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Authors: Banana Yoshimoto
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smell!”
Of course that didn’t really happen—I was daydreaming. My sister lay there with a grim look on her face, making all sorts of noises, fast asleep. But the scene the smell of the mikan called to mind seemed so vividly real that I started to cry. It was the first time in ages that I had seen my sister looking that way.
“Did you see it, too?” asked Sakai, ignoring my tears, his eyes widening.
“I think so,” I replied. “Do you think that means part of her is actually aware of what’s going on around her?”
“No way, not a chance,” Sakai said, his tone so definitive that I was taken aback. “That vision we had was brought on by the mikan . It brought something back for the two of us, because it remembers Kuni’s love.”
I started to wonder if Sakai might be crazy.
But he had such a great smile on his face as he went on to say, “The world is a wonderful place, isn’t it?!” that something else burst inside me, and I began to sob. I bent over the edge of the bed and wailed as my nose ran and shudders wracked my body. I couldn’t stop. I didn’t care what it took to make it happen, whether it was a mikan or a ponkan or something else. I just wanted to see Kuni.
Sakai waited in silence for me to calm down.
“I’m going,” I said. “I’m sorry I cried.”
“I’m going, too.” Sakai got to his feet.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Kuni might get lonely if you and I both leave at once, and then she’ll get jealous.”
“All right,” Sakai replied, “wait for me downstairs, at the kiosk.”
When our eyes met, I noticed something frightening.
He likes me. Oh, so that’s it, I thought.
To tell the truth, I was happy.
But we couldn’t do anything about it. This wasn’t the right time, and besides, I would be leaving for Italy pretty soon.
The sky was very blue when I went outside. All different kinds of patients and their visitors were gathered around the kiosk.
Somehow none of the patients seemed all that dispirited. Even the ones who were clearly in pretty bad shape were smiling brightly. It was nice and warm in the sun, there were lots of appealing beverages lined up on the counter, and for some reason everyone looked very happy. It struck me that hospitals can be very comforting environments for people who aren’t doing too well.
A little later, I saw Sakai heading in my direction.
What would I peg him as, I wondered, just going by how he looks? He doesn’t look like a gangster, but then he’s not an office worker type, either... some kind of entrepreneur, maybe, or—wait, I’ve got it! He looks like he writes manga ! Either that or a chiropractor, I guess.
I was still thinking when he reached me.
“Why don’t we have a cup of tea before we go?” he asked.
“I’d like a nice strong coffee, actually,” I replied.
“There’s a good place not too far from here.”
“Why don’t we walk there, then?”
We began walking.
I felt as if we had been walking around together like this for years. But it was really the first time we had ever been alone together. It felt odd to be leaving the hospital with him, since I would never have gotten to know him if my sister hadn’t ended up there. You never know what life will bring. My eyes were so puffy that I couldn’t really make out my surroundings. I probably hadn’t cried that way, with that same degree of oblivious intensity, since I was a baby.
The sky was distant, perfectly unique, and translucent; the green leaves on the trees were beginning gradually to lose their color.
I thought I detected the sweet scent of dried leaves drifting in the wind.
“I suppose it’ll just keep getting colder from now on,” I said.
“I guess so. You know, I never tire of the beauty of this season,” Sakai said, “no matter how many times I see it.”
I wonder when the day will come when he does get tired of it, I thought.
“How do you feel about your brother’s behavior, Sakai?” I asked.
“I think he’s
Of course that didn’t really happen—I was daydreaming. My sister lay there with a grim look on her face, making all sorts of noises, fast asleep. But the scene the smell of the mikan called to mind seemed so vividly real that I started to cry. It was the first time in ages that I had seen my sister looking that way.
“Did you see it, too?” asked Sakai, ignoring my tears, his eyes widening.
“I think so,” I replied. “Do you think that means part of her is actually aware of what’s going on around her?”
“No way, not a chance,” Sakai said, his tone so definitive that I was taken aback. “That vision we had was brought on by the mikan . It brought something back for the two of us, because it remembers Kuni’s love.”
I started to wonder if Sakai might be crazy.
But he had such a great smile on his face as he went on to say, “The world is a wonderful place, isn’t it?!” that something else burst inside me, and I began to sob. I bent over the edge of the bed and wailed as my nose ran and shudders wracked my body. I couldn’t stop. I didn’t care what it took to make it happen, whether it was a mikan or a ponkan or something else. I just wanted to see Kuni.
Sakai waited in silence for me to calm down.
“I’m going,” I said. “I’m sorry I cried.”
“I’m going, too.” Sakai got to his feet.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Kuni might get lonely if you and I both leave at once, and then she’ll get jealous.”
“All right,” Sakai replied, “wait for me downstairs, at the kiosk.”
When our eyes met, I noticed something frightening.
He likes me. Oh, so that’s it, I thought.
To tell the truth, I was happy.
But we couldn’t do anything about it. This wasn’t the right time, and besides, I would be leaving for Italy pretty soon.
The sky was very blue when I went outside. All different kinds of patients and their visitors were gathered around the kiosk.
Somehow none of the patients seemed all that dispirited. Even the ones who were clearly in pretty bad shape were smiling brightly. It was nice and warm in the sun, there were lots of appealing beverages lined up on the counter, and for some reason everyone looked very happy. It struck me that hospitals can be very comforting environments for people who aren’t doing too well.
A little later, I saw Sakai heading in my direction.
What would I peg him as, I wondered, just going by how he looks? He doesn’t look like a gangster, but then he’s not an office worker type, either... some kind of entrepreneur, maybe, or—wait, I’ve got it! He looks like he writes manga ! Either that or a chiropractor, I guess.
I was still thinking when he reached me.
“Why don’t we have a cup of tea before we go?” he asked.
“I’d like a nice strong coffee, actually,” I replied.
“There’s a good place not too far from here.”
“Why don’t we walk there, then?”
We began walking.
I felt as if we had been walking around together like this for years. But it was really the first time we had ever been alone together. It felt odd to be leaving the hospital with him, since I would never have gotten to know him if my sister hadn’t ended up there. You never know what life will bring. My eyes were so puffy that I couldn’t really make out my surroundings. I probably hadn’t cried that way, with that same degree of oblivious intensity, since I was a baby.
The sky was distant, perfectly unique, and translucent; the green leaves on the trees were beginning gradually to lose their color.
I thought I detected the sweet scent of dried leaves drifting in the wind.
“I suppose it’ll just keep getting colder from now on,” I said.
“I guess so. You know, I never tire of the beauty of this season,” Sakai said, “no matter how many times I see it.”
I wonder when the day will come when he does get tired of it, I thought.
“How do you feel about your brother’s behavior, Sakai?” I asked.
“I think he’s
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