[Gegege Fanfic] Hakuchumu
HAKUCHUMU
- Daydream -
Source: http://2nov.jam3.jp/nov/gegege
Author: Unknown (Gegege no Nyobo's Japanese fan)
Translator: yanie02
"Can you ride bicycle? Bicycle, pedal..."
"Oh, yes, I can. I ride that for the shop's delivery..."
Shigeru saw a dream.
The artificial arm, Itotsu and Ikaru are both on his sides.
Across the delicious meal was the Ittan Momen (Ghost Cotton) woman.
Is this... the omiai moment?
Shigeru opened his eyes due to the noisy sound of cicada.
He lifted up his head and bumped into the dining table, "Ouch!".
It is an afternoon in mid-summer. Shigeru was sweating and fell asleep in the living room.
He bumped his head so he forgot about the dream already.
Slowly getting up, he grumbled over his own sweat.
Standing next to the washbasin, he washed his face.
In this heat, even when you turn the tap on, only hot water would come out.
As he returned to the work room, he glanced at the clock. It's past 4 o'clock.
"Ahh..." he finally remember what happened today.
He woke up on his work desk this morning.
Shigeru unusually woke up earlier.
As if covered by Shigeru's left side, Fumie fell asleep with her head in her arms on the desk.
Last night, they were working on "Hakaba Kitaro" manuscript and stayed up all night.
They finished at dawn, no, actually, in the morning.
"Hey, wake up,"
"Mm..."
"Ow, ow..." she fell asleep in an awkward position so she felt something hurt while waking up.
"I'll deliver the manuscript,"
"Oh, okay. Oh, your breakfast..."
"Make something easy to eat. I'll eat it while going,"
"Alright,"
Fumie started to prepare breakfast and Shigeru watched her intently from behind.
Last night, when Shigeru was working hard facing his desk, Fumie asked him whether or not there's something she can help.
Shigeru didn't respond to her in the beginning, so Fumie just grated some ginger onto a towel and handed it over to him. She said it's to soften his stiff shoulders. She insisted she want to help with something, so she grated the ginger in the middle of the night. Something stirred inside Shigeru watching that view. So he asked her help to fill in the gaps and to draw the dots. Fumie is quite skillful so she immediately get the technique and successfully done her work. Shigeru gazed at Fumie who was concentrating and working on the manuscript.
He remember walking ahead while eating the food Fumie made for him.
He swept away his sweat and finally reached Tomita Publishing, but he didn't get the pay that time.
The book will be published in another two weeks, and he told him he'll pay him that time.
But Shigeru can't remember what happened on the way from Tomita Publishing to his house at all, perhaps due to the heat and that he stayed up late. He don't know how he got back here.
"Welcome back,"
He remember vaguely that Fumie welcomed him home with a smile.
Then, Shigeru collapsed and fell asleep.
Then, just now, the singing cicadas woke him up.
There's steamed sweet potatoes on the table.
While stuffing his mouth with the potato, Shigeru thought, "Thinking of that..."
He didn't see Fumie anywhere.
He thought she's washing the laundry, but when he opened the window, she's not there.
She's not in the bathroom nor the toilet too.
He glanced at the rack and realized that her shopping bag isn't there.
So, it means... "Shopping, huh..."
He's sitting alone in the room, and he can only hear the singing cicadas.
He feel uncomfortable for some reason.
The fact that Fumie is not around makes him feeling awkward.
Whenever he open the sliding door, he always find her there knitting or cooking.
And when she see him, she'd smile saying "Let me make you tea".
Shigeru's feelings is welling up for some reason, and to make that disappear, he return to the work room bringing more potatoes. He pulled out some of his own books from the shelf and started reading.
When he got an idea, he'll start drawing on his sketch book.
Shigeru spent these kind of days for a long time.
His mind is full of manga, and when he thought of ideas, he'll draw them on his sketch book so he won't forget them.
Those were his normal days. Before Fumie came to this house...
The clock shows 5 PM.
Five o'clock? How come it take her so long to go for shopping?
Shigeru started feeling uneasy.
Then, Nakamori came down from the 2nd floor.
"Oh, Murai-san, I'm sorry, can I have some water?"
"Go ahead,"
As Shigeru answered, he went opening the front door.
He thought Fumie might have come back.
But, Fumie isn't there.
He saw Fumie's bicycle there.
...that's weird.
Fumie always ride the bicycle to go for shopping.
Why is she not riding it today?
Once he closed the door, Shigeru called out to Nakamori who was about to return to the 2nd floor.
"Nakamori-san, have you seen my wife?"
"Your wife? No. I also went out this morning, but I didn't see her that time. When I came back here in the afternoon, I saw you lying on the floor, but I didn't see her,"
Nakamori lowered his head a bit, then he returned to the 2nd floor.
Nakamori the lodger, didn't see her for the whole day.
To think of it, Shigeru haven't seen Fumie clearly too.
She handed him over his breakfast in the morning, and welcomed him home in the afternoon. Did that all really happen?
While carrying an indescriba
ble feeling, he returned to the work room.
He's reading Goethe, re-drawing stuff on his sketch book, writing story ideas on his note book...
He's started sweating for some reason.
It's not because of the heat, it run swiftly on his back.
Doing all that, once he glanced at the clock again, it's 6 PM.
Then, Shigeru immediately wear his geta sandals and exited the house.
His wife isn't coming back.
Wait... is there such a woman in his house, in the first place?
He had always been alone.
Got married five days after the omiai meeting. Did it really happen to him?
The summer heat might have got into him.
Was it all just a dream in daytime?
The white and tall woman who look like the ghost cotton.
The quiet and cheerful woman.
She was gazing to the night while holding her knees on the wedding night.
When she arrived at Tokyo, she was singing.
When he bought her the bicycle, she was in tears while smiling.
On their first night, she was looking down, embarrassed before he kissed her lips.
Was that all, a dream?
Shigeru is running.
He want to stop his thoughts.
If he keep thinking more...
Suddenly...
He saw the woman in his dream coming over from across the field.
Shigeru stopped.
The woman in his dream saw him, smiled and waved a bit at him while running over.
She tried to catch her breath and then she looked up to Shigeru.
"Sorry I'm late. Many things happened. You must be hungry!"
"You went shopping?"
"Yes, I stopped by at Komichi Bookstore, and suddenly a student there collapsed! I had to call the ambulance! Michiko-san accompanied him to the hospital, and granny was not feeling well due to her rheumatic, so I had to tend the store. Michiko-san just came back, so I can finally go back home. Oh, but the student is alright, he was... Hmp?"
The summer night trembled in the wind.
Shigeru held Fumie's back with his right arm, and he shut her lips with his own without listening to her story to the end.
They set apart after a while, and Fumie freezed looking in disbelief.
Shigeru embraced her tightly.
"Uh.. um, wait...! People can see us..."
Shigeru didn't mind her struggling and just embracing her quietly.
"Bicycle..."
"Huh?"
"Why didn't you ride the bicycle?"
"Oh, can you please take a look at it later? It has got a flat tire,"
"Hahaa... I see, I see..."
"Umm... can you, can you let me go.."
Shigeru finally let her go.
Fumie's face become red and she held her chest.
"What's wrong? You suddenly..."
"Well.. you know... Let's go home,"
Then Shigeru picked up the shopping bags she dropped out of shock, and started walking ahead.
Fumie is following him from behind. He looked back once in awhile, confirming that this is not a dream. Shigeru felt her presence strongly.
=+THE END+=