Snack Nakase Yukari

*This work is a work of fiction. It is based on real people and elements such as Shinchosha.

The shop was located deep in a back alley.
The sign was small.

But the regulars say:

"This isn't a place to drink alcohol. It's a place to make excuses for your life."

As I sat at the counter, Mama Yukari Nakase asked:

"What did you lose today?"

She asked that before the menu.

I replied:

"My confidence."

"In that case, it's on the third shelf. Everyone leaves it behind."

She said that and brought out some shochu.
Books were piled up inside the shop.

There were books by authors who had won literary awards, and books that hadn't sold.

Among them, there was one book that was a little worn out.

I looked at the cover.

Michio Shirakawa.

"Oh, do you like that one?"

When I asked that, Mama smiled just a little.

"Well, yes. A regular from way back."

The way she said it was strange.

She spoke of the deceased author as if he had been here just yesterday.

It was almost closing time.
All the customers had gone home.

Only the seat at the back of the bar was empty.

Yet, the mama placed a glass there.
She poured just a little shochu into it.

Is he coming?

When I asked, she laughed and said,
He's not coming.

He's not coming, but you can't say for sure that he's not here, can you?

I couldn't answer.
The mama continued while polishing a glass.

People only die once, but they can be remembered time and time again.

It was raining outside.

After a while, I asked for the bill.

The mama wrote something on the back of the receipt and handed it to me.
On it,

Life is chased by deadlines. But there is no deadline for love.

was written.

When I looked back, I felt like the glass at the back seat had a little less in it. Of course, it was just my imagination.

Probably.
Probably, but,

in that bar, perhaps that kind of imagination was the most important thing of all.

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