Tokyo: Who would still fall in love after being spoiled?

Chapter 118 Watermelon Milk Candy The Roaring Wind and the Girl's Skirt
Despite the nominal presence of several hills, the Inoue family's yard wasn't particularly large, with just a few side rooms. The medium-sized courtyard was planted with persimmon trees and ginkgo trees, and contained a vegetable garden where cucumbers, eggplants, and cherry tomatoes hung from the vegetable racks. The cucumbers had already lost their blossoms, the eggplants were smooth and plump, and the tomatoes were mostly bright red, thriving.

The walkway leading to the entrance was paved with ordinary bluestone slabs. Between the cracks in the stones there were always green weeds growing until they grew to a height that affected people passing by, and then his mother would patiently remove them.

He stood in the yard, looking around in the light of the lamp in front of the door, and took a moment to understand where he was - he was too busy working to come back last summer, and the last time he saw the yard in summer was two years ago.

"The vegetables and fruits are growing well this year," said the mother. "Tomorrow we can go to the mountains with that classmate Takeda to see the melon fields and orchards."

"Takeda isn't coming."

"I'm not coming... Is there something wrong?"

"Her father is back from a business trip and wants to spend time with his family."

"What a shame... Well, remember to bring back more fruit."

"must."

As I stepped into the main house's entrance, the lights were on in the living room. My father was lying on the sofa, wearing his familiar gray long-sleeved sweatshirt and jeans, covered with a towel blanket.

His father was not a strong man, but rather thinner than other middle-aged men of the same age. He could not do much manual labor and worked in a local newspaper in a city not far from the town.

His hair had turned a bit grayer than the last time they met—his father's hair had already turned gray quite a bit when he was a child, before he was even 30. His mother said it was actually much earlier than that, and when they first met, he was still quite quiet and had a low self-esteem because of his early graying hair.

He still couldn't imagine his father being so taciturn.

On the coffee table, there was a transparent glass bowl filled with watermelon cut into equal pieces, with forks and bamboo sticks on it.

“People in Tokyo generally like to cut it in half and eat it with a spoon.”

"Hey! Didn't they say fruit is expensive in Tokyo? Watermelons are cut into long triangles and sold in boxes."

"That's why I like to use a spoon." He picked up a piece with a fork, put it in his mouth and said.

"It seems so..." The mother suddenly realized.

In fact, he didn't know what the real situation was.

Statistics on such boring questions are as meaningless as Amano's study on whether eating butter bread in the morning will make people smarter.

His mother went to the bathroom to run him some hot water and let him rest for a while.

The bathtub at home is the type with an external water filling faucet, and it takes a while to fill it up before each bath.

He returned to his room after a long absence. A thin quilt was made on the bed, and he could smell the scent of freshly dried clothes in the sun. Neatly folded pajamas were placed at the head of the bed.

The desk and bookshelf are still in the same state as before.

The desk was placed facing a wall with a few science formulas and island grammar notes on the wall that I had never thought of taking down.

He opened his suitcase and packed it, and his mother knocked on the door to tell him that the water for the bath was ready.

Soaking in the bathtub, my mind gradually relaxed, and the fatigue came in waves, and then evaporated along with the heat.

He closed his eyes, as if he could still hear Takeda complaining to him.

When did the situation gradually develop into what it is today?

Maybe it was because he chose to visit Takeda's mother when he and Amano went to the hospital together; maybe it was because he went to the grocery store the night Takeda was going back to the boarding house to stay for a few days; or maybe it was even earlier...

No, it was confirmed from the first time he met Takeda.

He suddenly came to his senses. Although his whole body was soaked in the hot water in the bathtub, for a moment he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave and felt a tremendous sense of powerlessness as if he was drowning.

Only then did he realize that he had been caught in the vortex of fate from the beginning to the end. And by the time he finally realized this, he had already been swept forward for a long time.

If now, or if tomorrow, a task concerning Takeda appeared before him, could he remain indifferent?
It was pitch black outside the high window of the bathroom facing the outdoors. His body was submerged in the bathtub, his eyes cast into the darkness, and no matter what he was thinking, he felt like he was in a fog.

No matter what he was thinking at this moment, he only felt that he was standing at a crossroads where he had to make a choice. No matter which way he chose to go, he had been swept by fate and stepped towards one of the predetermined possibilities.

In this situation, all he could decide was a choice of yes or no...

When he woke up the next day, it was already bright morning.

My mother had already lit the hemp pole, placed fruits and vegetarian noodles in front of the altar at home, and prepared a bamboo basket filled with cucumber horses and eggplant cows.

Seeing him get up and wash up, I heated up breakfast for him.

"Aji still has to go to work, and he only has the 15th off." His mother sat opposite him and watched him eat.

"Very busy?"

"We've been working overtime constantly since the layoffs. One person has to do the work of two or three people, but our wages haven't increased."

"It's a newspaper after all."

In an industry deeply impacted by new media, local newspapers in remote areas, which were able to survive a few years ago, are now struggling to survive. They have been forced to gradually reduce staff and expenses while shifting their focus from news media to entertainment magazines.

"Well..." His mother paused for a moment, then changed the subject. She asked him how he was doing in Tokyo, what friends he had made, and if there were any photos of Takeda, who was supposed to be visiting...

He dealt with them one by one and didn't ask about his father again.

His father was not one to actively seek change, and he often said things like, "It's acceptable for now."

After dinner, his mother rode an electric bike with a round headlight on the front and took him out of the town, through the country paths, and into the mountains.

There is a cemetery surrounded by bamboo forests in the mountains. Tombstones are stood in neat and orderly rows, like those of a famous family. However, weeds are overgrown between the rows, making it look desolate. The tombstones are all ordinary stones collected from the mountains, and the words are engraved by the descendants who saw them off.

He followed his mother to worship the ancestors, offering glutinous rice cakes and a fairy horse made of cucumber, eggplant and bamboo sticks to welcome his grandfather home.

A noisy wind blew through the bamboo forest, shaking the leaves and making rustling sounds.

Before going home, I went into the orchard to pick some apples and pears, filled a bamboo basket, and took them back.

The pears without fruit bags have green and yellow skin, crisp flesh and sweet juice. However, the trees are more ruthless in picking fruits than those for commercial pears, leaving fewer fruits.

The pear trees covered with fruit bags and sold as commodities are all famous Tottori varieties, which mature later, until early autumn.

At lunch, his mother peeled and diced the pears, then mixed them with apples, cucumbers, and some nuts, drizzled them with vinaigrette, and made a salad. It was refreshing and perfect for enjoying with barbecue or hot pot—and then he thought of Takeda again...

In the afternoon, his mother went to buy a bottle of white wine and made candied pears at home. He walked out of the house with nothing to do and wandered around the town aimlessly.

In terms of scale, this town is actually larger than an average village.

There are grocery stores, hotels and bathhouses, clinics and bakeries, as well as several izakayas and restaurants that serve meals. At a fixed time every day, a train will pass through the railway tracks without any guardrails and stop at a station on the edge of the town with only a shed and two benches.

Especially in the fall and winter, when many tourists come to enjoy the scenery, hotels, bathhouses, and izakayas are all operating at a "reasonable level" and able to sustain themselves.

There were few young people in the town, and most of the people he saw on the streets were middle-aged couples of similar age to his parents, or elderly people with gray hair.

Occasionally, you can see children who have not yet started primary school playing hopscotch on remote streets, carrying bamboo poles or fishing nets to the river.

When he was little, other children his age would invite him to play games with water and buy snacks like bubble gum from the grocery store. Along with the snacks, there was also a very sweet drink that was very popular with them.

He sat on the edge of the bridge over the creek, looking in the direction of the river, watching the only train in the afternoon cross the railway bridge over the river, approach, stop for a moment, and then slowly leave with a clang.

I just took a look at Line, and the message I sent to Takeda is still unread.

"New Brother!" A five or six-year-old girl recognized him and rushed over from behind, almost knocking him into the river. She rubbed her face against him and said, "It's been a long time since we last met! Eri-san said she missed you every day during the summer vacation."

"You want me to go to the bathhouse to help?" He had no choice but to climb over the edge of the bridge and hold the girl's shoulders to prevent her from accidentally falling into the water.

The girl and Eri, as she calls them, were both adopted children by the bathhouse family. After graduating from junior high school, Eri helped out at the bathhouse and stopped attending school.

"I don't know~~ But Sister Eri always reminds you to fold your clothes and put them in the grid when you go to the bathhouse to take a bath. Some people throw their clothes everywhere." The girl blinked, spoke clearly, and spoke sincerely.

"...Any more?"

Eri is only in charge of the women's bath, so how did she know he could fold clothes?

"And they said you went to school in Tokyo, the most prosperous city, and attended a very prestigious national key high school." The girl said, "I want to go to school in Tokyo too! Listen to Sister Eri and study hard."

"Hmm..." He patted the girl's head, reached into his trouser pocket, used his points to buy a few milk candies, stuffed them into the girl's hand, and said, "I bought these candies in Tokyo. Remember to save one for Sister Eri."

"Okay!" The girl's eyes sparkled, she nodded excitedly, and smiled as sweet as candy.

He watched the girl hide the milk candy in the inner pocket of her overalls and run towards other children of her age.

The sound of footsteps rolling on the wheels of a suitcase came from far away.

He walked on the grass and gravel roads and stopped at the bridge.

"Waiting for me?"

A familiar voice came blowing in on the wind.

He turned around and saw a girl in a white dress standing in front of the bridge. She raised her hand to lift her hair that was messed up by the wind and looked at him with a smile.

"It's just a coincidence..." He was stunned for a moment and shook his head. "If you don't say anything, how would I know when you would come?"

"There's only one flight from Tokyo to Tottori this morning."

"That's also a coincidence."

"Then let's just call it a coincidence."

……

……

Amano was carrying a small suitcase, barely enough for essential items, a change of clothes, and at most a laptop for work. It didn't even fully utilize the air freight capacity.

On his back was a musical instrument case, the length and shape of which he was very familiar, probably containing a trumpet.

Even when traveling from Tokyo to Tottori, he never forgets to bring his musical instrument. Such a serious attitude is truly admirable.

"Not to mention planes," he said, looking Amano up and down carefully. Then, realizing his gaze was a bit rude, he turned away. "The train that can reach this town only runs three times a day: morning, noon, and evening."

"Is that still a coincidence?"

"But you should have seen it clearly on the way here." He gestured for Amano to look at the railroad tracks not far away. "This place is unlike Tokyo. Even the railway lines that pass through the wilderness don't have any protective facilities like fences. Just a simple track."

"so?"

"So, nine out of ten trains here are going to be delayed," he said, pointing to the loudspeakers mounted on the pillars of the train station booth. "The reason for the delay will be announced through the station booth's announcements, and there's nothing anyone can do except wait."

"Nine times out of ten it will be late?"

"Yes," he nodded, speaking the truth with great emotion - in fact, he himself was also deeply affected by it, "the reasons are varied - like a deer blocking the road, a tree beside the railway track fell for some reason, or the train hit and killed some wild animals while running..."

"It won't take long, will it?"

"No," he shook his head, suddenly feeling that Amano was truly naive. "For 'passenger safety,' the train crew can't get off the train. Regulations require them to notify the corresponding staff at the nearby station, who will then dispatch personnel to the scene. Even minor obstacles can take half an hour or even an hour to stop the train."

"I see..." Amano fell into deep thought as if he was listening attentively in class.

"So, no matter what, I can't stand by the bridge and wait for you just because there's only one flight or one train. It would be more practical to wait for your message on Line."

He then launched a counterattack, revealing his true intentions. "So, why did Amano-san suddenly appear without a word? Without sending me a message in advance to let me know? Did you want to give me a surprise?"

"Who knows if Inoue-san has invited anyone besides me..." Amano wasn't bothered by his question. He calmly and meaningfully asked, "If I don't grasp the timing of the Line message, won't it ruin Inoue-san's good fortune?"

"..."

He couldn't help but fall silent - calculating the time, according to the departure time originally planned by Takeda, he happened to be on the same country train passing through the town as Amano.

"Oh, am I right?"

"How is that possible... Where will Amano stay tonight? There are hotels in the town, but they only provide accommodations. If you want to bathe, you can only go to the nearby bathhouse..."

(End of this chapter)