26 26
The deceased live on in our memories.
26
So... before they met in real life, Fedia's feelings for her were more than just using her?
Looking at the analysis sent by Dazai Osamu, Kawakami Wakana suddenly felt as if a sugar jar and a vinegar jar had been overturned in her heart at the same time, with a hint of sourness and a hint of sweetness.
But it also seems...
I feel much more at ease.
It's like... that "gloomy, introverted high school boy" she had an online romance with has come back...
"Ruoyi?"
The sound of her father calling her name jolted Kawakami Wakana awake from her reverie.
"What is it, Dad?"
Without realizing it, I turned the volume up to the maximum.
"N-nothing," the father in the passenger seat chuckled awkwardly, "It's just... what were you staring at your phone and grinning like that?"
"—Just like when I was dating your mother and received the letter she sent me."
"...!"
The mother, who had been focused on driving, suddenly exclaimed, "Ruoyi is in a relationship?"
"..."
"No, that's not it!" Kawakami Wakana quickly retorted. "It was Natsumi-chan! Natsumi-chan just told me a joke!"
She tried her best to suppress a laugh: "I already mentioned before that Xia Jiang went to China to play in a competition. She said that when she and a few teammates went to a restaurant there for the first time, they ordered their favorite Tianjin-style rice, as usual, but the restaurant staff had no idea what that was."
"It took me a lot of gesturing and using all the English I've ever learned to figure out that Tianjin rice is actually a Chinese-style dish that the Japanese developed based on their own tastes."
"..."
The temperature inside the car seemed to drop suddenly.
"Mom and Dad, I'm sorry..." Ruoyi whispered in her heart.
She's been a working professional since April, so it's not unusual for someone her age to be dating. However, since her partner is Feda, she can't introduce him to her family like other couples do…
"Oh, right, Mom!" Not wanting her parents to dwell on it, she quickly added, "Let's hurry home! I haven't petted Mimi-chan in ages!"
Mi-chan is an orange cat that Ruoyi has kept at home since she was in elementary school. She initially used Mi-chan's avatar on "Jinjiang".
Unexpectedly, the air inside the car became even more deathly silent after she said that.
Kawakami Wakai: Huh?
…………
Ruoyi had to work at the Whirlpool Cafe on Saturday. So she had just returned to Sendai on Wednesday and was scheduled to take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo on Friday. However, this time, everything seemed to have changed on her journey home.
Mimi-chan, the little cat who had been with her for over ten years, left her this spring when the cherry blossoms in Sendai were in full bloom. Her parents didn't tell her about it because they were afraid it would affect her studies and job search.
After all, if she knew, she would definitely rush over no matter what.
Kawakami Wakana couldn't blame her parents, but the thought of Mi-chan gently rubbing against her legs when she didn't do well on exams or argued with her family still made her feel incredibly upset.
But then again, it seems a bit too late to do this now...
On Friday night, Ruoyi, who usually sleeps very well, had a rare bout of insomnia.
Clutching her phone under the covers, she wanted to confide in someone, but didn't know who to talk to. After all, no matter who the other person was, they would have to bear her negative energy. And among her friends, the only one who had ever met Mi-chan was Xia, who was currently competing abroad. Ruoyi couldn't bother her.
Speaking of which...
The last time I was this sad was because of that car accident.
And it was Fedia who was with her at that time...
Feda...?
Actually, Kawakami Wakana didn't know if it was still appropriate to talk about these topics with Fei Jia now, but she still picked up her phone and carefully typed in "My cat is gone".
After waiting a while, she actually received a reply.
How long did it live? How did it die?
Ruoyi was about to reply, but then she was forced to leave.
For Fedia, birth, aging, illness, death, and the changing times are perhaps just natural laws...
On the other side, Fyodor had assumed the kitten would continue its usual chatter, sending all sorts of information, useful or not, even when in a bad mood. But to his surprise, after a long silence, it finally spoke:
[Fei Jia, I know that birth, aging, illness, and death are the natural order of things, and ultimately just a natural law that all living things must go through. But—]
But for those who care, it will still be painful!
Fyodor: Hmm?
Is it because of a bad mood?
However, he's been busy with the "White Whale" project lately and hasn't been able to stay up all night discussing life with the other person like before, so he simply replied:
That's certainly true.
However... sometimes death may not be the end. After all, he can still live on in the hearts of those he cares about.
"..."
The message was clearly read, but the other party has yet to reply.
Just when Fyodor thought Ruoyi wouldn't reply, his phone notified him of a new message.
[And Fedia? Do you have anyone who, although dead, still lives in your memory?]
Um?
Are they trying to find out about him?
Maybe so.
After replying with those few words, Fyodor turned off his phone and put it aside. He then picked up another anonymous SIM card and sent a message to Francis, the leader of the "group".
Then, they found a candle from somewhere.
There were no lights around, but the moment the candle was lit, the faint candlelight illuminated his face.
Fyodor said nothing, but stood before the candle, knelt down, and bowed deeply. Then, he made the sign of the cross with his right hand.
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, may the Lord grant it eternal rest..."
…………
That night, Kawakami Wakana didn't sleep as soundly as she had imagined. Even when she woke up, she didn't feel as tired as she had expected.
After washing up and packing her things, she was ready to head to the Whirlpool Cafe.
Just before leaving the house, she glanced at her chat history while putting on her shoes.
She glanced at the message that hadn't been sent—
Will I also live on in Fedya's memory?
"..."
This is definitely not a very appropriate thing to do.
Thinking this, she silently deleted all the text, and then called out to the room, which was actually empty, "I'm going out."
Today's part-time job went fairly smoothly. I didn't encounter any difficult customers, nor was I "harassed" by Dazai Osamu, nor did I witness him inviting any of the part-time girls to commit suicide together. Nothing happened until I finished work at four o'clock in the afternoon.
To get from the coffee shop to the station, you have to pass through a park. When Kawakami Wakana passed by the park, she noticed several children, around seven or eight years old, standing in the park's sandpit, each holding a bubble-blowing ring.
Speaking of which...
At this time of year, elementary school students are on summer vacation.
The children seemed to be struggling to blow soap bubbles. They pursed their lips and blew for a long time, their faces turning red, but only one tiny soap bubble appeared briefly near their mouths before disappearing.
The children looked disappointed.
Looking at these children, Ruoyi couldn't help but think of the days when she used to hold Mimi and blow soap bubbles on the balcony. Without thinking, she walked over, squatted down in front of the children, and smiled.
"Do you want me to tell you how to blow it?"
The children were stunned for a moment, but quickly nodded with expectant faces.
A few minutes later—
Watching the soap bubbles slowly drifting in the sky, the children couldn't help but giggle. One of the little girls suggested:
"Shall we sing that song we just learned in music class?"
The other children nodded, their voices echoing in the air—
The シャブん玉飞んだ, the house root まで飞んだ.
The root of the house is flying, and the root is flying. (1)
Ruoyi had heard this classic children's song before, and couldn't help but sing along.
The wind blows and the wind blows, and the wind blows and the jade flies...
It wasn't until the music ended that she noticed an adult male standing not far from the park.
The children looked at each other in bewilderment.
"He's a foreigner..."
"I don't speak English!"
"I don't know either."
They exchanged a troubled glance and quickly ran away, leaving Ruoyi and the adult man staring at each other in bewilderment.
"Hello, hello..."
She almost called out "Francis," but thankfully she quickly remembered that they hadn't exchanged names at the coffee shop that day.
Kawakami Wakana was genuinely surprised that Francis would actually be wandering around Yokohama. After all, if it were her, once she found out that she was being targeted by the Port Mafia, she would definitely stay far away from Yokohama, or even from Japan.
Could it be that he's going to find the Armed Detective Agency?
"Are you going to the Little Red House?" Ruoyi asked instinctively in English, then raised her finger to point in the direction of the Little Red House.
But before that, Francis suddenly shook his head and said in Japanese:
"I just came here for a walk."
"By the way, was that what those kids were blowing called a 'soap bubble'?"
Kawakami Wakai: Huh?
Could it be that Mr. Francis's homeland...?
Don't you have soap bubbles to blow?
That means he's missing out on a lot of fun! Just like Feda, who doesn't drink carbonated beverages!
There happened to be a toy store nearby, and Ruoyi, disregarding the fact that she and Francis were both adults, immediately ran to buy a bottle of soapy water. Sitting on a park bench, she demonstrated to him how to blow soap bubbles.
Kawakami Wakana has always had a great lung capacity, and the soap bubbles she blows are all round and large, drifting leisurely in the sky.
"Would you like to try?" Since Francis hadn't hidden the fact that he could speak Japanese from her, Ruoyi stopped trying to use English and handed it over as she spoke.
Francis: "..."
so--
He was approaching forty, a man with a family and a former child...
I was actually invited by a twenty-year-old girl to... blow soap bubbles?
However, he still instinctively took it, but instead of playing it right away, he asked, "By the way, what was that song you were singing just now?"
"You mean 'Soap Bubbles'?" Ruoyi tilted her head and looked at him. "It's an old children's song."
"However, despite the cheerful tone, there's a sense of sadness in it."
“Sadness?” Francis didn’t quite understand.
Perhaps thinking too much about her Mi-chan, or perhaps recalling the story behind the song they had discussed in their Chinese class, Kawakami Wakana lowered her head and replied:
"Because in this song, the soap bubble that bursts before it even reaches the roof symbolizes a child who dies before he has a chance to grow up."
Francis did not reply.
Kawakami Wakana stared at him blankly.
For some reason, she seemed to see a hint of unbearable shame in Francis's eyes...
[Author's Note]
(1) Lyrics of the Japanese children's song "Soap Bubbles"
This children's song is adapted from the work of poet Usagi Noguchi.
The following is a full translation:
The soap bubble took off and flew to the low eaves.
It flew towards the low eaves and disappeared without a trace.
The soap bubble disappeared before it even reached the sky.
They had just arrived in this world when they vanished without a trace.
Wind, wind, don't blow, let it fly high into the sky.
Small Theater
I once heard an old man say...
In Lucia, some people are born unable to produce the trilled "r" sound due to a change in their tongue structure and require surgery.
So, if Ruoyi learns Russian, will...
Because she can't learn
Fyodor deliberately scared her—
"If you can't learn how, you'll have to do surgery."
Kawakami Wakai:?
Are you trying to scare a child?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
