Chapter 11 endless walk
After half of life, I will pay more attention to the elderly than before.When I was young, even if I saw an elderly person on the road, I would hardly take a second look, and would only pay attention to the beautiful legs under the girl's skirt.Although Japan has entered an aging society, at least in Tokyo, the elderly are rarely seen.If you think about it carefully, the downtown area that the Japanese can live in is full of young people.Isn't this a strange phenomenon?Someday, when I'm old, I'm going to go around and poke fun at the young people and tell them the Showa era was the best, poor you people who don't know about the bubble economy.When writing this short story, I thought about Mejiro where I live now, and described the scene of the street.The greenery is lush, as long as you leave the main road, it will become very quiet.It is very suitable for walking and thinking at the same time.There are many insects and birds along the way, and the praying mantis will suddenly fly into the balcony of my house, which scares me a lot.In fact, I often wear my hat for walks, usually in jeans and a T-shirt with holes in the knees, and, often, unkempt from lack of sleep.So, please see me, show your compassion, and pretend to ignore me.
I often meet that old woman near my house. She wears a light pink sports suit and a pair of jogging shoes of the same color on her feet. She should be in her seventies and her hair is dyed lavender, or blue colored pink.This old lady is well-known in the area where I live.
Our first conversation happened on my way to the convenience store.She greeted me suddenly from behind.
"I see you often."
Looking back, I saw her arms bent at right angles, swinging forward vigorously, smiling at me.I was a little surprised and greeted her too.
"Ah, hello."
"Where are you going?"
I said the roll call at the beacon.
"Then can we go for a walk together? I'm always alone. If someone talks to me, I feel very good."
I replied, "No problem at all." Then I worked up the courage to ask her:
"I often see you walking around, is there any purpose?"
After the old grandma came to me, she strode forward, and I had no choice but to follow her and speed up my pace.The dry sky that is about to enter the rainy season is as blue as summer.
"I started walking on the advice of my doctor. The doctor threatened me that I would gain weight if I didn't exercise enough, and that my knees would get worse if I didn't walk regularly. So I started walking around the neighborhood every day. Walking along this road, recently, even if it is raining, I will go out for a walk. Don’t let me feel uncomfortable.”
Even though I sit at a desk all day long, I also suffer from lack of exercise.
"Is walking counted as exercise?"
She glanced up at me.
"Yeah, for an old man like me, this is enough. If it's you, maybe you can take a small dumbbell and walk briskly."
When she reached the intersection of the main road, she said:
"It's a pity that I can only accompany you here. I only walk around my house. I'll see you another day. I'm sorry to say hello to you suddenly today."
Like any other elderly person, she ended up suddenly being polite.I said "Don't say that", but she just shook her raised hand without looking back.
After that, every time we met, we would chat for two or three sentences.Since I work from home, I walk around a lot during the day.On sunny days, she would wear a wide-brimmed straw hat and the same white gloves as the candidates.When it rains, I say "it's unbearably hot", but I wear waterproof sportswear.
When walking with her, I can't help but bend my arms, clamp my underarms tightly, and speed up my pace. Even in the familiar alleys, when I hold my head high and walk fast against the wind, I feel extra fresh and happy.
It was a day almost three months after our first conversation.Early in the morning, the weather was amazing.All of a sudden, bean-sized raindrops fell from the cloudy sky, and after a while, the rain passed and the sky cleared up, revealing the summer-like sunshine, and the wet road surface gave off a black light.The warm south wind is blowing, and the high-altitude clouds and low-altitude clouds seem to be racing towards the northern sky.
Every time I saw her, it was in a segregated neighborhood a short distance from where I lived.When I came home after shopping, I saw her dressed for a rainy day, walking towards me from the one-way street.She was wearing a bright lemon yellow polyester windbreaker suit, and her steps were faster than usual. It was no longer a brisk walk, but a trot.
As soon as she saw me, she greeted me immediately.
"Ah, great. Are you ready to go home?"
I nodded and replied:
"Yes, I was looking for some information just now, and I will continue to work after returning home."
"Really? I don't know much about it, but self-employment seems to be hard work."
She didn't know that I wrote novels, because it was really difficult for me to tell my neighbors.Even now, I still write freelance in the occupation column, although, I don't quite understand what freelance actually means.
She looked at me anxiously.
"Can I go for a short walk with you? As the saying goes, you must have a companion when you travel, and you should also find a companion when you walk."
For some reason, she sighed heavily.We walked briskly in the green residential area.
"I was born here and grew up here. It has been more than seventy years. Before, there were not so many beautiful houses here."
The place where I live is called a high-end residential area, but the price is very cheap and it is very suitable for living.
"Do you know much about the history of this area?"
"Yeah, I still remember when the Tokyo Air Raid happened, where was it spared. It's strange to say that the burned area developed rapidly, and the unburned area is still as old and dilapidated as before."
I looked at the flowing clouds in the sky and echoed in due course.I'm not too interested in the history of the area.
"In the past, there were many rich people and foreigners living on the other side of the station, and the other side of the station is a single-family house for ordinary office workers. Do you know that there is a fish shop there?"
She walked quickly beside me and said the name of the fish shop next to my house.It was an old store, and there was a bucket filled with loach in front of the store.
"The daughter of that fish shop eloped with the minister's son in the big house on the other side of the station, and there was a lot of trouble. At that time, it was important to be well-matched. Now, as long as the two parties like it, they can be together. The times have really progressed."
When she spoke again, she kept looking left and right, as if she was looking for something, and kept looking at the surrounding telephone poles, signboards and house numbers.Is she worried about something?However, I'm not that kind of nervous person, and I won't tell other people's affairs. I just listen to her with an attitude of not doing it, and walk with her.
After walking for four or five minutes, she returned to the block where I lived, and when she saw the apartment I lived in that looked new, she hurriedly said:
"Huh? Isn't that your home? By the way, where is the post office?"
Serenity She didn't look at me directly, but her voice was very serious.The post office is in the east, which is less than 90 seconds away from my house. Her house should be behind the post office.
"As I get older, my memory is getting worse. I have something to go to the post office, but I accidentally lost my way."
I felt a twinge of anxiety.It seemed that she must have been walking, but couldn't find her way home.While looking around, I deviated from my usual walk and walked to the next block.I didn't look at her, and asked naturally:
"Have you been walking a long time today?"
Her smile was stiff.
"Yeah, I've been walking for almost two hours, and I'm almost exhausted."
"Really? The post office is nearby. I'll accompany you there."
She was immediately very happy, and her gloomy expression was swept away, just like the cloudy and cloudy weather that day.We slowed down a little and headed for the post office.She talked about the girls' school days.At that time, there were no swimming pools, and many places in Tokyo's rivers were surrounded by wooden boards and bamboo curtains, and children swam in them.The water is very clear, and the transparent white fish swims leisurely in the clear water, like a shadow cast in the water.It is said that her skin is fair and elastic, not inferior to Baiyu, and she often receives love letters from delinquent boys in boys' schools.
She stood looking up at me from the post office's red mailbox, half hidden by a fence.
"Thank you for today."
"No, you're welcome."
She reached into her upper pocket and handed me something wrapped in white.I took it and opened it on my behalf, and it turned out to be mochi with wormwood.
"I don't know if young people like to eat or not. Let's go for a walk together another day."
Instead of going to the post office, she walked into the alley.I watched the back of the yellow windbreaker before I turned around and went home. The wormwood mochi I ate on the road still had her body temperature, and it tasted warm after eating.
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