Boarding had only just begun.

There were still plenty of people lined up in front of the gate.

I let out a long breath and set the bag of macarons I’d bought as souvenirs on one of the seats.

“Yo-chan, there are still lots of people in line, so let’s wait until most of them have boarded, okay? We can sit here until then.”

Yoichi was peeking between the people in line, looking around eagerly for the boarding gate. I spoke to him as I sat down beside the bag of macarons.

“Not yet? Not yet? How many more minutes?”

He clearly couldn’t wait much longer.

Little by little, the line of passengers waiting to board grew shorter.

“Yo-chan, I think we can go now.”

Yoichi had been fidgeting impatiently the entire time, waiting for me to finally say those words.

“Okay! Let’s go! Hurry, Kana-chan! Don’t forget the bags! Come on, come on!”

With that enthusiastic reply, we made our way to the gate.

We showed the attendant our passports and boarding passes, then headed onto the plane.

Yoichi was so excited that he hurried ahead of me, practically bouncing with every step.

“Ah—careful! Watch where you’re going. You’re going to fall.”

“I’m fiiine! Hurry up, Kana-chan!”

At last, we reached the entrance to the aircraft.

A flight attendant stood by the door, welcoming the passengers.

Yoichi stopped in front of her and gave her a big bow.

“Hello! Nice to meet you. Please take care of us today!”

“Oh my, what a wonderful greeting!” she said warmly. “What a good boy. Welcome aboard! It’s going to be a long trip, but I hope you have lots of fun!”

I followed behind him.

“Hello. Thank you.”

Then I stepped inside.

But—

“Yo-chan, wait! You went too far! Come back!”

He was so excited that he had wandered farther and farther ahead of me.

I waved him back.

“Yo-chan, over here. This way. Let’s see... our seats are... Ah, there they are. Right here.”

Yoichi came running back.

“You can sit by the window, Yo-chan. I’ll sit on the aisle.”

I let him climb into the window seat first.

“I’m going to put our bags up above. Is there anything you want me to take out of your suitcase before I do?”

Yoichi thought for a moment.

“My picture book and my teddy bear... Oh! And my favorite blanket!”

“Sure. It’s going to be a long flight, so if you think you’ll want to do some coloring later, we can take your coloring book out too.”

“Hmm... I wanna look outside first, so I’ll get it later.”

I handed him his blanket, and he spread it across his lap before fastening his seat belt. Then he placed his picture book and teddy bear on top.

After putting our luggage into the overhead compartment, I finally sat down and took a breath.

“Yo-chan, why don’t we put your picture book in the seat pocket until you feel like reading it?”

I slipped the book into the pocket on the seat in front of him.

“Hey, Kana-chan. I’ve never been on an airplane before. I’m so excited! This huge thing is really going to fly in the sky, right? That’s amazing! I can’t wait!”

His little legs swung excitedly back and forth beneath the seat.

“It is pretty amazing, isn’t it? But you know, if you go to sleep, we might be in Japan by the time you wake up.”

“Yay! Yay! That’s amazing! I want us to fly already!”

He clapped his hands happily.

His first flight had him completely captivated.

Yoichi stared out the window, waving enthusiastically at the people driving carts and working on the ground below.

“Look! Look, Kana-chan! They’re putting the bags on the airplane! I wonder where my suitcase is.”

While he was still excitedly watching everything outside, an announcement came over the speakers.

“The aircraft doors have now been closed. We will shortly begin taxiing toward the runway in preparation for departure. We kindly ask all passengers to check once again that their seat belts are securely fastened.”

After the announcement, the flight attendants made their final checks, making sure the overhead compartments were closed and everyone’s seat belt was properly fastened.

Soon, the safety video began to play.

“Kana-chan, we’re almost there, right? We’re almost in Japan. I’m gonna see Grandpa and Grandma soon!”

I looked at Yoichi.

His face was glowing with happiness.

After watching him for a moment, I slowly turned my eyes toward the window.

“Yeah... almost there.”

I whispered the words quietly.