April 12th, 1885 – Sunday – Late morning

12

Makoto-chan is up early… talking about the story last night and about Hajime.
She seems to like him. Good.
And me… I tried not to over-think last night. Just take in what he told me, what I told him. He doesn’t live with Tokio anymore but I don’t know the situation.
“Makoto-chan, your uncle is going to come by today before he leaves and we’re going to go see the Mochizukis,” I tell her, making sure her hair in at least laying down. I might have given up on her having long hair but she’ll still look neat. As always she’s happy to get to play with Isuzu-chan more.

Ito

Hide

12 thoughts on “April 12th, 1885 – Sunday – Late morning”

  1. No sense in just sitting… Makoto-chan runs off to her base with the rock she found yesterday, and I get out my notebook and check on the camellias.
    For a while I’ve been working on hybrids, mixing various kinds to make something new. Combinations. I smile a little at that. I’m just going on intuition and what I know of plants, but I do need to learn more of the science behind it at some point.
    Starting on the far end closest to the fence where I can keep an eye on both the front and Makoto-chan, I start to check the progress of the spring growth and make my notes.

  2. I shouldn’t have told Hide that I’ll be bringing anything for the Mochizuki’s… It’s so hard to find my way here in Ito, much less find anything that is decent enough to bring as a gift. Now, I -know- this place is a tourist area but simply the goods are fit for those transient types and not the traditional Japanese…. If only I didn’t make one last stop, I’d be here much earlier.
    Walking briskly, I do not bother to knock at the gates. I’ve had enough formalities for the day. Instead I just reached over and unlocked it myself. Such I think is the advantage of being relatively tall, although this concerns me how easily I can get in her yard.
    I see Hide at the far end corner inspecting her garden and I take a breath and watch her for a moment before announcing myself.
    “Do those grow better when you fuss at them?” Bah.. I don’t even know the name of the flower she’s looking at.

  3. Do those grow better when you fuss at them?
    I set down my notebook and sit back, squinting at the bright sun as I look up at Hajime. “Good morning,” I say, deciding to get up, dusting off my apron as I do. I see he let himself in.
    I don’t know why this pleases me so much…
    I see Isamu-san up on the roof next door. I would wave but it’s best he focus, after he had that fall last year, and we’ll be by to see him and the others soon enough.
    “Fussing… no, no, I’m only checking on my experiments. But my camellias are doing well.” Looking at him for a long moment in the light of this bright spring morning, I then glance back at the corner of the yard, and lower my voice, “Makoto-chan is in her secret base.”

  4. So they’re camellias. A long time ago I’d probably figure out what they were or what they mean but I should go fetch Makoto.
    “I’ll go get her.” I turn at once and walk away with the damn paper wrap in one hand a cigarette in another. Reahing into my pockets, I balance the box between my arm and my side to light up. I see the Juniper bush and just behind that…
    “Makoto. Let’s go!” I shout.

  5. I hear Yamaguchi-san and quickly put down the stick, putting it back against the wall of the bathhouse carefully. I poke my head from around the juniper bush.
    Coming out, I run over to him. “What’s in the box?” I look at it curiously.

  6. “It’s a gift for your mother’s friends and yours… Her name was Isuzu-chan correct?” I tower above my little girl. I wonder if she’ll take after me and grow tall… Maa.
    “Do you think she likes dolls?” I ask as we go back to the garden.

  7. “Hai! Isuzu-chan!” I say, looking up at him with a smile. “Yes, she likes dolls, we tell stories to ours. Oh! I should tell her the one you told me. I should get the book!”
    With that I go racing back inside up to my room. I won’t be long at all because, unlike Okaasan I’m -fast-.

  8. Hajime and our daughter are coming over towards me, and I see Makoto-chan running back towards the house.
    “Did she go to get something?” I ask Hajime, glancing back over next door to the roof, and I see it is now empty. I touch my hand to his, briefly, and I look at the box he’s carrying.

  9. I wonder what she was looking at…
    Glancing back to where her eyes used to be I see nothing but another house. There must’ve been someone there… I make no motion to stop her hand from it’s retreat and instead I address her question… Not that she voiced it out but it’s obvious from the way she’s looking at what I’m carrying.
    “It’s just some sweets and a doll.” I tell her. “You should get out of that apron…”

  10. I see him look over at the roof. “Mochizuki-san was up on the roof earlier,” I tell him as I untie the apron, pulling it over my head and folding it up losely.
    I go over to the engawa to set my notebook and the apron there, trying to ignore the chill I feel.
    I don’t know what I expected when he came here today. What we talked about last night… I frown at the boards, thinking that I should sweep them when I get back.
    Makoto-chan comes rushing out, book in hand. Always in motion, somehow. “Ready to go?” I ask, looking over to Hajime.

  11. “Mochizuki-san was up on the roof earlier,”
    Ah… So that’s why. She immediately removes herself from my presence and heads over to the engawa. I’m not really sure what she expected, did she want me to hold her hand? If so why did she let go abruptly. There’s no sense thinking about this now, we’re going to her neighbors and we might as well be careful.
    “Ready to go?”
    “Yes.” I look them over, my daughter and my wife. Ah… Incorrect, she is the mother of my child. I frown slightly and wait for them by the gates. Once there I make a quick work of my cigarette and take out a very small paper bag and put it into my pocket.

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