I’m Emi Maruyama (31), mom of a first-grade boy.
This happened a while ago. At my new part-time job, I became close with Yukako Hotta, a single mom. Even after she quit, we stayed friends. When Yukako struggled without child support from her ex, I lent her $100, thinking I might never get it back. But as soon as she got paid, she returned it right away.
I wasn’t feeling well and fell asleep.
The next morning, I was shocked to see countless missed calls and messages. Among them was a text from Yukako that just said “I can’t take it anymore.”
My mind went to the worst.
Divorced, no child support, working hard while raising her child alone—Yukako was clearly on edge.
And I knew that, yet I pushed her aside out of annoyance.
All because I didn’t check my phone for one night… I went cold all over.