Read Fuyuko's story here “The Little Hermit Crab Who Lost His Shell” In December 2021, we suddenly lost our beloved son, Soh. It was just before Christmas and one month before his fifth birthday. On the very first night after we lost Soh, his younger brother, Rin, who was only two years old, asked us as we lay in bed, “Where is Soh?” His voice sounded quiet, hesitant, and timid, as if he were asking something he wasn’t supposed to ask. We wished we could give him a clear, convincing, and honest answer right away, but we couldn’t. Even we, as parents, had never truly thought so deeply about what “death” means. So, we searched ourselves over and over again, trying to find the best way to answer his question. Gradually, we came to embrace an idea: Soh hadn’t simply disappeared. Just as hermit crabs move from one shell to another, he was now in the process of moving to his new shell. And so, we turned this idea into a picture book, The Little Hermit Crab Who Lost His Shell, which has since been published in Japan. That journey also became a way for us to make sense of our own grief—to begin untangling the confusion in our minds and hearts as we struggled to accept Soh’s death. It has been five years since that tragedy. One thing we have come to understand through this journey is that there will never be a moment when we can simply move on. Instead, our challenge is to find a way to live with our pain while still allowing ourselves to experience happiness. With that in mind, I began searching for a way to transform all our pain, frustration, anger, sadness, and depression into something positive, rather than letting them turn into hatred. Then I discovered the song Defying Gravity. The lyrics spoke deeply to me and resonated with my circumstances. Not long afterwards, I met Georgina. In Soh’s fifth-anniversary year, we have decided to commemorate this milestone by organising several fundraising events throughout the year. I feel truly honoured to be part of this Christmas showcase and to have the opportunity to introduce our charity project. I am also deeply grateful to my wonderful vocal coach, Georgina, who seemed to appear in my life almost miraculously, at just the right time. She has understood the vision and the underlying meaning of our project so deeply. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our journey with everyone here tonight. Five years ago, when we lost Soh, all the colours and music suddenly disappeared from my life. Looking back, I could never have imagined that one day I would return to the stage, let alone sing in public. We are still grieving, but somehow, I am proud of ourselves for having made it this far – for surviving, and for finding the strength to stand here today and express something so deeply personal. One step at a time, steadily. Little by little, gradually. A small hope will one day become a dream, and with a strong will by my side, it will take shape in reality. I know with reason that I cannot fly, yet I feel I can summon a power that comes close. When I struggled and suffered in pain, so much anger and so many tears seeped from my body, I was overwhelmed by my own self. If I could make that energy my ally, I feel that surely, I could even fly through the sky. I believe this is the power of music, this is the magic of living. We are open to collaborate with any charity events especially for children. Please contact us through Instagram if you are interested in spreading Soh's mark. Thank you! Soh’s fundraising page: https://soh-ingram.muchloved.com My grief journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_little_hermit_crab?mdxt=eWtjc2wyZnFxeHJ2&utm_source=qr My blog: https://little-yadokari.blogspot.com/?m=1 The story concept of The Little Hermit Crab became a sculpture trail known as “Soh’s Trail” at the Warwick Arts Centre sculpture park: https://warwick.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/sohs_trail_at/