Who Lived Here?
Asking the neighbors about the past
On Sunday, I went to ask the neighbors.
I wanted to know about the family before us.
First, I met an old man next to our house.
"Did a family live here before us?" I asked.
He nodded slowly and said, "Yes, a kind family."
"When did they this house?" I asked again.
"About ten years ago," the old man answered softly.
"Did they have any children?" I asked him gently.
"They had one ," he said with a small smile.
"What was her ?" I asked, holding the photo.
He looked at the photo and became very .
"Her was Yuki," he told me at last.
"Did Yuki like this house?" I asked the old man.
"She loved it more than anything," he said kindly.
"Where is Yuki now?" I asked in a small voice.
The old man did not answer my last question.
He only patted my and walked away slowly.
I felt a soft deep inside my chest.
So the girl in the photo was named Yuki.
She lived here, and she loved this house.
I walked home with many new questions in my head.
Why did the old man look so sad about Yuki?
That evening, I whispered her in the cold room.
"Yuki," I said softly, "are you still here?"