I ran as fast as I could to tell Kaede about Mom. I don't know if she will believe me or not but I'll say what mom wanted me to say to her to fulfil my promise

As soon as I reached my house, I put the groceries in front of the door and quickly searched my pockets for the keys. I hastily took them out and unlocked the door

As soon as I opened door, I could hear sounds coming from the TV and Kaede's laughter

The moment I knew she was still awake, I rushed down to the hall and saw her sitting on the sofa watching TV. Hearing my footsteps she saw me and got a little scared

“Woah! What are yo-…...Onii-chan?”

She looked relieved after noticing it was me

“Phew…Don't suddenly show up like that, you scared me. I thought someone had broken into the house. You didn't even say ‘I'm back’ ”

She glanced at my clothes and gave a concerned look

“Onii-chan, what's wrong? Your shirt is torn and your face is a mess. You look like you just ran a marathon through a jungle. What happened?”

She got up from the sofa and walked towards me. She stood in front of me and placed her hand on my cheeks and told

“There's dirt all over you and your face looks a little bruised. What happened?……..Hm!”

She looked like she realized something

“Onii-Chan, don't tell me…”

She had a anxious look on her face

“…you got into a fight”

”A fight?”

“I know you never do rash things without a reason but fighting with others is still-….Wait! Even if you got into a fight with others, you never would have gotten injured. I mean I've never seen you get injured or lose a fight before. You could defeat anyone even with your eyes closed. If it's not that, then what happened?”

She was worried that something had happened to me and was looking at me with a distraught face. I didn't want to see her to look at me with those worrying eyes, so I quickly put my hands around her and hugged her tightly

“Onii-chan!? What are you doing?!”

She tried to push me away but couldn't since I was holding her tightly

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“I know you’re a sis-con but suddenly hugging me is a little too much. You reek of sweat and it's getting on me. If you want a hug so badly, you could have just asked me. I would have-”

I gently told

“Kaede listen to me…”

Kaede stopped struggling. She raised her head and looked at me with an anxious face. She must have felt the seriousness in my voice

I then looked at her and said

“Listen carefully, this is a message from mom”

“M-Mom?”

Her voice trembled and her eyes widened when I mentioned her. Well of course she would react like that, Kaede loved mom more than anything in the world and suddenly mentioning her is…..

*sigh* Well here goes nothing

I then told the whole story of how I was about to be in a accident and how our mother came from above and saved me. I replaced the part where I was almost killed by a truck with a minor accident, as I didn't want her to worry

I then went on telling about how I talked to her and that she seemed to be doing well in heaven. Finally I told her mom's final message to her

I told everything she said without missing a word

During the whole time I was telling her what had happened, she was looking at me with a blank expression and didn't utter a single word from start to finish

I couldn't tell if she believed me or not

Although it's hard to believe, it's the truth. Even if she doesn't believe me now, I have to find a way to make her understand it was real. I can't really say I fulfilled my mother's wish if Kaede doesn't believe me

”Kaede, I know it's hard to believe. But what I'm saying is-”

!

She suddenly clenched the front of my shirt tightly as if she was using it to support herself with it and buried her face into my chest

“Kaede? What's wron-”

In a very soft voice she said

“Onii-chan…”

Her hands were shaking

“Yes Kaede”

“How was mom?”

So she believes me

“Is she doing okay in heaven?”

First time I've heard about someone worrying about someone in heaven, a place where there are no worries

I wanted to make her feel assured that our mom was doing well so I smiled and told

“What are you talking about? She's doing better than ever before. She looked like she was enjoying heaven to the fullest. And the best part is she hasn't changed one bit. I mean she looked like she hadn't aged even a day and even looked younger. She even shouted at me with her scary voice like back then. When she shouted at me today, I instinctively reacted and obeyed her like before. Haha, looks like my fear for her is still running deep inside of me. With her personality she might have even made god kneel before her. But the worst part is, even in heaven she stills favors you and even called you the favorite child in front of my eyes. How horrible is that?”

While she was still buried in my chest she told

“Hehe! I'm the favorite child, sucks to be you Onii-chan”

She sounded cheerful and delighted but being with her ever since the moment she was born, I knew she was hiding what she really wanted to say

She was trying to keep it all inside for my sake as she didn't want me to worry. But that was no good since feelings are meant to be expressed

Be it happiness or sadness, it's always best to express yourself. If you do, others can either share your joy or help you through your grief. So I told

“It's just like mom said, you've become a strong girl who can rely on herself. You don't always cry like you did back then and I'm proud of that”

I put my hand on Kaede's head and gently patted her and told

“But Kaede, there are moments like this when you don't have to keep it all to yourself“

She flinched and said in a quivering voice

“B-But I'm not keeping anything to myself. I'm just happy you got to see mom. That's all there is to it”

I smiled and told

“I don't really think you’re making it believable when you’re talking to my chest”

”I-I just feel like doing it, there's nothing else I want to-”

I interrupted her since she wasn't going to budge that easily and said

”Kaede....You may put on a smiley face when you're with your friends or acquaintances, so that you can make everyone around you happier and that's normal. Giving the best impression to others is human nature and there's nothing wrong in it. But understand this Kaede, when you’re in front of your family you don't need to hold it in anymore“”

She reacted a bit and loosened her grip on me

“We will accept you no matter what face you show us, no matter how hideous and revolting it may be. We will accept the true you or anything you decide to show us as long as you’re happy. Even if the world doesn't give you a place to be, your family will always be waiting for you. No matter how selfish and arrogant you may become, family will never abandon you and will stay by your side”

I stroked her head gently and told

“So Kaede…What do you really want to say?”

She pulled my shirt tighter and buried her face, more into my chest and asked in a timid voice

“I don't have to hold back anymore?”

“Yep”

“I can say anything I want to?”

“Yes Kaede, let it all out”

She paused for a second and said

“Th-Then, it's not fair”