Osechi Bath, Weekly Short-Short Note, 436 characters

I wanted to enjoy a hot spring atmosphere at least for New Year's.
But I had no time. Traveling was a hassle, too.
In that case, I'd use bath salts in my home tub.

Speaking of a hot spring atmosphere, that's the one where you float sake in the water and drink it.
If that's the case, wouldn't it be perfect if I floated Osechi in there too?
New Year's feeling, doubled.

I tried it, but it was boring.

I brought my smartphone in and looked at social media next to the Osechi bobbing around.

Something was still missing. Remember.
Hot springs, sake, rock baths...

That's it. Monkeys.

But there are no monkeys in my house.
All I have is a cat.

"I should probably clean him up too, at least for New Year's."

That was a mistake.

The moment I dragged him in, the cat screamed, thrashed, jumped, knocked over the sake, kicked the Osechi everywhere, submerged my smartphone in the water, and destroyed my ideal New Year's in three seconds before running away.

If I ate the Osechi, my health, financial luck, and life were all supposed to go well.

So, I activated the Japanese virtue of "mottainai" (wasteful) and scooped up the Osechi floating in the bath to eat it.

As a result, I got a stomachache, missed work notifications, couldn't go to the New Year's gathering, and lay in my futon all alone.

It seems that if you don't treat omens with care, they all end up turning against you.


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I played on the double meaning of the Osechi being turned over and the omens being turned over.
Happy New Year.