Short Short 9 (Fantasy Edition). An Ordinary Daily Life ~A Town Where Tengu and Kappa Live~ (1644 characters including afterword)

An Ordinary Daily Life ~A Town Where Tengu and Kappa Live~

The scenery of this town apparently looks a bit strange to people from the past.

For example, Mr. Ameku at the greengrocer. His nose extends about 15 centimeters forward, his face is bright red, and he is 2 meters tall.
I don't really understand what is rare or problematic about that. However, Mr. Ameku's distant ancestors were apparently called things like "Tengu," were feared, and lived quietly deep in the mountains.

Mr. Ameku's ancestors must have been born from something like a "mutation." It is the very history of living things, which has been repeated many times in the process of evolution.

Hearing that people were afraid of that makes me think that people in the past were the ones who were truly strange.

Midori-san at the bakery has webbing between her fingers and also breathes through gills, but whenever I tease her, the way she gets shy while puffing her gills is just too cute.

It is said that the ancestors of this Midori-san were sometimes called "Kappa."
There is apparently a rumor that she likes cucumbers for some reason, but Midori-san doesn't seem to like them much, as she associates cucumbers with food for crickets.

Even so, the melon bread Midori-san bakes is exquisite. I buy one for an early snack and head to school.

Since I was late yesterday too, two days in a row would be bad. I would get scolded spectacularly by my homeroom teacher, Mr. Tani-o.

Mr. Tani-o has a part of his scalp that has hardened and protrudes about 3 centimeters upward. It is symmetrical, and the pointed parts poke out just a little bit from his naturally curly hair.

Since his canine teeth are long and sharp, I always think that brushing his teeth must be difficult.

The teacher's whole body is blue, but when he gets angry, his entire body turns bright red, so you must never defy him at such times. Even so, because the teacher has a frank personality, he is very popular with the students.

The teacher's ancestors apparently also had a very hard time, but he doesn't tell me many details. However, it is a relatively well-known story that for some reason he hates peaches.

For me, all of this is an ordinary daily life.
In my class, there is a girl whose lower body is a fish, and there is also a child who has a pouch on their stomach.

Everyone's differences are not just in their appearance.
There are children who run 100 meters in 8 seconds, and friends who eat 10kg of raw meat a day.

I heard in class that each of them was born after undergoing something like a "mutation" during various evolutionary processes.

I see, everyone accepts it as just that, and there is an ordinary daily life.

What is not ordinary is that at this rate, I will be late for two days in a row.
Oh no, Mr. Tani-o is going to turn red.

It can't be helped.

I took off the bag I was carrying on my back, and although it is prohibited for commuting, I spread the wings on my back.

(End)

~Afterword~

"Where does discrimination come from?"
I often find myself thinking about that.

People feel surprise or awe toward things that are different from themselves.
Sometimes, that "awe" can turn into "anger" in order to dispel anxiety.
And when people who empathize with that anger or fear appear, a "discriminatory consciousness" is born there—that is what I feel.

I think the structure of bullying is somewhat similar.

It is not just fear or anger.
Sometimes, a psychology may be at work where one uses someone who "looks weak" as a shield to hide one's own complexes.

Perhaps it is impossible to completely eliminate these kinds of emotions.

That is why I think it is important, when those emotions arise, to notice them yourself,
and gently pluck them out, thinking, "This is not a beautiful thing."

If we could do that, perhaps the world would become a kinder place.

I think that is what Fujii Kaze means when he talks about "cleaning the heart."

Thank you for reading until the end.😊
I would be happy if you could leave comments with your opinions or impressions.😆