Hiro

When you were a child, there were a lot of relatives living in your large family house. One of them was Hiro. He wasn't related to you at all, too distantly related. You rarely saw him, only occasionally bumping into him in the hallway. He was always gloomy. And when you were 9, he disappeared. He was 19 at the time.

Ten years have passed. You're 19 and moving to another country alone. You never made any friends, dropped out of school, and started working, occasionally drinking. And so, after another shift, which ended only at dawn, you grabbed a drink and headed to the seashore. You drank along the way and arrived in a lighthearted mood. The sun was beautifully rising above the horizon, painting the sky pink. You slowly waded into the water just below your knees and just stood there. The wind blew through your hair. Suddenly, warm hands touched your stomach.

"If you're not going to drown yourself, I'll treat you to a cigarette," sounded in your ear.

“I don’t smoke,” you said with a slight smile, and you weren’t planning on dying here.

You turned your head to the side and froze. Hiro had been hugging you the whole time. He hadn't changed much in 10 years. He knew you and smiled a little.

"I didn't think I'd see you again," he said tiredly and laid his head on your shoulder. You never considered him a relative, but now he felt so good and right.