Chapter 8 | Contents | Chapter 10
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Miyamuro-sensei of the Orthopedic Department conducted a medical examination. I had an X-ray taken for the first time since the surgery, and I was then asked to give a detailed description of any pain or unease that I felt.
Of course, there was pain. The pain in my ribs had more or less eased up, but I would receive a piercing sting in my knee whenever I changed my position. However, it was not so painful that I was unable to bear it by lying still, and if the pain became a little too strong it could be suppressed by orally administrated painkillers. After I told him that, Miyamuro-sensei nodded in a satisfied manner.
“You have a good way of describing pain.”
He gave some strange compliment that I wasn’t sure I should be thankful for.
I noticed that Miyamuro-sensei had deep bags under his eyes. Come to think of it, he did not look very well. It was clear at a glance that he was tired, but he did not make me feel uneasy, and did not lose his cheerfulness.
“That is good. I should be able to give you permission to go outside next month.”
I was momentarily at a loss as to whether I should feel happy about that. Next month could refer to the next day, or thirty days later.
“When exactly do you mean by next month?”
Though he was smiling, his eyebrows took on a troubled formation.
“I cannot say for sure, but it will be difficult for you to celebrate New Year’s at home. In fact, this is not really a good time, because you are more likely to feel pain during cold weather, and so I am quite reluctant to let you go outside at this point. It is not a question of whether you can bear it, but you could get a sharp pain which causes you to lose your strength and take a fall. It will be bad if you injure what was already mended. But if your recovery goes at this pace, I believe you should be able to go home from mid to late January. Is there anywhere you want to go?”
Yesterday at the rooftop garden, I’d thought that I would want to buy strawberry tarts if I could leave the hospital, because I’d assumed that I would only be allowed to go outside in spring. However, now that was a concrete possibility, I realized I had only one option.
“A mobile phone shop.”
After all, I couldn’t contact anyone without a mobile phone. Miyamuro-sensei smiled wryly.
“Ah, youth.”
“And after that, the place where I was run over.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
I was surprised that he asked why. I’d assumed that such information would be shared with him.
“Because the police said they would like to meet me for another witness interview once I can go outside.”
For a moment, Miyamuro-sensei put on a face that said, “Ah, right.” It seemed that he’d forgotten that I was the victim of a hit-and-run, of which the culprit had not yet been caught. I did not wonder why he’d forgotten about such an important detail. The doctor was focused on my recovery. That was good enough.
The check-up ended, and it would usually be the time for rehabilitation, but Mabuchi-san was taking a break today. I followed the program he’d given to me beforehand, and while I was doing the exercises which were lighter than usual, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
It was Yamasato-san, the janitor. He quickly collected the trash, then started mopping the floor.
As always, he hurriedly cleaned the room. I thought that he had many rooms to clean so I didn’t want to disturb him, and thus usually never talked to him. However, seeing him work even on New Year’s Eve, I couldn’t help but give a word of thanks.
“Thank you very much for your hard work.”
Seemingly surprised, Yamasato-san stopped moving and straightened his back.
“No, it’s nothing. I wouldn’t want to spend the New Year in a dusty hospital room, after all. I’m single, so all I’ll do when I go home is eat soba, watch Kōhaku1 and sleep. It’s not hard for me at all.”
As he said that, I noticed what looked like a wedding ring on his finger, and he noticed my gaze. I didn’t say anything, but Yamasato-san grinned.
“You have sharp eyes, lad.”
“Ah, I wasn’t…”
“I’m not lying when I say I’m single. I just wear this out of habit. You got done in by a car too, right, lad?”
He continued while moving his mop.
“Cars are scary. My wife was also hit by one, and that was the end for her. Well, you’re young so you’ll heal. You managed to dodge a bullet. There will be good things for you next year. That’s how it is. That’s how it has to be… Right, that’s all from me.”
After straightening the mop he was using to clean the floor beneath my bed, Yamasato-san lowered his head.
“Excuse me.”
He closed the door, and the room became quiet.
I thought about what Yamasato-san said. Would good things really come after bad? I painfully – come to think of it, my ribs hurt, probably because it was chilly in the morning – want that to be true. But if that order system is true, that would make my accident expiation for some good that happened to me, and I don’t remember having such good luck.
In fact… I would be more inclined to believe that it was retribution, which I’d heard in a dream on the day I entered this hospital. But if it was indeed retribution, it stands to reason that Yamasato-san’s spouse got struck by a car because she did something wrong. I might not be a person who is considerate in all aspects, but leaving myself aside, I don’t want to be so insensitive as to declare that someone else’s misfortune was due to retribution.
I looked at my notebook on the table. It was still in the position I’d left it in right before I fell asleep the day before.
It might be just my imagination, but… I felt that the pen had moved a little. I’d placed the pen parallel to the short side of the notebook, but now it was at a slight angle. I opened the notebook and flipped to the last page that had been written on.
✓ I was unable to water the flowers.
Chuckling a little, I turned to the next page. There was still some time before lunch, and there were still some things I could recall. I put a Cassis-flavored2 chocolate bonbon of the two remaining into my mouth, allowing it to melt and unravel in my mouth. While savoring the sweetness of the chocolate, along with the tartness and fragrance of the Cassis, I turned my attention to the past.
On the day we put up the poster, no phone call came.
The trio that included Katsuki Aaya would only be able to spread information about the poster to their schoolmates on the day after, so it was only natural that no one contacted me on the day itself.
I officially obtained permission to use the notice board at a municipal office. The posting period was two weeks, which I felt was sufficient time. If there was such a response on the day we put up the poster, the companion or someone from Ouyou High School who knew the companion would definitely give me a phone call in two weeks. I could just slowly wait.
On the next day, there was no phone call. A watched pot never boils, I thought to myself.
…No one called the day after that either. I was getting tired of staring at my phone fruitlessly, as not even a prank call came through.
Why did I not ask for Katsuki-san’s contact information? If I’d mustered the courage to at least ask for her mobile phone number, I could have asked her how it was going on her end. Then again, thinking back to that day, it was not unreasonable for me to be unable to say, “I might want to ask about your progress, so could you tell me how to contact you?”
People in class had stopped talking about Hisaka-kun. His unused table continued taking up a corner of the classroom, but him not being there became a fact of everyday life. As for Ushio-kun, he would not look at me directly, instead turning away awkwardly whenever our eyes met, let alone asking me about the investigation progress.
Fujidera-kun did visit our classroom once. If the trio from Ouyou High School could not be relied upon, if the poster had no effect, I would have to get Fujidera-kun to identify the companion. However, he kept saying, “Please leave me alone.” and would not listen to what I had to say.
I did not talk with Osanai-san. At the point in time when we got to the state of waiting for someone who read the poster to call, we’d lost the mutual problem for us to solve together.
Waiting… Yes, all I did was wait, for Katsuki-san and her friends to spread rumors of the poster in Ouyou High School, for someone to give me a phone call, and for the hidden truth behind the hit-and-run accident to come to light.
It took me four whole days to realize that this was foolish behavior.
The poster was done just to stir things up. It had no meaning beyond telling the companion that we were looking for her, and that the person who had run over a middle school student was still at large due to her silence. There wasn’t even any guarantee that the companion would be shaken up by that. It was possible that she’d seen the poster on the way to school and snorted, “So what?”
If I only waited for results to come in, I would be nothing more than a chick keeping its mouth open, waiting for food to drop in. No, even a chick would cry for food. Now, what kind of cry should I make?
On Friday night, four days after I’d put up the poster on Monday, I was thinking in my room. With my elbows on the study desk and a notebook summarizing everything we knew, I mulled about what more I could do.
Osanai-san’s suggestion of using some means to get Fujidera-kun to identify the companion was now impossible to execute. Fujidera-kun had already washed his hands off this case, and forcing him back in would be difficult – if Osanai-san intended to try some special method as she’d mentioned, I felt it would only make the one problem turn into two.
Or rather, how about doing the waiting more thoroughly? Like a chick crying for food, I could make some noise for information. Specifically, what if I printed a hundred, two hundred copies of the poster and stuck them all in front of Ouyou High School? I would probably be called in by the Student Counseling Department and receive admonishment for needlessly causing a ruckus. But if I was prepared for that, wouldn’t this method be surprisingly effective? If the companion was trying to hide in an anonymous sea, causing a big, proper commotion would be a shortcut to uncovering her, wouldn’t it?
Right, should I do that, then? Since I’d decided to see it through, I would. Having made up my mind, I was about to stand up from my chair.
It was at that moment when my mobile phone on the desk started vibrating. A few possibilities immediately came to mind. Osanai-san, Ushio-kun, Fujidera-kun… but the number that appeared on the screen was not registered to my phone.
I almost knocked my phone from the desk. Barely holding it down, I picked it up with my left hand and pressed the answer button.
“Yes?”
After some thought, I added another line.
“This is Kobato.”
From the other end came a deep male voice oozing with suspicion.
“Hello. Am I right to understand that this is Kobato-san’s mobile phone?”
“Yes. This is Kobato.”
“My name is Hisaka.”
“Hisaka?”
My voice cracked.
“You’re not… Hisaka-kun, right?”
The voice from the call softened.
“Shoutarou is my son. Kobato-kun, you are Shoutarou’s classmate, correct?”
“Yes.”
It seemed that the caller had already consolidated what he wanted to say beforehand. He spoke slowly so I could follow, but without any hesitation.
“Actually, there are a few things I would like to ask about my son’s accident. I apologize for the sudden request, but could I take some of your time tomorrow?”
Tomorrow would be Saturday. There was nothing on my schedule.
“Yes, that is fine.”
“Is any time inconvenient for you?”
“No, but uh, it cannot be too late at night.”
“Then let us meet at the lounge of Inaba River Hotel at four in the afternoon. The table will be marked out with a middle school textbook. If you cannot find me, please call me using this number.”
Flipping to a random page in the notebook on my table, I scribbled “4pm Inaba River Hotel Lounge, marked out with middle school textbook” onto the page.
“…That is fine. I understand.”
“See you tomorrow.”
It seemed like the phone call would end, so I hurriedly asked a question.
“Umm, should I bring anything along with me?”
The voice sounded a little mirthful.
“You do not have to bring anything. As I said earlier, all I want to do is ask some questions.”
“Understood.”
“Goodbye.”
This time, he hung up.
Staring at the phone in my hand, I pondered about various matters. What exactly did Hisaka-kun’s father want? Should I share about this meeting with Osanai-san?
I was hit with bewilderment and unease… but to be honest, more than anything else, I was bathed in the satisfaction that the move I’d played had caused ripples in the situation, eliciting an action.
I didn’t know much about Inaba River Hotel.
When I was in elementary school, my teacher got married, and the wedding ceremony took place at Inaba River Hotel. The classmates who liked to boast would say, “That’s a super expensive place.” Also, the first prize for the shopping arcade’s lottery was a ticket for dinner at Inaba River Hotel. That was all I could remember about it.
The next day, I looked up the hotel’s location on a map, and left my house on a bicycle one hour before the appointed time. In the end, I did not contact Osanai-san. I had a few reasons for that. Because I wanted to monopolize the meeting with Mr Hisaka, who was clearly a key person, and shock Osanai-san with the information I could gather from him… that was certainly one reason. It was also true that I didn’t want Mr Hisaka to think that I was such a coward as to be unable to meet him alone if I brought Osanai-san along with me.
But besides that, to put it simply, I didn’t want to call Osanai-san out on a Saturday. Our relationship was not so close that we could invite each other out on a rest day with a phone call, nor did I think that we wanted to have such a relationship. We did promise to help each other to investigate the hit-and-run case, but I felt that we should draw the line somewhere.
As for whether I hesitated at all before riding out on my bicycle to meet the caller, I have to say that I did. I hadn’t been told before to meet directly because it would be difficult to talk on the phone. It was probably even the first time I would be having a one-on-one talk with an adult I hadn’t seen before. My hands were tightly gripping onto the handle, but with the reckless thought “Whatever happens, happens” occupying my mind, I felt that I was unable to carefully consider things through. Even so, I understood that this was more meaningful than handing out flyers outside Ouyou High School.
I was wearing my school’s summer uniform. The fact that I was wearing a uniform on a Saturday was in itself proof that somewhere in my mind, I wanted to play it safe – but on the other hand, putting on clothes that was the most standard for a middle school student, that no one could take offense with, was simply reassuring. By unfastening the two buttons from the top, I could get through the early summer heat.
Withstanding the vibrations from passing cars, I crossed the metal bridge. Relying on my memory of the map I’d seen, I looked at the direction where the hotel should be located to see one white building that clearly dominated the rest. I didn’t know what Inaba River Hotel looked like, but I was willing to bet that this was it.
My prediction hit the mark. Looking up at it from below, the hotel seemed to be eight or nine storeys tall. It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen a building that high before, but the architecture filled up a large plot of land, making it give off an imposing presence. Guided by the signs on arrows, I went around the main entrance and found myself before a doorman clad in a dark green uniform, standing in front of a gold and green automatic door, and staring at me dubiously. I was called here by a family member of a victim in a hit-and-run accident that I was investigating… I wanted to make such an explanation to justify my existence, but managed to suppress that urge and instead asked plainly.
“Where should I leave my bicycle?”
The doorman grimaced, as if no guest had ever asked about the bicycle parking area since he started working at this hotel.
“Are you a guest of this hotel?”
I wasn’t sure if I counted as a guest, but felt that there was no need to be precise.
“Yes.”
The doorman probably doubted my response, but perhaps as expected, his look of suspicion turned into a gentle smile.
“There is an underground car park in front, and a corner of that is set aside for two-wheeled vehicles. Please park your bicycle in that space.”
“Thank you.”
“Please be careful on the way there.”
I had never been spoken to so politely before. Wondering if all hotels are like that, I headed in the direction I was shown, and wheeled my bicycle down the slope to the underground car park.
The area underground was not as imposing or spectacular as the area above. Directions were written in paint on the bare concrete walls. There were no directions to the parking area, but after wandering around for a short time, I managed to find a spot where one singular bicycle was parked. After leaving my bicycle there, I followed the signs on the walls and rode the elevator towards the surface. As I waited for the elevator to ascend, I fastened the buttons on my shirt, up to the neck.
I alighted on the ground floor. At my feet was a carpet in a shade of deep red that looked like blood. Looking around, I found a hotel staff in a black uniform and a bow tie, and asked him a question, even though I thought that it would probably sound really stupid.
“Excuse me, where is the lounge?”
The hotel staff put on the same smile the doorman had.
“It is over there.”
With a gloved hand, he pointed down the hallway. Now I knew the direction of the lounge, but there was still one thing I didn’t know.
“Also, what is a lounge?”
The hotel staff’s smile froze for an instance. I would have probably made the same face if someone passing by asked, “What is a gymnasium?” But like the doorman earlier, the hotel staff immediately hid his agitation.
“It is also known as a talking room or social room. But rather than a room, many lounges are actually open spaces without walls, and the lounge here follows this style.”
I got the general idea. After saying my thanks, I faced the direction he’d guided me towards.
Across and a few steps down from the front desk lined with hotel staff, there was an area arranged with round and rectangular tables. I looked up to see that a sparkling chandelier was hanging from the ceiling. The Inaba River could be seen from the large windows, but as a whole, the space had subdued lighting. This must be the lounge.
Indeed, the lounge had no walls, but was surrounded by decorative plants, and could not be entered or exited freely. At the entrance was another hotel staff with a bowtie, and did not look surprised when I approached, even though I clearly looked like a middle school student.
“Welcome. Are you here by yourself?”
“I’m meeting someone here.”
“Could I have the name?”
I wasn’t sure if he was asking for my name or the name of the person I was meeting with.
“I’m meeting with Hisaka-san.”
“Hisaka-sama, correct? He is sitting by the wall.”
I went down to the lounge via a short staircase. It was four on the dot, which was the meeting time. The lounge contained quite a few people. There was what looked to be an aging couple, a four-person group who seemed to be chatting about work, a high school girl who didn’t really fit this location, an elderly man who was waiting for someone but didn’t seem to be Hisaka-kun’s father… but after being told that he was sitting by the wall, it was not difficult to find the caller. With his black hair swept to the back, a man clad in a navy blue jacket was reading a magazine in a bored manner. On his table was an ashtray, a cup of jet black coffee that had not been drunk from yet, as well as a mathematics textbook.
The man noticed me before I could call out to him. He wordlessly shifted his gaze and motioned for me to take a seat opposite him. I complied.
I was the first to introduce myself.
“My name is Kobato Jougorou, and I am a third-year student from Takaba Middle School. You are the person who called me, Hisaka-san, right?”
The man put down his magazine and looked up.
“Yes, I am Hisaka Kazutora.”
His voice was deep like in the phone call, a little hoarse in person, and did not sound like Hisaka-kun’s voice. His facial features looked somewhat similar to that of Hisaka-kun, but was not entirely alike, to the point that it could be just a chance resemblance. In contrast to Hisaka-kun who participated in a sports club and was thus slender and muscular, the man in front of me had a flabby chin, which probably stopped me from finding much similarities there.
“I believe you said that you are Hisaka-kun’s father.”
Hisaka-san nodded, pulled the ashtray closer to him, then put a cigarette from his pocket into his mouth and lit it. There were no cigarette butts in the ashtray. Hisaka-san had arrived earlier than me, but had not smoked while waiting, and only started when I arrived.
He exhaled some smoke without turning to the side.
“Sorry for having you come all the way here. I wanted to talk in a quiet place.”
“You wanted to ask about Hisaka-kun’s accident, correct?”
“Yes. But first, do order something.”
A hotel staff approached and placed a menu in front of me. The coffee here was three times the price of the milk coffee in Omotedana, the cafe that Osanai-san had brought me to. I didn’t think that just having a talk would cost money, so I hadn’t brought any money.
“…Could I have a hot milk, please?”
“Of course.”
Hot milk was actually on the kids’ menu, but it was the cheapest item, so I had no choice.
Hisaka-san seemed unwilling to say anything until my drink arrived. By smoking his cigarette, holding the magazine in his hand and occasionally taking a sip of his coffee, he was trying to block me from asking any questions. Eventually, my hot milk arrived, and he broached the subject before I could pick up the cup.
“Is it true that you are searching for an eyewitness to Shoutarou’s accident?”
I was not certain that Hisaka-san called me after seeing the poster I’d put up outside Ouyou High School. There was the possibility that Hisaka-kun somehow found out my number while hospitalized and passed it to his father, after all. However, Hisaka-san’s question was based on information in the poster. He must have also obtained my phone number from the poster.
“Yes, I am. You saw the poster, right?”
Hisaka-san nodded, drank some coffee and put down the cup.
“That is how I was able to call you. As I said in the phone call yesterday, I would like you to tell me about Shoutarou’s accident. The police did not give me many details.”
I didn’t know if the police would normally give a detailed explanation to the victim’s family, but there was one puzzling point in Hisaka-san’s request.
“Of course, I can talk about it as much as you want me to, but I believe Hisaka-kun would know more about it than I do.”
Hisaka-san put on a bitter smile.
“Of course, I did ask my son, but I also want to hear you out. There is the insurance claim and all sorts of things to settle. I would like to know the details of what happened before and after the accident.”
I considered for a moment, then said something I did not mean.
“What I say may not be the truth. This is just something I pieced together from what I saw and heard.”
“I don’t mind.”
Then there were a few things I could say. I recalled every bit of information I’d learned since the start of this case.
“When I heard the first report of the accident in school, all I knew was that Hisaka-kun had gotten run over by a car.
“Some friends in class talked about being unable to sit still when a classmate got run over, so we went to check out the accident scene. The skid marks were narrow, so I thought the vehicle that hit Hisaka-kun to be a light car. After that, I went to visit Hisaka-kun in hospital… or to be precise, our homeroom teacher and some representatives from the class visited him first, and I went in after that. There, I asked about how he was hit, and what kind of vehicle it was. You know about that, right?”
“Yes, I know, but I would also like to hear it in your words.”
“Alright. Hisaka-kun said that he was run over by a sky-blue wagon car. He was walking downstream on the embankment road when he was hit from the front by an oncoming car. The driver applied the brakes and Hisaka-kun immediately brought his arms in front of him to protect himself, but could not stop the momentum and was knocked to the ground. He got bruised on both arms, broke some ribs and had a crack in his skull. He also sprained his wrists and ankle.”
“Yes, that sounds right. What happened afterwards?”
“One of my classmates knew an underclassman who witnessed the accident. I went to that underclassman and asked him about the accident. From that, I learned that the car which hit Hisaka-kun was a wagon, and was a light car with a yellow license plate. I also found out that there was another girl from our school at the scene. By chance, I met that girl, and heard that the car sped upstream after hitting Hisaka-kun, and almost ran over her as well.”
Hisaka-san silently nodded and gestured me to carry on.
I omitted the part where we followed the car’s supposed path on the embankment road and obtained the security camera footage that should have shown the culprit’s car. As for why it did not – we would have to figure it out eventually, but at this point in time – we had no idea.
“I also found out that Hisaka-kun was not alone during the accident. That is because the positions of the skid marks cannot be explained if he was walking alone.”
I thought that he would want more details on that point, but Hisaka-san simply listened without saying anything. Feeling a little discouraged, I continued.
“I learned that Hisaka-kun’s companion was pushing a bicycle. After checking with the underclassman who witnessed the accident, I also found out that the companion was wearing a uniform from Ouyou High School. With a bit more time, I should be able to figure out who they are. This companion saw the hit-and-run vehicle from a closer distance, so they might have seen the vehicle’s features to a greater detail, or even the culprit’s face. That is why…”
That is why I will be able to reveal everything about this case with just a little more time – even I wouldn’t say those words aloud. Instead…
“That is why I put up that poster.”
Hisaka-san was looking down silently, not saying a word. With the cigarette still between his fingers, he did not take a drag from it, but followed the trail of smoke and looked up at the dark ceiling. This allowed me to see his face.
His face was contorted. Was it from frustration, or from sorrow? Reading the inner thoughts of others was not a strong suit of mine. I was aware that while I may be able to think about how something happened to a certain degree, I was not good at reading a person’s thoughts to discern how they want a situation to play out. Thus I couldn’t understand why Hisaka-san was making such a grim expression. I did feel that his face seemed to convey rage more than any other emotion, though.
I asked a question I should have already asked.
“Erm… how was Hisaka-kun’s condition?”
Hisaka-san looked shocked, as if he had just been shaken awake from a nap.
“Hm? Ah…”
He then looked down dispiritedly.
“It’s neither good nor bad.”
“Will he be discharged soon?”
“All we can do is wait for the doctor’s decision.”
Hisaka-san slowly stubbed out his cigarette on the ashtray.
“Well done. You investigated well. Thanks to you, I now understand quite a lot about the accident. I’m happy for your consideration towards my son. Thank you very much.”
But before I could puff out my chest in pride and say, “You’re welcome. Please leave the rest to me,” Hisaka-san continued.
“But this is a job for the police.”
“…”
“If my son learns that his classmate is exposed to danger from investigating his accident, he will not be able to be at ease and devote himself to recovery. Let me inform the police about this companion you spoke of. You should focus on your studies. That is a student’s duty.”
I was perplexed. Wasn’t Hisaka-san supposed to rely on me because he was getting no details from the police and didn’t know what they were doing? Yet now he was telling me to leave it to the police. There was a contradiction… Hisaka-san was implying something else in his words.
“Basically…”
I started.
“You want me to back out?”
“Of course not. I said no such thing.”
Hisaka-san put on a comfortable smile and took a sip of coffee.
“All I’m saying is to let the adults handle this.”
Placing the cup back on its saucer, Hisaka-san interlocked his fingers on the table and spoke to me as if he was taking great pains to teach me a lesson.
“Kodaka-kun. I’m worried about you. I’ll consult your school if you prove to be unreasonable. You understand, don’t you? Now go. I’ll pay the bill.”
Hisaka-san only had a faint recollection of my name, so him saying that he was worried about me had not a shred of persuasiveness to it. However, he did threaten to report me to the school. Basically, as I thought – Hisaka-san was telling me to pull back.
As someone investigating a case, it might be an honor to be threatened to withdraw from it. Perhaps I should be satisfied at being told to stop when I was close to the truth.
However, I felt annoyed more than anything.
After silently digging through my pockets, I placed enough money to pay for the hot milk on the table. Hisaka-san did not tell me to take it back.
With the smell of cigarettes clinging onto me, I wordlessly left the lounge. I took the elevator, went to the underground car park and put my feet on the pedals. My destination was Ouyou High School. Specifically, the notice board in front of Ouyou High School’s main gate, on which I had put up a poster on Monday that still had more than a week remaining to its posting period.
I was not surprised by what I saw. The poster had been torn off.
“Dinner is ready.”
The very short-haired nurse brought over a tray.
The dinner menu consisted of rice, yellowtail teriyaki, simmered root vegetables, as well as soba served in a small bowl. It was New Year soba3 with mushrooms. I put my hands together, picked up the chopsticks, then said my thanks to the nurse who was about to serve food to the other rooms.
“Thank you very much.”
She looked over her shoulder.
“It’s fine. Please do not eat too quickly.”
“Yes, but um, could you first give me some water? I feel bad for having you fetch me water during the time when you are taking away trays. That seems to be a busy period for you.”
The nurse stopped moving for a short while, but judged my request to be unproblematic.
“Alright. Please wait for a moment.”
I steadily moved my chopsticks in the now quiet hospital room. Dinner here was always at 6pm, and it was also on schedule today.
As expected, the New Year mushroom soba was not hot. In fact, it was so lukewarm that I could tell that it had been transported through a chilly corridor. The soba noodles were normal, but the broth was only faintly salty. The hospital I’d had up to now were delicious, but “average” was the only word I could use to describe this mushroom soba.
However, I was delighted with this average soba. They obviously put a lot of thought into my meals every day, but a special food being served on a special day allowed me to think that even this small hospital room was not cut off from the flow of seasons. I was now able to believe that this bed was connected to the outside world.
That said, the amount of soba was too low. It was a New Year soba too modest for a meal, meant only for ceremonial reasons. I proceeded with the main meal, which was the rice and the rest of the dishes.
There was a knock on the door, and before I could respond, the nurse entered, bringing a cup of water. Due to the bowl of soba, the tray did not contain enough space, so I had to receive the cup with my hand.
The nurse also performed the normal routine.
“Please drink all the water.”
“Alright.”
“I’ll come over to collect the tray later.”
I continued with my dinner. At this rate, would there be o-zōni4 tomorrow? Then again, mochi is risky as a food for patients5, so perhaps the New Year greeting would be expressed in some other form. What would I like to have… datemaki6 would be great. My spirits would definitely be lifted if I could get a bite of a sweet datemaki.
With that thought, I started on the simmered root vegetables. It was not exactly a special dish, but it was delectable. In addition to having dinner, I properly fulfilled the request Osanai-san had given me. I spoke to the wolf plushie.
“I’ve watered the flowers.”
Just as the mushroom soba had gone lukewarm, the yellowtail teriyaki had gone a bit cold. Even so, it was still faintly warm, and I was satisfied with the soft texture of a fish that was not overcooked.
Having finished dinner, I put down my chopsticks. Since each patient had a different pace of eating, the nurse would not remove the tray at a set time. Today, the empty tableware sat in front of me for about fifteen minutes.
Eventually, the nurse returned, removed the tray and helped me brush my teeth. After that, I asked.
“Are you working tonight?”
She answered without making a weird face.
“No, I’m on regular hours today.”
“I see. Hope you have a great year.”
“Hope you have a great year too, Kobato-san.”
I then lay down on my bed and rested my head on the pillow. When I closed my eyes, the nurse switched off the lights and gently opened the door.
…It was quiet.
And dark.
But the room wasn’t completely silent. There was the low hum of the air conditioner, which I could feel warm wind blowing from.
However, even that couldn’t keep the cold away tonight.
I delicately pushed my feet outside the bedding. At first, they felt comfortable, but soon after, became unbearably chilly.
– But the drowsiness did not come. I opened my eyes.
Chapter 8 | Contents | Chapter 10
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- Short for Kōhaku Uta Gassen, or the NHK Red and White Song Battle, an annual New Year’s Eve television special which divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams of red and white. At the end of the show, judges and the audience vote to decide which group performed better.
- Cassis is a sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants.
- A traditional Japanese noodle bowl dish eaten on New Year’s Eve, intended to enable the household to let go of the year’s hardship because soba noodles are easily cut while eating.
- A Japanese soup containing mochi rice cakes, usually eaten on New Year’s Day.
- Mochi can lead to suffocation if stuck in the throat.
- Japanese sweet rolled omelette, made in the oven in a single layer, and usually includes fish.
The suspense is killer! Thanks as always for your hard work!
Realmente tinha algo no copo de água da enfermeira, será q ela é uma possível peça desse caso?
Creio que o próximo cap Kobato e Osanai devem conversar (ou não né)
Obrigado pelo capítulo, ansioso pelo próximo, abraços ☺🥂👌
We are getting near the end of this volume — and yet so much is still unresolved. This adds a second layer of suspense, I think.
Thanks again!