Extra Chapter: The Soy Sauce Dream
Memeko's Chronicle
【Extra Chapter: Short Stories】
The Soy Sauce Dream
I am still terrified.
It was
when my daughter was three years old for Shichi-Go-San.
There is a large temple near our house, and
we made a reservation for a prayer?
(Do they call it a prayer at a temple too?)
and had it performed.
We finished our visit and wrote on an ema (votive tablet).
My daughter was still small, so I wrote it for her.
I am terrified of that ema...
Small children are,
to begin with, creatures that make no sense.
Their actions and words are mysterious and inconsistent.
(Though that is what makes them cute.)
My daughter was also a rather strange child.
She often spoke in a unique language.
For example, she called a cushion
"Obeyofuji".
Koeda-chan's house was
"Kantashiyo".
Licca-chan's house was
"Koi pesshen".
That is what she called them.
...What language is that?? ( ꒪⌓꒪)
It remains a mystery to this day,
and even she, now a sixth grader,
doesn't seem to know.
In other words, it will remain a mystery forever.
And around this time, my daughter already had
a [Future Dream]
"When I grow up, I want to be soy sauce."
Both my husband and I were like, "???"
But my daughter was consistent about it
the whole time back then.
What's more,
"If I'm a lot of soy sauce, it'll be too salty, so I want to be just a little bit of soy sauce."
She even added specific conditions like that.
I couldn't understand it at all, but
flatly denying my daughter's dream
felt wrong somehow.
Me: "I see~, so you want to be soy sauce, huh? I wonder if you can? That's amazing~"
Daughter: "Yeah♡ I'm going to be soy sauce♡"
We often had conversations like this.
I never imagined
she would ask me to write that dream
on her Shichi-Go-San votive tablet.
Me: "Wait...?! Here?! You want me to write it?"
Daughter: "Yeah, will you write it?"
Me: "Um... is there nothing else? Like wanting to be a teacher, or a hairdresser..."
Daughter: "I want to be soy sauce."
Me: "............"
Daughter: "Just a little bit of soy sauce, okay?"
Me: "............(Are you serious?)"
With her small body dressed up beautifully in a kimono,
her hair tied up adorably,
and even a light touch of makeup applied,
she stared at me with sparkling eyes.
I think I was an idiot, too.
I should have just pretended to write it,
or I could have written something else.
But for some reason, I wrote it down with foolish honesty.
["I want to become a little bit of soy sauce" - [Name] ]
And to make matters worse, I even went and offered it up.
I'm still terrified even now.
It's been about 10 years, and I'm still terrified.
What if it actually comes true??
One day, if I wake up in the morning,
and my daughter has vanished from her futon,
leaving behind only a small black stain...?
It's so scary that I can only sleep at night───(←Normal person)
There is a sequel.
#Essay #HousewifeDiary #DailyLife #Parenting #Menopause #PartTimeHousewife #Surreal #ShichiGoSan