I wrote this story in Japanese, and it was translated into English with the help of AI.
Reina awoke to a sound she couldn’t quite place.
(What was that? Was that Dad’s voice? But… it sounds scary…)
Reina was in the sixth grade.
It was still early in the school year, and she was still such a scaredy-cat that she often slept in her younger sister’s bed.
Her sister, two years younger, was fast asleep beside her—completely unaware of the noise.
Unlike Reina, who always had trouble falling asleep, her sister would drift off the moment she lay down. And once she was asleep, she wouldn’t wake up unless shaken.
“You—this is all your fault!”
“Don’t lift that chair!”
(That’s from Kana’s room. Why is someone lifting a chair? Is it… Dad?)
“It’s fine. You two can step aside.”
(Is… Mom there too?)
Reina’s heart started to race.
Her body was frozen with tension.
(I don’t hear any loud crashing. He hasn’t thrown the chair yet.)
“Dad! Please, calm down!”
(That’s Mana’s voice—my oldest sister.)
“I am calm. You’re the one getting worked up.”
“Then put the chair down.”
Reina heard a faint clunk—the sound of the chair being set down.
She held her breath and listened as hard as she could.
“Just move aside. I only want to talk to your mother.”
There was no reply from Mom or Kana.
(I have to go out there. I’ll act like I just woke up and don’t know what’s going on. Maybe then Dad will stop.)
Reina knew.
She knew her parents were talking about divorce.
Her father had fiercely resisted the idea.
Reina was the third of four sisters.
Her oldest sister was a high school junior, the second was in her third year of middle school, and the youngest was in fourth grade.
Though they sometimes argued, the sisters were close.
The adults hadn’t told Reina or Ena—the two youngest—about the divorce.
But Mana, the eldest, had told Reina everything.
Mana had always talked to Reina, even though there was a five-year age gap.
This time was no different—she had told her about the divorce too.
One morning, Reina had noticed a large bruise on her mother’s jaw.
When she asked about it, her mother, Yoriko, said she had fallen.
But later, Mana told Reina the truth.
“That bruise? Dad tried to strangle Mom. She fought him off—that’s how it happened.”
Reina had believed her mother when she said she’d just fallen.
The truth left her shaken.
There was another morning when Reina saw her mother crying alone downstairs.
Shattered plates littered the floor around her.
“Oh, sweetie… it’s nothing. Mommy just had a clumsy moment, that’s all.”
Yoriko had tried to smile it off when she noticed Reina.
But by then, Reina already knew.
Reina had actually heard it straight from her mother’s mouth—about wanting a divorce.
It had been about a year ago, and Mana and Kana were also there.
Back then, Reina had never imagined such a thing.
It was a shock.
After hearing the whole story, Reina quietly left the room and cried alone.
“You never know what’s going to happen in this world…”
She knew friends whose parents were divorced.
But that kind of thing had felt like a faraway story—never something that could happen in her own family.
That’s why it hit so hard.
By the time she was in fifth grade, she had known about it.
But when the divorce actually began to move forward, the adults stopped telling her anything.
Still, Reina didn’t find it strange.
“Mom said it would be too painful for the two elementary school kids, so she decided not to tell you.”
Mana had said that, and Reina believed her.
Ena, her youngest sister, didn’t know anything.
She didn’t know about the shattered plates, or about Mom crying.
(If Dad yells again… I’ll go out there.)
Reina had made up her mind.
“You kids need to go to bed already!”
He shouted.
(Now—go!)
But her body wouldn’t move.
She was paralyzed.
Uncontrollably trembling, without even realizing it.
(Why? Why won’t my body move? I want to protect them—Mom, my sisters—)
“What did you say?!”
Her father’s voice rose again, even louder.
(I have to go… I have to go… come on—please—why can’t I move?)
She tried with everything she had.
But her body wouldn’t listen.
And then… it was over.
The noise stopped.
The argument must’ve ended.
That’s when Reina’s body finally moved.
She slipped out of bed and quietly opened the door.
Just outside were her mother Yoriko and two of her sisters.
Her father was already gone.
“Reina, were you awake?”
Her mother looked at her with a worried face.
“Yeah… I heard everything.”
“I see… I’m sorry we woke you.”
Yoriko’s voice was soft.
Reina shook her head lightly.
“If you were awake, you could’ve come help us, you know.”
Kana’s voice was tinged with frustration.
“I’m sorry. I… I wanted to go, I really did…”
Kana just looked at her, not saying anything more.
(I’m sorry. If only my body had moved… I could’ve done something…)
That night, Kana decided to sleep downstairs with their mother.
Reina was gently guided back to her bed.
Mom and Kana headed to the lower floor.
But Mana, the eldest, stayed behind.
“Mom said… she didn’t want Dad touching her anymore. She refused him. That’s what happened last night too, and it made him furious tonight.”
“Sometimes she gave in… but it was painful for her. That’s why Kana’s sleeping with her—to protect her. So you should just sleep now too, Reina.”
“…Okay. I understand.”
There was a pair of scissors hidden beneath Reina’s pillow.
She’d put them there a little while ago—
just in case.
To protect her mother and her sisters from their father, if it ever came to that.
Mana and Kana had done the same.
But when Reina had seen her father’s back—the way he looked when everything was normal—
the thought of stabbing him had made her heart ache.
It hurt so much, she could barely stand it.
(But next time… I have to be able to move. I want to protect everyone—Mom, my sisters… Please, Dad… please don’t become scary again…)
Reina couldn’t sleep for a long time.
The next day, she was told she didn’t have to go to school, and she stayed home.
They told Ena that Reina was feeling sick.
Mana and Kana both went to school.
Reina hadn’t gotten any sleep that night—
but in the daytime, while her father was away at work…
she was finally able to rest.
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The Storytelling Wolf
