Chapter 5 Section five

I stand alone on the stage where the confetti is flying.This is the moment when the Marini Detroit concert with me ends, and this is the moment when the play "Marinny" ends.In normal times there would be no confetti flying at the end of a play, but since today is the last show and I will be leaving the Season Theatre, where I have performed for 12 years, the theater is enveloped in great excitement in the atmosphere.I know the lines that Marine Detroit uttered at his last concert, when he bid farewell to the audience and retired.I decided to say these words again when it was time to say goodbye.The rest of Detroit's famous songs "Lily Marlene", "Where the Flowers Gone", "Falling in Love (from "The Angel of Sigh")" I sang

The sound seemed to be still reverberating over the theater.I approached the microphone and delivered Detroit's final lines with sincerity: "My last concert is over. Guys, do you see my tears? My heart is full of gratitude. Goodbye! Especially I say 'goodbye' to my courage in war !" Detroit was a German, but she became an American soldier in World War II. She went to condolences to the American soldiers who were fighting at the forefront. She fought against Hitler and the Nazi regime thoroughly.For Detroit, who witnessed many tragic scenes on the battlefield and was cast aside as a "traitor" by the people of Germany, the above words undoubtedly came from the bottom of her heart.After I finished my last lines, I bowed deeply like Detroit.Many memories of the past emerged before my eyes, and I couldn't help feeling mixed feelings in my heart, and I almost shed tears.It's so old!When I performed in this theater for the first time, Kuno-kun Yamaoka, who co-starred in the drama "Ladys and Laberdie" with me, once promised me: "When I recover from illness, let's do it again!" But he He couldn't afford to be sick.This sad scene flashed in my mind.I look up.At this time, I saw a scene I had never seen in my life, that is: the guests in the theater stood up from their seats and clapped their hands enthusiastically!In Britain and the United States, this is called "standing ovation (standing applause)", which is the most glorious moment of an actor.I gladly accept these applause as a tribute to Detroit and as a kind gesture from the guests at the Theater of the Seasons.The snowflakes prepared by the masters behind the scenes also fell on the guest seats.Two ladies, Hoshika Kuze and Chikako Isomura, who performed with me, also came out to call the curtain.There are only three of us as actors, and then there are the performers.We bowed and waved, and by this time I was not Detroit, I was myself again, and I thanked the theater.I also express my gratitude to the relevant people of the Season Theater. I have performed 13 times in the Season Theater, and I am the actor who has performed the most times here. I thank the person in charge of the theater for deciding to make my public performance the last performance of the theater.I also express my gratitude to Mr. Takahashi Masaya, the artistic director who invited me to perform in the theater as a stage actor 11 years ago. Mr. Takahashi is also a performer of "Marini".

I had aspirations to do some good comedy, and the audience at the Season Theater accepted my idea.Among the roles I played were Kalamiti Jane, the first self-supporting woman in the American West; opera singer Maria Grace; and Sarah Bernard, a famous French actress who died of surgery at the age of 70 The part of her right leg below the knee was removed, but she still continued to be active on the stage with one leg, and was buried with a state funeral after her death; there was Madame Curie, a physicist; and the above-mentioned superstar Marie in the golden age of Hollywood.I've been lucky to be able to play these women who are so full of real charisma.

Later, I learned from the next day's newspaper that the audience's applause lasted for 30 minutes. Standing on the stage with fluttering snowflakes, suddenly, a scene passed before my eyes. It was a long time ago, also on a snowy day, when I was scolded by the police for crying. I was in elementary school at the time, and it was a Sunday, and I went to church for Sunday school with a boy.It was rainy and snowy in Tokyo that day, and it was bone-chillingly cold.At that time, food was already rationed, and there was only a little food to eat.We were starving, we were hungry, our stomachs were not full, and we felt cold.

The catchphrase among our children is "Cold, Sleepy, Hungry", and we say that whenever something happens to us.At that time, the hands of the boy and I were frozen, and the weather was very cold. In addition, there were no decent clothes at that time, which made it even colder.We were growing taller then, but we couldn't buy clothes to wear, so we all looked terrible.The snow melted, the ground was muddy, and cold water seeped into the boots.The raindrops and snowdrops hit our faces, and the boy and I walked hand in hand, and tears fell without knowing it.Look at that boy also sniffing his nose.I felt even more sad and couldn't help crying.Tears fell on the cheeks, everything around was cold, only the tears were warm.In the end, the boy and I wept loudly as we walked, walking all the way to the Xizu Church near the Xizuchi.There is a police booth at the intersection of the Oimachi railway line. A policeman standing at the door saw us and shouted sharply:

"Hey, you guys! Why are you crying!" I was so frightened that my heart was pounding, I tried to muster up the courage, and said, "Because it's too cold." The boy's twitching became more severe.So the policeman said to us: "Think about it, the front line is fighting! Can you cry because it's colder? Don't cry!" We stopped crying, and the policeman continued: "Okay, let's go! Isn't it just colder? Don't cry!" At that time, I learned that "crying is useless for war".So, after that, no matter what happened in the war, I never cried.What happened to the boy who held hands with me that day?The feeling of the two hands being frozen together is still clearly in my memory.But more than 50 years have passed, does that boy still remember that day?

Standing in the applause, I also thought of another thing.That is: "What's going on here? Since when did I be able to stand in front of people so naturally?" Maybe most people will not believe it, what I hated the most when I was a child was standing in front of everyone and doing something, I would be very shy in that way.I like it very much if I am joking among my friends, or standing on a relatively high place on the ground to talk, but once I stand on the stage of the school auditorium, even if it is only a little higher than the flat ground, I like it very much. When asked to "act something", then I absolutely can't do it.

One day, Mr. Ba Xueyuan's principal came up with a good idea, that is, when everyone gathered in a circle at noon to eat in the auditorium, let a person stand in the middle and talk about his favorite topics.Based on his experience living abroad, the husband believes that in the future, it is necessary for the children to express their ideas clearly, freely and without restraint in public, so the husband discussed with the children: "Let's try Let’s do this!” We all found it very interesting, and everyone agreed.We say "everyone", but in fact there are only 50 students in the whole school.There are 9 people in our class.I decided to tell the story of "The Princess and the Prince".At that time, I didn't think it was annoying to tell everyone the story of my favorite princess.Whether it is a child who is good at expressing or a child who is not good at words, he takes turns standing in front of everyone to speak every day.I enjoyed doing it so much that I talked about it myself several times.But I don't know why, once I'm asked to stand on the stage to do something, I get nervous.One day the principal asked me to stand on the stage and said, "Come on, how about singing a song?" I liked the principal very much and wanted to do my best to comply with his wishes, so I stood on the stage.The song I sang was the "Hometown" that everyone had learned at the time, and the beginning was:

"The mountain that chased the little rabbit..." Mr. Principal played the piano, and I was about to sing.But I only uttered the sound of "chasing--", no matter how Mr. played the prelude for me and tried hard to make it easy for me to sing, I could only make the sound of "chasing--".This "chasing—" is the "chasing" of "chasing the little rabbit".I tried several times in a row, but I tried my best, but I could only make a sound of "chasing——", which was almost like a moan.Finally, my husband had to give up trying to make me sing.

If my husband saw me now, what would he say?What my husband saw was that poor little girl who could only grunt "Chasing——".However, Mr.'s words will definitely make me more confident.Mr. said to me in the lower grades several times a day: "You are such a good boy!" Mr. has been saying this to me over and over again.At that time, I didn't notice the word "really", and I took it for granted that I was a good boy.This sentence from my husband gave me confidence, "Because the teacher said I am a good boy". If my husband sees me standing among the confetti flying like snowflakes and surrounded by warm applause, I think he will say:

"Well, did I tell you? You're such a good boy!" In the auditorium, along with the applause, there were cheers from the audience. Among them were the loud voices of men, and the voices of women who were quiet and restrained but full of emotion. Watching the confetti falling towards the auditorium, I waved goodbye to the Season Theatre.