Momo Shina 'link' -

Kenji stared at the animal. The silence stretched, heavy and uncomfortable. In this house, in this yard, everything had a function. Machines moved cargo. Men moved machines. There was little room for sentimentality.

He sighed, a long, weary sound that seemed to deflate his massive frame. He walked over to the crate where she sat. He reached out a hand, thick and calloused, the hand of a man who had hauled nets and welded hulls for thirty years. momo shina

"Yuki," he whispered to the empty room, to the memory of the woman with the soft heart. "She's just like you." Kenji stared at the animal

She held up the puppy. The dog whimpered, tucking its tail. Machines moved cargo

Momo braced herself, expecting him to grab the scruff of the dog's neck and toss it out into the rain.