Short Short: 'Disownment Guidebook'

Congratulations. As of today, you are free.

What my father handed me was a thin booklet. On the cover, 'Disownment Guidebook' was embossed in silver foil.

Disownment... are you serious?

Yes. It's a family tradition. Anyone who shows no signs of independence by the age of twenty-five is to be cut off amicably.

As I flipped through the pages, the table of contents listed surprisingly practical topics: 'Chapter 1: How to Change Your Resident Registration,' 'Chapter 2: How to Find Apartments That Don't Require a Guarantor,' and 'Final Chapter: Etiquette for Reuniting at Memorial Services.'

Did you write this, Dad?

No, it's been passed down from the previous generation and updated with the times. If you scan the QR code, you can arrange for a budget moving company.

My father seemed cold, but the margins were filled with handwritten notes.

<The bread crusts at this bakery are cheap but delicious.>

<If you get sick, call this number. I'll transfer money anonymously.>

...This is just a manual for supporting independence, isn't it?

When I muttered this in disbelief, my father looked out the window.

Disownment is the final lesson, where love is coated in technique. Now go. Next, you'll be handing this book to your own child.

Afterword

I participated in the weekly short-short note theme 'Disownment Guidebook'.

Actually, I'm a runaway who abandoned my wife and children (lol).

So, at first, I was writing a story about a man who uses that experience to insist that disappearing is a 'reverse disownment'.

But with a short-short, I ended up packing in too much setting and ran out of word count, so I gave up (lol).

Next, I thought I'd just write the 'guidebook itself' as the theme suggested! But... that was just plain boring (lol).

So, the story I ended up with is this one. A story about the ultimate doting parent who gives a 'Disownment Guidebook' passed down through generations to a child who just can't seem to become independent.

The combination of 'disownment' and 'guidebook' is quite an outlandish premise, so it was very difficult to figure out how to twist it, but I managed to give it some shape.

📕Promotion Part📕

Thank you for reading until the end.

If you have finished reading this 'Disownment Guidebook,' there is nothing left for me to teach you. All that remains is for you to start walking on your own two feet.

If you felt even a little bit of empathy for this 'systematized parental love,' please hit the 'Like' button.

If you are ready to graduate from parental protection and take a peek into a new world of stories, please 'Follow' me.

If you have any strange episodes in your own home that you think would be 'grounds for disownment,' please secretly share that 'guidebook material' in the comments section (lol).

The series 'Delivery Worker Roruko No. 2,' which is currently being serialized, is also available now.🚴‍♂️💨

Unlike the 'systematized family' form in this short story, this is a delivery love story filled with laughter and sorrow about a man and a woman running through the reality of Tokyo.

Please take a look at the human drama that peeks through in between the shifts of seeking efficiency.

I also update daily on X.

From 'survival reports' in the form of daily food delivery work, to AI illustrations, and 'discarded ideas' in the form of behind-the-scenes novel settings, I post whatever I feel like at the moment.☕️📦🎨

Why not follow me and mix some pleasant 'fragments of stories' into your timeline?

※This work is fiction.

The characters, organizations, place names, and events that appear are unrelated to any real ones. Also, while some descriptions are inspired by the posts and activities of real X users, there is no connection to any specific individual or organization, and the content is constructed based on creative writing.