In her room, she lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. Her brain was telling her to just give up on the whole thing. The torn up letter sat in ripped bits on the floor. Surely there was something noble about staying on Makino farm. After all, her parents had done it. But their parents had built the house and brought the Makino family success. As a child, it was always clear that if Sonoko was truly going to help her parents, then she would have to leave the farm eventually. Memories of her father telling them bedtime stories as kids, convincing them that they were made for something bigger. It was every child in Arcadia’s dream to become someone. It finally seemed like Sonoko was on the way to being that someone when suddenly her father took exception to that. Maybe that’s all those childhood stories were: stories. Being stuck on the farm forever just seemed inevitable in the years since Shin’s disappearance. That letter was her way out. The letter that now sat shredded on the floor.

  There was a slight knock at the door. Quiet yet intentional. Mom. She stood in the crack of the door peering in.

  “Sonoko?” Her mom walked into the room causing Sonoko to sit up and wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. Her upper lip tasted salty still. Suzu’s eyes fell on the pieces of paper scattered across the floor. She slowly approached her daughter and sat on the edge of the bed. “Your father…he didn’t mean that.”

  “Sure sounded like he did,” Sonoko muttered.

  “He can say things he doesn’t mean, sometimes,” she turned around to face Sonoko when she said this. “But he loves you. And he just wants what's best for you.” These were the words that would keep Sonoko on the farm. The future of PsiTech began to fade even further into obscurity.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  “I know, mom,” she responded automatically.

  “But I want you to be happy, too.” The future slowly faded back in. “How could I keep you from doing the things Shin will never get to do? You deserve a chance to show us who you are.” Love shined in her eyes. Sonoko sat closer to her mother, heart swelling.

  “Are you- do you mean what you’re saying? Does dad know you’re saying this?” Suzu nodded.

  “Your father will be able to find it in his heart to let you go. He’s worried for you, Sonoko. Five years in the military is a long time. He just wants you to be safe.”

  “You don’t feel the same?”

  “Of course I want you to be safe. But I know you. I know this isn’t where you’re supposed to be. I’ve seen how hard it’s been for you since Shin..” she trailed off as they tended to do when discussing him. “This is your way of showing us what you’re capable of. I only wish you didn’t have to be so far from home.” A different flavor of tears started forming in Sonoko’s eyes. A type of tear she wasn’t familiar with.

  “You’re sure dad will be ok?”

  “Don’t worry about him. He’ll come around,” Suzu said. She offered a smile that melted all the fear away from Sonoko’s mind. She rarely felt like things would all work out, despite the amount of times she tried to tell herself it would. Suzu’s smile was the first time she actually believed it could be.

  Sonoko hugged her mother tightly, marking this moment in her mind to hold onto it forever. That future that seemed so far away started to feel within her reach. The responsibility set in. This was her chance. Her chance to bring honor back home to her family.