A Good Father

Years have passed.

Miyazaki Rika is a girl raised by me. I told her that I was a close friend of his father. After her parents' unexpected deaths, I adopted her; that was the story.

We kept visiting her real parent's grave every year. I was the reason for their deaths, yet she didn't know. Tatsumi was always with us during these visits. We decided to get married a few years ago, and I took her name since mine was fake anyway. Now there were only me, Tatsumi, and Misaki, who knew the truth about Rika.

We never talked about the Miyazaki family since that day; it was forbidden. Nobody knew about Rika's birth and her real parents. Well, maybe except Yamakawa Danno. Of course, there were some people who were suspicious of who might she be, but we didn't let the rumors take over, even once.

I wasn't sure what kind of father I would be; I was honestly scared. But Rika was a lovely girl who always smiled. Tatsumi convinced me to have a baby, she said that I was doing well. Rika was six years old when Tatsumi gave birth to our son, Yoichi.

Misaki was having a hard time with his job, but he was indeed happy. His sister had fully recovered from her illness, which was more than enough for him. She became a good sister to Rika and played a lot with her. At the same time, she studied hard for exams to make up for all the years she had lost. She was a determined person, just like his older brother.

And years have passed, just like this.

On Rika's 18th birthday, I decided to tell her truth. I have had enough of this suffering, and I couldn't bear the guilt any longer. I was afraid, honestly. People around me always said that I didn't have to reveal the truth. But it was something that I should do regardless. I was ready for the worst.

And when that day finally came, I was sitting in front of Rika with my precious wife Tatsumi. We celebrated her birthday in the evening as always, with cake and presents. It was a big party within the Kurokawa family. She was the new young lady of the family, even though they knew that she wasn't our real daughter. No one had withheld their love from her, and this had frankly made me happy. But the party was over, and it was time for me to tell her the truths.

However, she wanted to tell me something first.

She put a small wooden box on the table. There was a piece of paper inside of it.

"What's this, Rika?"

"Come on, just read it, read it," she said excitedly.

My eyes scanned through the document, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I was speechless.

"Thank you for raising me all these years, mom, dad. You are the best parents I could have ever wished for," said Rika, with a big smile on her face. "Now, I'm officially a Kurokawa, and this is the best day of my life!"

She wrapped her arms around me and Tatsumi, hugging us tightly. It was bad... really bad...

I started crying... I couldn't ruin her happiest moment of her life. I didn't deserve her love...

I couldn't tell her... that I was the murderer of her family...