Baikinman and the Angel's Whisper

"That's an angel's voice, Rin-chan."

Aya-chan's voice brushed against my ears like a soft breeze in the quiet classroom after school.
For a moment, I thought I had misheard her.
The light streaming through the window made her earnest eyes sparkle. When I met her gaze, my heart skipped a beat.
I felt shy and could only offer a vague smile.
However, her words spread a gentle warmth deep within my heart.

To be honest, I didn't think so myself.
The voice I heard when I spoke to the mirror felt somehow unreliable.
I couldn't hit high notes, and I lacked volume.
Even when I sang, I was always off-key.
There was no way someone like me could have"an angel's voice."

In the first place, what does an angel's voice even sound like?
I imagine a voice that is clear like water from a pristine spring, infinitely expansive, and capable of healing the listener's heart.
But my voice, if anything, feels closer to the cawing of a crow.

My complex about my voice eventually made self-introductions and presentations painful. So, when it was my turn to read a poem aloud in Japanese class in junior high, I was filled with the desire to run away.

My heart was beating wildly, like the fluttering of a small bird's wings.

"Try to read as calmly and slowly as possible."
As I told myself this, my hands holding the textbook were trembling slightly.

I spun the words out, one line at a time.
Even though I stumbled a little along the way, the moment I finished reading, the classroom was silent.
As I looked down, overcome with nervousness and embarrassment, the teacher's gentle voice echoed.

"Rin-san, your voice is very memorable. It conveys such kindness."
"Maybe a career in that field would be good for you."

Those wordslit a small light in my heart.
I started to feel just a little more confident in my voice.

Even after that, my voice didn't change, but the meaning those words gave me grew greater with each passing day.

Recently, in front of me, my two-year-old daughter started imitating Baikinman's voice.
My husband laughs and says, "It's just like Mommy," but my feelings are a bit complicated.
Perhaps it's because it reminds me of those days when I couldn't like my own voice.

My daughter spreads her arms and shouts "Bye-bye-keen!" with a huge smile.
At her innocence, a smile naturally spilled from me.
Her voice is high, husky, and somewhat comical, far from an angel's voice, butit has the power to make me smile.

It doesn't have to be perfect.
Even if you can't hit high notes or are off-key, if there is feeling put into it, it is just as precious as an angel's voice.

I felt as if I had been quietly taught the "value of a voice" I had been searching for all along through my daughter right in front of me.

Whether it's a friend's voice, a teacher's voice, my daughter's Baikinman voice, or the crow's voice I've worried about, a voice filled with heart is a treasure to someone.
A voice is not just sound, but a mirror of the heart.
Because it is meant to convey those feelings.

If my voice and my words can gently nestle into someone's heart and create a smile, then it surely rivals an angel's whisper.
I want to continue delivering warmth with this "voice" from now on.

Hai Kiki

(1245 characters in the main text)

I wrote this to participate in #Monoka Kingdom2024 hosted by Kotoba to Kokoku.
The theme is "Voice."
Many wonderful works have already been posted, and they are well worth reading.
I'm nervous.