My family has been living in Japan for over two years now. We moved to Japan because my father was transferred but a year after that the company shut down and he lost his job since then dad has been running a shop in the Tamako street.

We live on the upper story of the shop, it's just me, mom, dad, and Jenny. Mr. and Mrs. Ayasaki are our neighbors and they live next door, they too run a shop which is very different from ours. Mr. Ayasaki has only one daughter, who is the same age as me, her name is Osaka.
Osaka and I have become friends after I moved from Miami, Florida to Shinjuku, Japan. At first, I did miss Florida, which had been my home for 12 years, I missed the salty sea, and skateboarding but Shinjuku had a unique ambiance of its own. It took me less than two weeks to get accustomed to life here. I got enrolled at Kamiya High, which is two train stops away from where I live.

I remember the first time we moved to our house here in Tamako street, Osaka was the first one to greet me and ask me out to play with her and her friends. I remember being happy to have found a friend in a foreign land. Those days were the best days ever until Osaka was diagnosed with third stage cancer. Her father couldn't afford the treatment all on his own so my dad decided to help him out. Osaka was the only child and it was devastating for Mr. and Mrs. Ayasaki to have to go through this. I remember hardly going out to the play after Osaka was bed-ridden. She was my only friend and I did not want her to feel lonely so I would write poems and short stories for her and go to her house to read them to her. I can recall the brightness with which her eyes sparkled whenever I would tell her a story or a poem. Days went by and a few months later Osaka was gone. She left us and set out on an unknown journey on her own, I always knew Osaka to be brave and cheerful, not once did she let her illness dull her spirit. She was one of the strongest persons I knew.

Three days later after she passed away, a funeral was held. On that day I recited her favorite poem that I wrote for her, it was about a forest, about the tree, the birds, the flowers and the various sounds that cloaked one when one was lost in nature. I was inspired to write the poem after I returned from my school excursion which Osaka obviously had missed but I wanted to bring her something from that place, so I transported the entire forest experience, through pen and paper, into her house. She said she loved this poem the best because it reminded her of the deep woods she felt alive and rejuvenated. She loved that poem but she never had the chance to visit that place in real.

Days, months even years passed by, Mr. and Mrs. Ayasaki kept running the shop but they never had any other kid. Somehow I could feel their sorrow, it was their only daughter. The Tamako street never felt the same after that. It felt that someone very important was missing from our lives. Everyone at Tamako street was like family and it felt like I had lost a beloved sister.

Days after the funeral I resumed my school and I passed with honours in my college! Life was normal and I went of too college in Canada.
I pursued biotechnology and began my research in the year 2009 and am now working for Harvard University and a permanent reseacher-cum-lecturer. I went back to Japan for my sister's wedding, she married a japanese guy who works at a multinational company. They say they first met at the shop while Jenny was on duty. I had met a guy too back when I first started doing research,his name is Robert, he is Canadian and works in the same field as me. We got married in 2015 and had two kids, I named my elder daughter Osaka and my son is Jake, those two kids are the best things that have happened to me. Mom and Dad, they are doing well and are happy. They love spending time with their grandkids whenever we visit Japan and are satisfied in their old age. I hope old age treats them well they are proud of me and Jenny.

Even as Osaka is no longer with us somewhere deep in our heart she lived among us. I may have moved on in my life but I will never forget my long lost sister Osaka.