Chapter 22 Section 22

Kajikawa Seiko's funeral was held at a street assembly in her area.An old one-story house with a narrow facade, a few symbolic wreaths were placed along the street. Heisuke received a courier postcard from Kajikawa Masami yesterday, which simply said: Mom died this morning, and the funeral will be held on Sunday.Thank you for your long-term care.The specific time when the funeral will be held is not stated above. After reading the postcard, Heisuke immediately drove to Kajikawa Seiko's apartment, but no matter how hard he knocked on the door, no one answered. When he knocked on the door of the apartment management office, the housewife who lived downstairs from Kajikawa's mother and daughter came out.She told him the exact details of the funeral.When asked about the cause of Chuan Zhengzi's death, she frowned and said: "It seems to be a heart attack. She had to go out to work early in the morning, but she fell down on the spot as soon as she opened the door."

"What kind of work does she do?" "I heard that it is the cleaning work in the building." Did she quit her job at Tabata Production?At first he thought so, but quickly dismissed the idea.It should not be fired, but fired. After Heisuke returned home, he asked Naoko for his opinion on whether to attend tomorrow's funeral.Naoko's answer was—do you still need to ask?Of course I went. The entrance to the assembly hall is still some distance from the main street.After Heisuke walked over, he found that on the left side of the entrance, a little old man who looked about 70 years old was standing with Kajikawa Masami.Who is the old man to Kajikawa Seiko?Ping Jie couldn't figure it out after much deliberation.Although the age is quite consistent with her father, but the appearance is not at all like Kajikawa Seiko.

Soon it was Ping Jie's turn to offer incense, because there were too few people who came to mourn. Masami Kajikawa was wearing her school uniform, standing quietly with her head down.She was holding a white handkerchief in her hand, probably used to wipe away the tears that spilled from time to time. Just as he was about to walk past her, Yimei raised her head unexpectedly, as if she felt something.When their eyes met, she showed a slightly surprised expression, and her eyes, which were already very big, suddenly opened even wider.Just as Pingjie was about to stop, Yimei lowered her head without saying a word, and then she never raised her head again.He didn't stop, just walked in.The hall was filled with the smell of incense sticks.

It was the Saturday after the funeral that Kajikawa Masami contacted Heisuke again.He went to work on weekends, and he didn't return home until after 7 o'clock in the evening.As if he had calculated the time for his return, Yimei called at around 8 o'clock.It was also possible that she had heard from her mother that he might be at work on weekends. "Thank you for coming to my mother's funeral." Yimei said in a reserved tone.The girl's expression appeared in Hirasuke's mind. "Don't say that. It's really not easy for you." She was able to take the initiative to call, and Ping Jie felt very relieved.Although he went to the funeral, he didn't say a word in the end.Nor did she say a word to him.

"Well, Dian Yi, how should I put it... I want to return the gift to you." "Repayment of the ceremony?" "Ah, yes. I want to return the gift to you." She said stiffly.She seems edgy about not being able to express herself well. "Ah, no need, you don't need to care about this matter so much." Hei Jie said, "The funeral ceremony that uncle gave you is not a big sum, you don't need to do that." "Others say that to me too." Yimei didn't know what to say.The others she mentioned should be the adults who helped her preside over the funeral.Maybe Hirasuke didn't notice, her relatives might also be here.

"I accept your wish, thank you." "But I still want to give you. I have something to give you." "Things for me? For me?" The answer came again in the affirmative.There was a certain firm determination in her voice. Hirasuke wanted to ask what it was, but he swallowed the question back.If you ask first, then it is not acceptable to accept it, nor is it acceptable not to accept it. "Really. Since you said so, I have no choice but to accept it. What should I do? Shall I go to your house to pick it up?" After a pause, she said, "Home is gone."

"what?" "Yesterday, I moved out of that apartment. Now, I'm staying with relatives." "So that's the case. Where is your relative's house?" "In a place called Shiki." "Shiki? Is it from Saitama Prefecture?" "yes." Speaking of Shiki, Heisuke didn't have any impression in his brain.Although I have heard of this place, but before this, it has been just a place name that has nothing to do with itself.While holding the phone, he opened the traffic map. "What area in Shiki? Are there any landmarks around?"

"I didn't know I just came here, too." Hearing what she said, Hirasuke judged that this should be a relative who hadn't been around much with her family before.Immediately afterwards, he thought of the hardships she would suffer in the future, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Finally, they agreed to meet at the station and hung up. The next day, that is, Sunday afternoon, Heisuke took Naoko and arrived at Shiki Station after changing trains.At first he had planned to come alone, but Naoko offered to go with him.As for the reason, Hirasuke didn't ask, because he felt that Naoko herself might not be able to answer this question well.

Masami Kajikawa was standing against the wall near the ticket gate, wearing a red tracksuit, only the cuffs were white.Seeing Heisuke coming out, she nodded and said hello.Then she turned her gaze to Naoko.For a moment, she narrowed her eyes. "Let's find a place to sit down. Are you hungry too?" Yimei tilted her head slightly as if she didn't know how to answer, showing a troubled expression. Seeing this, Naoko hurriedly said, "Of course I'm hungry, do I need to ask? Hurry up and find a place where I can eat." "Ah, yes. Let's see what we can do around here."

The surrounding area of ​​Shiki Station is much wider than Heisuke imagined.There is a wide road in front of the station, and there are rows of large-scale buildings such as large supermarkets across the road.There is a home cooking restaurant next to the station.Heisuke and the others walked in. "You're welcome, I must eat more today." Naoko said to Yimei, and looked at Heisuke after speaking, "Dad just won a lot of money in a horse betting, right?" Heisuke couldn't help but let out an "ah" and looked at Naoko's face.Betting on horses?Where have I ever done such a thing?Heisuke thought to himself.However, he soon got a suggestive look from Naoko.He immediately understood Naoko's intentions.

"Oh, yes. I just took a random bet, and I hit a big one. I was saying I was going to spend it as fast as I could." Yimei's stiff expression eased a little, and she finally started to read the menu. In the end she ordered curry rice.It can be seen that she has spent a lot of time trying to find something she likes from the recipes and is very cheap.Next it was Naoko's turn.She ordered things that most children like to eat, such as hamburger patties and fried chicken nuggets, and then asked Yimei: "Which do you like to eat, sundae or ice cream?" Yimei replied somewhat cautiously: "I can do either. So Naoko added two more chocolate sundaes without hesitation. Heisuke finally understood why Naoko wanted to follow.If he was alone, even if he successfully brought her into such a place, he might still be helpless in the face of her reserved attitude. "It's really not easy for you, Yimei. Are you better now?" Pingjie asked tentatively. Yimei nodded: "I just feel that everything happened too suddenly." "I heard it was because of a heart attack?" "Yes. The doctor said something more complicated, but according to my understanding, it's almost a heart attack." She tilted her head after speaking. "So that's the case." Heisuke took a sip of water.He knew that the name "cardiac paralysis" did not exist. "I was packing up the dishes after breakfast, when I suddenly heard a sound at the door. I ran over and saw that my mother had already collapsed there. She had just put on one shoe, and the other foot was still exposed." "So did you call an ambulance right away?" "I did, but it was too late. I guess she was already dying when she called the hospital." Speaking of this, Yimei lowered her head, "Her face looks like she is sleeping." Then she opened a small pocket slung over her shoulder, took out something wrapped in tissue paper, and put it on the table. "That's the thing," she said. "Is it the return ceremony of the ceremony you said?" Ping Jie asked. She nodded. Heisuke took it in his hand, and peeled off the tissue paper outside, revealing a very old pocket watch inside. "Ah, what a rare thing!" The diameter of the pocket watch is about 5 cm.Somewhere the metal parts got stuck, and no matter how hard his fingertips were, he couldn't open the watch cover. "The lid appears to be broken." "seems like it." "Dad had it with him all his life, even when the accident happened. That's probably when the lid broke." "I see." Heisuke whispered while fiddling with a pocket watch in his hand. "Dad used to say the watch was precious, the most valuable of all the things he owned." "Such a precious thing should be kept by you." After hearing this, Yimei shook her head: "If a relative finds out that this is something my father used before his death, he will definitely throw it away." "Ah, how could such a thing happen?" However, it seems that Yimei did not mean to exaggerate the facts. "I'm telling the truth." She said in a slightly sad tone. Heisuke's mood suddenly darkened.Presumably to her relatives, Kajikawa driver is a plague god. "Also," Yimei raised her head and relaxed her expression a little embarrassedly, "I've always wanted to give Mr. Sugita something. I'm very happy that you can come to my mother's funeral." "Ah, but..." Just as Heisuke was about to say something, Naoko who was sitting beside him kicked Heisuke's leg under the table, signaling him to stop talking and accept it quickly. Heisuke held the pocket watch: "Is it really okay? Can uncle really accept it?" Yimei nodded. "Well, I'll accept it, and I won't be polite to you." After speaking, Heisuke carefully wrapped the pocket watch with tissue paper and put it in the pocket of his trousers. It didn't take long for the dishes they asked for to be served one by one. After eating, Kajikawa Masami sent Hisuke and Naoko to the ticket gate of the station.When parting, Hirasuke really wanted to say a few words that could properly express his feelings, but he couldn't think of a single word.If you talk about some big truths, Naoko will probably think he is too vulgar. "You have to take care of yourself. Come on!" In the end, he chose the safest way to say it. Kajikawa Masami was silent, nodded slightly, her lips were tightly closed. After entering the ticket gate, Heisuke couldn't wait to ask Naoko: "How do you know she must be hungry?" Naoko looked up at him and sighed helplessly. "Isn't she eating idle food at a relative's house now? The person who eats idle food will get a good look. I guess that child will not dare to fill a second bowl after eating a bowl of rice in that home." "Ah...so that's how it is." Heisuke turned his head and found that Kajikawa Masami was still standing there, looking at them with sincere eyes. Heisuke waved to her, and Naoko did the same. In an instant, Kajikawa Masami's expression collapsed.