"Dad, Mom. I have something important to talk about."
When I said that, my parents didn't react with alarm or concern. Instead, they responded in a cold, detached tone.
"What is it? It's probably nothing important. Stop wasting time and get back to your studies."
"No, it's very important. It's not just about me; it's about my sister too."
"Fine, then make it quick. Don't waste my time."
My father urged me to continue, not even trying to hide his irritation. My mother, thinking this was just a discussion between us and our father, began to leave, but I stopped her.
"Mom, please stay. This is a conversation for our whole family."
So we all sat down in the living room. We gather like this every morning, but for some reason, today felt different, like it was the first time. Maybe it was because, in the mornings, my mother is usually in the kitchen, and my father is buried in his newspaper.
"So, what's this about? You know there's less than a year until your entrance exams, right?"
"Dad, Mom. We've decided to become adopted by someone else."
My sister and I had debated how to break the news. We considered asking how they felt about us or framing it as a consultation, but in the end, we decided it was best to be direct. We didn't expect them to take it seriously no matter how we said it, so we went straight to the point. I waited for their reaction, but my father didn't take us seriously and continued in a patronizing tone.
"What nonsense are you spouting? If you have time for such foolishness, then use it to study!"
"Oh, Kaya, that wasn't clear enough. You should tell them we're leaving the house, so they need to agree to the adoption."
"What did you just say? How dare you speak like that after everything we've done for you!"
My father exploded in anger, provoked by my sister's words. His yelling still made me freeze, but I knew that if I backed down now, nothing would change.
"…Raised us? What are you talking about? You've only ever cared about results. I don't remember you ever teaching me anything or doing anything for me!"
I wasn't supposed to lose my cool, but I couldn't help raising my voice. I had been told to stay calm until the end, but I couldn't hold it in.
"How dare you talk back to your parents like that! It's your fault for failing. I provided you with everything you needed to study. And yet—"
"Alright, that's enough. Both of you are getting too emotional. Kaya, I told you to stay calm. Let's have a constructive conversation."
"Y-yes. What is this about adoption? What's going on?"
Just as the situation was about to escalate further, my sister's calm but firm voice brought the room to a standstill. Finally, my mother spoke up.
"I'll explain. As I said, we're leaving the house. But just leaving would cause problems with various contracts, so we need you to agree to the adoption. Can you do that for us?"
"This is absurd. How could we possibly agree to such a thing? What's there to be unhappy about? You're so fortunate."
"Yes, I don't understand. What did we do wrong?"
They really didn't get it. It was expected, given that they didn't have the memories we had, but still… Maybe not. Failing my entrance exams was just the catalyst. Even before that, I had been slowly falling apart.
"Did you ever praise me for my efforts? Even when I didn't succeed, did you ever say, 'Good job, you did your best, let's try again'? Did you ever celebrate my birthday? Did we ever go anywhere as a family? And most importantly, did you ever let me do what I wanted?"
"Why are you bringing this up now? If there are no results, it's as if nothing was done at all. That's only natural. And we provided everything you needed. You lacked for nothing."
"Why don't you understand? I just wanted to be acknowledged. I wanted you to see me. But it didn't matter if it was me or anyone else, did it?"
"You should only be saying things like that after you've worked yourself to the bone! So…"
"See, Kaya? I told you. We'll never be able to understand each other."
My sister stood up and whispered something into our father's ear.
"How do you know about that?"
"Don't worry, I won't expose it. Just agree to let us be adopted."
"Wait a minute. You too, Yuu? You're going to leave?"
"Of course. There's no reason for me to stay in this house without Kaya."
"…Fine."
What did she say to him? She had mentioned having a backup plan, but I never imagined it would be this effective. Even so, we still couldn't understand each other.
"But, Dad, how can you—what will Mom say?"
"…It's already decided. You're no longer my daughters."
He had said something similar before. I guess it's still impossible. In that case, I'll tell Mom what I've wanted to say for a long time.
"Mom, you've always been like this, haven't you? Always worried about how others see you, never looking at us. We're going to be free now, so maybe you should try to be free too."
My mother crumbled, letting out a meaningless groan. I had nothing more to say, so I went back to my room. My sister and I crawled into bed together and fell asleep. It took a long time to fall asleep, but I kept my eyes closed tightly, fearing that if I opened them, the tears would fall. My sister held me gently, comforting me.
Finally, the day arrived. After finishing all the paperwork, my sister and I were about to leave the house for the last time when my father spoke to me.
"My family was poor, and we had nothing. I studied desperately to change that and worked hard to achieve what I have today. That's why I believed that as long as you could study, you would be happy."
It sounded more like he was talking to himself than to us. But I felt I had to respond.
"I see. Maybe if I'd heard that sooner, things might have been different. But still, thank you. I think one day we'll be able to build a good relationship."
And with that, I walked out of the house without looking back.