Sakiko Seki, mother of Oriko "Okko" Seki, tragically perished with her husband Shoji in a collision involving a derailed truck as they returned from a Shinto spring festival. Their deaths left their young daughter as the accident’s sole survivor, upending Okko’s world.

Sakiko’s absence shadows her daughter’s emotional journey through grief and adaptation to life at her grandmother’s inn. Remnants of Sakiko and Shoji linger as spectral comforts, with Okko conjuring their imagined presence during moments of vulnerability or introspection. These fleeting visions underscore Sakiko’s lasting imprint on Okko’s resilience and her hesitant steps toward accepting irreversible loss.

The tragedy resurfaces when the grieving family responsible for the fatal accident visits the inn, compelling Okko to face the unresolved echoes of her parents’ deaths. Through this confrontation, Sakiko’s lingering impact quietly steers her daughter’s path toward empathy, reconciliation, and the fragile strength found in letting go.