An incident on a morning when someone told me, 'It's nice to hold hands'

One sunny morning, I went out for a walk, tea, and some reading by the beach. Whenever I go out, I always put my Kindle, wallet, iPhone, handkerchief, and glasses into my crossbody bag. Sometimes, I even forget my phone while it's still charging.

On this day, my shoulder hurt whether I wore the bag on the right or the left, so I secretly put my Kindle and glasses into Torao's backpack (without asking), and decided to go hands-free with just my handkerchief and iPhone in my pockets. Torao wears his backpack high up on his back, so I always chuckle, thinking he looks like he has a giant cicada perched on him.

The benefits of holding hands

When we go out, I naturally hold hands with Torao. Living here, I feel like it's rarer to see people who aren't holding hands. It's a very natural thing to do.

This also serves a bit as fall prevention (I'm quite clumsy), and while I do often trip and go 'whoops,' it prevents any further damage.

I even find myself humming happily. Naturally, it starts with 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.' As soon as I start singing, Torao glances at me. I feel about ten stares telling me, 'The season is wrong.' So, I snap out of it, and the next thing that comes out is 'My Favorite Things' from The Sound of Music. It's one of my favorite songs, but since I can't sing it in English, I just hum it. It's always these two songs, a set routine.

The benefit of holding hands is that you can be absent-minded. Honestly, I'm sure it looks like Torao is walking around with a five-year-old girl.

Conversations with strangers

When you're in the UK, strangers sometimes talk to you. For example, on a rainy day, a woman sitting next to me at a cafe showed me her raincoat, saying, 'This is the second raincoat I've worn today, and it's soaked through too' (so many people have raincoats that soak through). When I asked, 'Do you have another one?', she said she did.

Anyway, on this day, when we stopped at the traffic light near the beach, a woman who came from the path on the right spoke to us. Usually, when this happens, people are asking for directions, but this is what she said:

As I've said before, in this country, there are people holding hands everywhere. So, I felt very strange and tickled that someone would actually say that! She then continued:

When we met again at the next traffic light, Torao said this to her:

So, not to be outdone, I said:

We parted ways with smiles, but after being spoken to so kindly, I was reminded once again of the happiness of having someone to hold hands with. It wasn't that we looked particularly happy; it felt more like the sight of us just naturally walking along holding hands had simply made those words slip out.

The warmth from a hand seems to have an effect

I would like to introduce this article by Konoemizu-san about how the warmth from a hand has an effect. It is written with such wonderful sentiments.

Konoemizu-san's essays always leave a lasting impression. It feels less like having a snack and more like having enjoyed a lovely lunch. Please, do give it a read.

I no longer hold hands with my daughter

I think back on how happy I was to hold my daughter's hand when she was little. Now, we don't hold hands anymore. She refuses with all her might. Well, that's normal, isn't it? Parenting is tough, but those little traces of warmth remain everywhere, and even if I don't remember them clearly, they linger somewhere in my body. The next time I get to hold hands, it will probably be when I am much older and my steps have become unsteady. I have mixed feelings about it, but I think I'll look forward to it.