CHAPTER 148: CHAPTER 148 – “FULL CIRCLE”

The late spring breeze swept through the countryside home, rustling the curtains in the study where Ren was seated, scribbling designs on a paper pad. Across the room, Aoi was reading with their younger daughter, Hina, now a talkative child of five who adored painting and anything pink.

"Papa," she giggled, "you drew a robot wearing a dress!"

Ren looked at the drawing and smirked.

"That’s because it’s HinaBot—powered by giggles and sparkles."

Just then, Hikari’s voice echoed from the hallway—breathless, excited:

"Mom! Dad! I got in!"

Aoi immediately stood up, heart skipping.

"Got in where?"

Hikari, now a graceful seventeen-year-old, with long dark hair tied up in a ribbon and her father’s calm gaze, held up her acceptance letter.

"The university. The same one you two went to. I got in!"

A Reunion of Dreams

The living room turned into a chorus of joyful noise. Ren rose slowly, taking the letter with trembling hands. His eyes scanned it once, then twice, before turning toward Aoi, who was already wiping tears from her eyes.

"It’s the same program... engineering and design," Hikari said. "I want to build things that help people too. Like you."

Aoi pulled her into a hug, the smell of lilacs clinging to Hikari’s school blouse.

"You’ve made us so proud."

Ren smiled but said nothing for a while. He just stood there, watching the two most important women in his life. Then he stepped forward and placed his hand gently on Hikari’s shoulder.

"Be better than me, Hikari. Be kinder, gentler. Build not just for the future... but for the people in it."

"I will," she whispered, her voice catching with emotion.

An Evening to Remember

That night, the family set up a celebration under the stars. Fairy lights strung across the pergola Ren had built years ago. Lucia played soft jazz in the background while Hina danced barefoot with sparklers in the garden.

Aoi brought out a small cake decorated with edible gears and a tiny model of Hikari’s dream: a lab with glass walls and gardens on the roof.

"You made this?" Hikari asked.

"Together," Aoi replied, glancing at Ren. "Like everything that matters."

A Quiet Talk

Later, when the night grew quiet and Hina had fallen asleep on a picnic blanket, Hikari sat beside Ren under the stars.

"Were you scared?" she asked. "When you left home to chase your dreams?"

Ren nodded slowly.

"Every single day. But then I met your mom. And the fear turned into something else—purpose."

Hikari leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I hope I meet someone like that too."

Ren smiled.

"You will. But don’t look for them. Just walk your path. If they’re meant to be part of it... they’ll catch up."

A Glimmer of Tomorrow

As the wind swept through the field one more time, Ren looked up at the sky—the same sky that had watched him fall in love, build a life, and now... send his daughter off to write her own story.

In the distance, Lucia softly dimmed the garden lights, and inside the house, Aoi covered Hina with a blanket, humming an old lullaby.

And so, the story began again.

Not with Ren or Aoi—but with Hikari.

A girl raised in love, born from dreams, and now, reaching for her own stars.