Kimiko looked at the necklace she received from Kiyoshi. “I was sure that he had forgotten my birthday...” She covered her drooping face with both hands, and her shoulders began to heave.

Kiyoshi tried to take in what he was hearing. He had never once thought about splitting up. But presented with Kimiko’s account, he could see how she could have interpreted it that way. At the time, he had been swamped with a load of big cases, and his lack of sleep and rest never seemed to end. At the same time, he was doubly burdened by his own doubt that he was cut out to be a detective. He had been avoiding any kind of conversation with her out of fear that he would reveal that he was thinking of quitting. He saw now how she could have interpreted his attitude as symptomatic of feeling unhappy in the marriage.

I feel terrible that I gave that impression...

We can never truly see into the hearts of others. When people get lost in their own worries, they can be blind to the feelings of those most important to them. Kiyoshi didn’t know what he should say to his wife crying in front of him. He was currently pretending to be just a stranger who happened to be in the café on this day. Moreover, in just a few hours from now, she would lose her life. Although he knew it would happen, there was nothing he could do.

He reached out slowly and picked up the cup. Judging by the temperature of the cup against his palm, the coffee was nearly cold. The next moment, he found himself saying words that even took him by surprise.

“After I married you, I never once thought of breaking up.” He knew he could not change reality. However, the thought that Kimiko was going to die with such unease lingering was more than he could bear. He didn’t care whether she believed him or not, he wanted to reveal his identity and dismiss just one cause of her suffering. Only he could do this. “I’ve come from thirty years in the future,” he announced to Kimiko, who was staring at him wide-eyed. “The important matter I wanted to tell you was about something else.”

He gave a little cough and sat up straight. Feeling embarrassed and apologetic as Kimiko stared at him intensely, he pulled his cap farther over his head.

“The truth is, I planned on telling you that I wanted to give up being a detective,” he explained. He had the peak of the cap covering his eyes, so he could not see how Kimiko was reacting to his story. Nevertheless, he continued.