Tears of Happiness

***

"I am home."

I couldn't believe my ears. It has been months since he talked of his own accord in the house. He stopped talking to us since the day Ayumi died. His father and I were in the dumps too for some time but we realized that we can't do this. We had to stay strong in front of Kazuki. But it was already too late. He had already shut himself off from everyone. We were very happy when he said he was going to school but he still never went to class.

"Welcome home. Get ready I will give you your food in your room." I said with a smile trying to hold back my tears.

"I will eat food on the dining table today."

"Okay." I don't know what happened today but I was glad. I was glad that he was slowly but surely returning to his normal self.

"So, why are you eating here today instead of eating in your room?" I asked him while we were eating lunch.

"No specific reason."

"I see."

"By the way you didn't tell me we had new neighbors."

"Oh yeah, you never came out of your room so how was I supposed to tell you?"

"Ehh... Fair enough."

"So, you met them?"

"Not them. But I did meet their daughter in school today. Apparently, she is my seat neighbor." Hmm... is that where this change came from.

"Looks like someone deserves my thanks."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"By the way, I might need your WeTube camera equipment soon."

"Ok, but why?"

"Well... she wants to make videos on WeTube with me. She will probably stop after a few tries though."

"Hmm... Well, finish up I am going to do some chores." Just as I was about to leave...

"A-also... Thanks for everything," he said in a sheepish voice.

"Yup."

As I left the room, tears flowed through my eyes. Tears of happiness.

***

"So, how are we going to upload this video?"

"Are you seriously planning to upload this video?"

"Yeah. Some problem?"

"Yeah there definitely is a problem, a big one at that! This can't even be called a video. This is just us messing around."

"So? Is there a problem if we make a video from that?"

"Are you actually this stupid or are you just playing the part?"

"HEY! Why are you so rude?"

"I am just stating the facts. You can't just record any video and upload it anytime. There are so many things to consider. The title and thumbnail to increase engagement. We have to write a description and even select the good tags. It's not as easy as you are making it out to be. And uploading at peak time is also important."

"Huh? What is peak time?"

"Peak time is the timeframe of the day when the reach is highest for the videos or posts. This timeframe is generally from 2 PM to 6 PM and even extends as far as 9 PM on weekends."

"I didn't understand anything."

"Seriously!" I let out an exasperating sigh. "And why are you saying that so cheerfully?"

"Hehe! By the way, you are quite knowledgeable about this."

"Of course I am. My parents are also WeTubers after all."

"But who will make the thumbnails and stuff."

"Not to brag, but I did spend almost all my time on my computer when I was holed up so I learned a lot of stuff. That does include Video and Photo Editing too. So yeah I can do all that stuff."

"Yes!!"

"Sorry for your disappointment, but don't think I will let you have fun as I do all the work. I will make you learn all that stuff."

"Hey, come on!"

"No, if you are planning to do this then I will make sure you do this seriously."

"Well, it will be fine without all that too. This is just for fun after all. It's not like we are planning to be famous."

"Th-that's true."

"By the way, what are you going to do about exams since you basically spent all your time in your room and now midterms are pretty near."

"Uhhh... I will deal with them somehow."

"Why don't we study together? I mean we are both in kinda the same boat so we can help each other."

"Sure. I don't see any problem with that."

"We can make a video from that too."

"Huh! Seriously, how are you even coming up with these weird ideas? No one is going to watch such videos."

"Those who are going to watch will watch. Stop being such a bummer."

"So, when are we studying?"

"Since today is Saturday why not just start as early as tomorrow, since there will probably be a lot of stuff to cover after all."

"That sounds good."

"So, what are we going to do about the video?"

"Delete it and make a new one."

"Boooooooo!"

"Come on, it is embarrassing to post a video like this."

"No, I am going to post this."

"Uhh... Fine. Do whatever. It's getting late so I will just go home for now."

"Yayyy!"

"Seriously, just what are you? Some 5-year-old kid?" I said after picking up the stuff and leaving the park.

"Hey, don't leave me here." She said while following me.

***

Next when I went to the library for the study session...

"So, you are telling me that you posted that video today."

"Yeah."

"Without any good thumbnail or a good description."

"Yup."

"And for some reason, the people who watched it are loving it."

"Exactly."

"And just how many views and likes does it have?"

"Hmm... I think it was around 4000 views and 2000 likes." I took a deep breath while making the thinking pose for a moment.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"This is a library so please stay silent." the librarian told me with a scary smile.

"Y-yeah sorry."

With the promotion my parents did on their own channel that video got even more likes and views. So, our first video which was nothing more than a mess kinda blew up. Things... got some unexpected turns, I guess.