Page 66 of A Serving of Hope

“It was you, then,” said Nagare.

“Where did you even find this?” asked Yuiko, reaching for the tablet.

“It was framed on the wall of the café.”

“Framed?”

“That’s right. Masaya said a customer had left it behind. At first he thought it was just a casual doodle, but then he realized it was a poem—and one he found oddly encouraging. So he framed it and hung it on the wall.”

“Oh my,” said Yuiko, her cheeks reddening. “How embarrassing.”

“He reads these five lines aloud every morning before starting work. And whenever he feels like giving up, he goes back and reads them again.”

A gleam came back into Yuiko’s eyes as she gazed at the display.

“But…how did you know it was mine?”

“You left this behind last time,” said Nagare as Koishi handed her the paper napkin bearing the five-line poem. “The handwriting was the same, so I put two and two together. Plus, it’s not often you see a coaster framed on a wall. I’m glad I asked him about it.”

“It’s a habit of mine,” said Yuiko, smiling shyly as she folded the napkin into a neat square. “Whenever an idea comes to me, I just have to get it down.”

“Childhood memories are always a little hazy,” Nagare went on, gazing steadily at her. “If you ask me, what’s important isn’t who Masaya remembers taking him to that restaurant. It’s that he’s grown up into a charming young man. And that after all this time, you’ve managed to reconnect with him.”

Koishi nodded in agreement. “It’s the same with my own mom. I don’t actually remember much about her as a person. It’s the things she said that have stayed with me.”

Yuiko took a moment to dwell on Koishi’s words, then smiled up at the pair. “Thank you, really. I’m truly grateful for everything you’ve done.”

“We’re just happy to have helped,” said Nagare, returning her smile.

“If it hadn’t been for this, I’d probably have been stuck in the past forever. Chasing old memories, even though there’s no going back.”

“Time waits for no one, as they say, and there’s no changing the past. All we can do is try and make each day count.”

“You’re absolutely right,” said Yuiko, her expression tightening with resolve. “I’ll carry those words with me.”

“I hope I don’t sound preachy. The truth is, it’s a lesson I’m still trying to learn myself.”

“I really can’t thank you enough.” Yuiko stood and bowed to them from the waist.

Nagare smiled. “Finding people’s food is our job. When there’s a clue that might matter, we don’t tend to miss it.”

Koishi handed her a slip of paper with their bank details and asked her to pay whatever seemed fair. Yuiko promised to make the transfer as soon as she was back in Nagoya.

“Take care on the way home,” said Koishi. “Especially in this cold.”

As Yuiko stepped outside, a tabby cat scampered over. “Ooh, you chubby little thing!” she exclaimed, squatting to pet the animal. “Is it yours?”

“We’ve named him, which I think makes him ours,” explained Koishi, shooting Nagare a look. “Drowsy, we call him.”

“Well, he’s obviously eating well. I just hope he’s getting enough exercise!” Yuiko rubbed the cat’s belly, then got to her feet. She began walking westward down the street, but Nagare’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Masaya said he wanted to find the woman who left the coaster. You know, so he could thank her. I told him I had an idea who the author might be, and that I’d let her know. He seemed very pleased about that. Of course, what happens next is entirely up to you.” He bowed to her. Yuiko returned the gesture, then set off, walking briskly toward the station. Soon she had vanished from view.

“Dad,” snapped Koishi all of a sudden.

“What is it now?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about that poem on the coaster? I was barely holding it together back there.”