That day, the little girl looked up into the sky as she always did.
“I have to go on a business trip today… I have to go somewhere far away for work, but don’t worry. I’ll be late, but I will come home today. I won’t leave you alone for long, Towa.”
Having explained things, the man hurriedly left the daughter of his heart in the room and locked the door from outside. The windows were locked from the outside as well, so it would be impossible for young Towa to open them. The man was about to exit the grounds through the tiny space in the walls surrounding the house. He checked the area carefully first.
Where are they? he thought. Are they here? I’m not handing her over. I love her. I can’t hand Towa over to them.
He began to sweat underneath his suit. Every day, he lived in fear of something. He was psychologically pressured. The only thing that calmed him was his loving Towa.
The man disappeared among the sea of people in the city.
✦ ✦ ✦
The view of the sky from the window was, as usual, small and square. But it was very pretty. It was so blue, it felt like one could just fall into it. Then the blue sky turned red and then black, and much time passed. But still, her father did not return. And the sky turned blue again.
“Hey, Mimi, Daddy hasn’t come home yet… I’m hungry… No, you can’t, Mimi. Daddy said we shouldn’t go outside, right…?”
The little girl, who looked like a European-style doll, talked listlessly to her stuffed rabbit doll. But the doll did not talk back.
“Why don’t you say something, Mimi? Momo’s Danny can speak. He’s friends with Momo and can talk. Hey, Mimi, Mimi… Mimi…”
She was about to cry from hunger and loneliness, but still, she kept talking to her dolls.
“…Mimi… Mimi… Where’s Daddy… Where’s Daddy…?”
This time, the response which came was not silence, but a very loud noise.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
It was the sound of something furiously slamming against the lock.
“…?! D-Daddy…?” the girl said, startled.
The banging continued.
The little girl could only sit and watch the proceedings. Eventually, the door was violently and rudely opened.
“…Dadd…ee?!”
She was wrong. It was not her father. The people who entered the door were people she had never seen before. There were several men, all dressed in black. She felt afraid. She froze, unable to make a move, not even daring to make a sound.
They looked exactly like the “men in black” whom her father had talked about.
Her father’s warning ran vividly through her mind.
“If they find you, they’ll kill you.”
She wanted to scream for her daddy, but she couldn’t utter a sound. Her body trembled and all she could do was squeeze the rabbit doll tightly in her arms. The men in black looked at her. One of them took out a mobile phone and began to make a call somewhere.
✦ ✦ ✦
By the time Momo and Daniel arrived, after having delivered a soul to Heaven, the area was already filled with cars with sirens and flashing lights. The place was packed with a seemingly infinite number of people.
“It looks like we’re too late…” Daniel murmured softly.
Momo and Daniel floated into the house, where they saw people busily moving about. Of course, nobody could see them.
There was no sign of Towa. It seemed that the men in black had already taken her to the “outside world.”
Momo sat on the bed and gazed around the room, which had now lost its resident. Daniel followed and hopped onto Momo’s lap. Several people, oblivious to their presence, passed in front of them. She heard someone calling.
“…Momo?”
“What?!” she exclaimed.
She turned towards the voice. She hoped it might be Towa. But it was not. The voice belonged to a cheerless adult. It was a woman, draped from head to toe in a black cape.
“What’s going on, Momo?” said the woman. “What are you doing here?”
She was another shinigami. She did not smile as Momo did, but instead wore a grim expression. This was how the other shinigami looked. However, she was one of the few who understood Momo.
“I see. So she’s under your jurisdiction. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interfere,” Momo apologized, and bowed her head contritely.
“You got involved with the humans again, didn’t you?” the other shinigami asked. “And with someone related to the main soul.”
“Yes…” Momo answered. “But I couldn’t do anything for her.”
“Maybe it’s better that way.”
“What do you mean?” Momo asked.
“He was so worried about leaving the little girl behind. His feelings were so powerful they prevented him from going to Heaven. And even if he did, he probably wouldn’t be very happy up there.”
“I see…” Momo sighed.
She caressed Daniel’s head softly. Daniel said nothing. The only sound was the bell on his collar.