Yukimura's shadow

in the past,

If I remember correctly,

My life has been a feast.

Where all hearts are open,

All the wine was overflowing.

— Arthur Rimbaud

Kyoto a month ago.

If it is said that Kyoto in mid-spring is a slender girl with childishness under the double cherry tree, then the red maple in Manjing in autumn is like a smear of cinnabar on the lips of ladies in Ukiyo-e.

Rows of neat wooden wing rooms, a winding path, the autumn wind blows through the maple leaves and makes a rustling sound, a girl in colorless clothes holds a paper umbrella in one hand, and a small bamboo basket in the other, and moves her clogs on the bluestone board. Make a crisp sound.

There was an autumn rain last night, and the aroma of turned over earth still lingers in the air.

"Sister Yamei—" There was a shout from behind, the girl turned her head, and saw a girl walking quickly at the end of the path.She was wearing a dark blue exercise suit, and her expression was a little anxious. As she walked briskly, the hairpin behind her head was also a little precarious.

This is one of Nagasawa Masami's younger junior sisters. She was sent up the mountain when she was a child because of her stubborn temper. Too down-to-earth character.

"Run slowly..." Nagasawa Masami shook her head helplessly, and walked up to her.She put the bamboo basket lightly on the ground and motioned for the little junior sister to turn around.The girl stuck out her tongue playfully, and turned around obediently, the bun on the back of her head was untied.

Yami pulled out the wooden hairpin, and the black hair slid down, with onion fingers tucking between the black hair, which was extraordinarily beautiful under the black and white.After re-caging, she tied it up with a wooden hairpin, and after hiding the ends of her hair, she slowly inserted the wooden hairpin into her hair.

"Okay." She let go of her hand, and took the maple leaf that was floating above her head for her.A small four-finger maple, not yet red.

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" The little girl tried to dance a few times, but when she saw that her hair was not moving, she turned around and thanked her, "Senior Sister is really good at it!"

Nagasawa Masami pursed her lips and smiled, "Tell me, what happened to you in such a hurry?"

When Nagasawa Masami mentioned it, the little girl remembered it belatedly. "Oh, they said that a beautiful foreign lady came to the front yard. I heard it was introduced by Master's friend... Now I am visiting the garden. Master is worried that I can't communicate, so I sent me to call you."

Hearing this, Yamei frowned slightly, "But I still have to send incense to the incense hall at the foot of the mountain."

She lifted the small bamboo basket in her hand. The bamboo basket was covered with a layer of floral cloth, and the incense that was just made recently was placed in the basket.

Hechuanliu adheres to the purpose of "governing the body and mind" and emphasizing spiritual cultivation of the martial arts school. It set up the incense room on the mountain, but still opened an incense hall for tourists to buy incense at the foot of the mountain.

Fragrance Taoism can be regarded as an unruly art. If you are sincere, you will see it, and if you are not sincere, you will miss it.Although it is not like geisha who only accept regular customers, but in Aichuanliu, if you want to experience the samurai incense performance, walking up the mountain is the first test.

For the disciples, hiking up and down the mountain is more of a practice.

There was only one change of head of the family more than ten years ago, and Nagasawa Masami, who became a disciple at the age of four, can be regarded as the top senior sister among the disciples of this generation.

There are always a few days in a month that need to send incense down the mountain, and the brothers will come in rotation according to the month. How many times a month to send incense depends entirely on luck.This month just happens to be her turn.

"Master asked me to replace you. Go ahead and watch. Don't let anyone get ahead of you." When she said this, the younger junior sister winked, making Nagasawa Masami dumbfounded.

"Only you have a lot of things on your mind every day!" She handed over the basket, and after handing it over to her, she gave a few words of worry.

"Be careful, winter is coming soon, and this is the last batch of chrysanthemum incense." Traditional incense is divided into six types according to the solar terms.There are two kinds of chrysanthemums and fallen leaves that can be made in autumn.

"I know, I know." She was still smiling, and walked away quickly with the basket in her arms.

Yami stood there for a while, until the bouncing figure disappeared around the corner of the stone staircase.Although she has never seen any mistakes in sending incense, Yami still has some instinctive worries.

"I always feel... I seem to have more and more things to worry about..." She muttered, turned around and walked back resignedly.

From time to time, foreign friends will come to visit the incense room, some come alone, and some bring translators. However, there are often situations where the translator cannot explain some incense terms—at this time, a person who understands The importance of English preachers of incense and Taoism is reflected.

English is a compulsory course for the new generation of disciples, and some of them have excellent grades—but who makes Masami Nagasawa look like a child who came back from a foreign country in the eyes of everyone——

No matter how much she explained that her first language was French and not English, no one listened.Most people still retain the idea that foreigner English must be good.

Masami is not a pure Japanese, she has one-half of French blood in her body, which is why her eyes have blue tenderness like the Mediterranean.

I wanted to receive people, so I walked in a hurry on the back road.

The further you go to the front yard, the more people will flow.Today is the weekend, and October happens to be the time when schools hold the most school trips.It is not far from the Kinkakuji Temple, and tourists often list the two together and play together.

But the real incense room is located in a secluded backyard, which is difficult for ordinary tourists to enter.

She shuttled through the crowd, dressed in Sewudi with her family crest embroidered on the cuffs, and was easily recognized as an insider. There was even a person who claimed to be the anchor of a certain station in China came to ask her if she could No photo.

After Masami Nagasawa blushed and refused, she walked faster on the soles of her feet.Although she looks very down-to-earth on the surface, due to the environment in which she grew up, her actual personality is a bit shy, and she is the kind of guy who is not good at rejecting or defending most of the time.

When encountering this kind of invitation, once you agree, there will be two for one, which is really troublesome...

Soon, Yami saw the girl.

Big brown eyes, brown double ponytails, small lips are as rosy as if they stole a cherry, and they are very cute when they pout.With a red pumpkin hat and a classic Lolita dress, she looks like a real life doll!

But it seems that from the helpless expression of the male companion beside her, this eldest lady is not easy to serve.

"That's great, Yami, you're finally here!" Originally, the big brother Ze Qingkong was in charge of receiving her, but when he saw Yami, he looked as if he was saved.

Yami smiled helplessly, and went up to take the hot potato.After chatting for a few words, Nagasawa Masami also guessed Aozora's difficulty.

Miss Mary's character is not bad, but... she likes Japanese culture too much...

"I've wanted to visit Japan since I was very young...My grandmother lived in Japan for a long time...After my grandmother passed away, I wanted to visit the places she always missed."

"This time my university research report is going to write "The Skills of Japanese Craftsmen", so I am here."

Yami took her all the way through the courtyard.The wealth on the mountain not only includes incense rooms, but also this unique garden architecture.Perhaps no one had ever told her about the Kyoto gardens, so Masami took her around for a tour. Marie was very excited to ask Masami questions in her not-so-standard Japanese while admiring them all the way.

The little brother who was with her could only smile apologetically at Yami, and call her name from time to time to calm her down.After being interrupted a few times, Mary simply ignored him and spoke English with Yami excitedly.

Brother Hetian looked at Mary worriedly, as if he hated iron for being weak.When Mary wasn't paying attention, Yami smiled and shook her head at him, expressing that she didn't mind.

After all... face is justice...

Yami quietly turned her face away, with a suspicious blush on it.

"Grandma told me a lot about Japanese culture..."

"I also made a plan for myself—you see, these are all the craftsmen I want to know!" She said and carefully took out a small notebook from the small satchel she carried with her.The pages of the book are a little shaggy, and they seem to be flipped frequently.

Yami turned over a page or two symbolically, unexpectedly, there were actually many famous people who were difficult to visit, followed by Mary's densely packed visiting experience written in cursive English.

"Yuzen kimono... so good!" This sentence is not false at all.

"It's all thanks to the professor and Aqiao~ Japan is so friendly~" Mary patted Wada Qiao on the shoulder with a happy expression.

But He Tianqiao muttered with a blushing face, "Come on...I, I'm not for you. If it weren't for my credits..."

"Ahh... Ah Qiao is such an idiot..." Mary sighed helplessly.

Yami smiled and watched their interaction from the sidelines, feeling a little envious.

"But Mary... we are not craftsmen." This question suddenly flashed in Yami's mind. "We" refers to those who practice incense.

Unexpectedly, Mary, who was very excited, suddenly became serious, patted Yami on the shoulder, and said earnestly:

"Yami-chan, in my opinion, those who can strive for the development of a certain skill are very remarkable, this is a craftsman."

Yami was a little dazed by her focused eyes, and nodded in a daze after a while.

"Then... can you tell me the history of your genre... please!"

When talking about what she is good at, Yami quickly came back to her senses, with a confident smile on her face.

With the deepening of her explanation, some people gradually gathered around her. Seeing that most of them were wearing khaki school uniforms, they must be another school trip to a certain school.

She simply sat down in the pavilion with Mary and Qiao, and more and more people watched.There was a little commotion at first, but a purple-haired boy said something in a low voice, and the students kept quiet.

Because that person was beautiful, Masami Nagasawa couldn't help but look at it twice, and her cheeks turned red again.

----

Small theater: Yami pulled out the wooden hairpin, and her black hair slid down. The younger junior sister turned her head and flicked her hair, showing a perfect smile: "Using Rejoice, you are so confident."

The author has something to say: Appearance: Four 10-minute short film "She fell in love with the craftsman", the heroine is very beautiful.

Today I wrote on the train all day... I often disconnected from the Internet, so it was difficult to check the information... Stupid Azawa is the upper berth of the train, because the person is too long, he can't fold himself well and stuff it in, so he sits hanging on the luggage rack It took a long time to turn up...it was very good, but then I couldn't help but want to go to the bathroom, so I came down again...

I even forgot my campus card and bus card at home...

Stop talking, want to commit suicide.

----

In addition, outside the nickname, the character is named.

Then, do you still remember the two little girls who took medicine in the hospital before? Although there were not many scenes, they were also recruited.

The following characters mainly appear at the beginning and end of the article or in memories:

Today's junior sister counts as one (Nagasawa XX)

The heroine's mother (Nagasawa XX), father (French)

Owner (Nagasawa XX)

And in the Xiangdao family, there is a little girl who has a little competitive relationship with the heroine, with a knife mouth and a bean curd heart.I won't portray her as a "villain" like a face, don't worry, although there are not many scenes... (different surname!!)

When it's over, I want to go to the toilet again... I don't want to get out of bed... Good night. (I sent it quickly while there was a signal.)

☆, signs

Your soul is a psychedelic landscape,

Comedians in mottled clothes parade there.

They sang and danced—after all,

The frowning heart cannot be concealed under the colorful dress.

— Paul Verlaine

The incense way that Masami practiced belongs to the Aikawa style, which originated from the Shino style in the Muromachi period.

Whenever we talk about the history of incense, it is the classic allusion of "the fragrance of wood". After that, under the promotion of noble scholars Sanjo Nishishitaka and Shino Munenobu, incense became one of the three ways of Muromachi Higashiyama culture. (The other two are tea ceremony and flower ceremony. The three are collectively called the art course, and the incense course is the flower of the art course)

The Goya-ryu and Shino-ryu established by these two people are the originators of the Japanese incense school.One is the aristocratic school, and the other is the samurai school.

"Eh, samurai school? Then... Masami-chan, do you know kung fu? Uh, no, Japanese... Ninjutsu?" Mary couldn't help but Wada Qiao pulled her from behind.

"Mary! Don't interrupt others all the time, it's rude!"

"It's okay." Yami shook her head with a smile, "It is said that because of the philosophy that was followed when it was established, my ancestors needed to practice martial arts—some even have higher martial arts attainments than Xiangdao."

Hearing about practicing martial arts, the eyes of the teenagers around seemed to light up. There was a slight commotion, but they calmed down quickly.

Seeing that they were quiet, Yami resumed talking.There was a rare gleam of confidence in his smiling eyes.

"Now our generations, although we don't need to practice martial arts, we still have to do basic body training." For example, we have been hiking for decades.

In the last years of Muromachi, wars broke out everywhere.

During the migration process, the Nagasawa lineage had disagreements with the Shino tribe, stayed in the Kyoto Basin, and changed its name to "Aichuan", which means "the mountains and rivers are united, and the world is peaceful."

Hechuanliu even launched the slogan of "determining the world with martial arts, and calming the hearts of people with fragrance".But the giant wheel of history will never stop turning. After the advent of the Edo period, the Nagasawa family faced the catastrophe of genocide.

But another branch of Shino-ryu, Yonekawa-ryu, has since been lost in the long river of history.

After many twists and turns, Hechuanliu finally took root here and has lived here for more than a hundred years.

……

"Okay... so cool..." Mary opened her eyes wide, and her silly look was very cute.

"That's the end of the story. Thank you for your kindness." Yami stood up and leaned slightly towards the students around her.But seeing everyone's faces still full of interest, Yamei pointed to another place helplessly.

"The evolution of the Hechuan style is recorded in the classics and history observation room. If you are interested, you can go there to learn about it." She called the junior brother on the side and asked a few words. Follow them past.

"Ah, we are the ones. Thank you for your explanation." A girl waved her hand excitedly, and Yami smiled back.

"It's my job, and it's my honor..."

While watching them leave, Yami noticed the boy from before, because his purple hair was really conspicuous.Seeing him walking towards another wing with a calm face, it seems that he is not very interested in Xiangdao.

Yamei couldn't help sighing, thinking that she had seen so many beautiful young people who came up the mountain to visit, but not many of them really liked incense, it's a pity.

When the crowd had almost dispersed, Yami slowly turned her head to look at Mary and the others.

Yami pursed her lips into a smile, stood up slowly, and smoothed out some wrinkles on her clothes. "Master has a performance today, do you want to watch it?"

"Eh? Really? Master Nagasawa?" Before Mary could speak, Wada Qiao stood up with a shock on his face.

"You kid, it's scary to be like this all of a sudden—"

Mary pouted and complained a few words, but saw Wada Qiao looking at her with a strange look.

"What... what's wrong?"

"I was just thinking..." He Tianqiao clicked his tongue a few times, "Why do you find the master so lucky every time! You can also let the master show you—"

Mary was stunned for two seconds, and then acted like a good boy, "Probably... because I'm so cute?" She said this with an innocent look on her face, obviously teasing him.

"You guys really dare to say..."

Yami shook her head helplessly, and led the two of them to the backyard.

It is said to be the backyard, but it is actually half a hill away.The Nagasawa family has occupied this mountain for so many years, long before the country promulgated the corresponding mountain forest law, and it has long been impossible to verify whether the method is legal, so this land has been left.The roads are all paved with gravel, and the deeper you go, the less people walk.

Yamei took Mary and Wada Qiao, and quietly listened to the two talking and laughing, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two, but they walked quickly.

But she didn't know that shortly after they left, another group of people set foot on the road to the backyard.

----

There is a sea of ​​bamboo on the way, but it becomes sparse when approaching the incense room, and the large sandy soil scene in front of it seems a bit abrupt to outsiders.

Large pieces of sand and stones are stacked and arranged according to specific meanings, and even the layers of grain in the sand sea are meticulously divided. The incense room is a simple wooden house not far away, one sand and one world, all of which reflect With the most original Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetics.

It is rumored that the ancient saints often used this method to enlighten themselves, looking at these sand seas, sitting for a whole day.

Masami signaled the two to wait under the steps, while she knelt down beside the shoji to report in a low voice.

Soon, she led the two into the incense room.The interior furnishings look very simple. Dozens of tatami mats are laid out according to certain specifications, and the incense niches and incense sheds in the room are arranged in an orderly manner.Patriarch Zeming of this generation sat in the middle, saw the door opened, turned around to salute, his every move had the demeanor of a warrior.

After a few pleasantries, Yami stepped forward to ask when the incense meeting would start, but the master shook his head and smiled.

"No hurry, there are still guests not coming."

Yamei had some doubts in her heart, but the master continued to say without waiting for her to ask, "Go down and get ready. You will write today."

"Eh? Me?" Yami looked shocked, but then she was eager to try again, "I... can I?"

Her eyes were widened due to excitement, and the blue eyes seemed to be splashed with waves, jumping for joy. In Mary's view, it was different from the precocious little girl who was so calm and composed just now.

There is no other reason. In an ordinary incense meeting, the only thing left to appreciate incense is to smell it.

Under normal circumstances, after the incense master completes the pre-order work, he passes the small incense burner down, and the guests pass it on to each other.In front of everyone is a piece of incense stick, pen and ink.The guests need to write down their feelings about the fleeting fragrance on paper.

Finally, the "writer" will transcribe one by one, and finally she will choose the best sentiment, and present the record of the entire incense meeting to that person as a reward.

Therefore, the person who holds the position of writing is often a person with high literary quality and good calligraphy.Most of the time, a person of high morals and prestige will be chosen to write, which is also a kind of respect for the guests attending the incense meeting.

Thinking of this, Masami hesitated again.

"Today... there will be other guests coming..." Although she didn't know who the invitations were sent to, the master and senior brothers were already making preparations.

The master still sat there motionless, quietly listening to Yamei's worry, and suddenly let out a drink.

"Yami!"

"Yes!" She subconsciously straightened her back, and turned back in a spirited manner. Although she was still wearing a kimono, she yelled out the smell of the training ground, and the two people around said they were taken aback.

"Have a little confidence in yourself." Nagasawa glanced at her, seeing the unconcealable joy on her face, he laughed and felt a little frustrated in his heart.Not to mention the other little apprentices, I'm afraid even Yamei herself doesn't know that her love for books is far more than that of Xiangdao - but he has always been watching.

Yami, who was instructed, went down to prepare in a timely manner. Since she was going to write a pen at the incense meeting, it seemed a bit impolite for her to wear a naked body.

Correspondingly, I finally chose Colorless Land, which is convenient for writing and walking.The white fabric looks simple yet elegant, and the dark patterns embroidered with special techniques are looming in the light and shadow, revealing some light pink luster.

The family pattern on the shoulders and back shows the three-pattern grade of the clothes.Not only do you need to wear different styles of kimonos for different occasions, but you also need to pay attention to the quality of the clothes reflected in the number of family crests.Yami has always been unsure about the grade, so she hesitated before going to the incense room again.

This is her most expensive kimono... It's not rude to wear it for the first time in her life.

And when she pushed the shoji away again, she felt a little glad that she had changed her clothes—that purple-haired boy was there too...

It turned out that today's guests are representatives of incense experience from various schools.

She saw the man look up at her, with a smile like a spring breeze on his face, and his eyes briefly met, but the man didn't seem to feel anything, as if he was just admiring a folk custom.Instead of seeing a girl.

Yamei felt a little indescribably disappointed, but she also wondered what happened to her today, as if she cared about that person very much.

Strange, strange boy, strange self.

But incense is an art that needs to be appreciated without distracting thoughts, so Yamei quickly put away her little thoughts and devoted herself to it.

As mentioned above, the so-called incense performance at the incense meeting is actually limited to smelling incense.

After the official start, the master first showed his equipment in order. The process, including picking and placing items, strictly followed the fixed process and movements. Every move contained the shadow of "combining hardness and softness" in martial arts .

The master didn't open his mouth, but silently did what he was doing.Following his movements, Yami slowly narrated from the side. In the quiet room in the early morning, the girl's slightly deep voice was like a gurgling spring.

The master piled all the incense ash into the incense burner, and tried it with chopsticks. Masami smiled slightly and was about to continue explaining. Suddenly, the whole world seemed to change.

The master was still going on, and the students below watched carefully. Someone looked over curiously because her explanation suddenly stopped, but seeing her calm expression dispelled her doubts.

But at this moment, Yami was already in a cold sweat—she was dizzy just now, and now it was as if her soul had been pulled away. She could perceive everything that was going on, but she couldn't express her feelings— —

She even saw herself sitting upright, frowning as if thinking about what to say...

finished...

She looked around in a panic, but the dizziness hit again, and she suddenly returned to her body. If it wasn't for her extraordinary concentration, she would almost scream out.

...In short, let's finish this incense meeting first...

The author has something to say: I have corrected some intellectual errors about wabi-sabi aesthetics and kimonos in the article.

For those who haven't seen the previous version, don't worry.

I've seen it and I'll explain it here,

1. For the part of the sandy landscape, I am not sure whether the previous version is wrong. I have revised it to be on the safe side.

2. For the kimono part, I wrote about a black Komon kimono with a chrysanthemum pattern embroidered with gold thread on the edge of the hem. I have to say... I stepped on many mines in one breath.

First of all, the black shai is not suitable for young girls, usually married women/attend funerals.

Secondly, Komon kimonos are printed all over the body.

Furthermore, the pattern of the chrysanthemum is not suitable for everyone, after all, it is a symbol of the royal family...I don’t know if it can be used now, but it’s better to avoid it anyway.

☆, disappeared again

Although that feeling was only for a moment, it was enough to make one's hair stand on end.In the following time, her mind went blank, and she was just doing things based on instinct. Although the abnormal state made it impossible for laymen to find anything wrong, Master secretly glanced at her several times.

... more and more flustered.

After the master smelled it, he handed the incense burner to her. She managed to calm down, and demonstrated to everyone again, yin and yang circled, and the tiger's mouth covered three sniffs. Finally, after handing the incense burner to the person sitting next to her, she almost let go tone.

But obviously this feeling did not intend to let her go.

When copying the notes, my hands trembled several times and I almost made a mistake.Fortunately, she has good basic skills, and she didn't make any major mistakes in the end.In the end, the transcript was given as a prize to a young man she didn't know. She couldn't remember exactly what that man looked like, but when she thought about it later, she always felt a little sorry for others.

As the sun sets, the number of tourists gradually disappears.During dinner, Master called her into the room to talk.

There was an incandescent lamp on in the room, and the cicadas were constantly singing outside, and a small window in the corner of the room made her feel a little cold.But in the end, Master just briefly summarized today's work and kept silent about her mistakes, which made her feel even more guilty.

She walked alone in the corridor, looking at the dim yellow light from the lantern hanging on the eaves, secretly vowed that she would definitely do better next time than now—if she had the next chance.

But who knows, this is just the beginning.

In the morning class three days later, when everyone was listening intently, she suddenly threw her head on the table. Although she woke up quickly, everyone in the room noticed her impoliteness.Everyone thought she was not getting enough sleep, so Master drove her out, and everyone continued their morning reading indoors.And she stood on the plum blossom pile until the end of the morning class.

Even on the way to school, the teachers and sisters made fun of her about it.

Physical education class at school in a few days.The weather was clear and cloudless.She was walking on the playground well, but suddenly her feet seemed to be filled with lead, and she couldn't take a step.

I don't know if it was a coincidence or what, a ball suddenly flew in the volleyball court, and the volleyball was getting closer and closer.She could only stand there blankly.

It's like slow motion in a movie... The pattern on the volleyball is getting clearer and clearer, and even the mud spots on it can be seen gradually...

Before losing consciousness, she heard someone shouting——

"Is she crazy? Can't hide?"

—Actually...I also want to...hide.

----

She seemed to be awake, but she didn't seem to be awake.

She could hear someone talking next to her, but she couldn't open her eyes.There were bursts of cracking sounds in her ears, like something was being pumped, occasionally mixed with one or two voices reporting numbers. After listening vaguely for a long time, she realized that this might not be a place she was familiar with.

The numbers reported the score, and the game was tennis that she only watched from a distance outside the playground. This was something she didn't realize until a long time later.

She seemed to be in an endless dark world, tried to open her eyes, but couldn't see anything.Endless voices sounded staggered, like rock music whose volume was gradually turned up. At first, it felt novel, but soon it became an overwhelming panic.

It's like there are countless flying insects, bit by bit eating away all my hearing world.She wanted to run, she wanted to scream, she wanted to do whatever it took to banish the sounds that crept in through every crack—but to no avail.

It's like something deep in my memory, but I can't remember it anyway.

Suddenly, the class bell rang, and all sounds stopped abruptly.She opened her eyes and saw the snow-white ceiling of the infirmary, and heard the greetings from the school doctor. Knowing that she had only been in a coma for more than ten minutes, she felt a deep sense of unreality.

As the number of times gradually increased, the darkness receded, slowly revealing the most real appearance of that world—then she saw that somewhat familiar figure, purple-blue hair, and a handsome face. She didn't even need to spend much effort to remember up.

...But he seems to be a little different from the one I saw before, more and more restless... tired... restless... Although the change is small, it is not impossible to feel it.Yami is sometimes awake and sometimes sleepy, and is forced to stay by his side all day long, watching his stubborn appearance, the uneasiness hidden in her heart has gradually calmed down.

If you come, you will be at peace... If only you... could help him.

In the dark room, the moonlight shines on the stairs through the skylight, reflecting a cross on the window frame, which looks like some kind of mysterious sacrifice.

The young man carefully held on to the handrail, stepped up step by step, then gradually let go, and fell down suddenly.But he grabbed the armrest and slowly got up to repeat the exercise just now.He lowered his head, and his broken hair was hanging on the side of his cheek, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.

There was a slight sound of bare feet stepping on the wooden floor, but it sounded like a curse to Masami.

"Yukimura-kun..." she murmured, her voice melted into the moonlight, and she didn't know if anyone heard her.

----

Yukimura Seiichi was woken up by his mother.

The morning in the hospital smelled of disinfectant, not strong, but lingering.

"I'm afraid you're not used to the things in the hospital. Someone happened to be changing shifts with me today, so I made some breakfast for you—you hurry up and wash up, and I'll clean it up for you." Mother put the thermos on the bed Yukimura Seiichi woke up helplessly from his sleep, and was urged by his mother to go into the bathroom.

"Mom..." He called out helplessly.Get up resignedly.

When he reached the door, he subconsciously paused.White walls, blue curtains, the whole room is clean and tidy. As soon as his mother opened the curtains, sunlight leaked in like water. He saw a long shadow on the wall, with a clear contrast between black and white.

"What's the matter?" Mother turned her head and saw that he was still standing at the door, and couldn't help asking.Seeing him staring at the window, she glanced at the curtain in her hand, "Is the light too harsh?"

"Ah, it's nothing." Yukimura smiled and opened the bathroom door.

He turned on the faucet and poured a few handfuls of water on his face, the cold touch made him wake up quickly.When he looked up again, the person in the mirror had disheveled hair and a tired face.The hair on the forehead that was wet with water was tightly attached to the cheek, and water droplets flowed from the hair and slid across the cheek, some just dripped, and some slid all the way down the neck.

Instead, a pair of purple eyes stared closely at the person outside the mirror, revealing a determination different from the aura around him.

He picked up the toothbrush expressionlessly and squeezed the toothpaste.

Mother is lying.

Any shift change is just an excuse to worry about it.

So...was what happened last night true?No matter how real the feeling at that time was, once it became a memory, the situation of things would seem to change in the direction of my subconscious hope.

The incandescent lamp above the head is extraordinarily bright in the small room, and Yukimura can even feel a little heat coming from the top of his head after standing for a long time.With his toothbrush in his mouth, he turned on the switch of the Yuba next to him with one hand.

Two beams of light sources from different places expand the range of the shadow, but the main shadow is much lighter.

He walked inside in disbelief, drew the curtain, and stood beside the fish tank.Yuba's strong light made the shadow as black as thick ink - but still nothing happened.

There is no girl who pops up out of nowhere, no one who can only stand on the shadow—ah, there is no one who can only stand on the shadow, but in fact, he can only exist in the dark...

He recalled the first scene, and the tips of his ears couldn't help turning red, but he suppressed the embarrassment randomly.But he couldn't help but turn off the two switches.

There were two "pops", and both light sources were cut off.But still nothing happens.

...I really just had a somewhat real dream...

"Jingshi, are you alright? Why is the toilet light off? Is it broken?"

"Oh, no, I accidentally pressed it." He replied, and his mother didn't ask him again.

----

"Jingshi, don't stand by the window sill, you'll catch a cold if the window is open." My mother always has various reasons to visit him recently, and to send a meal along the way.

"It's okay—I'm just watering the flowers." He held a pot of water in his hand, and put the cornflower bonsai and the green radishes sent by Sanada two days ago.

The color of cornflower is purple and blue, which is very beautiful-but it is not as attractive as the cluster of green radishes on the balcony-presumably every room has these, after all, it is a symbol of tenacious life.

But there seemed to be some people who were not interested in it at all. The balconies were dry and yellow, and there were even empty window sills. After a few days, the green radishes in Yukimura Seiki City grew the best.

----

Today is the fourth day of hospitalization, and also the fourth day after that supernatural event——

It was rare for my mother to find an excuse to ask for leave, so she didn't come in the end, and could only eat the breakfast provided by the hospital.As a result, he also took the opportunity to propose the idea of ​​letting family members visit less.

The mother was silent on the other end of the phone and did not answer for a long time.

The water flow hits the leaves, and then condenses together, flowing