Epilogue: On the Day of the Thaw
Epilogue:
On the Day of the Thaw
“AH, WELCOME BACK… Huh?”
Leaving Iwate next door, I returned to the bookstore by myself. I opened the sliding door to the living room with a clatter, revealing Shinonome-san being patched up by Suimei.
As soon as my father saw me, he let out a hysterical, “Why are you crying?!”
“Shut up!”
I firmly wiping away my tears and flopped down next to the window, sniffling, where I hugged Nyaa-san, who was close by. Nyaa-san looked annoyed for just a moment before sighing and giving in.
“Good job, everyone. That must have been tough.” At this point, Noname turned up, carrying a tray with several teacups on it. Sitting down next to me, she passed me one of them. “There was some sake lee left over, so I took the liberty of making this. You drink amazake, right?”
“Thanks…”
White steam drifted lightly upward from the cup. I took it and blew on the contents to cool it down. I sipped cautiously and found that it was extremely hot, so I hastily drew my mouth away.
“Oof.”
“My, my. You’re all over the place today, Kaori.” Smiling cheerfully at my teary-eyed state, Noname patted my head gently. “You must be tired. I’ll make dinner tonight, so you just relax.”
“Okay. Sorry, Noname. You’ve had a hard time too.”
“It’s all right. I did it because I wanted to.”
I watched her stand and leave, saying she was off to prepare dinner. Then I let out another sigh. Noname immediately stopped and said brightly, “Oh, that’s right! This is what you need right now, Kaori. Tee hee hee, I’m sorry for being tactless, okay?”
Suimei was clearing up after treating Shinonome-san, but Noname grabbed his arm, dragged him over to me, and made him sit down.
“Hey. What’re you doing?”
As Suimei pouted and glared at her, Noname gave him a playful smile.
“Now, now. You settle down and rest too.”
“Hey, hold on, Noname. Why are you putting the boy next to Kaori? Agh?!”
“You should help out sometimes,” said Noname. “That injury of yours is just a scratch anyway.”
“Ho ho. In that case, maybe I should help too.”
“Oh, Nurarihyon! I’m so glad. But you’ll be joining us after as well, won’t you?”
Bantering merrily, the three adults disappeared into the kitchen. At once, the living room grew quiet, and the only sound in the room was the kettle on the portable stove.
“Are you okay?” Suimei asked timidly as he glanced at Kuro, who was sleeping next to the brazier with his belly showing.
“Ha ha. I’m all right… I think? I don’t know.” Stroking Nyaa-san’s chin, I gave him an anguished smile.
I understood the meaning of my tears. I was just…jealous.
“I wonder what my mother was like. Was she as kind as Noname?” I murmured, burying my face in the back of Nyaa-san’s head.
Iwate and Otoyo-san. I couldn’t help being dazzled by the sight of them embracing each other and crying, and before I knew it, I’d been crying too. Of course I was happy that they had been able to make up, but I was simultaneously overcome by a feeling like that of a child begging for something they couldn’t have. There was no use fighting it.
Suimei listened to me in silence. Then he spoke softly. “My mother…was kind.”
“You saw her again in the spirit realm this past autumn, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. Only for a few days, but I was able to see her.” As if lost to the memory, Suimei smiled, a faraway look in his eyes.
If I remember correctly, Suimei also lost his mother in early childhood. Ahh, why were we so unlucky with our mothers?
“I bet she’ll come back,” Suimei said.
Surprised, I cast him a sidelong glance as he continued.
“Souls go around and come back, right? Someday…somewhere, you’ll be able to meet her.”
I smiled and poked Suimei’s cheek. “You’ve taken on quite a spirit realm way of thinking.”
“Quit it!” Suimei gave me a sour look.
Shooting him an awkward smile, I went back to looking at the garden. With the snow piled up, it still had a wintry appearance; there wasn’t the slightest sign of spring.
According to the kudan’s prophecy, spring would come if the child was born, but…
“Spring’s late. I wonder if there’s still something wrong?” Without quite knowing why, I leaned against Suimei’s shoulder. I felt his body stiffen. “Oh, sorry. Too heavy?”
“N-no, it’s okay…” Suimei coughed as if he were trying to cover something up. Then he frowned slightly. “There’s also that Ubume-like creature. It disappeared somewhere. We’d probably better not let our guard down.”
That’s true. While we’d been struggling with Iwate, the Ubume had disappeared.
Even with all it had said, we had no idea what it was planning. Nurarihyon had been all worked up about it, saying he would have to come up with emergency measures…
“Besides, that mask…” Suimei’s gaze moved to a corner of the room. The demoness mask that Iwate had worn lay there. When he’d returned here, Suimei had said he’d investigate it.
“Did you figure something out?”
“I couldn’t discern any details. But there was a talisman stuck to the back of it. It was similar to the kind an exorcist uses when they make a shikigami. Humans are definitely involved in this in some way.” Frowning, Suimei looked intently at me. “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this. Don’t go out alone. If you need anything, come get me first.”
I blinked over and over at his words—and then I exploded into laughter. “Ah ha ha ha! Our positions have completely reversed. When you came here this summer, I told you not to walk about by yourself!”
“It’s been almost a year. Even I’ve changed.”
“You’ve turned into someone I can rely on. That makes me happy.”
“Don’t make fun of me, idiot.”
Chuckling, I buried my face in Nyaa-san’s fur.
“Kaori, that hurts…”
“Sorry. Just bear with it a little…” I pleaded. Ahh, my face is hot. If he sees my face now, he might find out how I feel. I just want to avoid that.
Just then, I heard a dull thud. Raising my head quickly, I looked outside. The snow that had piled up on a tree in the garden had fallen off.
I had a hunch about this. I released Nyaa-san and went over to the glass door. I slowly opened it and stared out at the tips of the tree branches.
“What is it?”
“Ugh, Kaori, all the warm air is going to escape.”
Ignoring their puzzled voices, I strained my eyes to look. Everyone who had been preparing dinner in the kitchen spilled back into the room, asking to know what was up.
“Ah!” I spotted something in the garden and turned to them all. “Look! Over there! A bud is swelling!”
“Really? Where, Kaori?”
“Oh my, that’s wonderful. Come on, show me too!”
“Ho ho ho. Haven’t you people ever heard of a seniority system?”
“Hey, don’t push. Stop it! I might fall!”
As they made this racket, we suddenly heard the cry of a baby from the house next door. We looked at each other. If she’d been sleeping, it was possible we’d woken her up.
We all fell silent.
But, still smiling, we gazed at the bud that had begun to grow.
Ahh, the breeze feels warm, somehow.
Water droplets began to drip from the roof. At this rate, the snow would gradually melt and disappear. The long spirit realm winter, a winter that had been disturbed by the kudan’s prophecy, was finally coming to an end.
After winter, the gentlest season of all would come around, the one where everything buds and is bathed in soft sunlight. It’s the most beautiful season of the year.
However, the remainder of winter would have its own ups and downs, and that made me anxious.
Even so…
“When the spring comes, let’s go flower viewing,” I said.
“Oh my! Well, in that case, I’d better do my best making bento,” Noname declared. “Suimei, will you and Kaori stake out a good spot for us?”
“You save your place in the spirit realm too, then?” Suimei asked.
“Get Kinme and Ginme to tell you all about it,” said Shinonome-san. “Going flower viewing in the spirit realm will be fun, don’t you think?”
“Hrmm. Flower viewing?! I heard you were talking about flower viewing!” Kuro said excitedly.
“Oh, be quiet, you mutt!” Nyaa-san scolded.
I felt sure that, if we were all together, things would work out.
“We should have sushi wrapped in fried tofu in our bento! Lots of different flavors!” I said cheerfully to dispel my unease, as I waited for the bright season that was to come.