Novel | "Serenity Pattern" Episode 12
Usually, I want to go home from kindergarten early because I can see Mom, but today Kaori is different. Even if I go home, Mom won't be there anyway. It's not that I want to stay at kindergarten, and I do want to go home, but home feels different today.
Kindergarten ended while I was still feeling so distracted.
When I got off the kindergarten bus, Yama-san was waiting instead of Mom. Yama-san is Tome-san's younger sister. I believe she is three years younger than Tome-san. Yama-san lives about a five-minute walk from our house.
Tome-san does absolutely no housework, and it seems unlikely she would ever have any intention of doing housework regardless of the situation.
Starting with today's kindergarten bus pickup, a week of life begins where Yama-san will come to the Yamakawa house in earnest, like a housekeeper.
The next morning. When Kaori woke up, Yama-san was in the kitchen. She was making breakfast and packing lunch boxes for Kaori and the others.
"Good morning. Breakfast is ready," Yama-san says. Feeling lonely and unable to accept that Mom isn't there, I sit in my usual spot without saying a word. Yu was already eating. Kaori also ate silently, and when she finished, she got ready for kindergarten. The bitter asthma medicine I always take after meals. Even though I would usually throw a tantrum with Mom and say things like "I won't drink it," today I squeeze my eyes shut as hard as I can and gulp it down.
"Here, here is your lunch box," Yama-san hands it to me.
"..." I accept it silently and put it in my kindergarten bag. Tome-san watches this while puffing on a cigarette. It's as if she's saying, "Are you going to say something or what?"
Yama-san takes Kaori and Yu by the hand. We head toward where the kindergarten bus usually arrives. Yesterday, Mom was in the middle and the three of us walked together. Even though it's the same road, the feeling is completely different. I wish I could warp to a week from now.
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A regular event at the end of the day at kindergarten. Today, Tuesday, is the day we answer a simple quiz and get delicious snacks.
Usually, Kaori and Yu both bring them home without eating them because we want Mom to have some too. But today, Kaori ate hers as soon as she got it. Mom won't be home anyway. When I looked at Yu, Yu was eating his too. He was stuffing his cheeks like a squirrel and eating it all at once. Since Kaori was eating the same way, we couldn't talk. We looked at each other and laughed.
Yu, having finished eating, comes over to Kaori.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's like we're stress-eating, isn't it?" The way he talks, flapping his hands, is strangely funny, and I can't help but laugh.
"Stress-eating. Stress-eating." For some reason, I like the sound of "stress-eating," so Kaori says it out loud too. Even though it was nothing, we both laughed until we rolled on the floor. Even when Kaori is overcome with sadness, as long as Yu is there, a light is lit in her heart. It feels warm and gentle, as if I'm glowing from the very core of my body.