A Wonderful Reunion

The other day, my parents, my husband, and I　went to Tokyo.

The purpose of the trip was to see my mother’s younger sister. My mother is 88, and my aunt is 86. My aunt has lived in Tokorozawa in Saitama prefecture for 60 years. Due to family tragedies, health issues, COVID-19, and other circumstances, we hadn’t been able to meet for 10 years.

But they talk on the phone almost every day.

Suddenly, the thought crossed my mind: “If things keep going like this, the next time these two meet might be at one of their funerals…”

As for me, I hadn’t seen my cousin—my aunt’s daughter—in 10 years. Of course, we hadn’t spoken on the phone either. However, thanks to social media these days, we knew we were both doing well. So, we got in touch through social media and decided to arrange a meeting between our mothers.

It took a long time to arrange it. We had to take a lot of things into consideration. After all, both of them have some difficulty walking. They can walk, but not for long, and climbing stairs is a struggle.

So, what should we do? Where should we meet? What should we eat? Fortunately, they both love to eat. They can a full meal.

We asked my daughter, who lives in Tokyo, for advice, and decided that the four of us—my parents, my husband, and I—would travel to Tokyo. This was because my mother is in better health than my aunt (she can walk without a cane), and my father is also in good health and wanted to go to Tokyo to visit my daughter’s house and see his great-grandchild.

My cousin’s family took my aunt to the meeting place by car, Rihga Royal Hotel Tokyo.

First, we met my parents at Nagoya Station. They must have been really looking forward to it. They told me they arrived more than 30 minutes early. The four of us boarded the Shinkansen, ordered coffee, and before we knew it, Mount Fuji appeared, and we arrived in Tokyo. From there, we took a taxi to the hotel.

When we arrived, there were people waving at us.

It was my cousin’s family and my aunt. They looked so lively, and it was a joyful reunion. My mother had a wonderful smile on her face, too.

My daughter’s family joined us there as well.

There was a time when my daughter relied heavily on my aunt. My aunt would often visit my daughter’s apartment after she moved to Tokyo for university. Since we live in Nagoya and couldn’t visit often, my aunt would bring homemade meals made with love and even help clean the place. I think those moments meant the world to my daughter, who must have felt quite lonely. To her, my aunt was probably like a second grandmother.

This reunion was made possible because my daughter really wanted to see her aunt and took the initiative to look into it and make the arrangements.

While enjoying delicious Chinese food, we caught up on each other’s lives and reminisced over old photos—we were chatting nonstop. Afterward, we continued chatting in the tea room next door. Is it because we’re women that we can talk endlessly? Or was it because it had been so long? In any case, we talked so much that my jaw muscles started to ache.

Five hours might not have been enough for ten years’ worth of catching up. But there’s no doubt that we all had a wonderful time. I hope to create another opportunity like this soon.

Until then, I hope my parents and my aunt stay healthy and well.