And there will be days

It is the days like these, watching the boys take their first steps into manhood,



and the girls take their last steps out of childhood;



watching a boy named Shogo who is fearless in English class, fight like a demon to win 5 fights in a row, against boys twice his size,



while the old women beat their drums, and cheer on their pint-sized champions.

It is the days like these, watching children follow in their fathers' footsteps, as far away from the lights and explosions of Tokyo as one can go, that I am aware of the rare gift I have been given.

I get to watch an island grow up.