“...Phew.”

It was 6 am. Maru got dressed and stepped out into the living room. Everyone was still asleep in the house, so he made sure to try to be as quiet as possible.

“Summer is summer, huh.”

The sun was already coming up, despite the time. He breathed in deeply expecting some cool morning air, but it wasn’t even that cool. It was August now. Two weeks after summer break started. Maru shook his hands and feet, thinking about how fast time was passing for him.

His dad was the first to greet him after he came back from a run around the park nearby.

“Been out for a run?”

“Yes. It’s a bit hot out.”

“Of course it is. It’s midsummer. Your mom’s still sleeping, so try to be quiet.”

“Yes. Good luck at work.”

“Sure, thanks. You work hard as well.”

“Yessir.”

Maru chugged a cup of water after bidding farewell to his dad. As he tilted his head back forward after drinking, he noticed a family picture in front of him. In the photo, his smiling dad was holding two small children. There weren’t any white hairs on his head back then. Maru looked back. He did see quite a few white hairs on his dad’s head a moment ago.

‘He’s getting… old. Hopefully nothing happens to him.’

It’d be nice if he knew if anything happens to his family in the future, but unfortunately his memory...