The sky was grey and overcast, seeming to reflect the feeling within Mina’s heart. Gloom settled within her as she watched a few raindrops trickle down the pane of glass. The curtains had been pulled aside and Mina watched through the window overlooking the front garden. Cars were parked in a line as another pulled up the paved driveway. The driver got out of the car and she recognised her uncle, stepping forward to help her auntie and Ritsu. The family was dressed in formal wear as Mina was and began walking towards the door. Suddenly, her uncle stopped and looked up, making eye contact with Mina. Freezing instantly at the unexpected action, she watched as he smiled and continued walking.

Sighing, she walked over towards the door, feeling a weight of obligation to go downstairs and eat breakfast with the rest of her family. She glanced at her reflection in the wall length mirror in her closet noting the way her attire seemed to emphasise her gloom. She was wearing a conservative black wrap dress with long sleeves and a tailored jacket to keep her warm. Today was the fifth anniversary of her mother’s death and her father would be taking the family to her mother’s resting place to pay respects. Sighing once again, she tried to twist into a smile and hoped that the minimal makeup she had put on would be enough to hide the black circles around her eyes. She exited her room, shutting the door behind her to join the group downstairs.

Her aunt and cousin were already seated at the table and eating their breakfast while her uncle engaged in conversation with her father. She took a seat and greeted her relatives then tried to look as occupied as she could, bowing her head to eat her cereal. The chef placed a basket of freshly baked croissants on the table and Mina took one, giving her compliments although all she tasted was a leaden lump of bread. Nothing good seemed to be possible today, a reminder of the loss of joy that had occurred years ago. She stopped eating as she felt someone poke her leg under the table and frowned as Ritsu giggled up at her. She pretended to be annoyed and faked a kick, sending her cousin scrambling to crawl away. Her aunt looked under the table and scolded her cousin and she plastered a smile on her face to match the exasperated one her aunt sent her.

Finally after some time, the men seemed to be finished with the conversation and they got up to walk outside. It was spitting droplets and the wind blew everyone’s hair across their faces, hurrying them towards the car. It was nearly an hour’s trip to her mother’s grave so Mina decided to take a nap, seated beside her cousin. As per tradition, her father was the one driving and her uncle was seated in the passenger seat; the best friends catching up on some lost time. The drive was relatively silent and Mina, unable to fall asleep, watched the outside world. There was no traffic and soon the clustered streets of Seoul gave way to the emptier and freer rural areas of Wonju. The wind was blowing and it seemed to be still spitting as the occasional droplets would splash against the car window.

The weather was quite ferocious and the wind picked up, rocking the car from side to side. Mina looked panicked towards her father but he didn’t seem to notice. She watched horrified as they continued driving towards an incoming wall of grey. A storm had somehow created a hurricane inland and it was now blowing towards them, debris flying past the car. The wind roared around them and in the midst of it something sounded. Her father suddenly stopped the car and got out, walking in the open towards the storm. As the hurricane neared, her father continued walking and she screamed silently as he disappeared in the mass of grey.

The swirling wind engulfed their car and the vehicle rocked. Someone seemed to be calling her name and she strained her ears, trying to find out who it was. Something knocked into the front windshield and cracks spread across the glass. That voice again. Who was speaking to her? Another rock of the car and Mina watched as a large piece of concrete flew towards their car and smas-

Mina opened her eyes and drew in a sharp breath, blinking rapidly as her eyes darted around before turning to see her aunt gently shaking her shoulder. “Mina, time to wake up. We’re here,” Mayumi said. “Are you alright?” Mina nodded and as her aunt walked away, placed a hand over her chest. Her heart was racing and it beat a rapid rhythm to her skin. She must have nodded off when they were driving and had a nightmare. She shook her head and stepped out of the car, walking briskly to catch up to her aunt. There was already a small group of people surrounding her mother’s grave, some she recognised and more she didn’t. She had still been a young girl uninterested in the lives of her father’s business when her mother had passed away and she guessed that many were former and current employees or colleagues of her parents.

Her father walked straight to the headstone and set down the bouquet he had brought. The orange blossoms made for a surprisingly simple bouquet and Mina wondered why her father had brought those specific flowers. She rarely knew what he was thinking anymore with their still being an unbreakable ice between them. Her father was kneeling, not seeming to care for the wetness of the well-tended grass until her uncle walked forward and he got up. Other people stepped forward to place gifts and trinkets under the epitaph as Mina decided to stand back. She hadn’t brought anything to put forward and a part of her felt guilty for having not done so. After a while, the gathered people had all dispersed and only their family was left.

Mayumi took Mina’s hand and led her towards the grave and knelt down as her father had done, giving a silent prayer. Mina stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say, having known her mother the least out of all the people present save her cousin who seemed to have noticed the sombre mood and stayed silent. Her aunt seemed to have finished and stood up, her eyes wet with tears. Mina stared in surprise and an ache panged her heart as her aunt smiled. She let herself be dragged into a hug, softening against the gentle embrace.

‘Come on, let it out. We’re all waiting for you to do so.’

Mina grinned wryly as her own tears appeared. “Isn’t it a bit strange to be crying when I’m this old?” she asked. Mayumi snorted softly and tightened her hold around Mina. “Nah, we all do it,” she answered then added with a final squeeze, “Crybaby.” Mina buried her face in her aunt’s shoulder, suddenly embarrassed. After taking a few deep breaths, she felt calm enough to look up and saw her father staring up at the sky. She walked forward to hug him and he looked down at her surprised before returning the hug, rubbing her hair fondly. They separated and walked back to the car, making the trip back towards Seoul.

An hour later, they parted ways with her uncle’s family as her father dropped them off at their house. Ritsu was asleep in Mayumi’s arms and Mina gently pinched her cute cousin’s cheek and accep