“There, there. It’s okay, it’s okay…”
I say this while continuously rubbing her back.
I think it’s clear whose back it is.
She was sitting huddled over the toilet, closing her eyes and staying still, then occasionally convulsing her back and expelling various things from her body.
Her profile was as beautiful as a doll’s.
The tears she shed were like pearls, and combined with her reddened cheeks, one might feel an erotic atmosphere, but to me, she was just a sick person, a weakened woman who kept vomiting while emanating a stale smell.
I had planned to take her to the hospital today.
I sigh while looking at the weakened woman’s profile.
It’s still 4 a.m.
She might recover from now on, but it might be better not to move her. Or should I consider calling an ambulance?
I try to calm my confused mind by taking a deep breath and exhaling.
Yeah, it smells.
I press the button to refresh the toilet bowl.
“Should I call an ambulance?”
Rokugou Roku weakly shakes her head in response.
“Your family?”
There’s a brief pause, then she shakes her head sideways.
“Living alone?”
Another pause, and then she nods once. Then, yellow stuff is expelled from her body.
Her stomach must be empty by now.
I clean her mouth with tap water in a cup and then give her an oral rehydration solution made with salt and sugar to hydrate her.
Her forehead, which I briefly touched, was burning hot.
After she calmed down, I moved her back to the bed.
I was busy preparing a basin and making her drink water, and by the time Rokugou Roku quietly fell asleep, it was already bright outside.
—
The next day, I finally managed to take Rokugou Roku to the hospital.
The doctor coldly dismissed it as just a cold.
After feeding her rice porridge, I gave her the prescribed antibiotics with hot water.
I watch as she swallows, her throat moving with a gulp.
Is this some kind of joke?
Why am I taking care of a woman I barely know for days?
The question that has crossed my mind several times surfaces.
I ruffle my hair roughly as if to erase it.
I do think it’s troublesome.
But what can I do?
Rokugou Roku didn’t catch a cold on purpose.
Apologizing countless times, Rokugou Roku, who finished her medicine, lay down on the bed with slow movements and soon started to breathe softly in sleep.
I wash the used dishes as quietly as possible and tidy up the room.
Having finished what I needed to do, I had some free time, so I read a book and searched for my next job. Gradually, the day began to darken.
Weak sunlight stretched long over the bed through the gap in the curtains.
Seeing Rokugou Roku’s face frown in the bright light, I closed the curtains properly.
Approaching the bed, I touch her forehead to gauge her temperature.
It had calmed down quite a bit, but her body temperature was still high.
Then, I felt a breath on my wrist, and her eyelids lifted in front of me.
Her gaze wandered and then slowly focused on my face.
“…Matsubashita-san.”
“You can call me Saki, it’s easier.”
She coughs and then corrects herself, “Saki-san.”
“I’m sorry for taking up the bed.”
“It’s fine. Use it until you’re better.”
I let her repeated apologies slide and observe Rokugou Roku’s expression.
Her eyes are still heavy, indicating that her body is still feeling unwell.
“Need water?”
I hold up a purchased bottle of water.
She nods slightly, so I pour it into a cup and let her drink.
When I ask if she wants food, she shakes her head, so I encourage her to sleep and cover her with a blanket.
I pat her stomach gently and gaze at Rokugou Roku’s face, now with her eyes closed.
No matter how many times I see it, I think she’s beautiful.
Her disheveled hair sticking to her forehead and her slightly parted lips are all so well-proportioned that they seem like they could be photographed from any angle.
The room grows darker, and I feel a bit sleepy.
I haven’t slept properly in the past two days.
Lacking the energy to stand up, I rest my upper body on the bed and close my eyes.
—
I woke up to the sensation of my hair being gently stroked.
Light leaked from the bottom of the curtains, and I realized that dawn had broken.
I lifted my head, and a finger crossed in front of me and then moved away.
Realizing that my head had been stroked, I felt a bit embarrassed and looked down.
“…How do you feel?”
“Much better. I think I’ll be fine in a day or two.”
Her voice had regained its strength, so I felt relieved for the moment.
I picked up the nearby bottle of water and offered it to her, but she gently shook her head to refuse.
Looking at it, I noticed that the contents had significantly decreased compared to yesterday.
I realized she must have woken up and drunk on her own while I was asleep.
“I actually knew.”
Rokugou Roku spoke quietly, still looking up at the ceiling.
“I’ve always had a weak body, and as a child, I would catch a cold easily just by getting wet in the rain. So I’m sensitive to my own condition, and I felt something was off from the morning of the last day of my part-time job, and I knew I would probably have a fever the next day.”
The blanket touching her cheek shook, and I felt Rokugou Roku’s movement.
Her hand, which seemed uncomfortable, gripped the nearby sheet tightly.
“But when I thought I might not see Saki-san again if I missed that day, I couldn’t help it. In the end, I pushed myself too hard, and this is the result.”
She covered her face with her arms and said, “I’m sorry.”
A moment of silence passed. I thought about what to do and then slowly stood up.
Turning my back to Rokugou Roku, I headed to the kitchen, peeked into the vegetable drawer, and nodded.
“Hey. Want some rice porridge?”
“…Yes, please.”
I heard a hoarse reply from behind, so I took out some slightly wilted vegetables from the fridge and chopped them into small pieces.
I cooked the frozen rice and chopped vegetables together, and finally, I poured in a beaten egg.
After checking the taste, I served it in a bowl and brought it to the bed.
I handed her a spoon and sat down on the floor with my own portion, using the bed as a backrest.
Steam rose from the bowls.
She blew on the piping hot porridge to cool it down and then took small sips.
I heard the sound of sniffing and then blowing and chewing from behind. For a while, only the sounds we made echoed in the room.
—
The next day, when Rokugou Roku had recovered enough to walk with steady steps, I sent her to the bathroom and washed all the sheets at a nearby laundromat.
After all, humans are just animals, and no matter how good they look, they smell normal and have hygiene concerns if they don’t bathe for four days. So I persuaded her, who insisted on doing it herself, and chose to clean her and the bedding at the same time.
I looked satisfied at the sheets covered in a large amount of foam, making loud noises.
I quite like cleaning. A clean room clears my mind, and above all, it feels good.
When I returned home, Rokugou Roku, fresh from the bath, looked at me with an eager expression.
Her face, furrowed between the eyebrows, clearly showed dissatisfaction, and I couldn’t help but smile at her reaction.
“It suits you.”
Rokugou Roku, dressed in an orange, flashy sweatshirt.
The length was long, so she had folded the fabric several times at the ankles and wrists.
Since it was a sweatshirt I bought for 1,000 yen at a discount store, she couldn’t complain and had tied the waist string tightly to prevent it from slipping.
Such mischief should be forgiven.
I thought it was strange that when she wore the sweatshirt, which seemed unwearable by anyone else, it somehow looked good on her.
“Shall I make more rice porridge?”
“I’ll help.”
As Rokugou Roku tried to stand in the kitchen, rolling up her loose sleeves, I gestured with my hand for her to go to the bed.
“I’m fine now.”
“Just to be safe. It’ll be troublesome for me if you relapse.”
Unable to argue against my words, Rokugou Roku—now called Serina—reluctantly heads towards the sofa bed I had been using.
As usual, I take out ingredients from the fridge, place them on the cutting board, and start chopping them finely with a knife. The sound of chopping echoes in the room, harmonizing with the bubbling sound of boiling water.
“Saki-san.”
Called, I look up. Serina smiles and says, “It smells nice,” before bringing the blanket up to her mouth and curling up into a ball. Her gesture makes me feel like I’m taking care of a pet, and my cheeks relax slightly.
It’s not bad.
I watch Serina, who is waiting for the meal I’m preparing with an empty stomach. The clinking of dishes and the bubbling sound of cooking continue to echo. After a while, I call out to her.
“Serina, please clear the table.”
“Ah, yes.”
She throws off the blanket and quickly gets up, starting to tidy up the table.
I serve a generous portion of the rice porridge into a bowl and place it on the now clean table. It’s a seafood rice porridge with shrimp and scallops. It’s just vegetables and a frozen seafood mix, but it turns out quite delicious.
I tell Serina to go ahead and start eating, and I also pick up my chopsticks for my portion. Watching her eat with gusto, I somehow feel a sense of tranquility, which in turn amuses me.
We eat our fill, chat a bit, and clean up the dishes together. Time passes by like that.
