Taimu's Story: 99
Facing Karen's family photo, Taimu thinks about his own family and many other things...
Well then, here we go!!
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In the light filling the living room, Karen, her mother, and her father are smiling at Taimu.
Although they were just figures in a photograph, seeing them made Taimu feel as if his chest had warmed up a little.
(............)
Suddenly catching the scent of Karen's house, he felt a slight, uneasy tug in the center of his body because, while pleasant, it was not the scent of his own home.
His father must be at work now, his mother is in the hospital, and he is far away at Karen's house.
Remembering how vast that distance was, the uneasy feeling in his gut suddenly tightened and became fragile, and feeling as if he couldn't stay there any longer, he gritted his teeth hard.
Every night before bed, his father calls him on a video call.
It has become a daily routine for Taimu to first tell him what he did that day and how he spent his time, then ask about his mother's condition in the hospital; sometimes, the call even comes from his mother's hospital room.
When he first arrived at his grandmother's house, that was Taimu's only source of joy, or rather, his source of comfort, and he would look forward to the calls. However, after he started going to the learning school with Karen, talking, and doing homework together, that lonely feeling had completely disappeared. The calls with his father, which often tended to be late at night, had fallen into the category of 'things that are a hassle but must be done,' just like brushing his teeth every morning.
(...Dad, Mom)
Looking at Karen's family photo and feeling the warmth in this house, a lonely feeling suddenly returned to Taimu.
His clenched back teeth made a grinding sound.
He also remembered that this was all because of his younger brother or sister...
Taimu's mother is pregnant and is hospitalized.
It seems the plan was for her to be hospitalized much later, but it turned out the baby might be born early, and since that would be a big problem, she was hospitalized beforehand.
(Geez, it's all the younger brother's fault...)
—That's what he thinks.
At least, that's what he thought when he first came here.
But now, it's different.
Part of him still thinks that, but he can't think that way about everything.
Because the younger brother or sister being born isn't doing it to be mean to Taimu.
And, having a larger family is probably a very happy and fun thing.
Taimu learned that from Karen.
Of course, it wasn't something he learned from a teacher at school...
(No, there isn't one.
At my place—it's just my mom and me)
When Karen said that, it was just for a brief moment in her expression and a slight change in her tone, but it felt so lonely that he gasped.
He has been spending every day with Karen since then—and of course, Taimu thinks Karen herself doesn't realize it—but sometimes, like when the students leave the classroom after the learning school ends and it gradually becomes quiet, or when he is looking at the empty table after finishing washing the dishes at his grandmother's house after dinner, Karen shows that expression.
It is always just for an instant.
Taimu thought that perhaps the friends around Karen, and maybe even Karen's mother, hadn't noticed.
Because Karen is always laughing, complaining to Taimu, and is bright, energetic, and reliable, Taimu was concerned about her looking lonely in those brief moments.
So, Taimu would intentionally act silly in front of her to try and make her laugh or surprise her, even a little—setting aside the fact that Taimu has a 'nature of wanting to try things on impulse'—before that.
And... that is why Taimu couldn't think of the arrival of his younger brother or sister as negatively as he had before.
(............)
In the photo in front of him, the family is laughing.
They look very happy, but that is no longer here now.
The back of his chest felt very cold and heavy, and he felt as if many 'Why?' questions were bubbling up in his head.
He didn't know what to do about it, nor did he know who to tell, but he could feel a swirling, uncontrollable feeling growing inside him—a mix of the feeling that he had to do something and the urge to just scream out loud.
His hand gripped the chest of his shirt tightly, and he put strength into his toes, knees, and his whole legs.
Unable to look at it any longer, Taimu looked away from the photo where Karen, her mother, and her father were smiling happily toward him, and lifted his face.
He saw the kitchen next door in his line of sight.
There is a sink beyond the table where the first-aid kit is placed.
"Hii—"
A small, voiceless sound escaped Taimu's throat.
Since when...?
He saw a human shadow on the frosted glass of the sink.
That shadow had both arms pressed against the glass, with its face pressed right up against it, as if peering inside.
Within the blurred outline of the face, black eyes were moving restlessly, rolling around.
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A mysterious shadow that suddenly appeared outside Karen's house... What on earth is going to happen?
Well then, look forward to the next episode!
Rui Kobayashi