[Short Mystery Novel] The Funeral of the Flowering Peach ①

Chapter 1

The peach blossoms were already over.

Shoko Kogure walked across the paving stones leading to the Okano family's entrance, looking up at the branches where the flowers had completely scattered.
It had been two weeks since six-year-old Megumi Okano went missing from this house.
Given the circumstances, kidnapping was a possibility, so Shoko had been dispatched from the First Investigation Division.

"Oh, thank you for your hard work. Ma'am, she's waiting for you."
A young man with brown hair poked his head out after opening the front door.
Detective Akitsu from the Juvenile Division of the Community Safety Department.
He was a young man who had just been promoted last year. The Juvenile Division chief had explained that he was too young to handle missing children cases, but they were simply short-handed.
He was also a bit of an oddity, as he was specially permitted to have brown hair to make him more approachable for his work with young people.

"I'm Kogure from the First Investigation Division."
Mrs. Okano bowed in the living room where they were shown.
Beyond her, a large set of Hina dolls remained on display.
Megumi Okano had disappeared on the very day of the Hinamatsuri festival, March 3rd. Since then, Mrs. Okano had not put the dolls away, waiting anxiously for her daughter's return.
"It's not exactly a prayer, but... I feel like if I put these away, my daughter won't come back..."
A small voice leaked from the woman's thin chin.
The face of the woman, who had been raising Megumi alone since divorcing her husband, looked somewhat haggard, yet still possessed a certain elegance.
"My daughter was very fond of these Hina dolls, too. She was a child who just loved cute things."
"I understand. I apologize for repeating this when it must be painful for you, but could you tell me about the time your daughter went missing..."

After hearing the situation leading up to Megumi's disappearance, she asked for anything that might be helpful. The photos were not just digital; they were neatly organized in a printed album.
The album was filled with images of Megumi that confirmed the mother's words—a girl who clearly loved cute things, whether she was playing with stuffed animals in her room, hugging a character at a theme park, or wearing a kimono for this year's first shrine visit.
Above all, Megumi herself was an adorable girl who fit the common compliment of looking like a doll.

A sniffing sound came from beside Shoko.
Detective Akitsu was wiping his tears with his sleeve.
"I, I'm sorry..."
It seemed he was a young man with an overabundance of empathy, despite his appearance.
"It's no wonder. If you think about such a cute child crying somewhere right now looking for her parents, it's only natural for even a detective to feel pained."

Shoko felt a sense of unease at Mrs. Okano's composure as she smiled.
Her expression looked like the smile of a mother filled with love, but it also looked like the expression of despair reached by someone who had given up on everything.

What had the woman given up on?

To be continued