Ohagi and Keiko's Correspondence | Keiko → Ohagi: 'Though I do not have green fingers.'

I wrote a letter to the black goat
The white goat ate it without reading
So I had no choice but to write another letter
What was the business in the letter from before?

Actually, it seems that if goats eat paper, they cannot digest it and end up feeling unwell. However, even if it is paper, if it is on note, it is fine.

The two of us made a ZINE together, but we have only met once. The time we spent talking face-to-face was only 10 minutes. This is a correspondence started by two friends who are both owners of shelves in a shared bookstore.

Here is the reply from Ohagi-san.

Ohagi-san

Good morning. How is your stomach feeling since then? Pulse diagnosis! Amazing! Actually, my husband is in a similar profession, and he once somehow guessed my pregnancy through pulse diagnosis. The human body is mysterious, isn't it? Even parts far from where it hurts are connected. Hurray for the recovery power of Ohagi-san's stomach after eating a pork cutlet curry and a cream puff.

There are many types of eggs for omurice, aren't there? It's the same with pudding; some are smooth, some are firm. I've never heard of chrysanthemum mochi before. Is it a yellow mochi, after all? A neighbor of mine grows edible chrysanthemums, and sometimes they give me some. When made into vinegared dishes or blanched greens, the vibrant yellow becomes even deeper. But the bitterness is unpopular with the children, so it never seems to decrease. I can't refuse when they say, 'I harvested so much!' I am searching for delicious ways to eat them.

Food and memories of the town.
I think food is something that connects to memories. Taste, smell, sight. It's as if everything is recorded. Even if the town disappears, I think it takes on vivid colors in Ohagi-san's memories.

In our house, the land next door is a vegetable garden. Every year, my husband makes a rough (this is important) cultivation plan, and we harvest something. Last year, cucumbers were a bumper crop. Besides that, there were zucchini, garland chrysanthemum, sunny lettuce, pumpkins, daikon radishes, beets, sweet potatoes, strawberries... and so on. Even if we plant the same seeds or seedlings, the harvest is different every year. I think it is something nature creates.

I don't seem to be suited for growing plants at all, and I have a sad history of having withered many houseplants until now. I wonder if I just don't get along with plants, or if my personality is bad... I have wished before that I had 'green fingers'.

'The Green Thumb' is about magic fingers that make flowers and various plants grow easily and quickly.


I read 'The Green Thumb' when I was a high school student. Being between adulthood and childhood, I felt that this book questioned the correct answers put forward by society and adults, so I took it off the bookshelf many times and read it repeatedly.

My husband's mother was a person who loved growing plants. The plants she grew would increase more and more, and it would be a big deal when moving. Sometimes she successfully grew Japanese ginger, shiso, or Japanese pepper, and as a lover of condiments, I used to envy her.

'Because if you give plants love, they will respond to you as much as you give.'

I was a wicked daughter-in-law who would think in my heart, 'Well, humans aren't like that, are they? Even plants can get root rot if you give them too much water or fertilizer.'

The reason I want 'green fingers' is a 'dumplings over flowers' spirit, wishing that delicious vegetables would just keep growing! If that's the case, would they become 'dumpling fingers'? Fingers that turn everything they touch into dumplings! That might be the best.

Basically, I like dumplings more than flowers, but every time I hear about conflicts in every part of the world, I think that if there were 'green fingers' that could turn all weapons into flowers, that would be wonderful.

Ah, I also find myself drawn to the second best, or even things that don't make the rankings at all.

Until next time.

You can find our previous letters here.

You can find Hashi-san's article, written as an homage after reading our correspondence, here.

If reading our correspondence brings to mind any memories or stories related to "color," I would be happy if you wrote about them.
　In that case, please add " #ColorCorrespondence " to your post. I'll be waiting loosely for them.

#Correspondence #OhagiAndKeiko #ColorCorrespondence #FriendsSmellLikeGreen #GreenThumb #FavoriteBooks #Memory