I’m Anna, and I live with my husband, Takuya, and our preschooler, Asahi. Being a bit of a wallflower myself, I was drawn to Takuya’s bright, outgoing personality. He’s a devoted husband and father, and our life together was full of happiness. But then, we had to move for his job. The Morita family—Meiko and her son, Naoto—were the first to welcome us to our new neighborhood. Naoto became Asahi’s best friend, and Meiko was the one mom friend I felt I could really trust. That was, until I found out that Takuya used to bully her back in the day. Now, Meiko wants absolutely nothing to do with us. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Asahi, who just wanted to play with his friend.
At first, I kept thinking it wasn’t right to drag the kids into a “grown-up” problem. I felt that kids should have their own world, and that we should keep our messy emotions out of it for their sake. I even caught myself wishing Meiko would be a bit more considerate. But Mariko’s words made me realize how incredibly shallow my thinking was. I don’t know for sure if what my husband did is true, but as long as she carries that pain, I have no choice but to respect her feelings and act accordingly. I need to have a real, serious talk with Takuya.