Molly’s Reviews > Before the Coffee Gets Cold > Status Update

'At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present does not change. So it raises the question: just what is the point of that chair?'

But Kazu still goes on believing that, no matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart. And if the chair can change someone's heart, it clearly has its purpose.

'I'm sorry, Nagare,' Kei mumbled.

'What for?' Nagare asked, staring at the paper cranes.

'I'll go to the hospital tomorrow.'

At four weeks, it was a bit early to be calling it a baby, but that didn't deter her. In the morning she would start with 'good morning', and while calling Nagare 'Papa', she would set out to explain the events of the day. She found these imaginary conversations with her baby the highlight of any day.

But waiting to see Kumi's face would mean not being able to return to the present. This was something that Hirai was all too aware of. Yet even though she knew that she had to just drink up the coffee, the distance between the cup and her mouth remained the same.

If I drink this coffee now, I will never see my sister again. Even though I finally made her smile, it will never happen again. Yet she knew she would never be able to drink the coffee with Kumi's face in front of her.

That dream had not changed, and nor had her little sister, who was there in front of her with tears of joy streaming down her face. Her little sister Kumi, who had loved her big sis with all her heart, had, time after time, come to persuade her to return to the family, never giving up. While her parents had disowned her, Kumi had hung on to the belief that Hirai would come home.

'What dream?' she asked Kumi.

With red teary eyes, Kumi looked up and took a deep breath. To run the inn together. With you,' she replied. Her face transformed into a big smile

'This has always been my dream,' Kumi muttered, looking down, her tears spilling onto the table.

But even once Hirai knew about travelling to the past, she never once considered doing so herself. She lived life in the fast lane and had no regrets. And what was the point anyway, she thought, if the rules meant that you couldn't change the present, no matter how hard you tried?

That was, until Kumi died in a traffic accident.

Often the task of watching over her, still a young baby, fell to six-year-old Hirai. When she started elementary school, Hirai would give her a piggyback to school. It was a country school, and the teachers were understanding. If she started crying in class, Hirai was able to take her out of class to comfort her. In school Hirai was a reliable big sister, diligent in looking after her little sister.