🤔 [What If Series]! What if Ran Mouri from Detective Conan heard 'The Light Waiting for the Child Who Won't Return'? ~The Strength of Believing and Waiting~

As Grandma Ume was sipping tea on the veranda, a high school girl in her uniform walked up, looking at the sky with a slightly lonely expression.

Seeing her expression, Grandma Ume gently offered her a cup of warm tea and smiled.

“You’re staring so far away, are you waiting for someone? Well, why don’t you have some tea here and rest for a while?”

“Oh, thank you very much. ...I’m always just waiting. I suddenly found myself worrying about a childhood friend who just won’t come home.”

“Fufu. Waiting for someone who won’t return can be tough, can’t it? Today, how about I tell you the story of an old couple who, just like you, kept waiting for someone for a very, very long time?”

As Ran held the teacup with both hands, Grandma Ume began to speak quietly. She told her about an old couple living in a village who kept waiting for their son, who had left the village years ago and had not been heard from since.

“That couple, every single day, would light a fire in the small stone lantern in front of their house. They said, ‘So that no matter when our child returns, he won’t lose his way.’”

“Every day... But if he hadn’t returned for years, didn’t the villagers tell them to ‘just give up’?”

“They did. There were even heartless people who said, ‘He might already be dead.’ But the two of them would never put out the light, saying, ‘Our child will definitely come back.’”

Ran looked down slightly, staring at the teacup in her hands. In her eyes, it seemed as if the image of Shinichi, who she didn’t know when would return, was floating.

“...Believing and waiting is so painful, isn’t it? But perhaps that light wasn’t just to guide their son, but also a light that supported the ‘hearts’ of the old man and woman.”

“That’s exactly right. One winter night, many decades later, in the middle of a snowfall, the son finally returned, guided by that light. He had grown into a fine man.”

Ran looked up in surprise, staring at Grandma Ume with slightly moist eyes.

“The son came back...! I’m sure that no matter how far away he was, that light was always shining in his heart.”

“That’s right.Believing and waiting is not just about patience. It is the strongest and deepest form of love, continuing to pray for the other person’s safety.”

“...Yes! I, too, will keep believing and waiting, no matter how far away he is. Because I know for sure that he will come back. ...I am waiting, I will always be waiting...!”

The loneliness had completely vanished from Ran’s face, and a strong smile had returned. Grandma Ume smiled gently, saying, “That smile is the best,” and poured another cup of warm tea into the empty teacup.

[Editor’s Note] The Meaning of Waiting

We sometimes give up when we don’t see immediate results, or we feel that waiting is a ‘waste of time.’ However, as with the old couple in the story and Ran, the act of ‘believing and waiting’ for someone is, in itself, proof of deep love. Waiting for someone when you don’t know if they will return is painful, but the ‘strength’ to keep that light burning might be the very thing that ultimately guides your loved one home.

Click here for the original text of Episode 044, ‘The Light Waiting for the Child Who Won’t Return’

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