by Yoru Sumino
I held off on starting a fight to see what Kiriyuu-kun would say, but all he did was hang his head, like always.
This is no good, I thought. These boys’ idiocy was such that, if their opponent said nothing, they mistook it as a sign that they were righteous.
“I heard from my mom that your dad was caught stealing from a supermarket in Ni-chome.”
I pondered this as I watched Kiriyuu-kun’s face. Sure enough, the scene I witnessed at the supermarket had become attributed to Kiriyuu-kun’s father. Still, I did not know if it was true.
Kiriyuu said nothing and looked at no one, still hanging his head.
This did not please the idiots.
“Makes sense some picture-drawing weirdo would have a bad guy for a dad.”
Still Kiriyuu-kun said nothing.
“Oh yeah, when Takahashi’s ruler went missing, bet that was your fault, wasn’t it?”
Nothing still.
“The son of a thief’s gotta be a thief, too. Glad I wasn’t born into a family like yours.”
Ah, sorry I can’t keep waiting, Kiriyuu-kun…
“Are you all really that stupid?” I said.
The idiots’ eyes fell on me all at once.
“Oh? I don’t believe I said who was stupid. I guess you all realized it yourselves.”
“Huh?”
The boys—the chief idiot in particular—glared at me. I wasn’t afraid. What I felt towards Kiriyuu-kun was far stronger than that. I took it out on those boys instead, but the one I really wished to shout at was Kiriyuu-kun.
You coward.
“The child of a thief is a thief? What evidence do you have of that? Did you really think that ‘thief’ was the name of an animal or something? By that logic, that must mean that your mother and father are both idiots, the same as you. But they aren’t idiots. I’m sure even an idiot like you had a proper upbringing—which means that you turned into an idiot all on your own. I feel sorry for your parents, to have such a huge idiot for a child.”
The boy’s face was growing redder and redder. He was angry. Even his reactions were idiotic. Still, I preferred his reaction to Kiriyuu’s. He still could not find it in himself to grow angry, even when the people most precious to him were being ridiculed. It was only my promise to Hitomi-sensei that kept me from saying any of this to Kiriyuu-kun.
The idiot boys looked as if they were ready to throw something at me. But unlike them, I was clever. I had plenty of words to throw back.
“Anyway, it’s just a rumor that Kiriyuu-kun’s dad stole something. You all really are idiots if you’d believe any old rumor without any proof.”
“But people saw him!”
“But you didn’t see him, did you? So those people might’ve mistaken what they saw.”
“This is none of your business!”
“Oh? But it isn’t your business either, is it? Even if it was true—”
As all the words inside of me came spilling out…
“Stop it!”
A loud voice rang through the classroom. At first, I had no idea where it came from. It wasn’t my voice. It wasn’t the idiot boy’s voice. It was a voice I had never heard before.
Just as I realized that the voice had come from Kiriyuu-kun, I also realized that he was, for some reason, looking up at me with those tragic eyes.
He was telling me to stop.
As I stood there, not comprehending why he would have said such a thing, Kiriyuu-kun stood up violently—his chair clattering to the ground with an echoing sound.
Then, while the sound was still ringing, he left the classroom without saying a word. After that, everyone fell silent. Even the blackboard and the desks and the chairs were holding their tongues. That was how quiet the room was.
Even as fifth period began, Kiriyuu-kun did not return. Even as afternoon announcements drew to a close, there was no sign of him.
Hitomi-sensei pulled me aside, and I told her plainly about what had happened during break. I also told her that, despite my fighting in his place, it was me he was glaring at when he left. When I asked her about what I should do, she told me that she would try talking to Kiriyuu-kun, and then sent me home.
Kiriyuu-kun was not at school the next day.
Nor the next day, or the next.
One day, Hitomi-sensei pulled me aside again and told me that Kiriyuu-kun would not be coming back for some time.
“Don’t worry, Koyanagi-san,” she assured me, “It wasn’t your fault.”
Still, I knew. Whenever an adult talked to you in that way, they really meant: “You weren’t entirely wrong, but you were still responsible.”
Even though all I had done was step up on his behalf. As usual, she was slightly off the mark.
It was raining. I went to Skank-san’s place and told her about everything that had happened. I apologized for not saying anything on the day I went to buy the watermelon. I told her, honestly, that I hadn’t wished to put it into words.
She was not angry at me for keeping quiet. When she heard my tale, she gave a nod that told me she understood.
“You must’ve realized it,” she said.
“Realized what?”
“That adults are frightening.”
Probably so, I thought. That was probably why I had felt the same way when my mother and father were fighting.
I also told her there was a chance the person who was caught might have been the father of one of my classmates. Although I’d said “might have,” judging by the way Kiriyuu-kun was acting in the classroom, that question had been answered.
I told her about what kind of person Kiriyuu’s father was, about his kindness and seeing him in the park. She let out a sigh.
“I see,” she muttered.
“Why would he be stealing? And from a supermarket?” My father would have been able to buy whatever he liked from a supermarket. After all, the most expensive thing were those square watermelons.
“Do you know something about that, Skank-san? Why he would’ve done that?”
Lately, my little head had been fully occupied with that question. Why, why? That word swirled around in my skull. Why would he have done that? Why had Kiriyuu-kun looked at me that way? I thought that if Skank-san understood, then she could explain it to me.
However, she shook her head. “Hmm, I wonder.”
If she did not understand, then no matter how hard I thought about it, I probably wouldn’t understand either. I was a little disappointed.
“But…” she continued. “Well, this is just a theory, but…”
“Huh?”
“It’s just my own theory; it’s not the truth. But would you like to hear it?”
“Please tell me.”
“That man—the man who was stealing—he probably wanted out.”
“Out? Of what?”
“Of his everyday life. Nothing matters to him anymore, so he wanted out of those never-ending days.”
“I don’t get it.”
“You don’t need to. It’s fine for you not to know, little miss.”
“Do you get it, Skank-san?”
Skank-san did not reply. Instead, she asked me if I would like to eat some gelato. I happily accepted the orange gelato, but there was something strange about it. The flavor seemed much weaker than before.
We talked about my classmate and my one remaining concern about the thief. I talked about the fact that Kiriyuu got mad at me, even though I had fought on his behalf, because he was so spineless. I told her that I did not understand why this happened, and that I did not know what to do for Kiriyuu, who was not even coming to school. Even though I had been his ally, just as Hitomi-sensei asked.
Although this was a serious concern for me, for some reason Skank-san laughed. I tilted my head, wondering if she had mistaken something for a joke.
“Sorry, sorry,” she said. “You know, when I was a child, I was just like you. If I was unhappy about something, I started fights for people before they could do so themselves. If
I had to put a finger on it, it was the kids who couldn’t talk back who annoyed me the most.”
“That’s exactly it!”
I was thrilled to hear that I was like Skank-san when she was little. I wished I could hear more about her childhood. What kind of family did she have? What kinds of friends? Did she have any strange habits of speech, like I did?
“I was the type to always speak my mind, just like you. I don’t really know what Kiriyuu was thinking. I can imagine, but I don’t know whether it’s true.”
“I’d still like to hear it, if you don’t mind.”
“Hmm?” she said, tilting her head. “No, I won’t say.”
“Why not?”
“You want to try and make up with him, don’t you?”
“I guess. I mean we never really got along that much in the first place.”
She tittered again. “You really are like me,” she said quietly. “If you don’t care too much about making up with him, then you don’t have to think too much about his feelings.”
That was true, I supposed. I had no idea why I was even putting that much thought into it, so that sounded like a fair answer.
“Given how much you’ve already been thinking about this, you should come up with your own answer and then decide what to do. That’s why I’m not going to tell you what I’m thinking.”
She gave me a devilish look and crossed her lips with her finger, although she muttered softly behind it.
“Because I gave up,” she said, so quietly I was unsure if I even heard it.
“Okay. I’ll think about it myself. But you know, life is a like a ghost.”
“And what does that mean?”
“There’s always a hint.”
As I drew the letters with my finger in the air, she immediately deciphered what I was trying to say.
“A haunt? As clever as ever, I see,” she praised me. “So, a hint? Well I can give you a hint. Not for the answer, but for how to think about it.”
“Okay.”
“Ready?”
She held up her index finger and drew close to me. I felt my heart skip a beat, seeing those elegant, rouged lips drawing so near. I listened closely.
“Everyone is different. But we’re all the same.”
“Huh?”
I made a strange face. I must have looked very silly, with my lips pursed and my brows knitted together, because she laughed. I’m sure that if I had seen myself in a mirror, I would have laughed too.
“That’s weird,” I said. “That’s like…what is it, something about the strongest spear against the strongest shield.”
“A contradiction.”
“Right, that. Different, but the same…”
The inside of my little head was spinning so quickly I thought my eyes might spin.
“Yes, it is strange. That’s why my hint will guide your thinking. I’ll go one step further and give you this: You’re a child and I’m an adult, but we both like Othello.”
“Hmm, I’m gonna have to think about this a lot more.”
“Yes, keep thinking about it, and come up with an answer all your own. It would take too long for me to come up with that, but you’re kind and clever, so I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“Could I really get something that even you don’t really understand?”
“You’ll be fine. You know what? I’m sure that Granny could give you an even better hint. You should go ask her about it.”
“I’ll go tomorrow, then. I don’t go to her house on rainy days. I get all muddy.”
Skank-san smiled gently, looking up at the sky outside the window. “I hope it’s clear tomorrow.”
I truly did as well.
The next day, as if her prayers had reached it, the sky granted the sun’s light to the Earth, clear and unabashed. Even the soggy ground had firmed up by the time school let out, and neither my favorite shoes nor Miss Bobtail’s fine coat ended up dirty.
We took the right fork on the path leading up the hill. Although I was glad for the clear weather, it was growing hotter and hotter every day, and I began to worry that I might just dry up from sweating so much. I tried to magically shorten the path to Granny’s house, but then I remembered that I could not do magic.
The shadows fell thick over the mountain path, and my little friend bounded up the hill with far more gusto than she had when walking the concrete city streets.
Finally, I thought as we arrived at the house and I rushed to knock on the door. It was only then that I noticed there was a slip of paper pinned to it. I read the words out loud for the benefit of my energetic little friend.
“Nacchan: the door is unlocked. Come in whenever you like.”
I looked down into my friend’s golden eyes, then wrapped my hand around the doorknob. Just as the note had said, the door opened easily.
“Hello!” I greeted as I stepped inside, only to find the house quiet.
Normally I would hear Granny and smell the sweetness of her baking, but today I sensed neither of those.
“Wonder if she’s out?”
“Meow.”
I wiped Miss Bobtail’s paws with the damp cloth that had been placed at the front door and we entered together, but we could hear nothing besides our own footsteps.
First I headed to the living room, where the sun always shone brightly. I would often find Granny there, drinking tea or reading a book. However, the room was empty. Without her presence, the space seemed far larger than usual. I usually enjoyed open spaces, but there was something peculiar about this. All the room did was incite a sort of murmuring in my heart.
I did not enjoy that feeling, so I decided to head to the kitchen. Maybe she was cooking something that did not produce any sounds or smells. However, there was none of that, either. There was no one present in the orderly kitchen, and the emptiness and quiet of that place only riled my heart further.
It seemed that she was not home. Perhaps she had gone out shopping. I once again looked my tiny friend in the eye, and we continued down the hallway to the living room, as though that had been the plan the entire time.
It was difficult for the sun to reach that dark hallway, and for just a second I wished to get out. However, I had read plenty of stories, and I knew that if you ran at a time like this, whatever scary thing was after you would just catch up faster. So I proceeded down the hallway step-by-step, silently shouting that there was no fun in chasing me.
We passed by a number of rooms, but most of them were empty. They had cabinets and shelves, but beyond that they were deserted, no traces of human life. It seemed like Granny’s family might have lived here once. Whatever had been inside those rooms had left along with her family. Now there were only empty shells. The only room that was not empty was Granny’s bedroom. I had been in that room plenty of times. There was Granny’s bed and her bookshelf, which she had taken books from to show me.
Just as I passed her bedroom door, my feet suddenly stopped. Perhaps she is sleeping in bed, I thought. I called out to my little friend, her fur blending in with the dark of the hallway, and knocked on the paneled glass door. I opened it, but as it turned out, she was not there either.
We should have left the room immediately and headed back to the warm, sun-soaked living room. Instead, I just stood there, stock still.
There was a particular reason for this. Eventually, I entered the room, opening the curtains. As a little light seeped in, I could distinguish the objects in there. The colors of the item I had spied seemed to take on a life of their own.
It was fixed to the wall. I took one step closer, and then another. In those few seconds I forgot all about my little friend, and perhaps even Granny as well.
“It’s so pretty.”
I was too young to know how to write the complex characters of the word kirei—“pretty.” Instead, the word was imbued with all of the images scrawled invisibly on my heart. I had only intended to utter it silently, but my feelings seemed to have slipped out.
It was a pain
ting, a beautiful one, layered heavily with color. It overflowed with such power. I felt it might suck me in entirely. I could not draw my eyes away. Perhaps I had in fact entered the world of that painting, if only briefly. I only realized that Granny had appeared at my side when I heard her soft voice.
“Nacchan.”
Normally, I would jolt in surprise, but I was able to keep my cool as I slowly turned to look at her.
“Where did this picture come from?” I asked. I hadn’t seen it the last time I was in this room.
“My friend made it for me some time ago. I used to have it hanging in the office on the second floor, but I don’t use the office much anymore, so I decided to bring it down here.”
Now that I thought about it, I had never asked what kind of job she’d had. Although I thought about it now, I was more interested in the painting.
“How could anyone actually draw a picture like this?”
My question was not one of suspicion. Although I would only come to learn it later, there was a word for what I was feeling: admiration.
“You have some really talented friends,” I said.
I really did attribute this to talent. I would never be able to draw a picture so splendid, no matter how long I practiced. I could more readily imagine myself a princess or a CEO. Only a person with special hands could create such a magical picture.
Granny, however, shook her head. “It’s not just talent. There aren’t that many people as talented as the man who painted this, but there are others.”
“No way.”
I couldn’t believe it. There were multiple people in this world who could make pictures like this? That was more shocking than if she had told me there were sorcerers among us.
“There are more talented people out there than you think. However, it takes more than just talent to paint a picture like this.”
“What does it take, then? Effort?”
“Of course, but there’s something even more important than that. I’ve never known anyone who loved drawing more than the man who painted this. I’ve lived far longer than you and I’ve met many people, but not once did I ever meet anyone who had art on his mind more than him.”
