I’m Shiho, and I live with my husband, Akira, and our first-grade daughter, Sakura. One day during summer break, my sister-in-law showed up unannounced. She dumped her 3-month-old baby, Kokoa, on me so she could go to the hair salon and then took off. To make matters worse, she didn’t even show up by 1:30 p.m., the time she promised to be back. On a scorching summer day, my daughter Sakura, who handles heat particularly poorly, was about to be left waiting under the blazing sun…! After making sure sleeping Kokoa was safe, I sprinted out to pick up Sakura
My sister-in-law left, absolutely furious. She said I was out of my mind for leaving a 3-month-old baby home alone. With her insisting that it was entirely my fault, I couldn’t help but feel down, wondering, “Was I really in the wrong after all…?”
None of this would have happened in the first place if she had just come back on time like she said she would. But according to her, “that’s not the point.” It’s not like I wanted to do it either… Why did she have to go so far as to say I’m not fit to be a parent?