Novel: Resonance of Petrichor ④
Chapter 4: Self-fulfilling Reference
I had white shoes bought for me.
They were doll shoes, two-centimeter sneakers for customizing dolls.
“Tatsujun, the shoes are heavy.”
“Well, they aren't for hamsters, after all.”
Tatsujun found a new job, and I spent more time home alone. Even by myself, I had videos to watch, so I wasn't bored, but something was missing.
On days with good weather, birds made capricious trips back and forth, and trees fluttered their newly grown leaves in the wind. The outside world looked fun. In May, the leaves on the trees shine.
The only times I had been outside were on the way from the pet shop to Tatsujun's house, and during the time I went to help Tatsujun.
I cannot complain, for freedom filled with anxiety is less happy than the lack of freedom where the heart is not imprisoned.
Tatsujun, sensing that I had been watching nothing but outdoor videos, bought me the white shoes.
He said he would take me out to eat on his day off tomorrow.
“Eating out, huh. Maybe yakiniku or a restaurant?”
The ramen Tatsujun eats at home is different from the ramen I see in videos.
Could it be a ramen shop?
Beside Tatsujun, who was snoring in his sleep, my imagination wouldn't stop. If it were Chinese food, maybe they would let me sit on a round table, or if it were a sushi place, maybe they would let me play on the conveyor belt.
When morning came, Tatsujun checked Haruka's phone, which had passed away, and attached the earphones.
It was a system where I could talk through the earphone microphone, and
when I and Haruka's phone were tucked into the mesh pocket of his backpack, we headed out while it was still early.
After walking a little, Tatsujun went down into the basement of a building.
The basement floor was filled with loud noise and high-pitched rhythmic sounds.
People crossed paths, and there was a surging sound from somewhere.
The roar of metal rubbing against metal was accompanied by chimes as doors opened and closed. A woman's voice rained down from above.
“Kinkuma, can you hear me? This is the subway.”
From the mesh pocket, I could only see people's clothes.
Tatsujun moved. At the same time, the weight of the people suddenly pressed in more than before. Tatsujun walked and stopped.
The walls flowed smoothly backward.
“Tatsujun, are you riding something?”
“It's an escalator.”
The swaying of the backpack was pleasant, and I closed my eyes.
The blog I read yesterday said that food eaten outside tastes exceptionally good.
Just by having white shoes bought for me,
and being taken outside,
I am experiencing exceptionally delicious fresh air and scents.
No one ever taught me that the outside is fun,
or that eating out is delicious.
But in this society I have never seen, expectations are scattered everywhere, so much so that I feel like stretching my limbs.