Three weeks had passed since we officially kicked off Project 13 v2.0. It took the outside world roughly a week to catch up. Taylor and I had been operating in stealth mode since the wedding, or at least we tried. Everyone knew my wife could never be completely off the grid. Despite not feeding wedding details and our life in Kamakura to the public, they filled in the blanks through Taylor's work. And after the news broke about this new revolutionary project, the focus was a hundred percent back on us. Articles from the tech and creative worlds had surfaced. Speculations about our Japan life, our marriage, and frustratingly, our Rui.
Because of this, Taylor insisted on picking him up from school for the past two weeks. And well, everyone knew I could never win. Thankfully, she had practiced enough over the years to comfortably drive on the opposite side of the road. Her consolation was taking Rui on nice afternoon dates without me. I already knew she brought him to restaurants I would typically say no to. Of course, our little one was thrilled about this new surprise setup from his mama.
"You're staring," Austin said across the opposite side of the office.
My eyes darted from the GPS on the big screen to him. "Just checking."
"You've been checking for the past hour," Derek chimed in. "The queen handles herself like royalty on the road."
Leaning forward to focus on my work, I chuckled. "I should've gone with her today."
"Can't they scour the dark web for a fresh Klossanova photo?" Jack snickered before tapping his keyboard.
The corner screen now showed a pap photo from five years ago. Velvet suit. New York. It was the day we signed our wedding papers at the restaurant. It showed me walking behind Taylor, talking to Derek. Now I wanted to see Taylor's photo instead. She looked stunning in that dress.
"Not to be that guy, but I still look fresh." I glanced at Derek. "Unlike some."
They laughed, with Cara adding, "Won't you go on that date now, D? You need mad s—"
A familiar sound blared from our phones. Something we had not heard in a while.
The sound of alarms.
My heart stopped. We froze.
And soon the speakers echoed, "Jishin desu."
In a second, we dropped under our desks. I braced my hands on either side.
Then it happened.
The headquarters shook violently. It swayed from side to side. Our glass windows rippled and flexed like waves reflecting the ocean.
"Rui," I whispered. "Taylor!"
As if nature heard me, the shaking continued.
Ceramic plates crashed. Pots fell from the window panes.
Paintings slid off the walls. Shelves tumbled to the ground.
The turntable now ruined under the cupboards.
"Fuck!" I slid across, hitting my shoulder on the frosted glass walls.
It went on.
This was the strongest and the longest we had experienced in ten years.
But everything around me tuned out. The shrieking. The checking in. The panicked reminders.
All I could think of was her. Taylor. Driving on the opposite side of the road. Rui.
Another round of powerful tremors hit. My head felt weird.
The room spun. Is Rui's child seat safe enough?
Power shut off with the first persistent aftershock.
Did she remember earthquake protocols inside the car?
When the shaking settled, the sounds came back. We got to our feet, assembling by the now-shattered automatic doors. Our office was now a mess of random broken pieces and cracked concrete. Derek hyperventilated. Brandon tossed his ruined tablet away. Austin coughed through his panic. Este and Cara held onto each other. Jack stared at his broken, thick-frame glasses.
Taylor. Rui.
My shoulder throbbed. "We have to vacate—"
Continuous, fluctuating air-raid sirens blared from the broadcast speakers outside, reminding us to evacuate. "Tsunami desu," the voice announced for the whole Kamakura coastal town.
"Shit!"
We scrambled through the debris. Dust. Glass. Across the zen garden that had transformed into a field of snapped tree branches and tumbled tourou. The concrete steps led us up to our dedicated evacuation facility inside the compound. Looking down, our neighbors hurried to find higher ground. "Fuck's sake," I muttered under my breath, running down the steps, the team's warning fading instantly. As the sirens and aftershocks heightened my anxiety, my legs shook, lunging through obstacles towards our main gate. When I reached the small control room, I pulled the emergency lever down, and our neighbors rushed through the property.
Glancing around the block, the roads were ruined. Cars trapped under fallen trees. Where are they? A man dragged me by the arm. "Karlie-san, abunai!" Yes, standing here is dangerous. But how about Taylor and Rui? Nothing could have prepared anybody who had chosen to live in the most seismic land on earth. Today was the day this reality struck us all. Taylor and I had accepted one day something this terrible could happen. And we had equipped our evacuation floor with everything we could ever need. But I never anticipated being safe without her.
From high above the ocean grounds, the waves came. Swallowing boardwalks and our favorite local town cafes by the shore. My heart hammered as the water washed away parked cars. The narrow streets filled with rushing water. Homes closer to the ocean braced for bigger waves. And here we were, inside our emergency command office. Waiting for the universe to determine our fate.
"Tell me you got ahold of them." I shook Austin's shoulder as we stood inside the glass-enclosed room. "Where are they, AK!"
"Cellular towers just dropped. Fiber lines are cut across the coast," Austin stammered, running his hands over his face.
Derek paced, gripping his phone. "K, the whole town's dead without power."
"It's going to get dark in a couple of hours," Brandon added, pointing at the sky.
"Fuck's sake!" Our neighbors turned to us in shock. "I can't stay here."
Jack squinted at us with his broken glasses. "I'm half blind. If we have to do something, we gotta do it now."
Este blocked the command room door. "The generators should pick up soon. We'll find a way to reach her."
"We've gotta be the only ones with back-up power on this scale," Cara added. "Our localized nodes were built for off-grid fail-over."
I let out a heavy sigh, scanning the familiar community faces through the glass. Not a soul would let me out the door now. Warnings had already been raised. The waves could get worse by the hour. Giving up, I rushed to my chair, facing the emergency master terminal. Where are you, baby?
But when I reached over, a sharp pain ran from my shoulder down to my arm. "Fuck!" I touched my shoulder. "I need an ice pack."
"You need someone to check on that," Derek said, stepping out of the room to face the crowd. His whole body was still rigid in shock, but he kept his head high. "I'll handle them. Do your thing."
"We'll have to open communication lines before it gets too dark." Ignoring the pain, I focused on the monitor. "You guys know what to do. Move!"
All of them scrambled to their terminals. Taiyaki's servers could not have proven their integrity better than this disaster. We had been running on our independent infrastructure all these years, and the moment major networks around us shut down—with the rest of our city disconnected from the world—Taiyaki Tech lit the Kamakura compound with a faint sliver of hope.
With my fingers flying over the keyboard, I scanned the screens. "Is that the last cached GPS packet?" I asked, zooming in on the map. "Where the fuck were they when it hit?" My stomach turned the moment I recognized how far they were from home.
"Taylor took the longer route. She must've decided it was a good day to explore," Austin said from behind me.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "Fuck's sake."
"I'm opening our local mesh node to the public." Este pulled me out of my trance. "Almost ready to set up an offline safety portal. Brandon, let them know everyone can broadcast status checks in a few minutes."
"C'mon, KK," Austin's voice registered softer than usual when he placed a Snickers bar on my desk. "Focus."
"I've been pulsing an emergency ping across all our local relay antennas," Cara said from her station. "Taylor’s phone should auto-handshake and report her coordinates within 500 meters of any Taiyaki node."
Biting into my power bar, I nodded. "We've gone through that a million times. She'll remember. Fuck's sake." Leaning over, I whispered, "Rui-chan."
"Trust in them, KK," Brandon said, keeping his voice cool before stepping out to assist the community with safety flagging. "Rui's the smartest kid I've met, and your wife's instincts are spot on."
"Fuck," Jack muttered from his spot. "The outside world."
When I looked at him, he was staring at his screen with his broken glasses. Bouncing his leg. His jaw clenched. And from where I sat, I noticed sweat running down his cheek. Immediately turning to Austin, I said, "Get him out of here. Someone out there should know what to do."
Austin responded, rushing to guide Jack to the nearest open window. Fortunately for us, medical professionals who were yet to be tapped for hospital duties joined us. Left alone with Cara and Este, my mind wandered back to Taylor and Rui. That sick feeling in my stomach resurfaced thinking about how scared to death they could be right now. If a grown person like Jack spiraled with the aftershocks this way, what more could an earthquake do to a four-year-old child?
Japan's disaster response was the only thing that kept me from spiraling. We knew how prepared the country was. They would have seen Taylor in the car. People would have been there to help. Still, in the silent gaps as we waited for the dreaded ping, my body tensed. With my shoulder flaring up again, I waved at Derek, who had been busy attending to everyone else.
Finally, one volunteer knocked on the door. "Shitsureishimasu," she greeted, bowing to us and clutching a first-aid kit in one hand.
"Hai," the three of us said. "Sumimasen. Onegaishimasu," I added, thanking her for taking the time to help.
"Karlie-san, daijoubu?" She asked, inspecting my shoulder. "Kyou hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu," she thanked, bowing yet again.
"Ii yo." I shook my head, gesturing for her to rise. This was culture. Everyone looked out for each other. Gasping at her touch as she began her examination, I said, "Itai desu."
"Dame desu," she acknowledged it was painful and how unfortunate this had happened. "Chotto misete kudasai ne," she asked to see the spot, carefully peeling back the edge of my collar to check for swelling or bruising. "Aza ni natteru."
Glancing at my skin, I saw the bruise she had just mentioned. "Dame... Itai..."
She opened her first-aid kit and pulled out a cold compress sheet. "Chotto tsumetai desu yo," she warned.
As she pressed the cold, damp pack onto my skin, a sharp sting rippled along my arm. I hissed through my teeth, gripping my seat. "Taipu shinakucha. Ii desu ka?" I asked, practically begging her permission to let me get back to typing.
"Gomen ne, ato de isha ni mitemarai mashou," she said, saying we should have a doctor look at it when we get the chance. "Please try not to move it too much."
"Wakarimashita," I nodded in agreement. "Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita." With another deep bow, I led her to the door.
Having no other choice, I let my left arm rest. Sirens continued to wail around us. And the aftershocks kept coming. The floor shook, making me grip the chair tightly while I powered through getting back to work.
"Are we good?" I asked the other two.
"Fucking aftershocks are mad as a normal quake," Cara replied. "We're safe here, yeah?"
Nodding, I glanced outside. Everyone was calm, and that was enough to convince Cara. "You know they built this with the worst-case scenario in mind."
"You need air?" Este asked, making me look at them.
Cara shook her head. "I'm good."
"Daijoubu da yo. We're safe here." I looked at her. "Will a drink help?"
Este got to her feet, immediately rushing out the door. "I'll be back."
Despite our panic, I smiled at Cara. "Ask your questions. I'm sure she's scared too." Then I checked my terminal, wishing the ping would come before the sun completely set. "C'mon, Tay. Tell me you're safe," I whispered.
Hours passed. The tsunami waves crashed and lulled. Our floor shook at constant, brief intervals. When the largest wave hit at the third-hour mark, shivers ran down my spine watching more cars get swept away from the street. We had heard nothing from Taylor. Nothing from our community of parents. Nothing from the school. Even with our servers opening communication lines, I had heard nothing from the only person in the world I wanted to hear from. The sky turned pastel pink. And as I stared at the picturesque view, my chest tightened a little more. Rui.
Ouchi jikan. This mattered more than anything. I found life's greatest meaning in them. Our moments at the beach. Mornings of waking up with their hushed stories. Sitting down for meals. Watching Rui explore worlds through his books. Taylor showering him with warmth and gentleness despite him playfully pushing her buttons. Thinking of my wife, I saw us when we were younger. Her presence was still the first one I longed for every day. And my worst fear consumed me. The simple thought of losing that. Of losing her. Of losing them. Was unbearable. Whenever my mind wandered, my pulse raced. The pain shooting up and down my arm only got worse with my whole body so uptight.
I was running on caffeine, Snickers, and cup ramen. My whole system carried on routine tasks, but the internal crashing was inevitable. Darkness consumed the facility, illuminated only by computer screens and emergency LED lanterns installed around it. My brain circled through possibilities. Worst-case scenarios. Memories of Taylor and Rui just this morning before he left for school. How could our world turn upside down in mere hours apart? We'll be home before you know it. Those were Taylor's words when she left this afternoon. Her smile. I remembered the way she smiled. Because I grumbled about being left behind.
Rubbing my temples with my eyes closed, I breathed out slowly. Then I heard an alert chime.
"Node 03 just came back online," Cara muttered. "The expressway relay must have been cycling through automated fail-over since the third wave hit."
Clenched jaw, heart racing, my eyes scanned the terminal. A bright ping lit up on the map grid.
TAIYAKI MESH NODE_03 - VEHICLE EMERGENCY BEACON DETECTED
► VEHICLE TELEMETRY (2027 LEXUS RX-H)
• Location: SHUTO EXPRESSWAY KANAGAWA ROUTE 3
• Emergency TCU Battery: 13%
• Vehicle Motion: STATIONARY
• Engine Status: OFF
► ASSOCIATED DEVICES
• T_SWIFT_IPHONE: NOT FOUND / NO MESH HANDSHAKE
"Fuck's sake!" I slammed the keyboard. My voice echoed in the quiet command room where the team powered through the night with me. The Shuto Expressway would have turned into a concrete island in the sky. How could they have evacuated from there? Rui can't climb down a steep ladder 50 feet above the ground. None of them had words. Austin had been restless, pouring his attention into tending to everyone who needed help. And Derek finally snapped in the dark, sobbing through his trauma. Hearing sniffles across the floor triggered my own tears. If they left the car, where were they? Swallowing the lump in my throat, I did nothing but hope they were standing by somewhere safe.
"We have the coordinates now," Brandon tried. "Your tech worked, Karlie. We'll know what to tell the team in the morning."
It was around three in the morning when my arm flared up worse than before. I had been staring at my terminal screen since we located the Lexus. But Taylor's phone was still undetected. When I looked through the glass windows, some had fallen asleep. Most stayed frozen in their spots. By now, landslides had blocked the narrow hillside roads. Our compound was officially cut off from the town center. Swallowing through the pain, I wondered when I would even see them again. All I could picture was Taylor trying to comfort Rui from being trapped wherever they were.
"Karlie," Cara whispered with the sound of another chime.
My hands trembled over the keyboard, leaning closer. "Is it her?"
TAIYAKI MESH NODE_03 - VEHICLE EMERGENCY BEACON DETECTED
► VEHICLE TELEMETRY (2027 LEXUS RX-H)
• Location: SHUTO EXPRESSWAY KANAGAWA ROUTE 3
• Emergency TCU Battery: 10%
• Vehicle Motion: STATIONARY
• Engine Status: OFF
► ASSOCIATED DEVICES
• T_SWIFT_IPHONE: ACTIVE
• Phone Battery: 23%
• Mesh VoIP Status: READY FOR AUDIO LINK
"Fuck," I whispered, hitting the key to ring Taylor through the audio link.
The terminal speaker crackled, and everyone took a deep breath. With my leg bouncing, I asked, "Tay? Are you there, baby?"
It took a few seconds of static noise and radio frequency before a response came through. "Mama?"
"Oh my god, Rui," I whispered through my tears, letting out a slow breath. "Rui-chan, daijoubu?"
"Kowakatta, Mama," Rui sounded tired from crying, telling me he was scared. "Dakko..."
I pictured him opening his arms to me, wanting to be held. Biting my trembling lip, my heart hammered through the stinging pain down my arm. "Ato de, when you come home, honey. Ima doko, Rui-chan?" I asked where they were.
"Kuruma," he mumbled. He was in the car. "Takai."
High above, they were still on the expressway. But I needed to hear Taylor's voice. "Mama wa? Can I talk to your mom?"
"Mama," Rui replied, his voice drifting. The softness got lost in the crackling connection. "Mama, daisuki..."
"Daisuki, Rui-chan." Even with my back to them, I could feel the team's panic rising. "Mama to ohanashi sasete?" I tried again, asking for Taylor.
Each pause felt like the world slowly closing in on me. The radio static and shuffling on the other end only made my tears stream down my cheeks nonstop.
When the sound came through again, I sat up. "Tay?"
"Etto," a man said from the line. "Sumimasen. Karlie-san desu ka?"
I got to my feet. My mind was glitching, dreading what came next. "Hai. Karlie desu. Rui wa watashi no musuko desu." I explained that Rui was my son.
"Ah, sou desu ne," he acknowledged. "Etto... Rui-chan no okaasan wa, iryou chiimu no kata to issho dakara daijoubu desu. Tada, Shutokou de tachioujou shite imasu."
Taylor was with the medical team, stranded on the expressway. Breathing out, my voice trembled. "Kanojo wa kega o shite imasu ka?" I asked if she had injuries. "Daijoubu desu ka?"
"Ah, chotto matte kudasai," the man paused. The crackle of static and distant sirens filtered through the speaker. "Sumimasen. Ima no tokoro, kuwashii koto wa wakarimasen. Sumimasen deshita."
We all sighed. He had nothing for me. Nothing but my wife was receiving treatment, and that Rui was waiting for her too. I closed my eyes. "Wakarimashita," I whispered. "Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita."
Flinching at my shoulder, I waited for Rui's voice again, but the man dropped the line. I stepped out of the room's stillness to get some air. Kamakura's breeze struck my lungs, and it only made me feel worse. My chest was heavy, turning in the general direction of our house that was neglected since the earthquake hit. Taylor would be glad to know Benji and Aki-chan were safe. That they harmlessly waited with the other pets in the garden. Wondering what happened, my mind processed another round of terrifying possibilities. How badly was she hurt? Why couldn't they just tell me? Tay, my system can't handle this.
"KK," Austin said behind me. His voice trembled in the dark. "She's gonna be okay."
Another wave of tears escaped my eyes as I shook my head. "I don't know what to think anymore," I whispered, bracing myself on the cold metal railing. "Fuck, this is killing me."
"Whatever it is..." He stepped closer. "You know she's fighting it."
"They would've told me that," I said, staring into the void. "Why can't they tell me then?"
Austin exhaled slowly. "Tay wouldn't want you to worry. You have to hold it together until the sun comes up."
Imagining Taylor in danger tortured me. All those years we had planned this, she would bring up possibilities and how we should handle them. I stubbornly brushed the conversations aside. Of course I did. Because I promised to keep her safe. Always. Now I wished I had listened. Maybe then I would have her saying not to worry in my head. Maybe then I would have something to hold on to. Fuck's sake, Karlie. Fucking stubborn.
Lost in thought, a grandmother approached me. "Karlie-san." Chiyo always greeted Rui from her engawa on our morning strolls. "Rui-chan wa daijoubu ka na?"
"Ah, Chiyo-san," I whispered and wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand. "Rui-chan wa daijoubu desu. Tada, Shutokou de tachioujou shite imasu." I told her Rui was okay, but they were stuck on the expressway.
"Yada ne, jishin wa kowai ne." Chiyo touched my arm, her eyes filled with worry as she remembered how scary the shaking was. "Taylor-san wa? Taylor-san wa daijoubu nano?"
Unable to give her a straight answer, I simply shook my head, trying to hold back a sob. I knew they wanted to ask about Rui and Taylor, but were very polite not to bother me while I worked.
"Karlie-san wa daijoubu?" She asked. "Kyou wa hontou ni arigatou ne."
"Daijoubu desu." I managed a weak smile. "Chiyo-san, arigatou. Ima tabemashou ka?" Gesturing to the communal table, I offered to have a small snack with her.
Her face lit up. "Hontou ni? Ii no? Isogashii no ni ne." She waved her hand, knowing I was busy.
"Iie. Daijoubu desu." Leading her to a chair, I grabbed two cups of instant noodles. "Jaa, ramen tabetai? Kyou very ramen day."
Chiyo laughed, helping me peel back the lid. "Sou da yo ne. Emergency ramen day da yo."
Sitting across from a terrified grandmother to comfort her, I felt the same comfort knowing Taylor would want me to do this instead of losing my mind. As we talked over instant ramen, I let the warmth of our community carry me through the agony of waiting. We were lucky to have them so accepting of us and our family. They loved Rui like any other local kid. Taylor told me Chiyo reminded her of Yuki, but Kamakura's version. And this was her way of reminding me I might struggle right now in the unknown, but I was not alone.
We sat together until the sun rose over the horizon. By this time, we were immune to the continuous shaking, wailing tsunami warnings, and looped reminders echoing over the whole town. The shelter volunteers had already bound my arm in a traditional white triangle cloth sling to keep my shoulder from getting worse. Our servers held flawlessly, keeping communication lines open throughout the night. They had since tagged our facility as an official Information Hub and Evacuation Registry.
The aftershocks following the magnitude 7.5 earthquake were of record-high intensity. Now that the morning light exposed reality, Japan's disaster response had already systematically carved out footpaths through the debris, with prioritized paths between known evacuation centers. The workers had taken care of the road blockages before sunrise, bulldozing car wreckage and collapsed walls to the street shoulders. These carved-out, narrow, muddy lanes made their early morning missions possible without panic and chaos.
Sling-bound, I stood by the command center's entrance the second we heard helicopters overhead, followed by the multi-toned sirens of off-road disaster response trucks navigating our town's wreckage below. The warnings finally cycled down, replaced by sirens and megaphones coordinating with newly established hubs. The tsunami had passed. This was our initial signal for safety.
"Ohayou," I greeted my team. We were running on pure adrenaline, similar to our all-nighters in the past.
"Ohayou," they mumbled, staring at the monitors for whatever updates we had received.
Breathing out, I glanced at Austin and Derek. "I'm hoping they bring them home soon."
"It's crazy how we can't even go out there and do it," Austin said, running a hand through his curls. "I feel so helpless."
Brandon shook his head. "Welcome to Japan."
"Culture. We'll only make things worse." Derek agreed. "And it's not like we can't trust them, anyway."
"If not for them, I would've already lost my mind. I just need to know Taylor's okay." With my voice cracking again, I turned away. "But I'm expected to stay put."
Local city hall officials soon showed up, trekking to our compound's evacuation floor. They had carbon-copy paper registries and clipboards with long lists of survivor names, the ink slightly smeared by the morning mist. Glancing at the very traditional handwritten list they had for us, a bittersweet smile formed on my face. As soon as they turned the list over, my team switched to their data entry sprint for the morning. I watched the master terminal register names on our servers, and the digital ripple effect began. Everyone clutched their phones as they refreshed with newly synced data. The collective gasps and flooding of tears made my chest ache. Our "safe list" was the closest they had to knowing what had happened to their families.
I stared at my screen, wanting official confirmation that Taylor and Rui were safe. The more names the terminal registered, the harder it was to breathe. Then I quickly spotted Taylor's name in Katakana, the special characters used for English words and names instead of Kanji. テイラー・スウィフト＝クロス (Taylor Swift-Kloss). Directly followed by Rui's. 瑠月（るい）・スウィフト＝クロス (Rui Swift-Kloss). They were off the highway and under military care at the lower shelter. The only thing I needed to know was what exactly happened to Taylor. With a breath of relief, I stepped back and whispered, "Yokatta."
Our floor now buzzed with city hall representatives taking over the official paperwork. Evacuees could not leave for another two days, and our compound sheltered them the best way we could with the help of the town's local body. I navigated the floor, greeting every person I saw with a good morning nod or a grateful nod for their service. Standing by the communal table, I placed my mug down, wanting another cup of coffee.
Frustrated about my injury, I looked around for help. Until Jack found me. "Here," he said, placing the drip-coffee bag on my mug before pouring hot water into it to let it brew. "Milk. No sugar," he added, walking away to grab a carton from the corner.
I chuckled, watching him make the exact cup Taylor would. "Feeling better?"
"Am I still shit-scared?" He asked, staring at the coffee dripping, before adding more hot water and finally the milk. "Of course."
"We're safe here, Jack," I said, receiving my freshly mixed coffee. "Doumo doumo."
He breathed out, nodding. "We're all waiting for your duo to arrive."
"God, I hope she's okay." I sipped my coffee and stared out the window. " I don't know how much I can handle."
"What did Brandon say?" He offered a smile. "Trust in them. Taylor's fierce. No offense to you."
Chuckling, I made my way to the command room. "Back to work."
During the hours that passed, I kept myself busy maintaining the integrity of our servers. Glancing at the clock every five minutes drove me nuts. I had never been this impatient in my life. Well, maybe when I acted like a brat around my wife. But this impatience was different. For one, it was not the good kind. To make matters worse, reruns of how the expressway would have toppled cars over haunted me. Taylor was fierce. Everyone knew that. But she would have been terrified trying to control the wheel through the most horrible rollercoaster ride with Rui.
When 11 AM struck, the SDF trucks finally entered the gates of our property. I was talking to a volunteer when I heard that familiar yelling. "Mama!" Rui's voice reached the evacuation floor. And all of us let out a collective exhale. "Yokatta," we all said.
The smiles on their faces when I rushed down the stairs would have brought me to tears again. But what I saw made me freeze at the bottom of the steps. Rui was standing by the truck with one volunteer holding his hand, and the medical team carried Taylor on a stretcher toward our main door.
"Taylor," I whispered from afar. Jogging across the garden, already flinching at my arm. "Oh my god."
I could tell Rui was about to cry, but he stayed where he was and watched them transport Taylor into our house. Before I could even hug him, it turned into a blur of following orders to lead them to the bedroom. Watching them carry Taylor onto the bed. And taking in the medical team's anecdotes. My brain tried to process bits and pieces of information when I received the papers from the doctor. Taylor drifted in and out of a heavy, drug-induced sleep with a white bandage wrapped around her head. She suffered a severe concussion from hitting the window that knocked her out when the car crashed.
"Please wake her up every 2 to 4 hours and check if she's responsive," the doctor instructed in fluent English. "Is she coherent? Does she recognize you? Can she move her limbs? If there's something strange, please call for help right away."
"Hai." Nodding, I took everything in. "Wakarimashita," I mumbled, making us both chuckle at the language mix-up.
"Rui-chan wa," he stated on the way out of the bedroom. "Genki desu ne. No injuries. It's best to keep him close to her. This helps both of them."
"I'm grateful for your help. Thank you for looking after us." When I followed his entire team out, I bowed deeply in gratitude. "Otsukaresamadeshita. Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita."
"Kochira koso," the doctor replied, bowing back just as deeply. "Taiyaki Tech no ken, hontou ni tasakarimashita. Otsukaresamadeshita." He nodded, saying the Taiyaki network saved them, thanking us for our hard work.
At last, I approached Rui, who had been patiently waiting outside. "Otsukaresamadeshita," I greeted the volunteer, bowing deeply. "Hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita."
"Otsukaresamadeshita, kochira koso," she thanked me with the same deep bow. "Rui-chan wa genki desu. Tsuyoi, very strong."
"Sou desu ne." I grinned at Rui. But as soon as I knelt in front of him, he went in for a hug, and then he started crying. "Ah, it's okay, honey. You're home now."
The volunteer patted his head. "Ii ne, ouchi jikan douzo," she said, telling Rui to enjoy family time.
I offered another grateful smile as she walked away. Holding Rui close to me with my good arm, I kissed the top of his head. "C'mon, your mom's waiting for us inside."
The house was a combination of tumbled bookshelves. Broken ceramics. Misplaced knick-knacks on the floor. Luckily, it was not as bad as the office. Keeping the house low paid off, because even our bedroom was tolerable compared to the disaster outside. Rui was still crying when we entered the bedroom, but the moment he saw Taylor again, he crawled to her side and quietly sobbed.
Rui draped his arm around her waist. "Mama, okiru," he whispered, trying to wake her.
Whenever my heart ached this way, the shooting pain manifested along my arm. I lingered by the door to watch them before I went to the kitchen. Our breakfast leftovers seemed out of place. Like it came from another timeline when life was pure sunshine and magical views. My brain glitched at how this fateful event changed our lives forever. With my useful hand, I placed a few pieces of taiyaki on a plate for Rui and grabbed a small box of milk. Trying to offer him a sense of normalcy in the middle of his trauma was the best I could do.
Walking into the bedroom again, I placed his snack on the nightstand. "Rui-chan, taiyaki tabetai?"
"Taiyaki tabetai," he echoed while wiping his tears. Then he sat up to drink his milk first before biting into the taiyaki. As he chewed, he reached for my sling. "Mama, daijoubu?"
I brushed his cheeks with my hand. "Daijoubu da yo. You're home, dakara."
"Hm." He nodded and checked my arm. "Dakko dekinai ne."
I let out a soft laugh. "I can't right now, honey. When it heals." Wrapping my other arm around him, I kissed his forehead. "Rui-chan wa genki da yo ne. Yokatta," I said, letting him know I was glad he was fine.
"Un," he mumbled, now distracted by his taiyaki and turning back to Taylor. "Mama, taiyaki tabetai?" His little hand softly touched her cheek. "Oishii."
Before the earthquake, seeing them this way was ordinary. Now it brought me to tears. The relief of knowing they were both home gave me enough permission to stop holding my breath. They were safe. Taylor needed more time, but she was here with us. Finally, I sat down beside her. Brushing her cheek with my thumb. A faint smile formed on her lips, making me smile back before leaning in to kiss her.
"I'm here, baby," I whispered, reaching for her hand and interlocking our fingers. "You're safe."
After Rui finished his snack, I sorted through our emergency kit and took advantage of the natural light from our windows to clean him up for the day. Holding a pack of towel wipes, I settled at the edge of the bed. "Rui-chan, oide."
When he saw me pull out a huge piece, he crawled closer to me. "Why no ofuro, Mama?"
"Your mom can hear you, you know?" I let out a soft laugh. "Ofuro wa muri muri. We can't do bath time today. Close your eyes, honey." When he squeezed them shut, I wiped remnants of dust and sweat from his small face. "Ah, kakkoii... Kawaii..."
He giggled with his eyes closed before pulling his shirt off as soon as I was done. "Hm. Tsumetai?" Rui stared at the fresh wipe, knowing it would be cold on his skin.
I grinned, supporting his bare back with my hand. "Sukoshi dake. Just a bit. Ready?" When he nodded, I wiped his neck first. The squealing that came after would have woken Taylor up, but she remained unconscious through Rui's whole clean-up routine. Down to putting him in fresh pajamas and brushing his teeth.
When I laid him beside Taylor, he held on to my wrist. "Mama, jishin kowakatta," he whispered, saying the earthquake scared him.
Nodding, I brushed his hair away from his face before planting a kiss on his forehead. "Rui-chan tsuyokatta ne. You were very brave."
"Un." His little fingers tightened around my wrist. "Kuruma ga ne bounced up and down... sugoi yureta no." Thinking about the Lexus shaking violently with them inside made me feel sick. "Demo ne, Mama was there. Mama stopped the car to hold my hand."
"Of course she did," I whispered. She would have remembered what to do. And her first instinct was always to protect Rui. "Atama, gotsun te shita no?" Glancing at Taylor, I asked if that was how she hit her head.
"Un. Bang te shita." Rui nodded, his eyelids growing heavy as exhaustion finally caught up to him. "Mama fell asleep... demo Rui was safe." He snuggled closer to her side, tucking his small hands under her arm. "Mama, tsuyoi ne?"
"Your mom's fierce, honey." I kissed his cheek this time. "We love her for it."
With the blanket over Rui, I stayed beside Taylor. "I'm sorry, baby," I whispered and lightly kissed her forehead. "I should've been there to protect you."
Finding comfort in her familiar warmth, I snuggled her neck and vowed to close my eyes for just a couple of minutes. But as soon as I relaxed, my mind overloaded with memories of the earthquake. The tsunami swallowing our town. And Rui's stories about surviving inside the car with Taylor. My shoulder throbbed with my breathing getting heavier.
"Fuck's sake," I mumbled and sat up, running a hand down my face. The sling around my neck made me hiss in pain when I tried to get up abruptly. Then Taylor's hand touched my back. I turned to her. "Tay?"
It took a moment before I finally saw her blue eyes again. They appeared glassy, and I didn't realize how much I'd already missed them. As her eyelids fluttered, she rasped, "Baby..."
"Oh my god," I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks. "I'm here, baby."
The corners of her mouth twitched upwards before saying, "Your arm..."
I shook my head and kissed her lips. "It's nothing. I'm okay."
"Stay..." Her eyes fell shut again.
"Okay, baby, I'll be here," I promised, cupping her cheek. "Daisuki."
She entered another round of deep sleep. It was a fleeting moment, but it gave me enough hope. That things would be okay. That even with the disaster being far from over, they were home. That I could still fulfill my promise to protect them with every aftershock. And be the light in the darkness of our home.
There was silence for a while until Taylor whispered, "Daisuki..."