Love Him...Forever

Prologue

In a quiet park, a man and a woman walked hand in hand with their young daughter between them. None of them spoke. The man and woman exchanged worried glances, as if both were thinking the same thing but neither dared to say it out loud.

As they followed a stone pathway, the woman suddenly stopped.

"Why?" the man asked softly.

"Look," she whispered.

Her eyes were frozen on the sight ahead—a woman holding a young boy's hand. The man turned, and his expression mirrored hers the moment he saw the pair.

The woman with the boy stopped as well. Recognition flashed in her eyes.

"Jiro? Kimi?" she breathed, surprised.

"Laura!" Jiro and Kimi said in unison, equally shocked.

Their daughter watched silently, curious but unsure, as her parents smiled at the woman and the child standing before them.

"This is our daughter," Jiro said proudly.

Kimi leaned slightly forward, eyeing the little boy. "Is that him?"

"Ah... yes," Laura replied, glancing at the boy gently.

"Why don't we sit over there?" Kimi suggested, pointing toward a nearby bench only a few steps away.

The young boy suddenly loosened his hand from his mother and approached the couple.

He looked up at Jiro and Kimi, then at the girl hiding slightly behind them.

"Can I take her?" he asked politely.

"Sure," Jiro said with a smile. "As long as she wants to go."

He looked at his daughter. The little girl nodded shyly, a tiny smile forming.

"Don't go too far," Kimi reminded them, though both children had already begun walking away.

The boy led the girl toward the seesaw.

"I'm turning seven next week," he announced proudly. "How about you? How old are you?"

The girl finally spoke, her voice small but clear. "I'm... four."

"When I grow up, I want to be a great doctor—someone who saves lives," he said enthusiastically. "What about you?"

But the girl suddenly stopped, stepping off the seesaw.

"Huh? Why'd you stop?" he asked, walking closer.

She hesitated before answering.

"You remind me of my friend," she said softly. "He also wants to be great."

"Oh? Where is your friend now?"

"He's in Japan," she replied. She seemed more comfortable now.

"Does he live there?" the boy asked, confused.

The girl nodded.

"What's his name?"

"Yuzuru Hanyu," she said proudly. "And someday, he'll be a great figure skater. He told me that."

"Do you like figure skating?" he asked.

"I do," she answered simply.

"Then I'm going to learn more about figure skating," he declared with a grin.

For the first time, she smiled brightly at him.

"But I still don't know your name," he added.

Without hesitation, she extended her little hand.

"My name is Shine."

The boy reached out and shook her hand firmly.

"I'm Allen," he replied—and he smiled just as brightly as she did.