Short: This is the reason

On the way to the station, every morning, there is a man standing in front of the hydrangeas. He is tall but slightly hunched, and always wet. It seems he has a principle of not using an umbrella.

One morning in June, I spoke without thinking, just as I saw it: "The flowers change color day by day, don't they?"
The man gave a soft laugh.
"I think I change too, you know.
You are like an Annabelle."
Before I could ask what he meant, it was time for my train.

Me, a mouse, like an Annabelle...?

He was there the next morning, too. And the next, and the one after that.
He never had an umbrella. When I spoke to him, as if continuing from yesterday, he would say things like, "The blue is strong today," or "You look more energetic than yesterday."

He is like a hydrangea. His color is hard to read, yet I find myself wanting to watch him.

One morning, he wasn't there. Nor the next day.
Three days later, an umbrella was lying at the base of the hydrangeas. Only the name "Ritsu" was written on the handle.

I picked up the umbrella and opened it.
It was just a little bit heavy.

"So, I ended up bringing the umbrella home.
Tatsujun, what should I do?"

Tatsujun glanced at me and the umbrella, then stirred the miso soup.
"…That man might not have been able to pass on."

The faint scent of rain drifted in through the window.

#Tarahakani-san
#WeeklyShortShortNote
#HydrangeaBoy