[Novel: Venus Syndrome] (17) A Night at Summer Camp

In recent years, there have been successive reports in Japan of baby girls born without arms.
Although the number of cases is small, they are not concentrated in any specific time or region, but strangely, the only common point is that they are "always girls."
This is the "Second2Thalidomide Incident".

A late-night television program featured one of them.
The narrator described the girl, who played the piano, wrote, and even cooked with her feet, like this:
"She is like a Venus statue."

――That was the beginning of the name "Venus Child".

At first, it sparked controversy. There were voices expressing discomfort at comparing a human body to a work of art, and backlash against the casual naming. However, as the girls themselves and their families began using the term as a way to put their existence into words, the term "Venus Child" gradually and quietly took root.

Eventually, parents of Venus children across the country connected, and a support group called the "Colchicum Association" was born.
And when summer came, training camps—summer camps—began to be held in various places to learn the "art of living with one's feet."

That said, the official name is quite stiff.
"National Training Camp for Exchange and Support of Children with Congenital Upper Limb Deficiency."
This is a project name with a clearly stated purpose, necessary to receive subsidies from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and others.
Even if you wrote "Venus Child Summer Camp" on the application form, it wouldn't pass.

This year's camp site is the Hiruzen Highlands, which spread across the Chugoku region.
The style is to have leg-stretching training and practical skills for daily life using feet only during the day, and staying at a nearby hotel at night.

Several middle school Venus children were also starting to show smiles little by little, despite being nervous about their first participation.

And that night.
With the curtains of the hotel's four-person room drawn shut and the air conditioner blowing quietly, the girls were having a lively time, kicking pillows with their feet and rolling around on the beds.

"I mean... honestly, I still find it hard to say the words 'I don't have arms' myself."
At Moe's murmur, the room went quiet for a moment.

"I kind of get that. Even though it's about me, it feels like I'm 'giving a play-by-play' of it."
Mizuki said while pulling a pillow with her feet.

"I don't say it at school either. I just make excuses like 'I was born this way.' I don't think my homeroom teacher even knows the word 'Venus Child'."
When Saya said that with a small laugh, the other girls looked at each other and gave a bitter smile.

"And then, the other day in committee, when I said 'I'll hand out the prints,' I was stopped with 'Oh, don't worry about it.'"

"That happens so much!"
Moe suddenly sat up. "I was told that during cleaning duty with the floor cloth! 'You don't have to push yourself!'"

"That's the kind of thing that makes you want to say, 'I'm not pushing myself!'"
Saya laughed and threw a cushion with her feet. Moe caught it instantly with her feet.

"For me, people always ask, 'Where did you buy that?' when I'm wearing a prosthetic arm."
"That happens! Some kids even act like it's a brand name, asking 'Is it imported? From Germany?'"
"You just want to say, 'This is my arm!'"

"When it came to school bags, didn't you get asked a lot, 'How do you carry it?' if you didn't have a prosthetic arm?"
"I carried mine with my feet. It felt like I was showing off a pro skill from the morning."
"Every morning is a circus!"

"Sitting cross-legged. Even though I don't have arms, when I can balance properly, I get this mysterious sense of pride like, 'I can actually do this...'"
"That happens!"
"Also, my sister once told me, 'When you wear clothes with sleeves, it's kind of cute how only your shoulders move.'"
"Is that a compliment? Or are they dissing you?"
"Isn't it both?"

The laughter wouldn't stop, and for a while, the "Venus Child relatable moments" didn't end.

Then, Saya said suddenly.

"But you know, the fact that we can talk about this while laughing means we've grown, right?"
"Before, even talking about this might have been tough."

"...Maybe so."

"I still can't say 'I'm glad I'm a Venus Child,' but being able to think 'I'm not alone'... that's a little bit of a relief, I guess."

No one answered right away, but the air was soft, deep, and just a little bit warm.

"Alright, we have leg-stretching again tomorrow, you know?"
"That's a curse."
"But I think I might be starting to look forward to it."

Someone turned off the light with their foot.
Someone's foot touched someone else's foot. But no one pulled away.

The night in Hiruzen grew quiet and late.