I Want to Brag Too!

I’m aware that I look like I’m in high spirits to everyone. Before I knew it, I was humming. I was enjoying it so much that I started humming the lyrics in a low voice, and when I walked, I started skipping along to the lyrics.

I don’t know many popular songs, so I end up singing a lot of children’s songs as I think of them, but when I started singing, I realized something. I only knew the first verse of most children’s songs.

“Butterfly,” “Tulip,” “Elephant,” “Cat Bug,” etc. I feel like I learned them a long time ago, but it seems like I’ve forgotten them all.

“Lost, lost kitten~♪”

I only know the first verse of the song I’m singing now, and I wonder if the title was “Police Dog” or “Lost Kitten”? I’m singing while thinking about which one it was.

As I sing, my eyes sometimes meet with Krish-san’s.

 When I laughed, he laughed back. He tilted his head in confusion, as if he didn’t understand the lyrics of a Japanese children’s song, or turned towards me with a look of surprise. Maybe he was thinking, “What on earth is a dog policeman?” or, “Do snails in another world pull out spears?”

“Hey, Shinobu. You seem to be in a good mood. Did something good happen?”

“Oh, Genett-san, good morning!!”

Genett-san showed up at the same time as usual today wearing a brand new hat. The straw hat he was wearing before was quite old, with holes in places and the brim was unraveling. He proudly showed me his new hat.

He said that his income had improved thanks to the butter.

 “It’s all thanks to Shinobu. I got a new hat and I bought my wife some new clothes.

Maybe that’s why she’s in a good mood. We’ve got another side dish for dinner now.”

He was bragging about an episode with his wife, who he’s been with for many years. I want to brag too!! He said that he’s going to the next town with Krish-san today.

I glanced over at Krish-san, who was watching our conversation with a calm expression.

Is it okay? Is it okay if I brag about it? Is it okay?

“Hey, Genett-san, I’m going to the next town with Krish-san today. It’s my first time, so I’m really looking forward to it!!”

“Oh, the next town… Hmm? The next town?”

Huh? That’s not the reaction I was expecting. I was expecting something like, “Are you going out to play? Have fun!!” but he was rubbing his chin while looking back and forth between me and Krish-san.

 “I see, that’s what it is.”

“Mm, that’s what it is.”

What does that mean? It seems like Krish-san and Genett-san understand each other. I’m the only one who doesn’t understand, which is a bit sad.

“What? Hey, what’s going on?”

I pulled Krish-san’s arm and asked him, but he only told me that it was something fun to do when we got there.

Is the neighboring town really that fun? My expectations grew stronger and stronger, and I hurriedly ran around to finish my morning work.

I left the heavy vegetables to Krish-san and went to pick fruit. The ripe apples and kukuri smelled good. I swallowed the saliva in my mouth, having not yet had breakfast.

 While I was walking happily with a basket of apples on my back and a cloth wrapped around the kukuris in my arms, I ended up hopping around like a skip. When Genett-san saw me, he burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! Shinobu, look behind you. There’s a line of people waiting for their turn!!”

“Huh?”

I wondered what was going on, and turned around to see my family lined up behind me, munching away.

It seemed like I’d dropped an apple from the basket on my back while I was hopping around, and my family members were following me in a line, hoping to catch them.

“Oh no, I thought the basket got lighter halfway through, so I dropped them…Huh?”

I felt something moving around at my feet. When I looked down wondering what it was, I saw Pyonkichi climbing onto my shoes. Maybe Pyonkichi looks a little sad because he can’t eat a whole apple.

“Okay, I’ll cut up an apple for Pyonkichi later.”

Feeling a fixed gaze, I turned around and saw the cuckoos. They had been gathered in one place, staring at me.

“I’ll scatter rice for the cuckoos.”

My family has a big appetite today too.

I scattered rice like a sumo wrestler entering the ring, and after giving Pyonkichi some cut apples, we were finally ready.

I’m sharing a ride with Blanche again, but today I’m sitting facing forward.

“Krish-san, how far is it to the next town?”

“It’ll take about two and a half hours if we make Blanche walk slowly.”

It’s quite far. The road to the next town is a continuous weedy field as far as the eye can see, but it doesn’t bother me while I’m talking to Krish-san.

We arrived at the next town in no time, greeting people we passed by every now and then. It was bigger than I expected.

We left Blanche at the entrance to the town. I walked slowly while holding hands with Krish-san. There were many stalls lined up, and it was quite crowded with people.

“There are a lot of stores selling jewelry.”

“There’s a mine nearby. There are many jewelry stores because they can get good quality stones. When the Tree of Life had fruit, it was always transported through this town, so it was very crowded, but it seems like there are fewer people here now.”

I look around the stalls while listening to Krish-san’s story. The influence of the Tree of Life is even in places like this.

Strangely, there are only colorful jewelry lined up in the stores, and not many accessories like rings or bracelets. I wonder why?

 “Are you all buying jewelry?”

“Choose your favorite jewelry and have it processed on the spot.”

I turned towards the direction he pointed to and saw a man who was being asked by a woman to buy some, perhaps a couple. The shop assistant was setting the jewelry he bought into a hair ornament.

Jewelry seems to range from cheap to expensive, with stores selling large, expensive-looking jewelry, small but clear and sparkling jewelry, and small, slightly cloudy jewelry.

“Do you want to buy something as a souvenir?”

“Eh, but I don’t really wear accessories.”

Some of my friends wore earrings, and some had chunky rings from some brand, but I don’t think they would suit me.

As I was wandering around, my eyes met with a plump, motherly looking shop assistant.

 “Please come and see if you like. Our jewels are all junk stones, but there are good things about junk!!”

Attracted by the lively voice, I went closer and saw a row of small, irregularly shaped stones, sorted by color. They looked more like beads than jewels.

Come to think of it, my grandma treasured the beaded bag that my grandpa bought her when she was young. It was a refined-looking bag, and she always carried it when she went out wearing a kimono.

Beads were valuable in the old days, and they were expensive because they were colored by powdering real gemstones inside the glass.

If my grandma was here, she would probably be happy and say, “What beautiful beads!”

I wonder what happened to that bag? I’m sure I heard that several people fought over it when it was given away as a keepsake. I hope she treasures it.

 “They’re all cracked or have a lot of impurities and aren’t suitable for ornaments, but if you do this… look.”

The salesperson had a small round container woven from thin wire in his hand, and he put a pinch of the gems in it and closed the opening.

Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle

“Wow, what a beautiful sound!!”

It’s like the bell that Santa’s sidekick, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, wears around his neck!! Tinkle, tinkle, it makes such a beautiful sound!!

“If you change the stone, the sound will change. You’ll have a bell that’s unique to you. What do you think, little boy? Would you like one?

I’ll give you a discount of 1,800 galbos instead of 2,000 galbos.”

A bell of my own? I’m starting to want one. I brought my pocket money with me. I put in some of the coins I had saved in a jar.

 I only buy food for myself and my family. I still don’t really understand the value of money, so I grabbed a handful.

I know the denominations of 1 galbo, 10 galbo, 100 galbo, 500 galbo, and 1,000 galbo coins, but I have no idea about anything bigger than that.

I think they’re probably just children’s toys, so I can’t tell if they’re expensive or cheap.

But I want one as a souvenir of our first date. If it’s an expensive purchase, will Krish-san stop me?

“Do you like it, Shinobu?”

“Yes.”

“Shopkeeper, I’ll have one.”

“Thank you! Here you go, pick out your favorite stones.”

Yay! Which stones should I get?

I received a small wire-woven container from the shop assistant and looked down at the many stones lined up.

First off, this! The first thing I chose was a small yellow-green stone. No, wait a minute. Is this stone prettier? What kind of sound will a cracked stone make?

I carefully examine each stone as I drop it into the container. I shake it occasionally to check the sound, and have Krish-san choose one too. We spend a lot of time trying out different ones.

Krish-san and I lean our faces close to each other, play the sound close to each other’s ears, and then twist our heads and replace one stone. Just changing one stone can make the sound higher or lower, so it’s quite difficult to adjust.

I tend to choose green stones, and Krish-san only chooses pale pinks, so the small container is full of green and pink.

It’s kind of fun to think that it’s the color scheme of cherry blossoms, which I like.

The gems we chose made a cute tinkling sound.

 “How is it?”

“It sounds good.”

After we were both satisfied with the sound, I handed it over to the shop assistant with a smile on my face. He used a pliers-like tool to close the opening and turn it into a keychain.

I put it on my belt and bounced around. The tinkling sound was so fun that I jumped up and down on the spot three times.

“How much does it cost?”

While I was bouncing around, Krish-san quickly took out his wallet and paid the fee.

“Wait, I’ll pay.”

“Let me get it for you.”

“But…”

I’m not used to people buying things for me, so I’m a little troubled. I’m happy, but I don’t know what to do.

“You should let him buy it for you. I’m sure he wants to give it to his lover. In that case, just smile and say, ‘Thank you.’”

My face instantly turned red. How did she know that we were lovers? Embarrassed, I hid behind Krish-san, and the waiter laughed out loud, “Hahaha!”. Uuh, my cheeks are hot.

“You have such a lovely lover, sir. At first I thought you were father and son or siblings, but when I saw your faces I knew. You look so happy I’m jealous.

I’m glad, I was like that at one time too, but now all my husband gives me is laundry and dirty dishes after dinner. I haven’t received a present in 20 years.

Sir, you have to take good care of your lover. You seem to be quite old, so you have to do your best to hold on to him so that he doesn’t get snatched away by a younger guy when he gets older.”

I’m happy that he sees me as his lover, but apparently I look like a child after all. I wonder when I’ll be able to see him as an adult.

 “Of course, I know. I have no intention of giving it up to anyone.”

Krish-san pushed me from behind, put his arm around my shoulders as we stood next to each other, and declared in a cool voice. I was so excited that I nearly fell backwards.