Chapter 8 Monogram

I have been friends with Kurihara, the old guard of my factory (in fact, he is less than fifty, but he always gives people a sense of oldness), but this should be his hot topic. No matter who the object is, once he is close enough to When talking about private topics, you can't wait to bring it up.One evening, I was sitting by the fire in the guardhouse, listening to Kurihara share his amazing experience. Kurihara's way of speaking is very fascinating, and he seems to be a good novelist, so this little story still has a lot of traces of processing. Even so, its charm is still unbearable. Among such stories, this is still one that I will never forget. .I'll write it down in imitation of Kurihara's tone!

Hey, the whole thing is like a comic script, but it's no fun to say the end first.Just treat it as an ordinary romance and let it go. That was when I was in my thirties.As I always tell you, although I have been educated for many years, I am always half-hearted and change my mind. No matter what I do, I can't last a year.I went line by line and finally got to this situation.At the time, I had just quit my job, hadn't found another job, and was unemployed.As you can see, I still have no children at this age, how can I bear to stay in a pigeon coop all day with my hysterical wife staring at me?So I often go to Asakusa Park to kill time.

It’s a park, but it’s not the hut in District 6, but the grove to the south of the pool. There are rows of chairs beside the grove. Due to the long-term sun and rain, the paint on the chairs has peeled off. White, large stones and tree trunks scattered among them.A large group of wandering, lost souls in the wind and rain of the floating world, with desperate expressions, packed the chairs to the brim, almost completely blending with the surrounding scenery.I was one of them too, you don't understand, but that scene, alas, was so painful to watch. One day, I was lying on the bench, still dreaming in a daze.It's spring, the cherry blossom season is over, but the movie house at the other end of the pool is crowded with people, the sound of "bang bang bang", the sound of the band, the sound of blowing balloons mixed in, and the shouting of ice cream vendors can all be heard clearly.On the contrary, the forest we were in was as quiet as another world. Since we were so poor that we didn’t even have the money to buy movie tickets, everyone had to look at each other with hunger, thirst and worry, and continued to sit withered.This gloomy and sad scene makes people unable to help thinking that sin is fermented in this way.

It was a circular clearing in the forest. The seemingly happy crowd kept passing by. If the other party was a beautifully dressed woman, the lonely man on the bench would also look over at the same time.At that time, the crowd slowed down, and the field of vision was empty, so I naturally noticed a figure emerging from the arc lamp post in the corner. It was a young man in his thirties. Although his clothes were not shabby, he was a bit lonely. At least his expression did not look like he was looking for fun, but more like us downcasts.He stood there for a while, seeming to be looking for a vacant seat, but every bench was full, and compared to his politeness, the others were much dirty and fierce, he might not be able to bear it.Just as he was about to leave, his eyes suddenly met mine.

So he finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the little space left beside me.Although it is absurd to say so, I, wearing an old Mingsen kimono, should have a stronger appearance than others, and I am not that vicious.It occurred to me later that perhaps he had seen me in the first place.Oh, and the reason for that will soon be revealed. It seems that I have made an old problem again, and my words are procrastinated.After the man sat down, he took out the Shikishima cigarettes in the sleeve pocket of his kimono and smoked them.I gradually had a wonderful premonition, and I was wondering in my heart. When I looked carefully, I found that the man was staring at me.It was not a casual glance, but an ulterior motive.

The other party looked like an honest person who was sick, so I was more curious than nervous, so I stood still and observed his behavior without any trace.Staying in the middle of the noisy Asakusa Park, I could indeed hear a lot of voices, but I felt unbelievably peaceful. I sat like this for a long time, waiting for the man to speak. Finally, the man said timidly, "Have we met somewhere?" I had expected this kind of situation, not very surprised, just a little surprised, because I had no memory of him, and I didn't recognize this person at all. "You've got the wrong person, I haven't seen you before." Hearing my answer, the other party looked at me again with disbelief.Is this guy up to some conspiracy?I also felt uncomfortable, and couldn't help asking: "Where did I meet?"

"Uh, I can't remember too. Strange, too strange." He tilted his head wonderingly, "It's not a day or two, but I saw you often earlier, don't you really remember?" He Actually questioned me, and then showed nostalgic smile. "It's not me. What's the name of that person you know?" After I asked, unexpectedly he answered better: "I tried my best, but I just couldn't remember the name. It shouldn't be like this." "My name is Kazuzo Kurihara." I said. "Oh, I'm Miyoshi Tanaka." The man introduced himself.

We exchanged names in the middle of Asakusa Park. Interestingly, not only me, but also the man did not remember my name at all.How absurd it was, we both couldn't stop laughing.As a result, the smile of the other party, Tanaka Miyoshi, suddenly aroused my memory.The strange thing is that even I feel as if I have seen him somewhere, and I have also met a very good old friend, which is a very familiar feeling. I stopped laughing suddenly, and took a closer look at the man in front of me who called himself Tanaka. Tanaka also put away his smile and showed a serious expression.At other times, we might not have discussed it in depth, but simply parted ways.But I'm unemployed, poor and bored, and it's a leisurely spring, and besides, it's not a bad thing to talk to young people who look neater and cleaner than me.I'll just pass the time by continuing this clueless thread:

"It's weird, chatting, even I think you have a kind face." I said. "That's right, that's true. It's not the kind of relationship where you just meet each other once." "Perhaps. Where is your hometown?" "Mie County. I just went to Beijing for the first time recently, and I'm looking for an errand right now." Then he is also considered unemployed. "I'm from Tokyo. When did you go to Beijing?" "I have been in Tokyo for less than a month." "It probably happened somewhere during this time."

"No, not recently. I met you years ago, when you were younger." "Yes, I agree. You mean Mie Prefecture? I don't like traveling, and I have hardly left Tokyo since I can remember. I only know that Mie Prefecture is in the Keihan area. I don't know the exact location at all, so it is impossible to meet you in your hometown. You, and you are going to Beijing for the first time." "It's really the first time I come to a place farther than Hakone. I was educated in Osaka and worked there before." "Osaka? I have been, but it was ten years ago."

"Then it wouldn't be Osaka. I never left my hometown until I graduated from junior high school seven years ago." It seems cumbersome to explain this way, but we were both very nervous at the time. Even if we recalled the trivial details, such as which year to which year and where, which year and which month to travel to, we compared each other and found no overlap. place.Even if you accidentally travel to the same place, the time is completely different.Speaking of this level, it is even more surprising.I asked whether it was a mistake, but the other party insisted that there could be no two people who looked so similar. If it was a one-sided idea, it would be fine, but I also felt that he seemed to have known each other, so it was difficult to determine whether he remembered it wrong.The more we talked, the more we felt that the other party was an old friend, and it became even more unclear where we met.Have you ever had a similar experience?It was very strange, mysterious... yes, very mysterious.Not only to pass the time and boredom, but also in such a situation where the more you explore, the more confused you become. Isn't it human nature to want to find out the truth? Unfortunately, the truth is still unknown in the end.We couldn't help getting anxious, the more we tried to evoke the memory, the more confused our heads became, they were obviously two people who had known each other for a long time.But no matter how we discuss it, it still doesn't make sense, we can only look at each other and laugh. Although we couldn't find any intersections, the topics gradually deepened and mutual affection gradually grew. Leaving aside the past, at least from now on, we have become rare friends.Later, Tanaka treated guests, and we moved to the coffee shop by the pool, drank tea and talked about this romantic relationship, and then broke up peacefully.When we parted, we exchanged addresses and invited each other to our house to play. If things stopped here, there would be nothing to mention, but after four or five days, we discovered a strange thing, Tanaka and I were indeed related in some way.The romance I spoke of at first will unfold later.Speaking of this, Kurihara smiled slightly.Tanaka seemed to be busy with his job hunting, which was beginning to take shape, and he never came to see me. As usual, I was too idle, so one day, on a whim, I visited his rented house behind Ueno Park.It was nearly dusk when he arrived, and he happened to be going out and returning home. As soon as he saw me, he couldn't wait to shout: "I know, I know!" "That's the thing, I completely understand, I suddenly remembered it in bed last night, I'm sorry, I really misunderstood, we have never met once, but it doesn't mean we have no fate. Do you remember Kitagawa Sumiko?" This question that popped up for no reason surprised me.Hearing Kitagawa Sumiko's name, the youthful breath of the distant past seemed like a gentle breeze blowing, and the disturbing mystery of the past few days seemed to be solved a little bit. "Well, but that was a long time ago, about fourteen or five years ago, when I was a student." I told you before that when I was in school, I was very popular and had countless girlfriends, and Kitagawa Sumiko was one of them, and I was particularly impressed by her.She goes to ×× Girls' School, she is very beautiful, and among the members of our Utakai, she is the most popular person, or the queen at all.Although she is a beautiful woman, she is a bit proud and feels that she is thousands of miles away from others.Actually (Kurihara hesitates, scratching his head), I'm infatuated with her, and to my shame, I'm unrequited love.Later, my marriage partner was Ayuan, who graduated from the same girls' school as her and was regarded as a second-rate beauty among her peers... No, let alone a beauty now, she was a hysterical patient who couldn't handle it, but at that time it was barely called The above is a girl who chooses one out of ten.All in all, I'm barely compromising within reach.Therefore, Kitagawa Sumiko was my former sweetheart and my wife's classmate. But how could Tanaka from Mie County recognize Chengzi?How can you recognize me?I really couldn't figure it out, but after careful questioning, I learned an unexpected fact.The night before last, Tanaka was lying in bed with a flash of inspiration in his mind. He suddenly realized why he thought I was good-looking. He originally wanted to notify me immediately, but unfortunately that day (the day I visited him) he had already made an appointment for an interview. Can't come to me. After Tanaka explained something, he took something out of the desk drawer and asked, "Do you recognize this?" It was a gorgeous portable mirror, although the style is no longer fashionable, but the workmanship is quite exquisite, like something for a young woman.I said I had no impression, and Tanaka said: "But you should know that, right?" He looked at me with special meaning, opened the half-folded portable mirror, deftly pulled out the mirror embedded in what looked like Shiozase thick cloth, took out the photo hidden behind, and handed it to me.It's really surprising that it's a picture of me when I was young. "This is my sister's relic. She is the Kitagawa Sumiko we just mentioned. It's only natural for you to be surprised, in fact..." Tanaka explained that due to some reasons, her elder sister, Cheng Zi, was sent to the Beichuan family in Tokyo as an adopted daughter since she was a child, and the other party also provided for her to go to ×× girls' school.After graduation, the Beichuan family suddenly encountered great misfortune, and she had to return to her hometown, which is the Tanaka family.Soon, she died of illness before she was married.And my wife and I were so confused and ignorant that it surprised me. Chengzi left behind a small information box, which contained many bits and pieces of personal items full of femininity.Tanaka regarded it as her sister's relic and cherished it. "One year after my sister passed away, I found this photo," Tanaka said. "The photo was hidden in the portable mirror, which was hard to detect. I checked the box in my spare time, and while playing with the portable mirror, I accidentally discovered the secret. I remembered it in bed yesterday. The matter of the photo completely solved my doubts. I took out your photo from time to time to miss my dead sister, so you undoubtedly became an acquaintance with a deep impression on me. When I met a few days ago, I didn’t think of it for a while, and mistakenly thought I have seen you in person. And you too," Tanaka laughed, "it is impossible to forget to send a photo to the woman I like. My sister and I look very similar, so you will have the illusion that you have seen me." In this way, things must be as Tanaka described.But, I'm still puzzled.I have given the photos to many people, and it is not surprising that Chengzi will have them, but I did not expect her to be kept in the portable mirror. Her situation is completely opposite to mine.This should be my act of unrequited love for her, it is impossible for Chengzi to cherish my photos. However, Tanaka decided that Sumiko and I had some unusual bond, which was no wonder, but he kept begging me to confess our relationship.He said that although his elder sister died of a physical illness, as a younger brother, he vaguely felt that it was not pure.For example, Chengzi was also proposed to marry before she was alive, but she refused firmly. It can be seen that she had already had someone in mind, but unfortunately her wish could not be realized, which caused her to die of depression at a young age.In fact, it was rumored that Chengzi suffered from depression after returning to his hometown, and then contracted an incurable disease, so what Tanaka said is quite reasonable. Hearing this, even though I am quite old, my heart still beats suddenly, and I can't help thinking wishfully, I am not unrequited love, and Chengzi is also full of unspeakable love.I can imagine how resentful she was when she saw my wedding with Ayuan. If that beautiful Chengzi really died of regret, ah, what should I do?I am so happy, and when I am happy, there is inevitably a ray of bitterness in my heart. But on the other hand, I still have doubts in my heart, "Is there really such a thing?"Chengzi is too beautiful and noble to fall in love with me.So, Tanaka and I got into an awkward dispute.I argued step by step for the camp that "that's not the case", and Tanaka forced me to ask "then how to explain this photo".During the debate, my chest gradually filled with sentimentality, and I finally confessed my secret love, saying so and so, so Chengzi will not fall in love with me.Even though I wished so much that the opposite was true, I still defended it like this. Tanaka was playing with the portable mirror, and suddenly saw something and shouted "It really is like this", he found something unusual.As I just said, the outside of the portable mirror is a double-fold case made of Shiozase silk cloth, with patterns such as hemp leaves and vines on the surface, and an inconspicuous color thread is embroidered with an S enclosing an I letter pattern, which seems to be It was affixed by Cheng Zi himself. "I couldn't figure out the meaning of this letter at all before." Tanaka said, "S may be the initials of Sumiko (SUMIKO), but I does not match the surname of parents' TANAKA or adoptive parents' KITAKAWA. It dawned on me just now, isn’t your name Ichizo Kurihara? Isn’t ICHIZO’s prefix I? Whether it’s a photo or a monogram, now I finally understand what my sister means.” The evidence that appeared one after another made me feel sad and happy, and my eyes were inexplicably warm.Thinking about it this way, every movement of Kitagawa Sumiko more than ten years ago now has a different meaning.Was what she said at the time a hint to me?Her attitude at that moment was really well-intentioned?Don't laugh at me for being young and wishful thinking, I am constantly immersed in sweet memories.Later, the two of us talked for almost a whole day. Tanaka talked about my sister’s past, and I talked about the past when I was a student. Since it was all in the distant past, we were able to objectively state the facts without any irony.When we parted, I asked Tanaka for a photo of the mirror and Sumiko, carefully put it in my inner pocket and went home. Thinking about it carefully, this is really a rare chance meeting.The man who happened to be sitting on a bench in Asakusa Park was actually the younger brother of the woman who had a crush on him in the past, and he also revealed to me the surprise of the other party.Not only that, but if we had met before, it wouldn't be a surprise, but we knew each other as strangers. After something like this happened, my mind was filled with Chengzi for a moment.Why wasn't I braver then?This is certainly regrettable to me, but in any case, times have passed, and I am not young. Compared with those things that actually happened, I feel more pure joy and sadness. I always look at my wife behind my back. The portable mirror and photos left behind by Chengzi are immersed in faint dreams like memories. But the human heart is amazing.As mentioned above, my feelings for Chengzi are not realistic at all, but I hate my wife Ayuan for no reason, and I can't bear her hysteria.Even though he had never been to the countryside of Sanchong County where Chengzi died, he was inexplicably nostalgic.Finally, I had an idea to go on a pilgrimage-like simple trip to pay homage to Chengzi's tomb.That embarrasses me so badly now, but at the time I was really thinking, with childlike innocence, what to do. I would like to offer some flowers and incense in front of the tombstone that Tian Zhong said, engraved with Cheng Zi's elegant and elegant name, and say a word to her.I even paint this sentimental picture in my mind.Of course, this is just fantasy.Even if I plan to put it into practice, I can't even raise travel expenses due to my living situation... If the matter ends here, as a forty-year-old man's past, although it is not a romance that can be shown off, it is still an interesting memory, but there is actually more to it.If it comes to the end, it will be reduced to a very common and funny cross talk story, which makes people disillusioned, so I don't want to finish it, but the facts are facts after all, and people are helpless.Hey, it can be regarded as a blow to me who is so self-absorbed. I miss the phantom of Chengzi who passed away, until one day, due to a momentary negligence, my hysterical wife caught a glimpse of the portable mirror and the photo of Chengzi.When this mistake happened, I was very troubled, and I was even mentally prepared to face the storm, and I was also prepared to appease her violent ups and downs in the following time.Unexpectedly, my wife sat in front of my broken table, she didn't look like she was going to have a fit, and she said with a smile: "Oh, isn't this a photo of Beichuan? How could there be such a thing? Oh, the portable mirror I miss so much, it's so old. I found it in my suitcase? I thought I lost it long ago." From what she said, I heard something strange, but I still couldn't figure it out, I just stood there blankly.The wife played with the portable mirror with emotion and said: "This monogram was embroidered when I was a student. Do you know what it means?" The wife in her thirties was inexplicably shy, "This is I from ICHIZO, and S from SONO. It hasn't started yet." When we were in a relationship with you, I embroidered the prayer of the two never changing hearts. Do you understand my intention? The mirror disappeared later, and I always thought it was stolen during a school trip to Nikko." She actually said that, you understand?In other words, the portable mirror is not Chengzi's property, as I had imagined naively, but the hysterical wife A Yuan's property.The capital of Ayuan and Chengzi is S, which caused me a huge misunderstanding.Having said that, how could Ah Yuan's things be in Chengzi's hands?I really couldn't figure this out, so I asked my wife and learned an unexpected fact. The wife said that during a school trip, she put the mirror and wallet in her handbag, but lost it in the hotel, and it seemed that a classmate stole it.In desperation, I had no choice but to confess that I had met Chengzi's younger brother, but my wife insisted that Chengzi was the suspect.You may not know that Chengzi's dirty hands and feet are known to everyone in her grade, so she must have done it.My wife is not lying, and Chengzi is not being wronged. The evidence is that my wife put the photo behind the mirror, and she remembers it clearly.Presumably, Chengzi didn't know about this photo until her death. It was her younger brother who was playing with the mirror on a whim and discovered it by accident and misunderstood it. I tasted double disappointment at the same time.First of all, Chengzi doesn't mean anything to me, and secondly, if it's as my wife guesses, then Chengzi, whom I love so much, is actually a thief. Hahaha, I made you laugh, my ridiculous past ends here.As soon as the results were made public, I found out that it was just a boring joke, but before I knew the truth, I was also nervous for a long time!