Short Story: 'Mr. Starry Sky'

He almost always arrives with the setting sun at his back. I called him 'Mr. Starry Sky'.

The first time he came to our house was when I was still in the fifth grade of elementary school. A person dressed in all black, wearing slightly baggy, loose clothes, was standing in front of our gate. I could see my mother preparing dinner through the balcony window, so I ran past her and into the entrance hall.

Then, I closed the balcony curtains.

'What's wrong? Chika?'

'There's a strange person outside! He was staring at you the whole time, Mom.'

My throat was tight with fear.
I was terribly timid, and I was constantly worried that my mother might get caught up in something, just like the news I watched every morning.

My mother was laughing.

'No one is looking at me.'

'He really was looking!'

Out of sheer terror, I grabbed my mother's arm, despite being old enough (fifth grade) to know better, and said in a voice on the verge of tears.

'Let's see, shall we?'

It wasn't just a peek.
With a swift 'shhh!', my mother threw the curtains open.
I let out a silent scream.
Gyaaaa!
My mother was always like that.
She would intentionally do the things I feared.

'Oh! ...It's not you, is it?'
'Huh? What?'

It sounded like my mother had called the suspicious person by name, but I couldn't quite catch it. Sometimes, there are moments like this. It's not everything, but there are times when names, in particular, are hard to hear.

I felt like I had heard the name 'Sora'.

My mother left me in the living room and headed to the entrance by herself. She unlocked the door I had carefully locked and invited him in with a 'Welcome'.

That was my first encounter with Mr. Starry Sky.

Hoshizora-san called my mother his 'benefactor' and began coming over to help my sickly mother. On that day, too, he apparently had shopping bags with him, and I, having rushed in after mistaking him for a suspicious person, hadn't noticed.

From that day on, Hoshizora-san came over almost every day to help with chores like shopping and cleaning. At one point, I had to head to cram school, and worried about my mother, I told her firmly.

'If anything happens, call me on your smartphone!'

'I can't tell which one of us is the mother anymore.'

My mother was as laid-back as ever, even though I was genuinely worried. However, my worries always ended up being groundless. By the time cram school ended, Hoshizora-san would be waiting outside, and saying, 'I'm worried about you being alone,' he would walk home with me.

'How do you know where my cram school is? Are you a stalker?'

Influenced by the anime I was watching at the time, I played detective and grilled Hoshizora-san.

'Sayu-san told me.'

I didn't like that he called my mother by her first name, so I didn't say a single word to him for the rest of the walk. Even though I was being so rude, Hoshizora-san didn't seem to mind at all.

'That's right, I was asked to get three ice creams.'

He said, and without even checking with me, he started walking toward the convenience store. I didn't know what my mother would say if I left him behind and went home. I had no choice but to follow him. He was a person who moved at his own pace.

I couldn't tell how old Hoshizora-san was; he was someone between a boy and a young man. I'm not the type to care about people's ages, so in the end, I never asked.

After a late dinner, we ate ice cream for dessert. My mother would always head to her bedroom first. By the time I went back to my room to sleep, Hoshizora-san would be leaving.

Before I knew it, I had started waving goodbye to him from my second-floor window.

By the time I entered middle school, I was in love with Hoshizora-san. Embarrassingly, I was conceited enough to think, 'Hoshizora-san must like me.'

I started a diet, applied clear mascara to my eyelashes, and felt frustrated because I didn't know which lip color suited me. My mother was very worried about me, as I was only eating half a bowl of rice.

'You won't grow taller, you know?'

She said, and served more rice into my bowl.

'Stop it!'

I let out a hysterical scream, already feeling anxious because I couldn't lose any weight. I had been restricting my sugar intake, so I must have been on edge.

"Fine, I don't want any dinner!"

I slammed my chopsticks onto the table in a fit of rage and stomped noisily up the stairs. I heard Hoshizora-san's voice say, "I'll have seconds, then."

I thought perhaps Hoshizora-san might follow me upstairs. My vain self waited in my room, thinking she might even take my side and say, "It's not right to just add more rice without asking," but there was no sign of Hoshizora-san coming up.

The first floor was deathly quiet.

I heard the sound of my mother returning to her bedroom, and Hoshizora-san left without even calling out to me. I heard the distant sound of her locking the door securely with her spare key. From the second-floor window, I watched Hoshizora-san's back until she became a tiny speck.

I had assumed my mother would come to the three-way parent-teacher conference the next day, but it was my former father who showed up. I thought my world had gone dark. I had taken it for granted that my mother would come and hadn't bothered to check, but I never imagined that the father who had left when I was a child would appear. I was in shock.

Just because we had a fight, she didn't have to send the man who used to be my father in her place...

I had grown taller and thought I might be closer to my father's height, so I looked up at him, but his eyes were not looking at me, just as they never had. It wasn't just me. Perhaps my father didn't look at anyone at all.

In front of my homeroom teacher, he wore a calm, good-natured smile.

"It seems she is working hard on her studies as well."

He turned a proud gaze toward me. I felt as though the teacher's lips moved to say, "What a wonderful father," but it might have been my imagination. The words didn't reach my ears.

My memories after that are hazy; I remember spending time at school in a daze, doing the cleaning, skipping club activities, and returning home.

"Mom!"

Once I passed the entryway, my anger began to boil up again.

"Welcome home~"

My mother greeted me with a somewhat awkward smile.

"Why didn't you tell me!?"

My tone inevitably became harsh.

"That's terrible!!"

Unable to suppress my emotions, tears spilled from my eyes. More than sadness, a feeling of frustration took precedence. I felt as though I had been confronted with the reality that I was still just a helpless child.

Even as I hurled words at my mother, my heart felt like it was being gouged out. I had actually intended to say "I'm sorry" first.

"I'm sorry... Chinatsu."

I had let my mother say it first.

That was what gouged my heart the deepest.
I ran up the stairs as if to escape.

A while later, the doorbell rang, announcing his usual arrival.

Although I had had a fight that I thought would drag on for a while, I was able to return to normal with my mother sooner than I expected.

"I'll make it today."

That was Hoshizora-san's Napolitan Declaration.
Both my mother and I love 'Napolitan,' and this 'Napolitan Declaration' started as a game between the two of us to see who could master the most delicious Napolitan.

To explain briefly,
1.
Make a loud declaration to take control of tonight's Napolitan. The person declared against must yield the kitchen. It's a first-come, first-served battle.
2.
Stir-fry the Napolitan efficiently while showing respect for the ingredients. (*Matches are void on days when there are no green peppers.)
3.
Put your hands together, eat it all up deliciously, and praise each other's efforts. If it was delicious, you might even earn the right to be the ruler next time.

These are the rules limited to our home.

Hoshizora-san had jumped right into the middle of such a battle, a fight where you wash ketchup with ketchup.

""Eh? Are you sure...?""

My mother and I spoke at the same time.

I've been practicing. I think I can satisfy both of you.

Hoshizora-san, who is usually quiet, was unusually assertive. Rummaging through the shopping bag, the first thing she pulled out was a 10-pack of eggs.

Hey!! Do you even know what Napolitan is!?

I couldn't help but shout out as a heckler.

Aren't you trying to make omurice!?

Calm down, Chinatsu! Maybe she's trying to bring a breath of fresh air to the Napolitan scene...

And then, out came the mayonnaise.

Mom!!!

I couldn't help but cling to my mother. My mother, finding it amusing, giggled with tears in the corners of her eyes.

...ra-kun, you really are funny.

As expected, Hoshizora-san's name is hard to hear. By this time, I wasn't even bothered by it anymore.

I put my hands on my hips like a site supervisor, leaning to the side to watch the skills of today's ruler. No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I was keeping watch.

Hoshizora-san first dropped mayonnaise into a heated frying pan, then added onions, green peppers, and poured in beaten eggs. She adjusted them with chopsticks, skillfully fluffing the eggs, and set them aside on a plate before they could stick to the vegetables.

Then, she dropped more mayonnaise into the empty frying pan and stir-fried the pasta next. Once the noodles were nicely coated in the mayonnaise oil, she sprinkled salt and pepper, then added small pieces of butter. A savory aroma drifted through the area.

She added plenty of ketchup, mixed it into the noodles to a certain extent, then returned the stir-fried eggs and vegetables, tossed the pan to combine everything, and it was finished.

My stomach was already about to stick to my back. It wasn't me who groaned, but my stomach.

She placed dried parsley on the table for those who wanted it, and finally, the long-awaited tasting time arrived.

I put consommé soup base into cups and prepared soup for the three of us. My mother was using my smartphone without permission to take pictures of the finished Napolitan.

Let's eat.

The three of us put our hands together and slurped the Napolitan with gusto. In this Napolitan Colosseum, it was acceptable to slurp the noodles loudly. Those who would be intimidated by the sound of slurping noodles are not even allowed to set foot inside.

My former father was a man who ate his meals quietly.

That thought suddenly crossed my mind, but I couldn't stop my fork from moving, as the Napolitan tasted gentler than I had expected. I just focused entirely on the flavor.

"It's delicious! It goes really well with the soup, too."

"We can't afford to be complacent now, can we..."

"Thank you very much."

I felt as if the air had suddenly become lighter. Hoshizora-san smiled faintly. She was the kind of person who would smile modestly, lifting the corners of her mouth just a little.

Even though I hadn't added any Tabasco, my cheeks felt hot.

"It goes well with egg instead of ham, doesn't it?"

Until my mother said that, I had completely forgotten about the existence of ham. My mother and I were both in the ham camp when it came to Napolitan.

But that didn't matter to me anymore. I even forgot about my father's eyes, which never looked at anyone, and it just didn't matter.

"Hey, Hoshizora-san..."

I called out to her while wiping the dishes.

"What is it?"

"Why don't you stay the night tonight?"

"Oh my."

I heard my mother's voice from behind me.

Hoshizora-san glanced at my mother and said, "No, I'm going home."

"Because Mom is teasing me~"

I pouted. I think that's an act that is just barely acceptable until the first year of junior high school.

After finishing the cleanup, Hoshizora-san left earlier than usual, and the sound of the front door locking echoed softly.

The living room still held a faint, savory scent of the Neapolitan pasta we had just eaten.

“...Mom.”

I called out to my mother’s back as she prepared side dishes for tomorrow’s lunch in the kitchen.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry about today. And... I’m sorry about yesterday, too.”

My eyes stung a little, but this time I didn’t look away and stared straight at her. Mom picked up a cherry tomato and held it out to my mouth. I took a bite. It still had a slightly raw, green taste, but it was delicious.
It still had a slightly raw, green taste, but it was delicious.

“We were both hungry, weren’t we? From now on, we have to make sure we eat properly.”

At her words, I finally felt the lump in my chest truly disappear. I saw that she had removed the egg from the leftover Neapolitan and placed it in a small container. Maybe she’s going to put it in my lunch tomorrow.
I saw that she had removed the egg from the leftover Neapolitan and placed it in a small container.
Maybe she’s going to put it in my lunch tomorrow.

I bounded up the stairs to my room and opened the window.

The sunset had long since faded, and stars whose names I didn’t even know were beginning to twinkle in the sky.

Tomorrow, I’ll be hungry again.

Next time, I’ll be the one to make a Neapolitan pasta good enough to make Mom smile.

I stared at the spot where Hoshizora-san’s back had already disappeared, and once I felt satisfied, I closed the window and drew the curtains.

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