'See you later.
We'll be back."
Son,
As always.
He smiled and said clearly.
For my 95-year-old grandfather.

With his son, who had temporarily returned from London,
Husband and I,
And also with Mocha,
The family went to the family home together.

On the way, stop at a supermarket,
Buy seaweed rolls and inari,
We will all have it for lunch.

With parents who liked to travel abroad,
London is a great place to talk about London.
Food,
Weather...
Sometimes with a thud and a laugh,
Mocha flicked her tail too,
He showed a happy face.

Had it been more than a year
since my son last saw my parents?
The time before that was, I think,
just before he left for London.

Yes, that was it—
we ate out then.
At a restaurant we had long frequented,
all of us sharing a meal together.

My father, in those days,
was still walking on his own.
With a cane,
slowly.
Slowly.

That restaurant
is gone now.

My father can no longer go out
without a wheelchair.

Mother repeats the same story,
Over and over again.
When are you leaving this time?"
He asked.

My son’s next return home
will likely be sometime this August.

Time flows.
Everything changes.

“See you again.”
I hope that, just like today,
we can say those words
and part ways—

all of us smiling.