Mina never thought she would have a life like that. That she would feel loved. She spent four years in foster care and no one even once wanted to take her in. Until the Hirai's saw her dancing in the garden, alone. And she couldn't be happier for those ten years. Her new family supported her with everything. She felt how it is to be put to sleep by a mother. How her hugs and kisses felt. She felt how caring she is. She felt how cool father is. How he always played on a console with her. The way his hand felt in hers. She felt how amazing sister is. Well, Momo might've been someone that needed to be taken care of. Mina always wiped Momo's face after they ate. She had to bring lunch for both of them because Momo always forgot. But they were always dancing together. Playing outside. Sharing laughs, smiles as well as tears. Mina loved them all. And she was sure they loved her too. 
"Alright. Mom's birthday is in three days. But I think we should go to buy her gift today. I will pick you up from school and we will walk around the stores." Momo and Mina were sitting in the middle of the night with their dad and were planning their mom's birthday, with utmost precision. They always did their best to prepare incredible memories on everyone's birthdays.
"Sure. We will think about it at school as well." Mina said and patted half-asleep Momo on the head. Momo opened her eyes and nodded fast. Their dad laughed a little.
"Good. So now go get some sleep. I don't want Momo to sleep in class later." Their dad got up from the chair and kissed them on the head. They said their goodnights and the sisters were left alone in the kitchen.
"I won't carry you upstairs." Momo pouted cutely at Mina and looked at her with puppy eyes. She knew she could win with her sister. 
"Please, Mina. I am too sleepy." Momo used her cutest voice to win Mina over even more. Mina couldn't say no. But she knew it would be quite tricky. At least she was glad she was going to the gym with Momo and she has some strength. Mina crouched in front of the chair Momo was sitting on and waited. "Just don't throw yourself at me." It's obvious what Momo did. She let her body slam on Mina. The two of them nearly met the floor but Mina was able to balance them at the last moment. Mina decided not to say anything. She knew Momo wouldn't care. She got up steadily and Momo held on to her tightly.
"Love you." Momo whispered. Mina really wanted to say it back. But she never was good at saying her feelings out loud. "I know you love me too, no worries. But can you walk faster, I want to get in bed already." Mina let go of Momo and the girl slid down on the ground.
"Then walk yourself. It would be the fastest way." Mina smiled innocently at Momo and headed for her room. Momo grinned as she watched Mina's disappearing figure. But she would definitely get her revenge the next day. She got up from the floor and made her way to her room.
The next morning Momo got her revenge. She made Mina give her a kiss. Well for Mina it really was a challenge. But Momo felt fulfilled. They went about their day as usual. Before school, they talked a little with their parents. They said goodbye and left. They didn't really worried about anything. Until their dad didn't pick them up and didn't answer their calls.
"We should call mom. But he probably had to stay longer and is busy now." Mina tried to say anything that would make Momo calm down a little. Momo was on the verge of panicking. She had a bad feeling. And she didn't want to find out that she was right. Mina didn't wait for Momo's answer, she knew she most likely won't get one. She just called their mom. She didn't know anything but she said she would call their dad's workplace. So they had to wait. With Mina trying everything to make Momo calm. Though she was just as panicked. Mina's phone rang sooner than she expected. And when she saw it was their mom she knew it won't be anything good.
"Mina." Mrs. Hirai's voice was shaky and it was quiet. Mina bit her lower lip to keep her emotions under control. "Dad's in the hospital. He had a ." It was painful to listen. Their mom barely managed to get those words through . Mina bit her lip even harder. 
"We will be there soon, mom." Mina ended the call and took a deep breath before looking at Momo. Momo was watching her with big eyes. Mina could see the hope in them and she couldn't kill it. 
"What happened?" Momo saw the blood running out of Mina's lips. So she knew it wasn't anything good. 
"Dad had a . He's at the hospital, mom's there. We need to go there now." Mina tried to keep her voice stable and she grasped Momo's hand. Momo couldn't say anything the whole time they were on the bus. She just clung to Mina's arm and prayed that they would see their dad. That they would laugh it off when he gets out of the hospital. They had so many things to do still. Mina, on the other hand, just hoped that their mom didn't have to watch their dad die. She could tell by the way their mom talked that it was probably too late to save him. And she was already feeling the devastation inside. She just couldn't show it. She had to be strong for Momo and their mom. She would be. Because if she failed then how good she would actually be? She would be a disappointment. She probably already was if her biological parents got rid of her. But she spent her life being the best for her family and she wouldn't fail them in such a time.
No one had to watch Mr. Hirai die. They all arrived when he was already gone. Their mom was crying while clinging on to his body. Momo was sitting on the chair on the other side and she held onto his hand. Mina stood behind Momo and held her tightly. She stood there so that Momo wouldn't see her tears. She stared at their dad's face and couldn't believe it. He wasn't there anymore. 

It was hard to get their life together after that. But the three of them supported each other like no other. They never let each other fall into a dark place. They were slowly gaining back their joy. They knew that their dad would want that. For his family to enjoy life even without him. Somehow they really couldn't enjoy it too much though. Just as they were getting happy again another devastating news had to appear. They somehow felt like this time it's worse. Their father passed so unexpectedly and he didn't suffer a lot. Their mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and had about a year left. They were not handling it well. Neither of them. But Mina tried to be the one that was strong for everyone again. She always held Momo until she fell asleep. She always was the one that tried to keep their conversations off the illness. Though it was terrifying when life slowly started leaving their mom. 
"Are you going abroad to study in the end?" Mina stopped knitting the hat and looked at her mom lying in the hospital bed. She didn't want to think about that then. She wanted to only have their mom in her mind.
"I don't know. We don't want to leave you like that. How are you going to live without us?" Mrs. Hirai shook her head. Mina was fully aware of the fact that their mom would die soon. They were all fully aware of that.
"Go. You deserve a new life. You will achieve a lot." Mina sighed and played with the hat in her hand. 
"Tell that to Momo. She doesn't want to go anywhere." Mrs. Hirai knew that. She was very scared of leaving her daughters. She had accepted her fate but nonetheless, when she thought about the way Momo and Mina would be alone and devastated, she couldn't accept it. 
"I will. Promise me something, sweetheart." Mina hated the sound of their mother's voice. It was barely audible and it was hoarse. And it paired horribly with the way she looked. Like death. 
"Please, take care of yourself." Mina looked away.
"I will take care of Momo, mom. And I am fine." Mrs. Hirai rolled her eyes. Why couldn't she eliminate this side of Mina? That was not good for her. 
"I know you will. That is why I am not worried about Momo. She will always have you. But how will she help you if you would never let her? Don't pretend to be strong. Let yourself be weak, Mina." Mrs. Hirai grasped Mina's hand. The hold was very weak. Mina hated the feeling of it. It was cold and weak. It just reminded her more about the inevitable end. But she held their mother's hand tight.
"If I won't be strong, who would be. It's my job to be strong. Momo tries as well but she isn't good at controlling emotions and it only hurts her more, mom. I won't let anything happen to us." Mina was pulled into their mom's arms and she felt warm. Even if their mom was cold, she still radiated the mother's warmth.
"I am not going for the drinks again. Some dude ran into me and spilled everything on me. The audacity." Momo entered the room with a pout and three cups of tea. Mina and their mom had to giggle at how cute Momo looked then. 
"My poor darling. Come here. Thank you for your sacrifice." Momo sat next to Mina and lied her body on the bed so that their mom could her head.
"I will go the next time. Thank you." Mina squeezed Momo's hand. Momo grasped Mina's hand when she sat on the chair and was glad that Mina didn't let go.
"Alright. If that dude appears again I am sure you would scare him with your glare." Momo laughed along with their mom at the joke. Mina only shook her head but a small smile was playing on her face.
If there was a time of the year when Momo and Mina didn't want to say goodbye to their mom, it was definitely Christmas time. Their mother was getting weaker with every passing day though. They just hoped it would be after the New Year's. Something surprising happened though. When they came to the hospital for Christmas Eve their mom was sitting in a chair looking outside. She wasn't looking like death then. She looked almost healthy. She greeted them with a huge smile and got up to give them a warm hug.
"Good morning. Isn't it beautiful today? There is so much snow." Momo and Mina couldn't help their happy smiles. Their mother looked so full of life then. It was such a big contrast to how she looked like most of the time. 
"It is. Do you feel better? Maybe you could go outside." Momo's words made their mom think for a moment. She nodded after a moment and pressed the red button to call the nurse. They didn't wait for long. The nurse informed them that they could take a walk around the hospital's garden but only for half an hour. It was enough for them. They dressed their mom warmly and put her in a wheelchair. Their walk around the garden was spent in comfortable silence. They just admired the scenery. It really felt like Christmas. Magical. Then they came back to the room. They were able to eat delicious food and watch a movie. Their mom was doing everything with so much excitement. Momo and Mina tried to get rid of the small thought at the back of their heads. That it looked like their mom was trying to enjoy her last Christmas. They wanted to believe it was just that their mom felt better so she had the strength to act that way. They stayed at the hospital until evening. They were actually allowed to stay the night there because it was Christmas. So the three of them were lying in the bed, squeezed for everyone to have space. Their mom was lying in the middle. She was their hair.
"I love you two so much. Thank you for spending this day with me. Thank you for everything." Momo and Mina tightened their hold on their mom. They were glad they could spend the day like this.
"We love you too, mom. Let's watch the news tomorrow to see the big Christmas tree in the city. We still haven't seen it." Momo talked with excitement. Their mother stopped their hair and just kept her hands on their heads.
"Of course, darling." Momo was satisfied with the answer. 
"We can try going out again. Maybe we could see the tree not just through the TV." Mina's suggestion was met with Momo's happy nods. That sounded much better. Their mom was feeling better so she will surely go.
"Yep. And let's get some sweets in the city. And get some delicious food." Momo continued on. The two sisters were exchanging the plans between themselves. Their mother was just listening. Only after more or less 10 minutes, they addressed their mom.
"Mom, what do you think?" Nothing. There was no answer. Mina and Momo shared a look. They thought that their mom just fell asleep. So they got up and Momo nudged their mom on the side. Once, twice and after the third time, she started calling out to her. Mina grabbed Momo from behind and dragged her away from the bed. She knew what happened. And she was sure Momo also realized that. She dragged yelling Momo out of the room and she hoped that the nurse heard that. The nurses' office was very close to their mother's room. And she did. The nurse ran out of the office and met a fighting Momo that tried to get out of Mina's tight hold. She was yelling at Mina to let her go with tears falling violently form her eyes. The nurse's stomach dropped. She got attached to Mrs. Hirai and her daughters and now she was gone. Mina was glad Momo couldn't use her whole strength at that state. She wasn't as strong as Momo. She couldn't hold her tears but she kept calm. She had to be strong for Momo. The nurse looked at her apologetically before she went into the room. Mina nodded at her. 
"Mina, let go! For 's sake! Let me go! ing let me go!" Momo lost her strength then. She collapsed on the ground and started crying uncontrollably. Mina never let go of her. 
"I am so sorry. Momo." Mina whispered into Momo's head. She watched the doctor walk their way and he looked at them with sadness in his eyes. 
"I am so sorry, Momo, Mina. We didn't expect that. We should have. Please, accept my deepest condolences. And I am sure you are aware of that but I still need to say it. Your mother is dead." The quiet hospital hallway was filled with Momo's loud cries in agony. Mina said thank you to the doctor and wiped her eyes with one hand. Though it was useless. More tears were coming after.