The taxi pulled away, leaving the quiet of the apartment complex to settle around them like a held breath.
Taichi Arifukua stood close to his mother's side, his small hand wrapped tightly in hers. He was only five, with short black hair that never quite lay flat and bright green eyes that took in everything too seriously for someone so young. The building in front of them was tall and gray, its paint a little chipped, its windows all the same. It wasn't ugly… but it wasn't warm either.
Ren Mori knelt and brushed dust from Taichi's sleeve.
"This is our place for now, okay?"
She said gently.
Taichi nodded, but his lower lip trembled.
A kind-faced manager led them up the stairs and down a narrow hallway, then stopped before a door and unlocked it.
"Here you are. Room 304."
Ren thanked him, and when the door opened, a faint smell of old wood and dust drifted out.
