Miraijin—Greta

Miraijin and Greta, the sister of Miraijin’s mother Adele, share a close and lasting bond that becomes a vital source of family connection after Adele’s death. Marco deliberately nurtures their relationship through repeated trips to Germany, helping Miraijin remain connected to her maternal relatives and giving her an enduring tie beyond the immediate household.

Family Connection

Greta is Miraijin’s maternal aunt. Adele had only a short time to become close to her sister before Adele died, but Miraijin and Greta formed an intense, profound attachment. The narrative describes them as being like sisters, emphasizing a closeness that reaches beyond the formal aunt-and-niece relationship.

Marco’s Role in Bringing Them Together

The bond does not arise in isolation: Marco works for years to take Miraijin to Germany to visit Greta and Marina, Miraijin’s maternal grandmother, and to help the women spend time together. These trips turn kinship into an active relationship. In the account of Marco’s final gathering, Greta’s importance is measured by the practical and emotional result of that sustained effort: because Miraijin has become intimate with her aunt, she will not be left alone in the world, even though Marina is unwell.

Greta’s Choice at Marco’s Farewell

At Marco’s final gathering, he asks Greta whether she will leave. She answers that she is staying. Her decision is a small but clear expression of the family network that surrounds Miraijin: Greta remains present, while the bond Marco helped establish continues to provide support beyond his own care.

Significance

The relationship carries forward a connection Adele had little time to build herself. Through Marco’s repeated journeys and Greta’s continuing presence, Miraijin inherits not merely a family name but a living relationship with her mother’s sister. The aunt-and-niece bond therefore stands as one of the concrete ways care persists across loss: it gives Miraijin a source of belonging and companionship beyond her immediate family.