Tomeo didn't have a father, ever since he was very small. His mother had to work every day in the fields, since she had many children to support. Tomeo at least had a younger sister, an older sister, a younger brother and an older brother. After school all his brothers and sisters would go and help in the fields.

Since they didn't have much money, his mother named him Tomeo. 'Tome', in Japanese means to become rich. His mother wanted him to become rich and be a helpful person to the world.

He didn't often get presents, or have a happy time. He sat down on the hard floor of his room and started to think about the last time he had a really good time.

It was when he was in 1st grade and he was only seven years old. That was four years ago, he thought, when he went to a small river close to his house to go fishing with his friends. Fish was his favorite food. That was what he always ate, because meat was his least favorite food. He didn't get that much fish, but it was still a lot of fun. From then he had always loved to fish.

Thinking about such a nice time made his head start to get dizzy, so he picked up his book 'Norakuro' which is a comic about a dog. He liked this book best. Then he heard a familiar voice in the entrance of the house. He heard his mother talking to him, so he tiptoed to the guest room, where they were talking and having some tea and Japanese rice crackers.

It was a relative, and the man, saw Tomeo looking at them.

"Good morning, Tomeo. I have something to give to you," said the man.

Tomeo got excited, and moved closer to the man and his mother. But he lost hope when he didn't see anything unusual in the room.

"Go look in the entrance of the house," said the man.

Tomeo ran to the entrance of the house and saw right away, a pair of ski shoes, next to his mother's. He lifted them up. He was delighted. Every winter he skied with his new ski shoes. Although it didn't snow much, he always enjoyed himself when it did.