*Keiko’s POV*
-1 May 2025-
"Here is what we found," the police officer said, placing a small flash drive in front of me. "We managed to retrieve CCTV footage from the surrounding area where your husband was last seen."
My heart pounded as I took the drive and plugged it into my laptop. The screen flickered to life, and a grainy video played before me. A timestamp at the bottom read 11 February 2025.
"There," the officer pointed, pausing the footage. "This is the last recorded sighting of Fujiwara Ryusei."
I watched in silence as Ryusei walked aimlessly down the dimly lit street. His posture was slumped, his movements slow and almost detached. Snow fell in thick flakes around him, the winter air visibly harsh against his thin coat. Then, suddenly—he was gone. The footage cut off at the next frame, as if he had vanished into thin air.
"So that’s it?" I murmured, my voice flat.
"We also questioned the locals, but nobody claims to have seen him that night," the officer added.
I let out a slow breath, a frown forming on my lips. "That’s strange… How can no one have seen him?"
The footage continued playing in the background, the empty street now lifeless—until another figure entered the frame. My eyes widened in shock.
"Wait, can you pause it there?"
The officer complied, and I leaned closer to the screen. My pulse quickened.
That was her.
"Do you have any information on this girl?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
The officer gave me a puzzled look. "Her? Why?"
I hesitated. "She’s… someone I know. A relative of mine."
I wasn’t lying, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. What was Ryuko doing there?
"Give me a moment," the officer said as he typed into the system. A few minutes later, he shook his head. "Odd. We can’t identify her in any records."
Just then, another officer entered the room, holding a report. "We received information that the only person found collapsed in the area by a local was this girl. There was no sign of anyone else, including your husband."
A chill ran down my spine.
Ryusei disappeared on 11 February. Ryuko was found collapsed and had passed by this CCTV on the same day. Then I met Ryuko on 12 February. I gasped when I remembered. No, I met her accidentally on that same day right in front of our house.
A strange feeling settled in my stomach, an unease I couldn’t quite shake. Come to think of it, their mannerisms—somehow, they felt similar, too. The way Ryuko sometimes looked at me, the way she hesitated when talking about her past…
I clenched my fists, shaking my head. No. That’s ridiculous. How could Ryusei turn into a girl? That was impossible.
"Thank you for your help," I said, standing up and bowing slightly. "Please keep me updated if anything new comes up."
The officer nodded, and I left the station, my mind spinning.
---
The walk home felt longer than usual. The thought of Ryuko appearing right after Ryusei vanished gnawed at me. The logical side of me dismissed it as a coincidence, but my instincts screamed otherwise.
Could I be overthinking things? Should I investigate this on my own?
When I stepped into the house, Rin was the first to greet me.
"Mom, you took longer than you said," she muttered, arms crossed.
"Sorry," I sighed. "I passed by a sweet potato vendor and bought some for you."
Her mood immediately lifted. "Oh, thanks!" She grabbed one from the bag and bit into it.
I watched her eat for a moment before she asked, "So, how was it?"
I let out a tired breath. "Still nothing. They found CCTV footage, but it doesn’t really explain anything. The locals said they never saw him."
Rin didn’t respond immediately. She just kept eating, her expression unreadable. She was acting tough, but I knew—deep down, she was just as worried as I was.
"Rin…" I started.
"Hmm?"
I hesitated. Should I tell her about Ryuko? No… if I did, she would only overthink things. And what if I was wrong? What if it really was just a strange coincidence?
"It’s nothing," I said, forcing a smile.
She shrugged, uninterested.
Then, out of nowhere, she asked, "Do you really worry about him?"
The question caught me off guard. "What?"
"Do you actually care about Dad?" she repeated.
I paused. The answer should’ve been simple, but it wasn’t.
"Yes," I admitted.
Rin blinked, looking surprised—maybe even a little annoyed. "Why?"
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Your father… made a lot of stupid decisions in his life."
"But," I continued, smiling slightly, "he’s not a bad person."
Rin scoffed. "Mom, come on. You always say that. But he’s not a good person either."
I chuckled. "I know. I hated him at times."
Rin looked at me, waiting for me to go on.
"But we’ve been together for seventeen years. I’ve seen him at his worst and his best," I said. "He’s reckless, irresponsible, and frustrating… but I also know he’s someone who tried, in his own way, to be better."
Rin narrowed her eyes. "So you're just pitying him?"
I thought for a moment. "Hmm... I do pity him." Then, I added, "But that’s not all."
"Then what else?" Rin asked.
I met her gaze. "There’s still love."
Rin stared at me, clearly skeptical. "Seriously?"
I smiled softly.
It wasn’t a perfect love. It wasn’t the kind of love people wrote stories about. We were never a couple that shared grand romantic gestures or passionate declarations.
We started with no feelings at all—just foolish teenagers who got caught up in something neither of us were prepared for. But as time went by, as we endured hardship after hardship together, something did grow between us.
Maybe I still loved him.
Maybe I hated him too.
But that was the complexity of it all, wasn’t it?
Rin shook her head in disbelief. "I don’t get you, Mom."
I laughed lightly. "You don’t have to."
She rolled her eyes but didn’t press further.
As I lay in bed that night, I couldn’t shake the thought that had been nagging at me since I saw that CCTV footage.
Could Ryuko really be Ryusei?
I shook my head. No. That was impossible...