Chapter 8 Chapter Eight Tengo Goes to Strange Places to Meet Strange People

Many people regard Sunday morning as a symbol of rest.But throughout his boyhood, Tengo had never thought of Sunday mornings as something he liked.The Sunday prize weighed heavily on him.On weekends, his body would become heavy, he would lose his appetite, and his whole body would ache.To Tengo, Sunday was like simply facing the dark side of the distorted moon all the time.As a boy Tengo often thought that it would be great if he didn't come on Sunday.If I have to go to school every day, I don't know how happy I am if I don't have holidays.He also prayed that Sunday would not come! Of course that prayer was not heard.After growing up, Sunday is no longer a real threat, and now when I wake up on Sunday morning, my mood will sometimes be inexplicably dark.I feel the joints of my body rattling and sometimes feel nauseous.That reaction has gone deep inside.It may be deep into the realm of the subconscious.

My father used to be a toll collector for NHK, and he took the young Tengo around to collect money on Sundays.It started before Tengo entered kindergarten, and until he was in fifth grade, it continued without exception on Sundays, except for special school activities.After getting up at seven o'clock in the morning, my father would help Tengo wash his face with soap, carefully check his ears and nails, help him put on clothes that were as clean as possible (but not beautiful), and made an appointment: "After the end, we will I'll take you to eat something delicious." Tengo didn't know whether other NHK toll collectors also worked on holidays.It's just that in his memory, his father will definitely work on Sunday.Rather, work harder than usual.Because it is easier to catch people who are not at home on Sundays.

He took young Tengo around to collect money for several reasons.There was one reason why it was inappropriate to leave young Tengo alone at home.You can put him in a nursery or kindergarten or elementary school on weekdays and Saturdays, but he is also off on Sundays.Another reason is that it is necessary for the son to see what kind of work the father is doing.What kind of livelihood is one's own life based on, and what kind of so-called labor is, you must let him know from an early age.Since his father was sensible, he was taken to help in the fields regardless of whether it was Sunday or not, and he grew up like this.During the busy farming period, even schools are temporarily closed.Such a life is a matter of course for my father.

The third and final reason was more calculated, and for this reason it hurt Tengo the most.It is easier to receive money if you travel with children, and the father knows this very well.It's hard to say to a toll collector with a young child, "I don't want to pay this kind of money, so please go back." When the child keeps looking up at you, many people who didn't want to pay also pay.So my father always arranges the routes with more difficult families on Sundays.From the very beginning Tengo felt that he was being expected to have this kind of utility, and he was terribly bored.But on the other hand, in order to make his father happy, he also had to use his wisdom to perform the expected acting skills.Like a monkey asking for a monkey show.If it could please his father, Tengo would be treated with tenderness throughout the day.

The only salvation for Dawu is that the area his father is in charge of is a little away from his home.Tengo's family lived in a residential area on the outskirts of Ichikawa City, and his father's collection location was in the center of the city.School districts are also different.So you can avoid going to the homes of your kindergarten or elementary school classmates to collect money.Even so, when walking in the downtown streets of the city, I occasionally ran into classmates.At that time, he would quickly hide behind his father so that the other party would not find out. The fathers of Tengo's classmates were almost all office workers commuting in central Tokyo.They treat Ichikawa as if it were part of the Tokyo metropolitan area that happened to be incorporated in Chiba prefecture for some reason.As soon as Monday morning, the students would talk about where they went and what they did...