Colors and the Wrinkles of the Heart [Episode 12] What Lay Beyond Belief

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[Episode 12] What Lay Beyond Belief

I began to feel a warm light.

Early April. As the cherry blossom front moved across Japan, that day finally arrived.

I, too, was experiencing changes in my environment and spending my days in a flurry of activity.

My sister, Ayame, was expecting her baby this summer, and although her condition had gradually stabilized, there were still many concerns, and she was forced to rest, so I had her help me with administrative tasks that could be done from home.

One Sunday.

I realized I had left something at the shop last night, so even though it was a closed day, I headed to the shop.

"Huh, is there someone near the shop?"

The person there was Rui-san.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should call out to her.

If I didn't call out to her today, days might continue to pass without us meeting again.

I decided to observe the situation and call out to her without startling her.

Rui-san must have watered the plants.
As I approached, the flowers were shining brightly and fresh.

"Hello. It's been a long time."

Even though I greeted her suddenly, Rui-san was not as surprised as I had expected; she looked at me and gave a slight bow.

"I left something behind yesterday. Since the owner isn't here today, I normally wouldn't be able to open the shop, but would you like to have a drink? I'm thirsty myself."

"Oh... I'd love to."

Although it was a quiet voice, I was happy to receive a reply.

I made some iced coffee, handed it to Rui-san, and asked her this.

“Did you come by today for the first time in a while?”

Rui looked at me once, dropped her gaze to her glass, and began to speak.

“I ended up unable to go outside again. Ever since I quit my job, I’d been at home the whole time. I felt like I was the only one left behind in the darkness. I kept the curtains drawn tight and stayed in a dark room. I couldn’t see any light at all. But recently, I finally started to notice the light outside. When I opened the curtains, the sunlight came in. I realized, ‘Oh, the season has changed to spring.’ And I thought, ‘Oh… I wonder if the flowers are okay?’ so I came here. Honestly, I never forgot about the flowers or about you, Yori-san. You were always in the back of my mind. But I couldn’t move. Every day, I told myself, ‘Today is the day I’ll go.’ At first, it was hard even to leave my room, so I extended the distance little by little. Today is my tenth attempt.”

Rui gave a bitter smile, took a sip of her coffee, and began to speak again.

“I’m still as slow as ever when it comes to getting moving. Even though I’m a grown adult, I’m still so timid about society. Souta-kun would probably laugh at me, wouldn’t he?”

I started to say that wasn’t true, but I realized I shouldn’t interrupt her story, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Of course, I knew the shop was closed today, Sunday, so I thought I’d just water the flowers and head straight home. Then I found the notebook. After I finished reading it, I made up my mind to ‘come back on a proper business day,’ and just as I was about to leave, I saw the cafe sign. I started worrying about whether I still had a place here. Before I knew it, I had been standing there for a long time. When I came to my senses and thought I should head home, I saw you, Kokona-san. I felt a chill for a moment, thinking, ‘Oh… did I call you out here?’ but then I reconsidered that perhaps I was the one who had surprised you, so I tried to stay calm.”

Having finished her story, Rui drank her iced coffee in one go. Seeing that, I figured she had finished what she wanted to say, so I told her this:

“I see. Thank you for telling me. I feel both relief and joy that this cafe wasn’t forgotten by you, and that it has remained here unchanged until this very day. I was also happy that you noticed the notebook.”

“I thought it would be better for you to confirm for yourself whether you have a place here at the cafe, so I would love for you to come back on a business day! And so, I have a proposal…”

“What is it?”

“On Wednesday, I have a promise to do homework with Souta-kun. His mom has plans she can’t change, and she’s worried about leaving him home alone, so we’ve arranged for him to stay at the shop. I’m supposed to help him with his homework during that time, but I’m not very confident. I would feel much more reassured if you could do it with me, so would you be willing to come? It would only be for about two hours until his mom comes to pick him up, but would that work for you?”

“Do you think I’m capable of that role?”

“It’s third-grade elementary school homework, so even I can manage it somehow. I’m sure most things will be just fine.”

“I understand. I look forward to working with you.”

“Thank you! I’ll be waiting for you again.”

Seeing Rui-san stand up, I remembered something and hurriedly stopped her.

I went to the back of the shop and brought out a tin of sweets. It was the one that had held Grandma’s diary.

On the day of the farewell party, Ayame had given them to the Haga couple, Souta-kun, and his mom, but I had missed the chance to give one to Rui-san.

There was a reason I had missed giving it only to Rui-san.
It was because a note left by Grandma said, “Please give this when you want to encourage the person.”
On the day of the farewell party, I hesitated to give it to Rui-san, who had already started walking on her own two feet without needing encouragement.While I was doing that, Rui-san used up all her energy, became unable to move, and stopped coming to the shop.

We sisters regretted not giving the letter to Rui-san.
I hadn’t talked to Ayame about it, but I intuitively felt that today was the day to give it to her.

I took a letter out of the tin and handed it to Rui-san.

“This is a letter my grandmother left behind. She wrote a letter for each of her regular customers. I’m sorry it’s late, but please accept this as a message from my grandmother, including the timing of it. Oh, you can read it after you get home. I look forward to seeing you again!”

Rui-san gave a slight bow and left the shop.

I also washed the glasses, put last night’s forgotten item in my bag, and headed home.

I told Ayame that I had met Rui-san and given her the letter.
Ayame replied immediately, “Oh, that’s great. I’m so relieved. Thank you!” and I finally felt at ease as well.

—I need to figure out what to do from here.
Tomorrow, sales will be without Ayame again. I spent the night mentally rehearsing, thinking about how to work efficiently so I wouldn't hold Ritsuki-san back.

Episode 13 continues

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