Chapter 1.5 (1/2)

Mamizu’s mother, Ritsu-san, seemed like a somewhat forceful person.

There was a strained atmosphere about her, but at the same time, she was worn out. She had a well-featured face that made me think she’d probably been a beauty in the past. But there were no signs of her wearing any makeup, and although she was apparently still in her forties, she actually looked older.

“Ah, you’ve come again today,” she said.

That day was the second day that I’d met her. Her words were gentle, but there was something biting about the way she spoke. Ritsu-san never called me by my name. It was always “you.” I got the feeling that she didn’t think much of me, someone she didn’t know who had suddenly started frequently visiting her daughter’s hospital room.

“Well then, I’m going home. Don’t be in too high spirits; make sure you sleep quietly,” Ritsu-san said to Mamizu in a rather scolding tone, and then left the room.

“Takuya-kun, you’ve wearing a rather dark-looking expression today, aren’t you?” Mamizu said as she looked at my face, sounding a little worried. “Are you alright? Are you not feeling well?”

“No… it’s not a big deal,” I said.

“What’s wrong?”

“My earphones broke.”

I took my earphones out of my pocket and showed them to Mamizu. I had been listening to music on my way to the hospital when they got caught on a tree branch. Now, I could only hear sound through one side.

“Were they expensive?” Mamizu asked.

“Not really,” I said.

But the earphones were a birthday present that Meiko bought for me with the pay from her first part-time job in high school, so it was kind of a shock for me.

Mamizu took my earphones and stared at them intently for a while. And then she looked at me with an expression that looked as if she’d just thought of a sinister idea. “Say, Takuya-kun.”

“What is it?”

She isn’t going to suggest something troublesome again, is she? I thought, bracing myself.

“Shall we try doing a little something that we shouldn’t do?”

The “something that we shouldn’t do” Mamizu had referred to was going to the store on the first floor of the hospital. She was apparently prohibited from leaving her bed. But her excuse was that even if that was the case, being caught wouldn’t cost us our lives.

I walked ahead to check the corridor. If we were seen by a nurse or doctor, it would be game over. We proceeded carefully through the corridor and arrived at the stairs. This was because we were more likely to run into someone if we took the elevator.

Mamizu clutched the handrail and descended the staircase with somewhat shaky steps.

“Are you actually alright?” I asked her.

“Don’t make fun of me. I’m not a grandma,” she said.

We reached the first floor and made it to the store safely. It was decided that I would stand at the store’s entrance and look out for anyone it would be bad for Mamizu to be found by.

“It’s here! Takuya-kun, it’s here!” Mamizu’s voice shouted at me quietly after a while.

I turned around to see what she was so happy about, and saw her waving at me like a child. Looking more closely, I could see that a package was being waved around in her hand.

“What is that?” I asked.

Mamizu drew closer and held the package up in front of my face.

“Look closely. It’s the same as your earphones, Takuya-kun.”

Indeed, it was the same brand and the exact same model. What’s she thinking? I wondered. Had she made the effort of sneaking out of her hospital room just for something like this?

“Please give me this,” Mamizu said, and before I could stop her, she handed the earphones to the lady at the register.

“Even if you say that, you don’t have any cash, do you?” I said calmly.

“Ta-dah. I have a magic card,” Mamizu said, producing an IC card that I hadn’t seen before. “It’s a prepaid card for the hospital. If I have this, I can watch TV and do all kinds of things.”

“I mean, you don’t really have to buy them,” I said.

But Mamizu didn’t respond, and bought the earphones. “Treat them with care this time,” she said.

“It’s… not like I wasn’t treating them with care before.” I should have just thanked her, but for some reason, I said something else instead.

Mamizu suddenly became expressionless and stared at me.

“What? If you want to say something, say it,” I said.

In the next moment, Mamizu’s body swayed in a large, slow motion. Not giving me time to think about why, it collapsed towards me as if she were snuggling against me. I reflexively extended my hands and embraced her.

“Oi, what’s this all of a sudden?” I asked.

“Takuya-kun. I’m sorry. I’m in a bit of trouble now,” Mamizu said, and then, for some reason, she let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I can’t put any strength into my body.”

“Hey, you’re kidding, right?”

“I’m serious.”

In front of a store’s register, in a pose that looked like we were embracing each other, we’d become unable to move. You’re kidding, right? I thought one more time.