**Part 6 — From Returning to Japan
to Opening the Café**
After my journey,
I finally felt
that the direction I wanted
to take from here
truly made sense to me.
When I returned from traveling,
I told my parents
that I wanted to open a café
that local people could use
and feel connected to.
At that time,
my family was planning
to renovate my grandmother’s house
and move in together.
So my father suggested,
“Why don’t you turn
the old reception room
into a café space?”
From there,
while having meetings
with the interior contractors,
I went back to Melbourne
and began preparing properly
for my return to Japan.
Saying goodbye
to the Gleeson family
and the friends
who had taken such good care of me
was deeply emotional.
So many things had happened
over those ten years.
But I felt nothing
but gratitude
that, in the end,
we could smile and say,
“See you again!”
39


