And in the morning, they would shuffle to the window again. They would check for the tree.

confessed she had never truly felt "at home" in her marriage. Hana, moved by a sudden surge of courage, reached across the low table and took Emi’s hand.

Last week, a great-niece from Tokyo came. Not out of affection, but curiosity. She stood at the gate, a smartphone in hand, and asked loudly, as if they were deaf: “Are you two… friends ?”