Chapter 51
The next morning, Ryosaku woke up to the bright morning sun.
When he woke up and looked around, the desk where he had written the letter was right in front of him...all around him were crumpled futons scattered carelessly.
He didn't even take a bath, and after he finished writing his letter, he fell asleep in the clothes he had been wearing on the way home from school.
It took him well over three hours to finish writing the letter, and as he sat at his desk with all his heart, thinking of Teacher Suzuki and Mieko and savoring various memories, time passed by. Forgetting...He was dreaming and memorizing each word he had written, as if he were cherishing it.
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At that moment, Ryosaku's mother knocked on the door of the room.
"Good morning, mom!"
When Ryosaku announced this cheerfully, his mother slowly entered the room.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well...?"
"Yeah. Sleep well. It's a very refreshing morning, Mom."
"That's right. The summer heat has finally subsided, and the cicadas are chirping less and less..."
At that moment, Ryosaku's father came upstairs from downstairs.
"Ryo. Good morning. You fell asleep without taking a bath... You must have been really tired. How are you feeling...?"
"Thank you, Dad. I feel great."
"I see. When I asked your mother, she said that as soon as you got home from school, you locked yourself in your room without eating dinner and didn't reply. We were really worried."
"I'm sorry. I... had important 'work' to do."
"I know. It's an important letter to give to the deceased Teacher Suzuki, right? We all know."
"Huh...? Why do you know?"
"Your father came home early. So, after you locked yourself in your room...well, about an hour had passed. An hour later, I got a call from Principal Nakano. Then the principal said, "I'll borrow Ryosaku-kun for a day tomorrow."
"Huh...? Did the principal say that?"
"Yes, you're going to visit Teacher Suzuki's grave today with the second graders, right? There's still plenty of time, so go ahead and take a shower. You can't have a sweaty body like that. Suzuki Teacher might not like the smell."
Ryosaku looked at the clock and saw that there was certainly plenty of time until departure time.
"Ryo. You must be tired from working so hard on writing letters. I'm taking a day off today, so once you're ready, I'll drive you to school. I’ll do it."
"Eh...? Are you going to drive me to school...?"
"Ah. Don't hold back. We're father and son, right? I've always been too busy to pay close attention to you...Isn't it nice once in a while?"
"Thank you, Dad. I'll go take a shower in a minute."
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When Ryosaku came out of the bathroom, there was a bath towel and clean, washed underwear and clothes neatly folded.
(She's a very methodical mother...but thank you.)
Ryosaku thanked his mother and was about to return to his room.
Then, Ryosaku's mother showed him an envelope.
"Actually... this is a letter that arrived at my house yesterday... it was addressed to you from the late Teacher Suzuki."
"What did you say!?"
"Yes...you'd be surprised, right? Well, just take a look at the postmark."
The postmark is...September 17, 1982...last Friday!
"Hey, Ryo. I believe Teacher Suzuki passed away on Tanabata, July 7th."
"Yeah. That's right. It was the day I was discharged from the hospital, and I heard with my own ears that the previous principal announced to all of us the children about Teacher Suzuki's death in the gymnasium. There's no doubt about that. "
"Hey... Ryosaku. Isn't it kind of creepy...? It's probably not someone's prank...?"
"That's not true! Who would play such a trivial prank on me? I'm sure...the letter that my teacher was supposed to give me was somehow mistaken and has now arrived. I'm sure... That’s right."
"I hope so..."
"Also, look at the handwriting of my name on this envelope, mother. This is definitely Teacher Suzuki's handwriting."
"How do you know that...?"
"Once upon a time, I asked my teacher what kind of kanji the name of a girl I was friends with, who was in first grade at the time, was written in kanji.At that time, the teacher wrote it in large letters on the blackboard. The teacher wrote the girl's name for me. The handwriting of the teacher at that time is the same as the handwriting on this envelope."
"...Is that so? Then, isn't it even more creepy? ..Are you saying that your late teacher sent you a letter after her funeral...?"
"Please stop, Mom. You're being rude to the teacher! I'm sure...there must be a reason."
"That's right. Ryo is right. There's probably a reason why it arrived at this time."
"I'm sorry, Ryosaku. I wasn't very sensitive. It hasn't been that long since Teacher Suzuki passed away, so I wasn't considerate enough."
"It's okay, Mom. I don't mind. Well, I'll go early. Dad, can you give me a ride to school...?"
"Oh. Now, get ready. If you take it too easy and are late, Teacher Suzuki will get angry."
"Yeah. I understand, Dad. Mom...I'll read Teacher Suzuki's letter on the bus, so give it to me."
"Well, I'm still worried about you, but... I'm sure Teacher Suzuki wrote something out of concern for you. After all, she's a kind teacher. That's why..."
After having breakfast, Ryosaku got into his father's car and headed all the way, carrying his teacher's letter and the message he had written to Teacher Suzuki with all his heart the night before.
