Chapter 25 Part II, Verse 26: Cicadas on the Eighth Day (26)

It doesn't look like a woman insists on pulling me to join.She handed me the new plastic bottle in a paper bag and quickly got into the driver's seat. "See you next time!" She waved cheerfully and took hold of the steering wheel.The music sounded again, and the car slowly moved forward in the deserted alley. Holding Kaoru in one hand and the paper bag in the other, I went back to the entrance.The woman stuck her head out from the front room and stared at me intently. "This is a gift from someone." I try to speak.Without saying a word, the woman slammed the paper door shut.Noisy enka was heard from behind the paper door today as well.

I impromptu decided to clean up.Dust and invisible dirt may be the cause of the rash.Even if it's not, Kaoru has been grabbing everything she sees recently, and then wants to stuff it into her mouth and suck it.Just clean it up, that woman shouldn't be angry.Start with the kitchen.I tried to put the plastic bottle I just had in the freezer, but a piece of paper fell out of the paper bag.It is "Angel will report".I threw it into the trash can and started to organize the things in the refrigerator.Meat and deli side dishes past their expiry date, and dried vegetables are thrown into black garbage bags.

I let Kaoru lie down in the room, took the quilt to dry, and wiped the tatami with a rag.Kaoru is playing with a duck doll.Then I wiped the hallway with a rag and scrubbed the toilet.In the room where the woman is nestled, enka is constantly being heard.She was either listening to enka tapes all day long, or she didn't know where to go.If a meal is prepared for her, she will eat it without anyone noticing.Sometimes, she would stare at Kaoru and me in the kitchen or room without blinking from behind the paper door that was ajar.It's just that once the four eyes meet, she immediately disappears without a trace.

While listening to the piercing enka, I was scribbling here and there.After wiping, I realized that there seemed to be a lot of dust accumulated in the room, and the rag immediately turned black. I remembered the strangeness I felt when I first stepped into this room.This room is weird.What is the strange thing, I didn't realize it until now when I was cleaning.Because there is no breath of life.Although there are outlines of daily life such as telephones and refrigerators, quilts, and doorknob covers, there is no content.It's an empty shell.No matter how much you wipe, no matter how much you scrub, you can't touch the empty shell.Is it because women have given up on life itself?

When the cry came, I hurried to the room.Kaoru threw the duck away and cried loudly.I picked her up and shook her slightly to coax her, but she still kept crying.Ah, baby is good, baby is good.Kaoru is the best.Kaoru opened his mouth wide, weeping with transparent saliva.Water dripped from her closed eyes.Oh, don't cry don't cry.Don't cry don't cry. Empty shell.Between my voices coaxing her, came another voice.People like you are nothing but empty shells.On the other end of the phone, the woman said so.Hey, you murdered your own child. I can't believe it. It's the retribution for killing your child. The child who was killed is angry. You deserve it.That voice proclaimed like a cannonball.