There are three more Miyagi on the phone.
I was supposed to stop at two pictures, but I got one more, but two or three pictures wonât make much difference, and if I donât show Miyagi, she wonât complain.
I would have liked to have taken a video, but as expected, I refrained from doing so.
Itâs not a bad idea to save a picture of Miyagi, who is weak and relies on me, on my phone. But if Iâm going to take a picture of Miyagi, Iâd rather have a healthy Miyagi, and Iâd better ask for permission before taking the picture.
Well, Miyagi is not likely to allow me to take a video.
ãWhy are you looking at me like that?ã
On the other side of the table, Miyagi, who was eating the egg rice porridge I had made, raises her eyebrows grimly.
ãI was thinking Iâd like to take a video next time.ã
ãâ¦What do you mean by âvideoâ?ã
ãVideo of Miyagi. Can I take it?ã
ãWhatâs the point?ã
ãI knew you would say that.ã
ãIf you think so, donât bother asking.ã
Miyagi says in a low voice and eats a bowl of rice gruel.
The bowl is almost empty, and I am relieved to see that Miyagi has a good appetite. Thatâs a good trend, because last night she left a rice porridge. However, I canât rest easy because her temperature was still a little over 37 degrees Celsius when I measured it earlier.
ãAre you done eating?ã
I didnât make that much because it was breakfast and because of last night. But if she has an appetite, I can make a little more.
ãSendai-san, you immediately try to fatten people up.ã
ãThatâs not what I meant. The rice gruel, I was just wondering if that was enough for you.ã
I hope you eat a lot and get better soon.
That is the only reason for making rice gruel, not to make Miyagi look delicious and fat.
ãItâs enough.ã
After answering shortly, Miyagi ate the rice gruel left in her bowl clean and then said quietly without looking at me.
ãSendai-san⦠Your body, was it okay?ã
ãThatâs my side of the talk. Are you okay, Miyagi?ã
Since it was Miyagi who caught a cold, it is also Miyagi who is worried.
If she has time to worry about others, she should worry about herself, and I hope she gets over her cold completely soon. But Miyagi didnât answer my question, but continued with the wordãBecause,ãand then she said was grumbling,ãYou were sleeping on the floor, Sendai-san.ã
ãIâm just alright.ã
Indeed I was sleeping on the floor of Miyagiâs room.
But Miyagi doesnât have to worry about that.
After cleaning up after dinner, I went to Miyagiâs room to be near her, who still had a fever. I watched Miyagi for a long time, felt sleepy, and just fell asleep, using the floor as my bed.
If Miyagi were healthy, she would have made room for me next to her, but I wouldnât sleep with her by pushing the sick to the edge.
ãâ¦When you woke up, you said you were in pain.ã
It was supposed to be a small voice that came out unexpectedly, but it was heard.
ãWell, my body was a little sore, but Iâm fine now.ã
ãSendai-san catches a cold easily, but have you caught a cold?ã
ãIâm alright.ã
Unfortunately, I add in my mind.
It is a silly thing to say that a cold can be cured by passing it on to someone else, but if Miyagi can get well by passing a cold on to me, that would be fine. But reality is not that simple, and if I catch a cold now, there will be no one to take care of Miyagi.
ãForget about me, Miyagi, you worry about yourself.ã
ãIâm cured already.ã
ãYou still have a fever. Thereâs no way youâre getting better.ã
ãItâs almost nothing.ã
ãYou need to back off properly.ã
ãMy fever goes down fast.ã
Miyagi is overconfident in herself.
She may be confident in her physical strength, but a fever cannot be brought down by sheer force of will, nor can it be brought down by her saying it will go down immediately. Even if it does go down, itâs possible to be fine in the morning and then feel sick at night with a fever that rises again.
Itâs not good to let oneâs guard down.
If she has been fighting off colds at this rate all this time, Miyagi may not live long.
ââI donât want that to be the case.
ãWhen you say things like that, your fever rises⦠Would you like me to take todayâs part-time job off and stay with you?ã
ãâ¦I donât like your part-time job, but you donât need to take time off.ã
ãAre you really okay with that?ã
.
ãIâm not a child, so donât worry so much. But, Sendai-san, you need to eat properly.ã
Miyagi said in a firm voice and pointed to the bowl of rice gruel in front of me.
ãWell, Iâll be back as soon as I can, so just be an adult.ã
ãI donât need to be told, Iâm an adult.ã
I hear a low voice and I took a spoonful of the almost-cooled rice gruel into her mouth. She took a bite or two, then I look at Miyagi, who meets my eyes with hers and averts them. As she took another bite, I hear a small voice say, ãThanks for the meal. It was delicious,ãI hear a little voice say, and I reply,ãYouâre welcome.ã
The rice gruel I made for Miyagi, who said she didnât like porridge because it lacked flavor, was apparently to her liking.
ãSendai-san.ã
Miyagi calls me in a voice I almost miss.
ãWhat is it?ã
ãYesterday, Iâ¦ã
The muffled voice quickly faded away, and I couldnât make out what she was saying.
ãMiyagiââã
My attempts to listen back were drowned out by a slightly louder voice saying,ãItâs nothing.ã
ãSay it properly, Miyagi.ã
ãItâs nothing.ã
ãIâm curious, you know?ã
ãThen erase all memories of now and yesterday.ã
ãThatâs impossible.ã
ãDo it, even if you canât.ã
ãWhy?ã
ãDo it no matter what.ã
Miyagi stares at me as if she will not let me say anything more.
I can imagine why she would do this.
Perhaps she is concerned about what kind of person she was yesterday.
I wondered if I had said something, or what I had done.
I donât know if she is saying this because she remembers or because she doesnât remember, but I do know that the Miyagi I saw was the person she didnât want me to see.
ãI just want to make sure I have the memory you want me to erase of, Miyagi. Is that what you said yesterday when you were sleeping?ã
She can give me a blank answer, but Iâm going to voice what I want to hear just in case.
ãâ¦What did I say?ã
I hear a probing voice.
Apparently, she doesnât remember.
That she had called me many times.
That she believed I will come back to this house.
All of them are important to me, but if I tell her, she will definitely deny it. That is not interesting. It is as uninteresting as Miyagi meeting someone who is not me.
ãYou said you wanted to kiss me.ã
I chuckle as I utter the words that can be denied.
ãâ¦I definitely didnât say that.ã
ãYou said it.ã
ãI definitely not.ã
Miyagi assured me and kicked my leg under the table. It was quite strong, and when I involuntarily voiced my pain, a cold voice replied,ãYou deserved it.ã
ãYour cold has passed, Miyagi.ã
ãWhen I get over my cold, Iâm going to see penguins, not kiss them.ã
Unexpected words come out of Miyagi, who remains mushed up.
ãThe penguins, youâve already seen them.ã
Although it is a video, it serves the purpose of watching penguins.
ãAnd I promised weâd go see it. How about this Sunday?ã
ãIsnât it too soon? Maybe you havenât recovered from your cold, canât it be later?ã
ãItâs not fine.ã
ãDonât be in such a hurry, the penguins wonât run away.ã
ãâ¦I keep my promises, the sooner the better.ã
ãYou kept your word, didnât you?ã
ãI just saw them on video, I didnât go to see them.ã
They say Miyagi is not flexible.
She didnât go anywhere, but she did see the penguins, so I think itâs safe to say that she kept her word.
For me, whether or not I went to see the show is a trivial matter. As long as Miyagi is with me, I donât have to worry about the âgoingâ part. I want to see Miyagi happy to see the penguins, but it is more important that Miyagi be healthy.
ãYou donât have to be so strict about it.ã
ãI want to keep my promises. So please keep them, Sendai-san.ã
ãYou like to make promises, donât you, Miyagi?ã
ãI donât like it. I just donât like those to be ripped off.ã
ãWell then, letâs just make a promise that weâll go see the penguins sometime.ã
I have no problem with more commitments to Miyagi, in fact, I welcome them. I would like to see more and more of them. And Iâm honestly happy to be able to go out with Miyagi.
But I donât want her to stick to her word and hide the fact that sheâs not feeling well.
ãSendai-san, youâre so quick to say half-baked things.ã
ãItâs not half-baked. This too is a promise.ã
I stand up and touch Miyagiâs plumeria earrings.
I want to kiss her to pledge my promise, but not today.
Itâs not too late to kiss Miyagi after she gets better.