Chapter 5 chapter Five

The next Saturday, it was a slightly cloudy, cool and windy day, and the business in Maomaotou's shop and outdoor area was quite prosperous. Even so, I had no interest in working at all.Either they made a mistake in the customer's order, or they forgot the fork when they delivered the cake, and they were caught by the rope, almost crushing the Chihuahua. When I came back to my senses, I realized that Miss Hosoya was frowning at me.It's not even two o'clock, and there's still a long way to go. "What's wrong with the store manager?" She walked up to me and asked.

"It's okay, just a little lack of sleep, and my head is groggy." I did think about it last night, and ended up staying up almost all night. "The store manager's face is very bad. Do you want to go upstairs and lie down? Don't worry, the three of us here are enough to handle it." There are three of them, but one of them is in charge of the kitchen, so without me, Hosoya-san and Natomo would have a hard time looking at the store, outdoor area, and cash register. "No, I will trouble everyone tomorrow..." I have already said early in the morning that I will not be able to go to the store tomorrow afternoon.Fortunately, there are work-study students who are not on duty to replace me, but I still feel guilty.

"Besides, you also know that boy, Nazhi, with that kind of character." I raised my chin towards the table in the corner. Every time the black pug named Krachi came, Nachi would find a lot of reasons, leave work and run to tease the dog.At this time, he was also squatting beside him, stroking the dog that was only the size of a mouse with his index finger. According to the old lady who raised it, Krachi's pedigree is very noble, but perhaps because of this, he grew too small, "always maintained the appearance of a newborn puppy, and just turned into an old man." He neither barked nor walked. , so it is said that it can only be held gently like a fragile object.If you don't say it's a dog, you can't tell what kind of strange creature it is, but it seems to arouse endless emotions in Nazhi's heart.

Miss Hosoya seemed to want to spit angrily, staring at the squatting back. Perhaps Nazhi felt the murderous intent, he hurriedly turned around and stood up, and walked over with a smile. "Hey, just once, I really want to be bitten by it." He always said that.The dog, which only moves its eyes and mouth normally, is said to bite its fingers as its only way of showing love, but Krach only bites its owner. "I heard that the way it bites its fingers is so pitiful and cute that it almost makes me cry..." "Yes, yes, the store manager also saw that Nachi is working hard, so the store manager should go and have a rest. The store manager's face will only spoil the atmosphere in the store. Okay, go, go .”

Hosoya-san waved her hands like a dog and chased me towards the stairs. "Sorry, I'll just sleep for an hour." Without taking off my apron, I crept up the stairs without knowing why. The second floor is my residence.It consists of two small rooms, a small bathroom similar to that of a business hotel, and a mini kitchen. There were still cups and plates from breakfast on the table, but I couldn't bring myself to clean them up. I stood by the window, looking out at the field area through the thin curtains for a long time. An area of ​​1,000 square meters is actually too small for a large dog to run freely.But for today's dogs, it is only within this facility that they can untie the rope outdoors.

The dog looks a little lonely, wagging its tail at the owner watching on the terrace, or running around aimlessly around. The northern edge of the field area slopes slightly upwards, with the outside of the net directly connected to the woods of the foothills. Next to the net, Chie could be vaguely seen wielding a shovel.Slender hands and feet.With a towel around his neck and thick cotton gloves, he refilled the hole the dog dug... Whether it is around the store or in the room, Chie's memory always haunts me like a ghost, which surprises me. A short walk beyond the netting into the woods, there is a place that juts out over the stream like a natural viewing platform, where we used to make out in broad daylight.

At that time, we were worried about whether there would be climbers, and at the same time there was a strange excitement.However, I could only do half a set, so I hurried back to this room after stopping halfway. For three consecutive days from that day, during the Ghost Festival in August last year, we gave up our original plans to go to the movies and go for a drive, and stayed in the room all the time, almost never leaving the creaking single bed. When I learned that Chie had disappeared, the first thing I felt was purely physical loss.The feeling was so strong that it took me out of my wits, and it took me a while to start feeling genuinely sad.

In fact, I still don't quite understand, is it Chie whom I am attached to?Or Chie's smell, body temperature, weight, skin touch, these physical feelings? Chie suddenly appeared at the Maomaotou construction site where the beam-raising ceremony had just been held two years ago in the light outfit of a mountaineer.She said that on the way to the mountain, she saw the "scheduled to open" sign erected in the corner of the construction site, and she wanted to work here. As soon as she took off her hat, the face that emerged in the bright white sun was slightly wet with sweat.She had a strange attraction to me from the very beginning.

After graduating from a short college in Okayama Prefecture, she joined a trading company in Osaka and changed jobs several times, but she never found a job she was interested in.She thinks that by the standards of a woman, she is very strong and likes dogs very much, so a workplace like Mao Maotou is too suitable for her.It doesn't matter how much you get paid, as long as you get hired. She told me so, but the expression of firm will sometimes suddenly shakes helplessly, that kind of incredible gap, inexplicably touched my heart.I looked away from her face again and again with a racing heart.

All that day, even when I got into bed at night, I thought about Chie blankly.Even though we only had a short conversation, I couldn't hold back any longer when I thought about Chie's various expressions that I didn't know about.I want to personally confirm all her expressions.I am surprised that I would do anything for it, no matter what. The busiest months before the opening of the store were as happy as a dream. I think that a woman's point of view is indispensable for the management of this kind of store. From this point of view, Chie is also the most suitable talent.The decoration of the store, the powerful kitchen equipment, and the design of the logo, she happily participates in everything and displays her unique taste.It was also her idea to plant a few castanopsis trees between the parking lot and the building, and to choose heavy cement-colored cups and plates.

Simultaneously with the work of preparing to open the store, our personal relationship has also developed rapidly.I began to regard Maomaotou as our store, not mine. In the future, I want to set up a dog training classroom, maybe even set up a dog hotel. I also want to select coffee beans more carefully and provide bread without artificial additives... In this kind of discussion, Chie and I have a blueprint for the future. take shape. After the store is on the track, let's buy a house of our own in the nearby villa area, even if it is old and small.There are wooden balconies around the house, and flowers are planted in the yard, allowing children to grow freely there.We talked about it like it was all decided long ago. Because I really took everything for granted, so I didn't even think it was necessary to propose.A year later, I gave her the ring just to go through the necessary procedures. She disappeared nearly half a year ago, at the beginning of February. Strong winds with rain and snow have been blowing for days, and the store has been closed almost all the time. Chie didn't come to work, but the reason I didn't take it too seriously was because she had symptoms of a cold the day before, so she left work early, and she said that she might ask for leave tomorrow. She didn't answer the phone either, I thought she was probably sleeping and didn't even dare to call again. In the evening, after the store closed, I went to visit her with ingredients such as green onions and udon noodles.Chie was living in a small suite apartment only a few minutes away from Nabata Station. The windows of the room were dark, and I knocked lightly on the door as usual, but no one answered.Even so, I still foolishly believe that she probably slept too soundly. The moment I took the key to open the door, I will never forget the shock of falling apart, and the room was empty.The familiar curtains, beds, tables, tableware, everything has disappeared, as if it has been an empty shell from the beginning, only the night is faintly diffuse. I took off my shoes casually, and staggered two or three steps toward the house.I fell down and sat in the middle of the floor where I could see the corner clearly, I don't know how long I was in a daze.What's going on in my mind that can't think of anything?What happened?How is this going?What happened?Like an automatic device, only the words are idling over and over again. For more than a month, I left work and looked for Chie everywhere. I asked the real estate agent who rented out the house, but I couldn't find out where she moved.The other party said that she paid the liquidated damages for the temporary termination of the contract according to the rules, and then moved out. I went to that suite apartment again and again, not to mention the residents of the next two rooms, I also asked all the residents of the entire apartment, but no one knew Chie's whereabouts.Not only that, but there was no one who had ever spoken to Chie other than saying hello. I also frequently went to the bars and izakayas we used to go to.I was drinking alone, and I couldn't help looking back at the door of the store again and again, always feeling that she would show up with a mischievous smile at any time. It was then that I realized for the first time that I knew next to nothing about her. The future Mao Maotou and the future us, our topics always revolve around those things, and we don't pay attention to other things at all. I heard that she is an only child and her parents live in Okayama City.Although we talked about going back to her hometown with her in the near future and meeting her parents officially, we didn't talk about where her hometown is in the city. What kind of love has Chie had before?Do you have any friends or used to work there?What do you do when you are alone?I know nothing of these things. Half a month before she disappeared, Chie asked me to lend her money. Although it was only about two million, it was all my property. She said her cousin embezzled 10 million public funds, and if relatives did not manage to scrape together the money and return it in full, they would face criminal charges. Ms. Hosoya was also very worried. She called Chie's resume to inquire about the short major, and also checked for me whether she had moved out at the district office.Although there was indeed a junior college, it was impossible to tell people outside the school the names of the graduates; the district office was also hindered by the system, and only the person concerned could check that record. Miss Hosoya, who always loved Chie as her own daughter, looked very disappointed. Could it be that she ran away with two million?Maybe, from the very beginning, he approached me just to cheat money?Others may seem to have this kind of doubt in their hearts. After all, judging from the development of the situation, it can indeed be explained in this way. But I can't believe anything I say, Chie is definitely not that kind of woman. This is the case now, even if we never see each other in the future, I am afraid that this kind of thinking will not change until death.My body, which once held her in my arms and felt her trembling again and again, kept shouting that it was absolutely impossible... I step away from the window slowly.Without deliberate effort, the body cannot move at all.I sat down at the work table, but didn't even bother to lift my head, resting my chin on my elbow. I tried my best to pull my mood away from Chie. I squinted my eyes meaninglessly, looking at the papers scattered on the table, the household registration transcript, the original household registration transcript after restructuring, the household registration attached slip, and the family’s resident certificate. This is when I remembered that there is a city office branch in the library that also handles window services on weekends, so I specially applied for it before the store opened.Because it suddenly occurred to me that these materials should also record the address of our family when they were in Tokyo. I also don’t understand that after I found out my address more than 20 years ago, should I go all the way to Tokyo to find out my old neighbors, show them the photo of the current mother, and confirm whether she is the same person as the mother at that time?In fact, I do have a little bit of this idea, thinking that I will do this little thing for you to see. Either way is fine, but I'm eager to know about our family's past. It's just that the address was not found in the end.I only know that my place of birth is Kita-ku, Tokyo, but that just means that the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital is located in Kita-ku. The household registration is the current address in Komagawa City. I knew this before, because I moved the household registration at the same time as I moved.The transcript of the family register says that he moved from Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture to Komagawa City, Nara Prefecture.Maebashi City is my mother's natal home, that is, my grandparents' home, so it's not surprising. To my surprise, the original address recorded on the attached slip and resident certificate is also the address of Maebashi City.He obviously lived in Tokyo, why didn't he have that address? At first I was full of questions.I thought to myself that someone was really trying to hide something, so I made a move so that it would be impossible to find out where our family lived in Tokyo. But at this moment, I remembered the fire. After we left the apartment in Tokyo due to the fire, we temporarily rented at the house of our grandparents, and we might have moved our hukou there at that time.If so, it basically makes sense. Anyway, I would like to know our address in Tokyo before Maebashi. According to the results of trying to search the Internet this morning, it seems that the transcript of the cancellation of registration after we moved to Komagawa City is still in the city hall in Maebashi.If you look there, you might find clues.This makes me very excited. If today is not Saturday, I might have rushed to the front bridge immediately. But really, I'm at a loss for what to do at the moment. If grandma is not in this state now, I can take advantage of visiting her and quietly inquire about it.But grandma's dementia is getting worse day by day, and she doesn't even know her daughter is dead. The most important thing is that my own memory is completely useless, which makes me very unhappy.No matter how hard I try to recall what happened before I was admitted to the hospital, I have no memory.I can't remember the house I lived in, the surroundings, or anything else. My earliest memories of early childhood are of being in the hospital.The children in the same ward, the gentle nurse, and the toy robot brought by my father are fragments, but I have a vivid impression. No record, no memory, only the notebook of unknown origin... I kept my chin resting, and picked up the household registration transcript with one hand. I looked again at the slash that had been mercilessly drawn on the name of Misako, the mother. The blatant death sign made my heart ache, but at the same time, the scene where my brother confided that my mother hugged the pillow and watched me sleep couldn't help coming to my mind.So I couldn't even mourn my mother's death as a death from the bottom of my heart. Whenever the familiar figure that has been familiar for many years comes to mind, it will always overlap with the figure of a young woman in a floral dress like a double-exposure photo.With short curly hair, snow-white arms, the hand holding the handbag, and a folded parasol, she knew she was smiling but couldn't see her facial features clearly.A white face without facial features, but staring at me and smiling. A mixture of sadness and fear dangled in waves at the bottom of the memory. Was she really transferred?If so, where was my mother before I was four years old? After thinking about it, my mind always returns to this question. I couldn't help but sigh, and I've been sighing non-stop since morning. Whether it's the content of the diary, or the memory of my mother being transferred, I might wish that it was the truth.The mother who died in a car accident, Chie who was fighting the fire, the seriously ill and aging father, the demented grandmother, and the business situation of this store that may collapse at any time, I just want to forget all these things, so I can’t wait to throw myself into that delusion. Since just now, there have been dogs barking outside.Dogs in wild areas usually just run around and don't bark very much. Seeing that it was almost four o'clock on the clock, I jumped up in amazement.Before going upstairs, I clearly agreed to only rest for an hour, but it turned out to be more than that long. When I was about to go downstairs, there was another barking sound, and I was a little flustered. Dog disputes can become serious if you don't deal with them while they're still young.At one point, the dogs in the wild area were overwhelmed by the excitement, and there was even a bloody conflict, but luckily it subsided quickly.But although all the dogs are fine, the owners are not so easy to talk to each other.Each criticizes each other's dogs for being uneducated and not giving in to each other.In the end, several people resigned in anger. But when I looked over, there was nothing in the wild area. It turned out that there were only two miniature schnauzers urging the owner to throw the ball quickly and let them pick it up. The sun was still high in the sky, and the clouds were shining white. In the corner, Nachi followed the Shiba Inu and let him practice drilling through the thick water pipe that was used as a toy.The owner on the side is a somewhat attractive beauty, and Kraqi must have returned home. The Shiba Inu dare not enter the water pipe, but Nazhi is only a part-time worker, but he has been in the store since it opened, so he is very experienced.With strong gentleness, he tamed the dog who was pretending to be well-behaved and was waiting for an opportunity to escape. Looking at that scene, I finally had a breath of fresh air in my chaotic mind. At this time, Miss Hosoya brought the coffee and put it on the empty table next to me. I drank my coffee gratefully, and saw the Shiba Inu, who had successfully passed through the water pipe, and other attracted dogs, began to go into the water pipe tunnel one by one. The guests sitting at the table on the balcony drinking drinks also watched with relish. The owner of the beautiful woman thanked her with admiration, Nazhi said it was nothing, and made a gesture of salute casually. The owner of the beautiful woman and most of the guests present obviously thought that Nachi, who was usually superior in size and attitude, was the manager of the store, but Nazhi himself had no intention of correcting everyone's misunderstandings, so it was troublesome. The big Labrador got in, and the water pipes rolled around like earthworms.A certain guest said that he must be stuck inside, and burst out laughing immediately. The other dogs walked aimlessly around the area with expressions that seemed to be satisfied with the treatment.That kind of sentimental appearance, for some reason, looks more and more human. But that's not bad either.For me at this moment, the limited space in which only this dog is in is a wonderful utopia.As long as I stay here, I believe that Chie will come back one day.