Page 16 of The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop
The person poking her head through the door was that young lady with ‘Matsumoto’ written on her name badge. Without her hat, the hair on this tall woman was unbelievably long.
‘I’m not sure, Mai. Although, so far, he doesn’t seem to be feeling as down as you made it out to be.’
‘Really? Well, that’s good news.’
‘He does seem to be in doubt about who I am.’
‘I see. He never forgets his mealtimes, though.’
As she said so, the young lady dragged a chair over and settled down next to Sanae. She was even more smiley than usual.
‘Now listen, Dad. This is Mai. She is my daughter, which makes her your granddaughter.’
Shingo gazed at Sanae in bewilderment.
‘But her surname is not the same as mine.’
‘That’s because she married Matsumoto-san.’
Now who in the world was Matsumoto-san?
Seemingly ignoring the look of confusion on Shingo’s face, Sanae placed her hand on the book she’d brought and exhaled through her nose.
‘Mai has always been a grandma-and-grandpa girl, ever since she was little. You often looked after her at your house, didn’t you? You probably don’t remember, but Mai was in her third year of high school when Mum first became ill. That must have been why she trained to become a registered dietician, saying that it would come in handy in the future. After she passed her test, she found a job here, close to your home. She even has a qualification in providing nursing-care food now. She’s always said that if it ever came to it, she would look after whoever ended up alone, and, well, that became a reality. I don’t mean to boast about my own daughter, but she’s really something, this one.’
‘He-he, you’re making me blush. But please, do keep the compliments coming. I want Grandpa to hear more.’
As this exchange went on, Shingo silently alternated his gaze between the two women in front of him, wondering if the story he was hearing could really be true. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe them. They weren’t lying; he could be sure of that. The problem was, however, that Shingo couldn’t remember any of the events that they claimed to have happened.
Then, out of nowhere, an image of an infant playfully clinging to him and Yuriko floated into his mind. It was quite possible that this was a memory of his granddaughter.
‘But wait, Mai is only about this big, isn’t she?’ Shingo ventured, holding out his hand at the height of his knees. The two women looked towards one another. It appeared as though they were pleased about something.
Then, Mai – the one that was apparently hisgranddaughter– spotted the book sitting on Sanae’s lap. ‘It’sTen Nights of Dreams,’ she said.
‘Hey, Grandpa, did Grandma ever tell you why she loved this book so much?’
Shingo heard a tinge of hesitancy in her voice as she called him ‘Grandpa’, but it seemed that she had decided to be her usual self. For some reason, this made him feel relieved. Holding the book in her hand, his granddaughter turned the pages.
She continued, ‘This story is about a woman who passes away and comes back as ayuriflower – a lily – right? And as you know, the kanji characters foryuriare “one hundred” and “come together”. In the story, they meet after one hundred years – do you see what I mean? Grandma told me how much she loved that. When I was little, she always said things like “I bet this couple will always be destined to meet, no matter how many times they’re reborn,” and “I can’t believe my name had such a lovely meaning to it.”’
‘Mum told you that?’
‘Uh-huh. She told me lots of things just before she passed away, too. I even know a little bit about the time Grandpa proposed to her.’
Right, so Yuriko really is gone already.This was what Shingo kept thinking as the conversation between the two women flowed through his ears.
Sensing this, Mai said, ‘Grandpa, the Kawazu cherry blossoms in the garden are at their peak right now. All the flowers opened over the past few days. Why don’t we go there? Just for a bit. Look, you can see them from here.’
Shingo walked over to the west-facing window and looked down. He saw a large cluster of rich pink.
‘Come on, let’s go. It’s really nice out.’
She smiled her usual bubbly smile. Unlike that day in the canteen, Shingo felt his mood lift just a little. At least, it made him want to give it a go. A smile, he mused, was a truly powerful thing.
Leaving Shingo’s room, the three of them took the lift down to the lower floor. He managed to walk without a hitch to the end of the corridor, but at the door leading to the courtyard, he suddenly lost his footing and almost fell over.This is why I need to be wearing my uniform, Shingo silently said to himself, and his daughter pointed to something, suggesting that they use it. Shifting his gaze, he saw that it was a wheelchair. If this were another day, he would have never agreed to such a proposal. But for some reason, he couldn’t refuse. Before he could make up his mind, the two of them were lowering him into the wheelchair, saying that he was going to be just fine.
The air was still, and the gentle spring sunshine was quite pleasant indeed. The sensation of being transported without physical effort filled him with a strangenostalgia. As they moved along the stone-paved path, the cherry blossoms in full bloom soon came into view. The pink of the flowers was much deeper than that of the somei-yoshino trees. ‘Look,’ he heard, and nodded in reply.
