Dear my stars

第2話Two sisters and one brother, restetement

Two days later, my family has gotten together for the first time in ten years.

Because they received my death from the hospital I’ve taken care of.

As expected, at the funeral hall, they have no tears even approaching the coffin.

And, not tears, there is a little boy five years old can’t reach the coffin.

It’s too difficult for him to know the meaning of death.

Actually, he’s looking at the scene of a strange funeral hall, putting me through.

Because there are a lot of chrysanthemum Hanawa, even through it’s a simple funeral.

It’s a little powerful for a young boy and I think he feels something attractive.

He is Taichi Tsutsumi, my just one grandchild.

His father, my last son, Yoichi Tsutsumi is holding his little hand not to let him running around.

Yoichi has neat and short hair, wearing black border glasses.

Yoichi, hard man is thirty years old and lost his wife three years ago.

My first daughter next to him, is Harumi Asada.

She got fortieth birthday last month, but she doesn’t have a child.

Beside her husband doesn’t attend my funeral.

Because they have a bad relationship.

Harumi makes wrinkles between the eyebrows, having hanging eyes like a fox.

She has a terrible facial expression the same as Oni appeared.

But originally she’s so beautiful.

I think there is a cause of her bad mood something else.

Akio Tsutsumi looking me from Yoichi and Harumi’ s backs.

She-not he- is my second girl, thirty eight years old.

She has a slim body with muscle, but her soul as a lady is no different from the past.

So she just showed me complicated expression since she was a boy, and she’ s first independent child.

Maybe she has been fighting against her.

She’ s so smart, since setting up a company, she works hard everyday as a president.

I knew that through a postcard a few years ago.

I don’t know her job, but I guess her management goes well.

Akio is more sophisticated than who has woman’s body.

And her mourning is so beautiful like a dress.

Harumi, Akio, and Yoichi.

The three are brothers, but all is different from my blood.

They are my adoption met at the child rearing facilities.

Because of knowing that, they have grooves between brothers and me since they were in puberty.

Today, I’ll see the change of their groove.

After my funeral, I-in the coffin- left the funeral hall by the hearse.

My old body is getting on the hearse, and myself is floating.

I couldn’t have imagined before I was dead, seventy years old that I become lighter than a balloon.

So I can see my family in a bad mood.

From the state of getting of the car, they had no words on the move.

Maybe they kept the distance, sitting on the four corner.

Harumi and Yoichi have wrinkles on the face-especially between eyebrows.-

Akio is getting of the car, closing her thigh and shrinking her shoulders.

On the other hand, my grandchild Taichi is sleeping, being held by his father Yoichi.

Although in a bad atmosphere, what an innocent sleeping face he has!

I wonder he has a dull feeling a little or is a big.

Either way, his inside doesn’t look like his father.

From waking up during my cremation to bone pick, Taichi ate a lot of rice balls saying “Yummy! Yummy!”

He’s real child, having the shadow of hid dead mother.

I’m sorry that my daughter in a low had married such steady man, Yoichi.

Then what do my family included Yoichi with Taichi think in front of my born and remnant?

“Oh, can you see them?”

I spoke because they say what I have guessed.

“Oops!”

My hands on the mouth, knowing my voice doesn’ t reach their ears.

Just in case that my old eyes become curious bystanders’.

I adjust the appearance listening to their big voice in my house.

“Receiving her heritage? No way! Because she isn’t my real mother.”

“It’s not for only you, right? Because we’ re all … adoptions.”

Harumi has high voice and curly hair like Oni’s horns.

Yoichi tried to calm his sister.

But he becomes self- centered and his voice sinks.

Of course, Harumi gets excited.

“You don’t have to say that… I know what you mean!”

“Be quiet. There is my boy.”

“I don’t know!”

Harumi swings her head hard, having a sharp eye like a hunter.

“Hey, Akio!”

“Pardon?”

Harumi is shouting, Akio is surprised and raises her face.

Akio’s false eyelashes, necessities for young ladies, is trembling because of fear.

Harumi’s finger point to her sister Akio makes her more scared.

My remnant is looking at the back of my first girl Harumi.

“Akio! Take the all of heritage for me and Yoichi! We are just others. So we don’t have to share anything even her heritage. If you don’t need her heritage, I and Yoichi will dispose it for you.”

“Oh, no. I...I don’t…”

Akio tried to argue against her sister Harumi.

But she can’t do that because she isn’t able to call herself as a man.

She just hides her face.

“What? Does your refusal mean your management goes well and you don’t need other’s money? I envy your rich, but I don’t want to be a man with woman heart.”

Akio is looked down and laughed by Harumi.

But she holds her fists on her knees and keeps standing on the spot.

Maybe other people grasp that Akio is patient.

Actually she just can’t open her mind to others.

That’s she employs about two hundreds partners now.

I can’t imagine that.

I guess she can’t leave them alone because of her gentle mind.

On the other hand Harumi’s heart is so strong to be assert.

I guess she always keeps herself unconsciously.

Maybe she keeps it up and hit her husband hard.

I feel sorry for him.

If my son in a low can see me without body, I’d like to lower my head.

“Hey! If no one takes her heritage, the best idea is making a donation somewhere. That’s right. And Akio, go back to the man at least at this time. It’s bad for my boy Taichi to grow healthy.”

Yoichi put his boy on the knee not to show Akio.

He has a prejudice against his sister Akio.

And Harumi’s prejudice is stronger than his.

Yoichi was only my boy hasn’t known our blood was different until I let him know.

By the shock of knowing that, he became more stubborn.

He respects common sense and level.

So after graduation high school, he started to work as a civil servant.

Later he married the female colleague, and Taichi was born.

He was so glad to get his only boy with same blood in the world.

Yoichi and my daughter in a low’s relationship was very good.

I’d like Harumi to take a look at them.

The three’s characters and ways of living don’t look similar.

Especially Harumi and Yoichi don’t admit my family as their mother and sister or brother even they grew up together.

I guess they grasp me as the other supported them-not their mother.

So they refuse my heritage-anyone wants money even if the edge is far.-

Maybe they think if they receive me heritage, they have to admit they are my, Ikuko Tsutsumi’s girls and boy.

If they share my money, they have to admit they are brothers.

In the first place, under Japanese law, if I have no real child, it seems that up to two adoptions can inherit the heritage.

If I rent Yoichi’s line, I think it’s too bad for Taichi to put in the bad mood as like a suspense drama.

Even so kicking bigger knees with smaller heels, Taichi saying to his father “Let me get off.”

As a father, Yoichi notices his boy’s sign.

“What’s wrong with you, Taichi? Do you want to pee?”

“No.”

Taichi shakes the neck sideways and get down from bigger knees by himself.

He’s full of energy and aims at something.

He doesn’t want to see his father’s face.

“Hey, Taichi?”

Taichi doesn’t turn his face to Yoichi’s voice.

And he runs as it is.

No toy and game in old woman’s house.

But Taichi isn’t interest in neither.

Once again he never can find anything from beginning.

He stops in front of the wall, and turns his face to the ceiling.

He immobilizes his neck and changes the direction of the body.

By the chance, he notices…?

I pay attention to his behavior.

“Taichi, what are you doing?”

“Daddy, what’s that?”

After Yoichi closes to him, Taichi indicates his head.

Yoichi’s facial expression becomes stronger because of looking at what Taichi indicates.

“She displays this old thing on the wall even after death.”

Yoichi looks at the picture taken when my family was young.

After my girls and boy had been independent, even during I have been in the hospital, this picture in the flame has been on the wall.

“Oh! I have thought she had already thrown away the thing like this!”

Harumi closes to the picture, too.

And she throws away words, looking at dirty things.

“No! I’m not looking at the picture, daddy!”

Two adults, Harumi and Yoichi become the walls, and Taichi shouts to them.

My girl and boy look down Taichi’s head soon.

“You’re saying that, but there is nothing on the wall besides an old picture, right?”

Harumi speaks to her nephew at the first time.

“No, because…”

“Taichi, what’s up?”

Yoichi raises small body not to let him talk to his aunt.

Unexpectedly she has strong heart doesn’t get angry.

Taichi doesn’t have her blood.

S0-called he is the other. I’m sure she think that.

I don’t remember growing her like that.

If my voice reaches to her, I’d like to scold her first.

On the other hand, Taichi thought to be someone else by his aunt, doesn’t worry about adult’s circumstances.

How generous my grandchild is!

It’s more important for him to mind himself than to do Harumi’s words and attitude.

So his hands are high and high to touch the picture.

“Watch out, Taichi!”

“There is something small and white, daddy!”

Yoichi keeps holding his little, but Taichi tries to escape from the arms.

His small hands ant short feet are twisted.

“Taichi! Be quiet soon!”

He has no ear to receive what Yoichi says.

Meanwhile Harumi notices and points to what Taichi does.

The words of Taichi reaches to her, so I’m sure he is satisfied.

His hands and feet stop.

Maintaining the state of holding him, Yoichi closes to what Harumi points.

“Certainly white…but what’s this?”

After letting Taichi stand on the floor, Yoichi touches outside of the frame.

He takes his hand off slowly, and something white appears little by little.

Oh, they have already found it.

As expected the child is.

Something white I’d hid on the flame is an envelope.

It’s more important for us than my heritage they don’t want to take.

It’s the present for them.

Also the media takes my words to them.

Dear Harumi, Akio, and Yoichi.

“Akio! Come on, you too!”

Yoichi calls his second sister Akio near, because he judges it’s a letter for the three.

As usual he never call her “Brother” –even “Sister.”

It’s the same for him to call Harumi “Sister.”

Akio is hesitant about her brother’s attitude.

But she closes to him, be calling her “old” name.

“Are you ready? I’ll start to read this.”

Three line up, and my boy Yoichi takes a deep breath.

Taichi wraps his arms around the calf.

And he raises his face to see his father taking the initiative on the flow.

“Daddy! What’s this?”

“It’s a letter. You are so smart, so keep being quiet.”

“All right.”

“Until you find this, you argued about what to do if you didn’t take my money, right?”

Harumi hits her tongue next to her brother reading aloud my words.

I’m sure she wants to say to me “Mind your own business!”

Although Akio keeps shutting.

“It must be unintentional that you had been grown up by me have different blood.

But I have what I must let you know.

When I was alive, you didn’t have ears to listen to what I said.

After my death, you can’t help reading my letter.”

This time Yoichi hits his tongue.

Hey, Yoichi. People are living creatures become skeptical instead of weakened bodies.

You must know that.

My small words should not reach to them.

But Harumi and Yoichi have eyes as like defects in the rebellious phase.

On the other hand, Akio’s eyes become weaker and weaker.

Oh, what do you really do at the company?

I’d not like to doubt her, but I can’t believe that she is the president.

Yoichi keeps reading, feeling like he has no choice.

His sisters let only their ears close to him.

Watching them, let’s look back on each situation the three became adoptions together.