Machi no Hana, where a local company offered to employ his mother. The thought of moving to a country village never appealed to him, but he thought it best not to complain. His fan girls back home were angered to see him leave. Yet, despite his popularity, he kept the pride from getting to his head and kept a strong moral sense to keep him from getting too selfish and controlling.
    He sat in the back seat of his father’s dark blue sedan and rested his black-haired head on his right arm as he stared at the endless array of trees they passed. While on the two-lane road, they quickly lost sight of the city from which they left. He sat there quietly, listening to the engine’s hum and enjoying the smell of the flowers outside. His parents talked amongst each other, in a quiet manner even though he could hear all they said. They mentioned his schooling, but he did not care and ignored it.
    Before long, two hours passed while he sat there pondering to himself. He had lost track of the time, and was not surprised when he saw the same type of scenery out the window as before. The car slowed and drove underneath a large and bright red torii gate. The gate stood there, decrepit and covered with tangled vines. Juu felt something strange in the center of his soul as they passed underneath it, and watched it fade into the distance once they passed it and sped up again.
    Before long, the car stopped where the road made a roundabout around a large tree lush with pink flowers. Branching from the main road, are smaller dirt roads, which lead to the town’s houses. Juu’s father looked at the note he had been given in New Tokyo that gave the address of their home. The note gave the number 10. He studied the wooden markers beside each road until he spotted 10 just past the tree. He drove down the turn and drove off the road and onto the dirt path surrounded by nothing but trees and the occasional stone statue placed inside the forest.
    Seems like something out of a horror film, he thought to himself.
    The short road soon ended at another roundabout. This time, there are multiple small houses built along the outer side and a smaller, plain tree at the center. He was surprised to see normal houses rather than traditional Japanese buildings. From right to left, the houses are numbered 10 to 15. Upon seeing this, his father parked in the small driveway of the house on the right, which is the most plain of the five. The exterior of the house is white with no add-ons, and the small lawn surrounding the house is unkempt and messy.
    When the car was turned off, Juu was the first to exit the car. He stretched his arms and legs first before walking around. The dirt felt much different compared to the concrete pathways of New Tōkyō to which he was accustomed. His father opened the trunk and proceeded to unpack their large suitcases. He gave Juu’s middle-aged mother with long, black hair the key to the house. Her footsteps seemed to echo as she walked up the three steps with her high heels. She inserted the key into the lock, and turned it. The door clicked, and she turned the brass handle. With no creak, the door swung open, revealing a small foyer and the raised floor leading to the rest of the house. She also noticed three sets of white slippers already placed on the upper level.
    She walked inside, took off her shoes and changed into one pair of the set slippers. Once in the main house, she searched for a light switch to bring the house out of the darkness. She found one in the main kitchen, and flipped in on. The circular light on the center of the ceiling revealed a plain room with nothing out of the ordinary. The kitchenette is located on the opposite side of the room, and the white refrigerator is placed in the corner to her left. She left the kitchen and walked straight into the living room, which is long and somewhat narrow, taking half of the left side of the house. She turned on the light switch to that room as well.
    At the end of the empty room is a door leading to a long, narrow hallway with two doors on each side. The two on the left are the main bedrooms. The door in between those two on the right leads to the laundry room, and the last door opens to the washroom.
    Meanwhile, Juu and his father carried the suitcases into the house. The large red case was placed in the bedroom closest to the living room’s door, and the second largest blue one was placed in the other bedroom. The other comforts that were unable to fit in the sedan were already provided, such as a fan, non-perishable food, furniture, and various mats for sleeping and sitting. Despite the lack of taste, Juu was very impressed with the home. He had figured it would be an old-fashioned building with paper walls and sliding doors. He did not object to this type of building, but had no interest in actually living in one.
    “This is nice, isn’t it?” his father asked him as they stood in the nearly empty living room, with the slippers on their feet.
    “I guess. I was expecting something else,” Juu replied with a monotone voice.
    “It’s late today. I will call your mom’s work tonight. We may have to sort out things tomorrow, like your schooling. I here there’s a local school in this town that only has a few students,” he explained.
    His mother entered the room, carrying a small cake in a box.
    “They left us something!” she exclaimed.
    “Oh! So they did!”
    “Juu, do you want any?” his mother asked him.
    “Sure,” was his reply.
    The three walked into the kitchen. His mother, whose name is Sachiko, placed the cake on the low wooden table in the center of the room. Juu unrolled the three black mats under the table, and set them equally apart from each other. Isao, his father, pulled out three glass plates from the cabinets above the counters, and three forks from one of the drawers near the sink. When they all sat down with cake before them, his parents were very grateful that they arrived safely.