An unusually quiet morning … no bustling city noises, only a hushed stillness. I opened the curtain. No wonder I didn’t hear any sounds this morning. The white snow covered every corner of our backyard. No cars, no public buses or any people in the street. Our winter break had just begun two days ago, and I was grateful that I didn’t have to go to school today.

Our house was bitterly cold without sekiyu stoubu (kerosene stove).  When we went into our futons for the night, we never used the kerosene stove to avoid causing a fire. I hated the caustic smell of the stove, but we had no choice.  We only had one kerosene stove and a kotatsu (table with electric heating element underneath) to keep our house warm.  Every morning in the winter season, my mom had to ignite the stove first. Until our little house got…