“— be in charge of the transition into a new legislature. With a deadline for new mayoral elections set at the third week of March, however, newly appointed interim mayor Nobunaga has expressed his desire for citizens to cast their votes even earlier than that—”

With one eye on the local news playing on an old, small television on the kitchen counter, Hikari Shirahara is roughly chopping some vegetables, while two cast iron pots from the last century are simmering on the gas stove. After putting down the knife, she opens up the cupboard underneath her workstation to look for a third pot, but fails to find anything usable.

Hikari: Koharu!

“— city cannot properly heal without democratically elected leaders with a clear mandate from its inhabitants—”

With no response coming from the living area, Hikari wriggles her way to the other side of the small kitchen, stepping over a few toys scattered about the wooden floor, until she reaches the half-open sliding door cutting their cramped apartment in half. She opens the door, spotting Koharu sitting at the living room table with her headphones on.

Hikari: Koharu!

“— polls showed a toss-up between the incumbent mayor Toshiki Kuroe and his populist opponent, business mogul Masato Yasuda, with both men securing around 42% of the vote. However, with neither candidate nor interim mayor Nobunaga running again, there is very little that can be said for certain about the future of the city.”

Still no reaction. With a sigh, Hikari wipes her hands on her apron and approaches her daughter, gently tapping her on the shoulder.

Hikari: Earth to space cadet Shirahara?

Koharu: (she takes off her headphones, which appear to be emitting the soft hum of white noise, and turns to Hikari) Hmm?

Hikari: Where’s that orange casserole grandma gave us? The one we make curry in?

Koharu: Midori threw that one out months ago. It smelled weird.

Hikari: Oh, for crying out—Midori! (she makes towards the door of the apartment’s only separate room, which Midori occasionally uses to study) Midori, where’s that— (there is, however, no one inside the small room, not that there would be much room for a person to begin with) Where is she?

Koharu: (she has put her headphones back on, and doesn’t hear her mother anymore)

Hikari: God damn it—

Chiaki: Hey! No bad words! (passing her from behind, Hikari’s young son dart towards the sofa, clambering onto it as he imitates an indistinguishable sound)

Hikari: You stay put there, okay? I won’t use bad words anymore if you do. (she takes out her phone) Wait, where’s your sister?

Chiaki: (he points at Koharu, who continues to type away at her laptop, unaware of her surroundings)

Hikari: … Your twin sister.

Chiaki: Outside!

Hikari: What do you m—Outside?! Didn’t I tell you to always ask if you can go outside?

Chiaki: She did ask!

Hikari: … and did I say “yes”?

Chiaki: You said nothing about that!

Hikari: God d—(she sighs) Gosh darn it! 

In a slight panic, she rushes towards the door, putting on her shoes and coat, but as she has her hand on the doorknob, she quickly realizes she still has food on the stove. Quickly darting back to the kitchen, she turns off all the fires, catching a quick glimpse of the television as she runs back out, nearly stumbling over a toy car.

“— large protests in support of these mysterious “rays from heaven” on the 3-month anniversary of the inexplicable phenomenon. The anniversary has not gone unnoticed in Washington either, where defence secretary Reynolds insists the Pentagon continues to investigate —”

On her way out, Hikari bumps into Koharu, with her headphones around her neck.

Koharu: What’s going on?

Hikari: Watch Chiaki and see if you can get in touch with Midori. Or hell, call Dad. And clean up the kitchen while you’re at it.

Koharu: What are you—

Hikari: I’m heading out.

Koharu: But—

Before Koharu can finish her sentence, Hikari has already left the apartment, hurrying through the outdoors corridor and down the stairs until she reaches the courtyard, the fresh snow crunching underneath her feet as she runs, until, at just a few feet away from her, she notices her youngest daughter, all dressed up for the cold weather, humming to herself as she is building what appears to be a snowman.

Hikari: K-Kayo…?

Kayo: (she looks up, and upon noticing her mom, immediately waves with a smile) Hi, Mommy! Do you want to make a snowman with me?

Hikari: W-What’s going on?

???: Ah, coming to check on your daughter’s masterpiece, eh?

Hikari turns around as she recognizes the voice of the landlady, who is clearing some of the snow off the path from the gate to the staircase. A lit cigarette in her mouth, the elderly woman chuckles as she waves a hand at Hikari.

Landlady: I was just having a chat with Mrs. Nagato when your middle daughter asked me to keep an eye on the little one, since she really wanted to make a snowman. Said she had work to do for her school newspaper and since I was out here anyways, it was no big deal. I must say, she can entertain herself quite well for a girl her age!

Hikari: Ah… Err, right. That’s, eh… yeah, I was just checking in on her since dinner’s ready and all that. (she turns back to Kayo) Kayo? Are you coming back in?

Kayo: Mr. Snowman still needs his nose!

Hikari: He can have his carrot after you’ve had yours!

Kayo: Ookaaaay~! (she puts a final bunch of snow onto the snowman’s head before heading back up the stairs)

Hikari: (with a sigh of relief, she turns back to the landlady) Thank you for keeping an eye on her.

Landlady: You can count on me. I’m in charge of this place, so the least I can do is help out the people who live here.

Hikari: Much appreciated.

With a slight bow, Hikari bids the landlady goodbye and makes her way back up to her apartment. After helping Kayo take off her coat and shoes, she takes off her own and returns to the living room, where the twins have already taken their seat at the dinner table.

Hikari: You could have told me you had everything under control, genius… (she scoffs, but when Koharu yet again doesn’t reply, that scoff quickly turns into a deep sigh) Did you seriously put those headphones on again when I told you to—

When she opens the door to the kitchen, she notices Koharu, wearing an apron and holding one of the hot casseroles in her hands — clad in oven mitts, as if ready to serve — standing still as she gazes at the television.

“—bodies were discovered by a police officer on the beat at around 5:34 this morning, buried underneath a layer of fresh snow. Nevertheless, the prosecutor’s office has confirmed the men did not freeze to death, which is an unfortunately common cause of death among the homeless—

Hikari: Koharu?

Koharu: (as if snapping out of a trance, she turns to her mother) Hmm?

Hikari: Everything okay?

Koharu: … Two homeless men got murdered.

Hikari: … I meant, are you okay?

Koharu: … Yes. Was finishing dinner. Twins have to eat on time… What was the emergency?

Hikari: Err… N-nothing really. I was just overreacting. (she smiles)

Koharu: Oh…

Hikari: Shall I take over? You can set the table.

Koharu: … Sure. (she puts the casserole back onto the fire and takes off the apron and mitts, handing them back to her mother — before she leaves the kitchen however, she turns to Hikari to ask) … Do we have any leftover carrots?

“— for eyewitness accounts. The police urge anyone who might have insightful information about anything they saw or heard in the neighborhood of Hanakaze station in the Nishisaka district at around half past five this morning to contact their local precinct as soon as possible.”