The Sound of a Silent Life

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When the two arrived at the entrance of the park, there were only a few time capsule toys left under the small shed. Shouko hurriedly walked up to the female staff member who had worked there in the morning and said,

"Sorry, sister, I forgot to buy one from you, so I returned at noon."

The female staff member heard her say this and then remembered that there was still this matter. She hurriedly waved her hand to show that it didn't matter. Then she said a little embarrassedly, "It's a pity that there are only these few left. Do you want one?" She pointed to the remaining ugly time capsules on the table.

"Let me take a look first..." Shouko looked in the direction she pointed and felt they were a bit special...

"Okay, call me if you want one." After saying this, the female staff member retreated to a chair to sit and rest. She thought that it probably wouldn't be sold.

In the end, Shouko chose a purple-red wild boar-shaped time capsule that could be twisted open by grabbing its head and tail. After paying 500 yen, she walked back slowly with Tsuna, who was waiting behind her.

"Tsuna, what do you think we should put in it?" On the way back, Shouko couldn't wait to ask the person beside her.

Tsuna took the time capsule from her hand, looked at it, and said slowly, "This size... can't hold many things. It's better to let everyone write a letter and put it in."

"That's fine! Let's go back and let Yuzuru and the others write first." Shouko agreed with his idea as soon as she heard it. She gently broke free from his hand and wanted to run back, wishing she could fly back now.

Tsuna hurriedly reached out and grabbed Shouko, who was about to start running, and persuaded her, "Hey, hey, hey, don't be in such a hurry."

"Hehe... I was kidding." Shouko gave him a sly smile.

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"Haha... It's so ugly." Shizuka couldn't help laughing when she saw the time capsule held by Tsuna as soon as the two walked into the living room.

"How can it be ugly? It's so cute," Shouko tried her best to argue, but it didn't work at all.

Tsuna ignored his mother's laughter, put the things in his hand on the coffee table, and turned to ask Daisuke, who was watching TV, "Dad, do we have any spare envelopes at home?"

Daisuke guessed what his son meant at once, but still asked, "Do you want to write a letter and put it in?" After Tsuna nodded in response, he stood up and rummaged through the storage cabinet in the dining room, then took out a dozen and handed them to his son.

"Shouko, go back and let Yuzuru and the others write." Tsuna took out a dozen white sheets of notepaper and handed them to Shouko, who was chatting with Shizuka.

"Yeah." Shouko nodded and took them. After Shizuka finished the last sentence, Shouko stood up, said she would talk later, and quickly walked out of the living room.

After watching Shouko leave, Tsuna returned to the living room and saw that his mother had already picked up a pen and started writing on the white paper. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mom, why are you writing one?"

"You asked Shouko to take those back and ask Yuzuru and the others to write theirs. Will you forget about us?" Shizuka said as she wrote without raising her head and added, "Even if you forget to let me write, my lovely Shouko will let me write."

"Dad, this is yours." Tsuna ignored his mother's last words and handed a piece of paper to Daisuke, who was still watching TV.

"No hurry. I'll wait for your mother to finish writing first."

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"I'm back!" Shouko held the paper in her left hand, opened the door of her house with her right hand, and shouted loudly inside.

Yuzuru, leaning his head on Hachiko's belly, noticed the things in his sister's hands as she walked into the living room and asked in confusion, "Sister, what are you holding in your hands? Didn't you say you were going to buy a time capsule? Is that it?"

Shouko took out two sheets and handed them to Yuzuru, slowly explaining, "White paper. I'm giving it to you to write a letter, and then we'll put it in the time capsule."

Ito and Yaeko, who were sitting next to the coffee table in the living room, also took the paper handed over by Shouko.

"Hachiko, this is yours." Yuzuru sat up, took out a piece of paper, and placed it on the tatami in front of Hachiko. Then she turned her head and asked her sister curiously, "Sister, what should I write here? I don't know what to write."

Shouko took out the pen from her schoolbag and handed it to everyone before explaining casually, "Just write whatever comes to mind. There's no requirement—just write something for yourself ten years from now."

Ito and Yaeko took the pen and began writing directly on the coffee table. Regarding Shouko's words about reading it ten years later, they just looked at each other, smiled silently, and said nothing.

Yaeko only wrote a few simple words: wishing the whole family good health and prosperity, and wishing Yuzuru, Shouko, and Tsuna healthy growth.

Yuzuru was much more childish. She asked a lot of questions, and when she finished writing, she found that there was still a lot of blank space, so she started to doodle on it.

She grabbed Hachiko's front paws and pressed seven or eight handprints onto the paper. She also wrote, according to her own ideas: *I like Yuzuru the most, I get along best with Yuzuru in the world, and I will always be with Yuzuru.*

Shouko's letter: *Secret!*

After more than ten minutes, and after confirming that everyone including her grandmother had finished writing, Shouko put everything away without peeking. She changed her shoes at the entrance and walked out.

"Just in time. We just finished writing too." Tsuna saw Shouko walking into the living room and hurriedly hid his own letter, a little afraid that she would peek or snatch it to read it directly.

Shouko naturally noticed his little action and said excitedly, "I won't peek at yours." To be honest, she did want to see it, but she didn't expect him to see through her thoughts.

"Put them in, put them in the envelope." Seeing that he'd been discovered, Tsuna quickly changed the subject. This trick always worked.

Most of the words in Shizuka's letter were about praising herself—how she would become more and more beautiful in the future, forever young, the whole family would be safe, and that Tsuna, Shouko, and Yuzuru would grow up healthy and happy. And more! She hoped her bad boy would trick the silly girl next door into becoming part of the family as soon as possible.

Daisuke's letter was only a dozen words—short and simple: may everyone be healthy, and may the children grow up safe and sound.

Tsuna's letter: *What are you thinking about? A secret!*

After putting everything away, the question of where to bury the capsule became a problem. Shouko suggested several nearby places, but Tsuna rejected them one by one. He knew that in the next ten years, many places might be demolished or expanded, and he felt that it wouldn't be safe to bury it just anywhere. He directly ruled out small courtyards and similar spots, afraid someone might not be able to resist digging it up and peeking.

"Don't overthink it. Go bury it at your grandma's house. We haven't visited for about a month anyway, so let's go and take a look." Seeing the two of them in distress, Shizuka stood up, chuckled, patted Tsuna on the head, and then went to the master bedroom to change clothes.

"Okay." Tsuna agreed decisively. The small yard at Grandma's house was a perfect place—it wouldn't be demolished, and most importantly, no one would peek. That way, both he and Shouko could rest easy.

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