Tonight, too, I embark on a cosmic journey with my two-year-old daughter

"Mommy, where did the moon go?"

My two-year-old daughter's clear voice echoed through the night sky.
Just a few months ago,
she was still repeating unintelligible sounds like "ah-oo."
Before I knew it, she was asking about the mysteries of the universe.
I cannot hide my surprise at how quickly she is growing.

Until now, our conversations
consisted mostly of pretend play with stuffed animals and simple exchanges.
I never expected the day we would talk about the universe to come so soon...



"The moon is still there, even if you can't see it, you know."

I told her everything I knew.
"I want to see it too!" she said, reaching her small hands toward the night sky.
I caught my breath in surprise.
I never imagined I could have a conversation like this with such a small daughter.
I realized that I, myself, was surprised by the new future I had entered as a "mother" before I even knew it.

As adults, we take things for granted,
and forget to think deeply about them.
However, children are freshly surprised by everything and full of curiosity.
Her innocent questions reminded me of important things I had almost forgotten.



When she sees a dog in the park,
her eyes sparkle as she says, "Woof woof, so big!"
Even with flowers on the roadside,
she tries to gently touch them with her small hands, saying, "Pretty flower."
I am simply amazed at how she has mastered even adjectives.
When I read picture books to her,
she bombards me with questions: "What's this? Why?"
She is like a little explorer.
She is full of curiosity about this world.

My conversations with my daughter have opened a door to a future I never imagined.
Not just the universe, but the mysteries of life.
I am even becoming interested in the depths of the human heart.
In every word she utters, I sense her growth and the changes in her heart.
In the short span of just two years, what is she thinking and what is she learning?



On the way home from daycare one day, she dashed toward a fast-food restaurant.
When I pulled her hand firmly,
she looked at me with big eyes and insisted, "I want to eat a hamburger!"
I gently said, "Let's go home today, okay?" but
she shouted, "I'm hungry!" to make her point,
and thenshe even blurted out, "Is Daddy eating too?"

She was gripping my husband's hand tightly, trying to get him on her side.
I couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm conveyed by her small hand.
It is truly amazing that she can use words I never even taught her so naturally.

What kind of future awaits us?
Perhaps the day will come when I can sit side-by-side and talk with my daughter, now that she can clearly express her own will.
It felt as if a future I had never imagined was appearing before my eyes, little by little, with my daughter's growth.


Conversations with my daughter invite me into an unknown world and stir my imagination.
It is like reading an adventure story about traveling through the stars of the universe.

Perhaps she is
giving me hints to become a writer.
I, who once dreamed of being a novelist, am now facing my daughter as a mother.
I thought I had tucked that dream away deep in my heart, but every time my daughter asks a question, the seeds of creativity I had forgotten are stirred back to life.
Every time she asks, "Mommy, why?" it feels as if the dream I locked away in my heart is coming back to life.
I feel as though the future of writing stories has returned to me through my daughter's words. This "unimagined future" may hold more richness than the dreams I once drew.


My daughter's words are a compass for my heart.
Whenever I am lost, they always light the way.
Writing stories set in the world of her favorite picture books, or creating fantasies based on the dreams she has seen.

"Good evening, Moon!"—that phrase also inspired me to write a parenting essay. I imagined what dreams my daughter's favorite stuffed animal, which is always with her when she sleeps, might be having, and turned it into a story.

My daughter is spinning a future I could never have imagined, one piece at a time.
I am so excited to see what surprises await, and what stories will be born from here on out.
I feel that the "unimagined future" this little explorer shows me is expanding a new universe within me.

My conversations with my daughter go beyond simple communication.
They provide the nourishment to sprout and grow the seeds of creativity that were sleeping inside me.


I want to continue talking about many things with my daughter.
Because she invites me to a future I never expected.
As she grows, I, too, am changing into someone new. I want to cherish this irreplaceable time and grow together with her.

And one day, I will present this story to my daughter when she is grown.
It will be filled with many memories of us, and the important things I learned from her.

My conversations with my daughter are the thread connecting me to the universe.
They will surely take me to the ends of the universe.
At those ends, new discoveries and wonders must be waiting.