One day at the beginning of 2024, my family and I were sitting at our “kotatsu” and watching a drama. Then my father suddenly began to cry!  We were confused. We didn’t know why he was crying. It wasn’t like someone had died in the scene we were watching at that time. “Why are you crying?” we wanted to know. The scene was of two young people discussing how to get permission from their parents to marry. My father apparently imagined that one day such a time would come for him. It’s funny to think that he will cry like that again if and when I get married.    By Hideka