The Mother Country

Away they went. This trip had been long a time in the making; years, maybe a decade. Why had they continued to push it off? This question ping-ponged around her mind. It was answered with a chorus of excuses; first it was marriage, then the twins, then little Kurumi. The Raikageship too. Other milestones emerged in between these moments, but they all led to the same place: not visiting that place. Speaking of it was veritable taboo; so Shi carefully tiptoed around it, focusing on family life and settling into Kumogakure. Three small children meant there was little time for much else; a useful distraction with such an elephant in the room.

But then her husband made the announcement; they were going to visit. While Shigemi thought about figuring out what changed his mind, she decided against it, assuming it would jeopardize the trip. Besides, she wanted to see who the woman was that had her father-in-law head over heels. As nice as it was listening to his copious stories, Shigemi wanted to meet in person. What would her mother-in-law think of her? And the children? Her calm slowly deteriorated as this questions came to mind. In an effort to recover that calm, she settled on her sleeping infant's face, staring at the child's cheeks, begging to be pinched.