[Short-Short] I write, in order to read.
I love books.
However, lines of text do not look straight to me.
I always use a ruler to read them.
That is why it is difficult for me to read anything other than physical books.
Even so, difficult books do not sink into my mind.
At times like that, I have a secret strategy.
I copy them exactly as they are into a notebook.
When I do that, it feels like it sinks into my mind, somehow.
"Iroha-san! What are you reading?"
I call out to Iroha-san, another user at the employment transition support facility I attend.
"What do you mean... as you can see, it's the Employment Quarterly Report."
"Wow! Is that interesting?"
"Interesting, or rather, it's for company research."
"Hmm, I want to read it too!"
Iroha-san lent me the book, saying, "Only during break time."
Now, let's copy it into my notebook.
Company name, company overview, industry, job openings, ...
There are many kanji I cannot read.
But anyway, I just keep copying.
Notebooks are great after all.
Because they have lines drawn across them.
Even for me, who sees strings of text as scattered, they are relatively easy to see straight.
Ring-a-ling.
The chime for the end of the break rings.
When I notice, Iroha-san is standing next to me.
"Are you copying it one by one? How much time does that take?"
Iroha-san snatched the book away from me.
At night, my younger sister came home and gave me a report.
"Big sister, I'm getting married."
"What? Oh, congratulations!"
I was surprised by the sudden news.
Apparently, she had been talking to Mom about her boyfriend for a long time.
"I'll have you come to the wedding, but please, make sure you don't do anything weird."
I am warned.
But, what would be considered 'weird'...?
I have never been to a wedding, so I don't know.
I'll ask Mom later.
After a while, my sister started packing in the next room.
My sister comes into my room with one book.
"Big sister, I don't need this book anymore, so I'll give it to you. It was quite interesting. You like books, right?"
"Are you sure? Thank you."
When I read the synopsis, it seemed to be a story about a librarian aiming to be a writer.
It looks difficult, but I will copy it.
Because it is a gift from my sister who is getting married.
As I read on, this passage caught my eye.
"Words become a bouquet. By giving them, you can make the other person happy. I want to weave such words."
That was when it happened.
The house began to sway sideways with a rumble.
I instinctively got under the desk.
The successive notebooks I had put on the bookshelf fell down with a clatter.
When the shaking settled, I picked up the notebooks.
My current notebook is the 219th one.
Most of the 218 previous ones were scattered on the floor.
For no particular reason, I read them back.
Come to think of it, I had never read back through my notebooks.
Because I am always desperate just to write and understand.
There, I found treasures.
Each and every one of the words looked like it was shining.
I will make a bouquet to give to my sister from here.
I will make it a letter as a present from her big sister.
That wouldn't be weird, right?
I'm sure it will be fine.
Because these are such wonderful words.
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