‘You know there’s no way I would return here. At least, not to this house.’

Shoji’s mother glanced at him. ‘Do you still think about the past? You should learn to forgive and forget.’

He didn’t respond. She wouldn’t like what he had to say.

‘I met Uncle Hidetoshi when I was in Akakawa,’ Shoji said. ‘He asked me to send his regards to you. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you until now.’

She shifted her eyes. ‘How was he?’

‘He seemed well. Still in the police force. He has been redeployed to another city now.’

‘I see.’

Shoji looked at his mother. ‘The reason he left his job was because of Father, wasn’t it?’

She averted her eyes. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘It’s not something I can easily forget.’

‘Shoji, it happened so many years ago.’

‘I still remember it,’ he said. ‘And I still remember being beaten and locked up in the shed.’

His mother gave him a pleading look. ‘Can we not talk about it?’

Hearing that, Shoji’s anger rose. ‘You did nothing to stop him. You told me to lie about my injuries. You didn’t even say a word when my teacher came to visit us.’

She shook her head. ‘You don’t understand. It’s not like that.’

He stared into her eyes. ‘You’re my mother. All I wanted was for you to protect me.’

‘Shoji, your father did what he thought was right for you.’ She reached for his hand. ‘He might not be perfect, but he loves you. As a family, we should be understanding.’

He couldn’t believe what she was saying. ‘I’ve no idea why you stood by him, but let me make this clear. What he did was despicable.’

His mother went quiet. Shoji felt a pinch in his chest. It pained him to see her looking like that. He regretted bringing up the past, yet …

‘I’m sorry, but I’ve had enough of us pretending nothing happened,’ he said.

His mother looked at him with a pained expression.

What was he doing? He hadn’t come here for this. He took a deep breath. ‘Shall we take a look at the commemorative book?’

She said nothing, and he took it as agreement.

He reached for the paper bag and sat next to his mother. The hardcover book was thick and heavy. His mother ran her fingers over the cover. The chapters were organised by year. Shoji was in the club around 1991, so he flipped to the 1990–94 section.

He recognised some of the people in the photographs. The seniors in his club and the captain.

His mother pointed out a photograph. ‘That’s you.’