Points

Note: I'm not the author of this story. I've translated it from the original Japanese into English. Please do NOT copy and paste it somewhere else on the web without my permission. Thank you very much for your understanding.


I was the only child in the family and had always been much cherished by both my parents.
My mother especially doted on me and she would never get angry with me even when I made a mistake or did something naughty; instead she would always just smile and forgive me.
Maybe she wasn't an ideal parent but I loved her the way she was.

One day I came home from school and was watching TV in the sitting room when the phone rang.
It was my mother.
'Manami (my name),  I'm in the supermarket right now. Can you check if we have carrots in the fridge?'
I said, 'Hang on,' and went into the kitchen.
I was about to open the fridge when something caught my eye. A small notebook lay on top of the fridge.
That's unusual! I thought. I opened the fridge, checked the content, and told my mother about it on the phone.
After I hang up I went to the kitchen again to get the notebook. The notebook was something my mother always carried with her and it looked a bit tattered.

Ever since I was small I had wondered about the notebook.
I thought of my mother who always smiled and forgave me.
But I do remember: every time I made a  mistake or did something naughty she quickly wrote something down in the notebook.
And she still continued to do so even now.
For a long time I wanted to know what she wrote inside.
Gripped by curiosity, I opened the notebook without the slightest qualm.
And in the middle of the page which I had opened randomly, I saw these words:

" Today's Manami,  －3 points.  Only 168 points left."