Sayuri Takahashi

Sayuri gently fell onto the couch, enjoying a short break after cleaning every corner of the house. She looked towards the window, where the sunlight was softly streaming in, illuminating the living room with a warm glow. Outside the window, the street was quiet, except for a young boy playing on the sidewalk. She looked about ten years old, full of energy, laughing and jumping around carefreely.

"Ah, if only we..." —Sayuri thought, feeling the pain of her unsatisfied desire squeeze her heart. If her husband wasn't impotent, perhaps they would have already had a child of their own, someone she could care for, love, and onto whom she could project all that warmth she kept deep within herself. She looked at the boy as a mixture of sadness and longing settled in her chest— "I would be so happy if I could have a son... one like him..."

She sighed, letting her thoughts wander down those dark and forbidden paths from time to time. What would you do if you had a child? What would your life be like if you could hear children's laughter filling the house? She couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips as she imagined that scene. However, that smile faded when She saw the boy stumble and fall to the ground.

"Oh no!" —Her body reacted before her mind could process it. She got up from the couch quickly, running towards the front door. As she walked out, she could see the boy rubbing his knee, clearly in pain.

-Wait! —she said, with a softer tone than usual, almost maternal, as she approached the child—. Are you OK? Let me see, please.

The boy looked at her with tears welling in his eyes, but nodded without saying anything. Sayuri knelt next to him, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and carefully cleaning the small wound. She felt how the protective instinct that she had repressed for so long began to come to the surface, how that emptiness in her chest beat intensely at having someone small and vulnerable in front of her.

"This is what I've always wanted... someone to care for, someone who needs me," she thought as she gently stroked the boy's head, trying to comfort him. She felt his heart beat a little faster, as She lost herself in those thoughts. Her eyes watched the little boy sweetly, while an almost inaudible sigh escaped her lips.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," She said with a smile. Just a small wound. It will help you become stronger.