Chapter 2 second quarter

It is said that the flowers of Shanbaizhu bloom only once every 30 years. When my father was still alive, I once saw the mountain white bamboo blooming. In the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, my father owned a villa.The grandfather, who achieved some success by importing printing materials, loved ostentation, and left the seal shop and the villa to his father as an inheritance.When I was young, the whole family would live in that villa for a period of time every summer.Although the construction is simple, the room is always filled with the sweet aroma of trees under the sunlight revealed by the leaves of Mizuna.Because the villa is located on the side of a mountain called Gozayama, the surrounding air is like white mist before noon, which is very beautiful.

But even if you go to the villa for vacation, there is not much to do.My father always reads the newspaper in silence or occasionally strolls out of the porch with a fishing rod; my mother is no different from being at home as usual, except that it takes an hour to go to the grocery store to buy ingredients.The food she cooked for us was the same as usual, and she still carefully cleaned every corner of the room when she was free. I enjoyed life in the villa all the way until elementary school.At that time, I often took a lot of comics, surrounded by the aroma of trees, and buried myself in the closet of my bedroom to read.But after a few summers passed, I don’t know when the villa became no longer a stranger. After I went to middle school, I even felt that it was a very troublesome thing to be brought to the villa by my parents.But my father is a person who doesn't like to listen to his family's opinions, so every summer, I can only sit in the gray car driven by my father silently.

The first time I met that person was when I was in the second grade of middle school.At that time, I changed my voice a little later than my classmates—I still had a childish voice with a slender body, which seemed extremely disproportionate. That afternoon, I had nothing to do, so I went for a walk in the deserted forest.Under the luxuriant Mizura, there are white bamboos all over the place, and there is a path that looks like a wild animal, extending into the distance.I often walk on it to pass the time during the day.The surroundings are so quiet that you can hear the sound of branches and leaves stretching if you prick your ears. Occasionally, when the wind blows, the mountain white bamboos on one side seem to blend into the wind, revealing the back of the leaves.On such leisurely walks, I never bumped into anyone.The villa left by my grandfather is in such a remote place.So when a paper-like figure appeared in front of the mist, I couldn't help but stop.

The man was wearing a white dress and a pair of white sandals, approaching from the other side of the path.Where I was, the bamboo leaves on both sides just protruded, and there was no room for two people to get side-by-side.When she came to me, I turned around and stepped back slightly, and the slippers under my feet stepped into the mountain white bamboo bushes. "thanks." After she thanked her in a slightly hoarse voice, I turned my head and turned my face down.Her toenails were painted light orange and there was a short cut near the pinky toe on her left foot.The fresh scars didn't quite match the delicate and well-groomed features, so my eyes lingered on it for a moment.

"It was scratched by the leaves of the mountain white bamboo." While brushing her hair behind her crystal pink ears, she stared at me intently.I opened my mouth to say something, but the unsteady sound of the voice-changing period bumping against the inside of my throat eventually died away. "This kind of mountain white bamboo will turn white around the leaves in winter." Her eyes are always on my face, have I met her before?Why is she staring at me like that? "Is it called Shanbaizhu?" "should be." This time it finally made a sound.After hearing my words, the corners of her slender and delicate eyes moved slightly, very much like the expression of a cat staring after discovering some kind of creature doing wonderful movements.

"What's your name?" "Ok?" "your name." "Yuozawa... the main text." Like a cold sculpture suddenly transformed into a human being, a smile bloomed on her face.At that time, I didn't know the reason for her smile. Finally, she left my side and walked far along the path, reaching out to touch the water on both sides from time to time like a child as she walked.The snow-white calf moves like two soft herbivores, looming among the leaves of the mountain white bamboo, gradually receding.I watched it all with bated breath. The next day, my father rarely asked me to go fishing with him.But I refused him on the grounds that I was not feeling well, and waited for that person at the same place as the day before.

She's here at last. As soon as her figure walking along the path from a distance came into my field of vision, I subconsciously lowered my body.I tiptoed back from the mountain white bamboo, made a big circle to the direction she was heading in - a little further away, and walked slowly, pretending to turn my back on her.I want to be chased by her.Because if we meet face to face, I am worried that she will see that I am waiting for her from the expression on my face. It didn't take long to hear the sound of stepping on the grass from behind. "Walking again?" I stopped and turned around pretending to be very surprised.There was a smile on her thin lips, and that smile seemed to be proof that she had read my mind.I suddenly felt embarrassed, and the conversation I had prepared in my mind disappeared.

"The front is my shop." She staggered my gaze and looked behind me. "Wood art—you know?" As she asked me, she took a step forward.I was a little behind and followed her.Mixed with the smell of earth, the mountain white bamboo under the feet emits a green smell.To this day, as long as I think of her, I will be accompanied by the smell of crushed mountain white bamboo.Bitter, green, clear--and a fishy odour, too. She never said a word, only uttered a few words in a lazy voice, and let the obedient person automatically convert them into longer sentences in their minds-it is a unique way of speaking.

She seems to have come from Tokyo alone to open a wood shop and sell her handmade wooden products on small shelves.There are very few customers, and sometimes no one comes to the door at all, but she said with a smile that the store was originally opened out of interest, so it doesn't matter. "Is it okay to take a walk like this during the day?" After listening to my question, she replied after a while: "Because it's too boring." I don't quite understand what she means.How can you feel bored when you open a shop by yourself and have no customers to bother you?

"There are times when I can't hold my breath." She stretched out the fingers of her left hand in front of me. "The lacquer smell is too strong." Is she joking? The sun shines through the leaves and onto her fingers like a jigsaw puzzle.Her left hand was just stretched out like that, as if she didn't just want to show her fingers.I was about to say something when she put down her hand and took another step. "just in front--" She stood on the edge of the woods.The sunlit gravel driveway stretches straight to the left and right.My eyes suddenly brightened, and I squinted my eyes.She also squinted her eyes and turned her face to the right.There is a wooden hut in front of the sand road.Just like a typical gift shop, the entrance is lined with shelves and tables displaying merchandise.

"Is that the store?" She nodded, and the hair that hung over her ears fell silently to her cheeks.She lowered her head and stared at the toes of her sandals.The bruise seen yesterday on the left foot is still there. "You go back from here." After leaving these words, she stepped onto the sandy road as if melting into the white light.When passing through the eaves of the store, she could be heard talking to someone. One day later, I still went to the mountain white bamboo forest to wait for her. She showed up almost at the same time as the day before. "I'm going back tonight." Walking side by side on the trail, I told her the message, not expecting anything. "……Oh." She kept going, speaking without emotion. For a period of time after that, there was only the sound of the two of us stepping on the mountain white bamboo.I carefully peeked at her side face without being noticed by her - the long eyelashes slowly moved up and down with the occasional blink, like a small living animal. Suddenly, she smiled. It looked like she had thought of something interesting.The oil cicada's voice was cadenced and swayed around him.She turned suddenly and faced me.In front of my eyes, there was an obvious smile on the face set off by the ambiguous tree shadow. The lips were pressed softly.The smell of her hair envelops my face, and the sweet breath caresses my cheeks.There seems to be an energetic fish swimming in the mouth.The warm fish wriggled and swam in my mouth.I have absolutely no idea what's going on.Her nose can be felt near the cheekbones.The lips and tongue are warm, but the nose is cold. When her face gradually moved away, I suddenly felt a little fear, stepping back on the mountain white bamboo.But she stretched out her right hand without warning like she kissed me just now, touching my jeans.Her lips pursed into a straight line.That expression seemed to be trying desperately not to laugh out loud.Her fingers rubbed up and down a few times as if gently pulling the fabric of her jeans—I couldn't breathe, couldn't take my eyes off her face, and just stiffened and leaned my back against Mizuna's tree trunk. The cry of the oil cicada rose and fell in the ears.Accompanied by the undulating chirping of cicadas, the surrounding scenery was bright and dark, and I tried my best not to scream out loud.Below me, her hair swayed, reflecting sunlight filtered through the summer leaves.It was as if my whole body was wrapped in icing that was melting under the high temperature, and my consciousness was lured into a bottomless abyss.Under the high temperature, I gradually gave up my consciousness and completely melted myself.why?What is wrong with me?Did something wrong? —My thoughts are as clouded as in sleep in a bright room. She stood up, behind her bangs swaying slowly in the wind, her eyes had a slightly lonely smile.For the last time, she pressed her lips to mine.Her and my breath floated in front of my nose, and I closed my eyes as if dreaming of summer.