Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
Miyagi put her shoulder on me but didnât hold my hand, so I held her hand.
She didnât complain, and we watched the movie while holding hands.
Itâs tempting to increase the area of contact, but if I do anything unnecessary, the shoulders that are clinging to each other and the hands that are holding each otherâs will probably fall away, so I continue to watch the screen maturely.
The film is a typical love story, not boring but lacking something to make it interesting. Still, Miyagi watches without saying a word, so I do the same and watch the people moving around in the tabletops. Before I knew it, the rumbling of thunder had died down and time passed quietly.
ãWhat else do you want to watch after this?ã
I ask as I watch the screen approaching the end roll.
But there is no response.
I looked next to her and saw that her eyelids were closed for too long to blink. We had been watching a movie for nearly two hours, so it was no surprise that she felt sleepy.
I think itâs time to put Miyagi to bed.
But the only bed she would sleep in in this room is mine, and I donât think Miyagi would be honest enough to use my bed. If I told her to go to bed, she would go back to her room.
If possible, I hope she doesnât speak.
.
I hope she was still in this room.
On the other hand, I canât leave a sleepy Miyagi like this.
ãMiyagi, you can go to sleep if youâre sleepy.ã
Reaching out with my free hand to the tablet and touching the screen, the main character stops in a strange pose and I hear a sleepy voice next to me.
ãIâm alright.ã
ãYouâre half asleep.ã
ãIâm not sleeping. Iâm awake.ã
ãCan you watch the movie all the way through?ã
ãâ¦Iâm going back to my room.ã
The answer was as I had expected, and I put some strength into the hand I had joined before Miyagi stood up.
ãIâll remember your promise, so use my bed.ã
ãItâs fine. Iâm going sleep in my own room.ã
Miyagi, who looked sleepy, says clearly.
I donât understand why she didnât want to sleep here, but I didnât want to let her go back. I donât know how to get Miyagi to stay here, so I put more pressure on our joined hands.
ãâ¦How long is the ânowâ for Sendai-san?ã
She put ânowâ in front of the promise I made to the earring that I wouldnât do anything strange, but it seems that Miyagi will not leave that ânowâ ambiguous.
I choose my words carefully, because if I give the wrong answer, Miyagi will walk out of this room.
ãUntil Miyagi leaves this room.ã
The hands that were holding each other run away.
But Miyagi doesnât get up.
ãLetâs watch the movie then.ã
As I add the words, I hear a small voice from next door.
ãFor how long?ã
ãUntil morning.ã
ãâ¦Iâll borrow your bed.ã
She blurted out and lay down on the bed that Miyagi had been using as a backrest.
I dim the lights and turn on the nightlight.
I plug the earphone into the tablet and press the play button. The main character, who had stopped in a strange pose, begins to move, and the story begins to move toward the end roll. But I canât follow the story because Iâm worried about Miyagi behind me. The movie is just flowing. Most of my consciousness was in my back and I couldnât move my body.
I canât let it bother me.
I think so, but it doesnât work.
The muscles in my back tingle.
I take a small breath in, and as I slowly try to let it out, I feel something hit my back. I took off my earphones and turned around to find that what hit me was my pillow, and Miyagi was sitting on my bed, thinking I was already asleep.
ãSendai-san.ã
ãWhat is it?ã
ãDo you really remember what you promised?ã
Miyagi says, as if to confirm.
ãItâs okay. I remember it.ã
When I tell her clearly so that she can sleep with as much peace of mind as possible, I hear a small voice. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
ãâ¦If I use half of your bedâ¦ã
ãIf you use it, in Miyagiâs way, this room is my camp.ã
ãBut the bed is my campâ¦ã
ãWhy is that so?ã
When I asked her back, Miyagi hit me with a pillow.
ãSendai-san, you said I could use it. So, the bed is my camp, and you lend me half of it, Sendai-san.ã
It seems that the ownership of the bed, which I told her she could use, had somehow been transferred to Miyagi.
However, ownership of a bed is a trivial matter. More than that, I am surprised that I was allowed to sleep next to Miyagi.
ãAre you sure you want to use half of it?ã
ãIf you donât like it, just watch the movie.ã
Miyagi says plainly and lies down with her back to me.
ãIâm going to sleep.ã
I turn off the tablet.
Miyagi uses half of the bed on the wall side, and I slip into the empty space.
ãItâs kind of cramped.ã
Soon a disgruntled voice is heard next to me.
It is like Miyagi where she complains even though I told her she could use half of the room, but I also think it is unconvincing.
ãAnd itâs a single bed. Shall I get a double bed?ã
ãYou donât have to buy it. And I wonât sleep here anymore.ã
I hear a very firm voice, as if she is awake.
ãThen Iâll tell you a scary story every night from now on.ã
ãIf you do that, Iâll never speak to Sendai-san again.ã
ãItâs just a joke.ã
I immediately take back my previous statement, but Miyagi rolls my back and pulls the quilt as hard as she can. Inevitably, the quilt disappears from my body. It is a little hot rather than cold, so I donât mind not having a quilt, but it would be boring to have Miyagiâs back buried in the quilt and out of sight.
I would rather look at Miyagiâs back and touch it than look at the futon anyway. More to the point, I would like to turn up the futon and sweatshirt, put my hands in them, and touch Miyagi directly.
But I canât break my promise.
If I broke the promise I swore to the earring, Miyagi would be really angry.
Still wanting to touch somewhere, I flip the covers up a bit and grab Miyagiâs sweatshirt.
ãSendai-san, arenât you going to sleep?ã
A low voice is heard.
ãIâm still not sleeping. Miyagi, turn around.ã
ãWhy?ã
ãI want to kiss you.ã
I say the words that Miyagi would not allow me to say.
ãNot now.ã
The words come right back at me as I expected, but with a softer denial than I had expected, I gently touch my back over my sweatshirt.
ãMiyagiâs stingyã
ãBeing stingy is fine to me.ã
There is no sign of Miyagi turning toward me. I tapped my curled up back with my fingertips, and Miyagi called me in a very serious voice,ãSendai-san.ã
ãWhat?ã
ãâ¦About the earringâ¦ã
Thatâs where her words break off.
ãWhatâs wrong with the earring?ã
ãDoes it make sense?ã
Miyagi says in a voice that I might miss if I donât listen carefully.
ãMake sense?ã
ãThe earrings, theyâre based on plumeria flowers, right?ã
Questions are asked in response to questions.
ãThatâs right.ã
ãI looked it up in the language of flowers.ã
ãWhat did it say?ã
ãâ¦It meant like grace, or a shy maiden.ã
ãIsnât it perfect for Miyagi?ã
ãI donât believe that.ã
I hear a grumbling voice and I let go of the hand on my back and exhale.
I thought Miyagi might look up the language of flowers in plumeria. So the language of flowers itself has no great significance.
ãDonât worry about the piercing, itâs just to remind me of my promise, and it doesnât mean anything more than that. Or should it have meant something?ã
ãâ¦It doesnât have to, butâ¦ã
Miyagi blurts out and falls silent.
I pat my chest as she doesnât pursue the matter further.
Miyagi is not wrong.
To tell the truth, the earring do have a meaning.
To be precise, the meaning is not in the language of flowers, but in the plumeria motif of the accessory itself.
To wish your loved ones happiness.
The earrings on Miyagiâs ears have that meaning.
After liking the small flower earrings and doing some research, I came across the meaning of the plumeria motif in Hawaiian jewelry and chose them to adorn Miyagiâs ears.
But I donât want Miyagi to know that it is something meaningful.
ãJust think of it like a good luck charm.ã
I said it like itâs nothing, and pulled the quilt that was left deprived and put it over my body.
Only I should know the meaning behind the earring.
If Miyagi knew the meaning, she would never wear them. Even if she realizes what it means, I will fake it and say I didnât know.
ãMiyagi, you must have been sleepy. Itâs time for you to go to sleep.ã
ãGo to sleep, Sendai-san.ã
ãIâm going to sleep without you telling me.ã
I have been thinking about the meaning of earring.
I can forgive Miyagi for not liking me, but I cannot forgive Miyagi for liking anyone but me.
It doesnât look like there is anyone who likes Miyagi as of now.
I think if anyone should like someone like her, it should be me.
But if, someday, Miyagi should fall in love with someone other than me.
My heart is not wide enough to wish her happiness. Thatâs why, when I canât wish for Miyagiâs happiness, I hope this earring will wish for Miyagiâs happiness on my behalf. At the same time, like the language of the plumeria flower, I wish I was the shy Miyagi who loves someone but doesnât have the courage to confess it.
I pull on Miyagiâs sweatshirt.
ãGood night.ã
I told her in a small voice, and a small voice replied,ãGood night.ã