Chapter 2. The day of departure

The sun had just risen when Takao jolted out of his light sleep.
TAP, TAP, TAP.The knocks on the door were sharp, decisive.
He got up quickly, dressed without thinking, and opened the door.
Standing at the threshold was a man with a stiff posture and cold eyes. The emblem of Unit 14 gleamed on the lapel of his military uniform.
— Junior Officer Shiba Achika. I’m here for Takao Takeda.— That’s me, Takao replied, without looking away.
The soldier gave a nod.— Get ready. We leave now.
No further words were exchanged.
Takao stepped back inside. He tightened the straps of his pack, slipped on his father’s ring, and looked around one last time.
In the kitchen, his mother stood with her back to him. She hadn’t slept. Their silence hung heavy in the air.
— It’s time, she said at last, her voice nearly breaking.
— Yes. They’re placing me in Unit 14, he answered coldly.
She turned around and embraced him. She wasn’t crying anymore. She just held him tightly.
— Don’t disappear like your father did…
Takao hesitated. He wanted to tell her he would return. That he was strong.But something inside him wouldn’t let him.
— I’ll make it, he whispered.
His voice was hollow.
"That’s not my son’s voice," his mother thought."He’s harder now. Darker. Like he’s wearing a mask… or like something inside him cracked."
She stepped back. She didn’t say goodbye again.There was nothing left to say.
Takao stepped out the door. Achika was waiting in silence. Together, they vanished down the road.
The door closed behind them.
Takao’s mother stood still for a few seconds, as if time had frozen.
She sat at the table and stared at the floor.
Her fingers found the spot where her wedding ring once rested.
"I wasn’t there for him…"
A single tear hit the floor.
"I let him break alone."
The silence choked her.
She looked toward the door.
She wasn’t afraid of whether he’d come back.
She was afraid of who would come back.