Chapter 24 Chapter One

When I opened my eyes, I saw a white ceiling in front of me.There was a warm blanket covering his chest, and the soft pillow felt behind his head. Kayako propped herself up with her hands while slowly getting up from the bed, only then did she notice that she was wearing pajamas. It was a six-fold room with white wallpaper on the walls and the same white tiles around the bed.There are beds, bedside tables, chairs and refrigerators displayed in the room, and an air conditioner is hung on the wall in the corner, sending warm air to the outside. Kayako's handbag and folded clothes were placed on the bedside table.So she got up, reached for her handbag, took out her mobile phone and opened it - it showed seven o'clock in the morning on January 3rd.

Kayako wanted to know what exactly this place was.The last moment I can remember was the evening of New Year's Day, when I seemed to be planning to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills.At that time, all I felt was the freezing cold, the dusk-colored sky, and an empty heart—only these things. Kayako put on the slippers placed by the bed and walked to the window.Probably because I slept for a long time, the soles of my feet were a little unstable.I opened the left and right white silk curtains, wiped the misty windows with my hands, and in front of my eyes was a yard filled with black soil.Outside the iron gate is a small road paved with fine sand, and further outside is a two-lane wide national highway.In the distance, there is a withered forest, and behind it are snow-covered mountains and a leaden sky.These distant mountains evoke dormant memories. The same mountains I saw on New Year's Day should not be too far from the place where I committed suicide.

Suddenly hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Kayako turned around.A woman estimated to be in her thirties entered the room.The petite, slender woman wore a pale yellow sweater and a black and white checkerboard skirt, with her hair tied back. "Finally woke up, good morning." "—Good morning. By the way, this is..." "This is my hospital and residence." I see.Only then did Kayako realize that this place really looked like a ward. "This is Kosaka Internal Medicine, and I'm the director, Noriko Kosaka—although I claim to be the director, but I'm the only doctor in the world."

"I wonder why I'm here..." "When I was walking in the nearby woods yesterday morning, I found you passed out on the fallen leaves. I thought it might not be dead, and I found that I was still breathing, so I hurriedly sent you here .Fortunately, there are no patients in the hospital now, so the ward is empty. You slept through the whole day yesterday, and you didn’t wake up until today on the 3rd—ah, don’t get up first, it’s better to lie on the bed , otherwise the body will not recover." "Ah, okay." Kayako said as she went back to bed and lay down, covering her with a blanket.

"When did you take the sleeping pills?" "On the evening of New Year's Day." "On the evening of New Year's Day? I slept from the evening of the day before yesterday until this morning, which means that the dose I took was quite large. If you find out a little later, it may be too late. If you do that, you won't have today." "Can't you live..." Kayako murmured.Regret about suicide and fear of death gradually came to my mind, and I couldn't help feeling a little scared. "May I ask your name?" "My name is Kiyako Sasano."

"What about your age?" "Twenty-five." "Where did you come from?" "Tokyo." "Did you come to this town from Tokyo on purpose in this season?" "Ok……" "Then why take sleeping pills anyway?" Kayako didn't answer. — It is impossible for my son to marry someone like you! Accompanied by sudden sadness, this voice revived in his mind. ——Because your father is... "I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine not to talk about it." "—I'm very sorry, but having said that, thank you very much for your treatment."

"There's no need to thank you, it's a matter of course for doctors." Listening to such words, Kayako seemed to feel that the face of the doctor in front of her also brightened, so she took advantage of the opportunity to look out the window.At this time, white snow was flying all over the sky, and as the snowflakes fell more and more, the surrounding area was completely covered by this whiteness—whether it was the yard filled with black soil, the path covered with fine sand, or the iron gate and the road opposite, it was all in one color It's going to be white - it's really snowing.

"—Taro is fast asleep, and the house is covered with snow. Jiro is also fast asleep, and the house is covered with snow." Noriko Kosaka, who was also looking out of the window, murmured. Ok?Looking back at the doctor, Kayako saw her smiling. "Miyoshi Tatsuji [Note: Japanese poet, representative works include "Measuring Ship" and "Riding on the Hump".] The poem titled 'Snow', you know?" "Well, when I was in middle school, I read it in the textbook of Mandarin." "I, I like this poem very much. When I think back to when I learned this poem, some scenes came to my mind."

"If you put it this way... it's the feeling of snow falling slowly from the sky on top of a farmhouse in a field. Two brothers named Taro and Jiro at home are sleeping soundly under the care of their mother. It's like, The feeling that Snowflake itself is also fast asleep." "I see. My explanation may be a bit different. Perhaps Taro and Jiro are just unrelated strangers, living far apart in their own homes. Whether they are children or adults-in fact, Taro and Jiro It’s just some names, and it’s okay to use character A and character B. Although it’s not recorded, but besides them, there should be Saburo and Shiro... Many, many people live apart from each other like this. Above that group of people, snowflakes fell in the air far away, and then the world began to accumulate snow. Although these people have not met or spoken to each other, at this moment, the kind of people who fell asleep under the snow But the experience can be shared... When I read this poem, this is the scene that came to my mind. Maybe everyone is a little bit cured. But for the author, Miyoshi Tachi may not have considered it Let’s explain it like this. But once the work leaves the hands of the author, how to interpret it is the reader’s freedom.”

"That's right... Dr. Kasaka's explanation is indeed very good." The snow outside the window is still falling, which tends to turn everything in the world white.How many people's roofs will be covered with snow at such an instant——Thinking of what the doctor said, it really feels like being healed. "Want some breakfast?" "Well, that's troublesome." Noriko Kasaka walked out of the ward and came back pushing the trolley.There are small bowls for porridge and cups for tea on the trolley. "Because sleeping pills caused damage to the stomach, I thought drinking porridge should nourish the stomach, so I made some."

"Thank you very much." Kayako smelled the aroma of porridge, and realized that it was indeed a long time since she smelled the aroma of food. "All the nurses went on vacation in the first month, and unfortunately I was the only one left. Although I can't do really meticulous nursing care, if you have any orders, just tell me." "Thank you so much." Inadvertently, the sockets of the eyes became hot, and the tears flowed down. She wanted to stop but couldn't, and Kayako finally sobbed. "Okay, let's have a good meal." "--I'm gonna start now." Jia Yezi scooped the porridge into her mouth with a spoon, swallowed it mouthful, and the warmth melted in her mouth. "Why don't you contact your family and friends, they will be very anxious, right?" said the female doctor when Kayako finished eating. "—Ah, indeed." Kayako hesitated for a while, and dialed Misawa Akiho's cell phone. "Kiyako? Is it Kayako?" the friend on the other end of the phone asked anxiously. "Ok." "Where are you now?" "A place called Tsukino Town in Fukushima Prefecture." I'm really sorry for making you worry, although Kayako said so, Akiho's angry voice came out from the phone. "On the morning of New Year's Day, I said 'goodbye' on the phone, but it turned out that today is already the 3rd, where did you go? Do you know how worried I am? It's okay to call, In the end, I never called again!" "--I am very sorry." "If an apology is useful, what else would the police do! Do you know how worried I was during the past three days!" Although Akiho was still very angry, Kayako who apologized while listening to her friend's complaints felt a little refreshed.Even here, there are still people who care about me.Thinking of this makes my heart warm. "Come back early, understand!" Qiu Sui said in a serious tone. "Well, I'll be back in a little while." "Really?" "Well, really. It's an appointment."