• In a small cottage situated on a snow-covered mountain lived a four year old girl and her mother, Rei Takahara. The daughter adored her mother to whom she would stick to as glue and her mother loved her just the same. Everyday they spent together was a gift. A rather well-appreciated one. In order to profit from this blessing , they spent every waking moment at each other’s side creating beautiful memories, until, one day, to Kiyoko’s dismay, her joyful world had came crashing down before her as her mother’s health slowly withers away with the passing season.

    The winter season bared its fangs and Kiyoko’s mother wasn’t getting any better: Her muscles became weaker thus rendering her incapable of accomplishing simple tasks such as walking or picking up an item. Her bones became more visible, her organs began to fail her, her hair was getting “thinner” …It was certain, then, to Kiyoko that a horrible fate had been in store for her most treasured being. Every night, she would wish upon the brightest star in the sky for her mother’s well being yet there was no result. This left her deeply wounded in her heart and made her sorrows pour out her eyes while removing
    all the hope she ever had. One night, while laying near her mom, she said her last prayer…


    The next day, Kiyoko headed toward the kitchen to ready her mom’s breakfast, as she had for the past months. Before she reached the last step of the stairway leading to her room, she heard noises. Not only that but everything felt different. Instead of a somber atmosphere, there was a rather homey feel lingering about. She took a whiff of the mourning air then dashed inside the kitchen where the odor originated from.


    “What will it be, honey. Scrambled eggs and ham or western steak”

    It was her mother. She was preparing breakfast for …someone. Whoever that may be.

    “Hummm, the silent treatment?” She made a rather bothersome face. Given the fact that she was lacking in meat, it looked scary in the eyes of the child.

    But seeing her mother smile made her joyful. It had been quite a while since she had seen her mom that happy.

    The four year old little girl ran toward her mother but stopped right in her tracks as she noticed whom her mother was talking to.


    “ Fine,” She addressed an empty chair. “I’ll make you both. Just smile ,honey, for the kid…”


    Her father. The man that abandoned them when she was turning four years of age. That’s who she was talking to. A man that hasn’t presented himself before them for months. A man that wasn’t even in the kitchen at the moment. God only knew where he was.


    At the discovery, little Yoko, or so her mother would call her from time to time, stood watch as tears streamed down her face. She never knew how much her mother needed her father. She never considered the thought. Even so, she couldn’t stand to see her mother in that state. Anything but that one.


    “ MOM, STOP IT.” She screamed. “ PLEASE, STOP.”

    She ran and embraced her as tightly as her little arms would permit it. Tears streamed down her face like a never-ending river.


    “What has gotten into you, my child? Please stop what? Stop crying and say good morning to your father. How ungrateful you have become…”


    “ Papa’s not there, mamma. He’s not there, mamma. Mamm…”



    PAFFF. She fell to the floor by a hit she received.


    “ You’re being rude, Yoko.” Her mother was yelling, her face twisted with rage that turned her into a savage beast. “Go to your room and don’t come down until you get your manners straight!”

    The poor child ran up the stairs leaving her mother to converse with a man who wasn’t even there. The man that left her heart in shambles only months ago.

    Days past and the same event would reoccur. With time, Kiyoko got used to being around and discussing with “her father”. She found happiness once again.

    After a short period of time, her mother had completely tired herself out: The four year old girl woke up in the middle of the night, went downstairs and found her mother lying still on the floor. The child cried and cried while attempting to wake up her mother. As she did so, a tear as bright as a crystal, slid down her chubby cheeks and fell on the smooth surface of her mother’s face. She cried ever so hard then laid herself down on her mother’s chest. Just then, she heard a faint, practically insignificant, heartbeat. A gust of joy rose within the child who then wiped her tears with the left sleeve of her woolen sweater.

    She brought her mother to her darkly lit room, laid her on the toy covered bed then lit up the room by the use of candles. It was very dark and snowy that night. The wind had pick up. And, with the current weather, it was practically impossible for anyone to come or to go from the mountain. Therefore, no help was on the way.

    She brought her mother’s arm towards her and pressed it against her cheeks. The tears that she wept fell onto her mother’s hand then onto the bed spread.

    “Mamma,” she cried. “Mamma, why? Why, mamma? Please don’t die. Please.”

    She pleaded and pleaded until prayer came to mind. Figuring that it might not work, she neglected the idea and continued weeping by her mother’s side where she fell asleep, sobbing away.

    In the middle of the night, Kiyoko awoke, shaken by the extreme cold. When she raised her head, she saw the source of the chill: The window was wide open. When she went to shut it, she spotted a bright light in the distance. It was as bright as a star but , for some reason, it seemed attainable and strangely alluring.

    Without knowing why, Kiyoko immediately rushed outside without a jacket. While the wind and precipitated snow lashed at her face, she continued to advance, wishing to reach that bright light. To make it grant her wish. The one dearest to her was dying so it was all the more urgent that she reached that star.

    Once where the light once were, well, the light was no longer there. Instead , she found nothing but a snow. When she turned around, she couldn’t see the little cottage, poor Kiyoko ventured too far from home and was now lost. As she attempted to find her way back, the cold started attacking her skin, her bones…She soon found herself lying in the white powder awaiting her own death.

    She soon figured:
    “I guess it’s ok to die like this. In the end, I won’t be left alone and I’ll get to meet mom in heaven. We’ll be back together again.”

    At the thought, she smiled. Just a little. The sleep started to kick in and, soon enough, she’ll fall into a deep slumber. One she will not soon awaken from. At least not in this world.

    A few moments later, she heard voices. She tried opening her eyes but they were frozen shut. All of a sudden, she felt warmth engulf her and energy flow into her. Maybe this was how it felt to be reborn. It didn’t matter, she was soon going to join her mother in the afterlife and that was all to it. She tried opening her eyes anew. This time, she spotted a woman. Not just your ordinary woman. One of exquisite beauty. Perhaps a goddess.
    “ Are you a fairy?” Asked the four year old.
    “ My, my, my dear.”

    Bizarrely enough, the woman’s mouth wasn’t moving but the voice seemed to be echoing in every corner of the young un’s mind.


    She started jumping about with joy with the thought that maybe, this woman can save her mother.

    “ Can you save my mom?” She shouted in excitement. “ She’s getting weaker and weaker every day. And. And. And she can’t eat anymore. She’s nothing but bones now. Plus she’s lying on my bed and I don’t know what to do,” She was on the brink of tears now. “ Can you please help me save my mom?”

    She started begging at the assumed Fairy’s feet.

    “I’m sorry little one but I cannot help you.” She said using the same medium to project her voice: the mind.

    “ Please. Please. Please. Please. Please…” She started coughing, choked by the gravity of the situation.
    “Please. Please…” She continued. “ I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want to lose mom. I don’t want to. Please don’t let mom die.”

    She tried her best to convince her last hope to help her. And, in a way, she succeeded.

    “ You insist a lot, young one. But it can’t be done as easy as you wish it. I cannot control people’s fate. Also…”

    “I’ll do whatever I have to.”

    “ Are you sure? In order to save a life predestined to die you must take away one. There are no individuals within reach who would gladly sacrifice their life for the sake of your mother.”

    This gave Kiyoko a great chill. How was she to get someone willing to do such on such a short notice? The urgency of her wish took hold of her.

    “ Take my life.”
    “ My child…”
    “I want you to save my mom”
    “But…”
    “Please,” Her eyes became blinded by tears, once again.
    “Alright, my child. Do you want me to grant you another wish?”
    “…”
    “Take your time.” The woman smiled. It seemed to be the only use for those lips but they did their duty magnificently. Her smile could light the way through the darkest of tunnels and set any heart aflame.

    “ I’d like to be with her. Watch over her. I want to see her smile after she gets better.”

    “ I can do that!” She said with apprehension. “ Is there anything else”
    “ Mom and Dad…together…She needs him.”
    “I can’t grant you that. But when you wake up, your wish for your mother to live and to be able to watch over her will be exhausted.”

    Her vision became hazy once again, as though she was going into eternal slumber.


    Kiyoko opened her eyes , just enough to let a little bit of the sun’s rays hit her retina. She then woke up, startled by the fact that she was still alive and that her mother was still in bed.

    The dream, in the end, turned out to be too good to be true. Imagine. A star that turns into a woman who can’t talk. It was all just a dream, and little Yoko was getting tired of it. Tired of wishing. Tired of hoping. She sank into despair and cried her eyes out until she felt the bed moved. Just a little. When she looked up, she say her mother, sitting upright. Rei’s eyes had a bit more life in them than they did in a long time.

    “ Mom” She shouted as she reached to be embraced. Her mother returned the warm invite and caressed her daughter’s head.

    “ There, there, Yoko.”

    This marked the beginning of her mother’s recovery.

    As time passed, Rei noticed something strange about her child. Maybe the sickness she had was contagious but, how could she have gotten it? Unless, she slept in the same bed. But, was it contagious to begin with? It didn’t matter much. All she wanted to know was why her daughter’s health was fleeting at what seemed to be the same rate that she, the mother, was healing. It all seemed a bit off. But, in the end, there was nothing that she could do as she gazed upon her daughter who was smiling at noting.


    “ I just don’t want mom to know.” She muttered. “Let’s keep it our little secrete, ok?”

    “ Honey, dear, what…who are you talking to? Don’t tell me that you now have an imaginary friend…” She gazed at her daughter and noticed that she was talking to herself. The child hadn’t her, hadn’t known her presence.

    Two more weeks had passed. Kiyoko wasn’t making any progress. Her mother was almost her old self again while Yoko faded into nothingness.

    One week had passed. Rei Takahara was no longer a mother. She grieved for days and days.

    The winter season was coming to an end , although , the times didn’t show any signs of relenting. One day, the snowy weather was particularly strong. Rei closed all the doors and windows to prevent the cold from coming in. She then laid herself on the bed where her daughter once laid. At around midnight, Rei was awaken by the freezing air that was vented into the room by the open window. She got up and shut the window. Just as she was heading back to bed, the window busted itself open once more. She got up once again to close it but, before she did so, a huge gust of wind entered the room.

    When she turned around, she spotted an small figure. Almost the same height as her beloved daughter. Right next to it, she saw a taller silhouette. Possibly that of a woman. She then heard a voice in her head made itself heard. It said:

    “ Your daughter loves you greatly. You’re very lucky to have had such a child.”

    At this, tears slipped down Rei’s face. Little did she know that they were there. Before long, another voice became audible. It was singing with a radically beautiful voice:

    “ Thumpetty thump,
    Onto the snow,
    Where should the big and the little flakes go?
    Thumpetty thump,
    Onto the snow,
    At six o’clock in the mourning…”

    Rei recognized her baby’s voice as well as the song they made together when they moved. Her child was very much alive to her now. Not in the flesh, of course, but in the mind. She can actually picture her getting dressed to go outside and play at six in the mourning.

    “ Do not live in grief anymore.” It was the adult’s voice again. “ Your daughter is always looking out for you. She’s always with you.”

    When Rei woke up, those last words remained etched in her memory: “ She’s always with you”. She respected her daughter’s wish. And, every night, she would stay up till 12 AM to hear her daughter sing:


    “Thumpetty thump,
    Onto the snow,
    Where does the big and the little flakes go?

    Thumpetty thump,
    Onto the snow,
    At six o clock in the mourning.”

    Off in the distance, beyond this life.