Chapter 19 – Six Years, One Small World

Six years passed quietly.

Not the kind of years that make headlines. Not the kind that look impressive from the outside. Just ordinary days stacked on top of each other, heavy and honest.

Yuji measured time in Mai.

In how her cries softened. In how her steps steadied. In how her voice slowly filled the apartment that once felt too empty.

Kazunami became home.

Year One

Mai learned how to walk between the narrow hallway and the kitchen.

Yuji learned how to sleep sitting up.

Mrs. Kaneko scolded him daily and fed Mai twice as much as necessary.

Tetsuo burned three pizzas in one night because he was distracted playing peekaboo.

Rin insisted she hated kids and then cried when Mai called her “Aunty Rin” for the first time.

Yuji still worked truck delivery. His hands were always rough. His back always sore.

At night, when Mai slept, he studied shoe repair videos on his old phone.

Shoes didn’t complain. They just needed patience.

Year Two

Mai talked nonstop.

“Papa, look!” “Papa, why?” “Papa, again!”

Yuji answered every question, even the ones he didn’t understand himself.

He saved every yen he could. Fixed neighbors’ shoes for free at first. Then for coins. Then for proper pay.

Mrs. Kaneko bragged to everyone.

“That boy? He works harder than anyone.”

Yuji didn’t argue.

Year Three

Rin landed a small TV role.

She screamed. The entire building heard it.

She hugged Yuji, then remembered herself and pulled back.

“Don’t misunderstand. This is gratitude.”

Mai clapped like it was the greatest achievement in the world.

Yuji repaired shoes at night and delivered during the day. His hands were cracked, but steady.

One evening, Mai asked, “Papa, do you like shoes?”

Yuji thought for a moment.

“…I like fixing things,” he said.

Year Four

The truck broke down.

Yuji lost his job.

For the first time in years, fear crept back in.

That night, he sat silently at the table.

Mai climbed onto his lap. “Papa sad?”

He shook his head. “Just tired.”

The next morning, Tetsuo slapped a set of keys into his hand.

“I’m renting the old shop next to mine,” he said. “Use it.”

Yuji froze. “I can’t afford—”

“You can,” Tetsuo said. “Pay when you can. Or never. I’ll survive.”

Mrs. Kaneko nodded. “Open the shop.”

Rin crossed her arms. “You’re wasting talent if you don’t.”

Yuji bowed so deeply his forehead nearly hit the ground.

Year Five

The sign went up.

Sakamoto Shoes – Repair & Custom

The shop was small. Smelled like leather and glue. The floor creaked just like the apartment stairs.

Customers came slowly.

Then more.

Yuji worked with focus, head down, listening more than he spoke.

Mai sat on a stool after school, doing homework and greeting customers.

“She’s the boss,” Yuji said seriously.

People laughed.

Business grew.

Year Six

Yuji bought the shop.

Not borrowed. Not rented.

Owned.

The day the papers were signed, he stood in the empty shop after closing, holding the keys.

Mai tugged his sleeve. “Papa?”

He knelt in front of her. “We did it.”

She smiled. “Good job.”

Those two words hit harder than anything else ever had.

That night, they ate cake from the convenience store.

Mrs. Kaneko complained it was too sweet.

Tetsuo demanded free shoes for life.

Rin cried and pretended it was allergies.

Yuji watched Mai laugh, her voice filling the room.

He did not think about the past.

Not about lies. Not about abandonment. Not about names that once mattered.

Six years had taken everything from him.

And then quietly, they gave him something better.

A life built by hand. A daughter who trusted him. A future that belonged to no one else.

Yuji locked the shop and took Mai’s hand.

“Let’s go home,” he said.

Mai nodded.

And together, they walked forward.