[To Carol

You must have waited a long time.

I won’t apologize. It’s not my fault. But I should thank you. I’ve never waited for something eagerly or desperately, but I’m not completely unfamiliar with the endless uncertainty.

So thank you for sending me letters through that emotion and for waiting.

Sincerely.

So, truly sincerely.

As I said before, as you guessed, I was sick for a long time. It wasn’t that serious, but I couldn’t read letters.

If it were any other text, I would have asked someone else to read it for me, but since it was from you, I couldn’t do that. I just stared at the envelope, unable to do anything.

Imagine how painful it was!

Even with glasses on, my vision was blurry, and I could hardly recognize even a small signature engraved on a print, let alone sentences. I ate soft bread and slowly simmered vegetable soup until I was sick of them.

Of course, I also drank tea brewed with the flower petals you gave me.

I’m writing this letter just as I’ve gained strength from drinking that tea. Before that, I had to struggle a bit to send Rosette away.

Oh, I didn’t tell you about that.

Rosette came to visit often. Grandfather seemed displeased about leaving me alone while I was sick, so he welcomed her very much.

Between your four letters, the rain has stopped. The sunshine is hot enough to tickle the crown of my head. Grandfather said he would continue to nurse me, but I insisted that he go out according to his original schedule.

Even one person cooped up in the house is too many.

Being sick isn’t something new. Above all, having one person constantly by my side can be suffocating. Not that I’m not bored, but having Grandfather around doesn’t make it—any less tedious.

During this time, Rosette dropped by occasionally. Almost ‘every day,’ one might say. When you’re sick, your sense of dates becomes blurry, but she came almost every other day. She must have come at least three times a week, I think?

I don’t know why she’s doing this, but Grandfather was very pleased about it. In Grandfather’s eyes, Rosette is a kind-hearted child who has frequently visited his sick granddaughter since childhood.

Completely forgetting that Rosette is a devoted follower of Aila.

I don’t dislike her visits. Lying in bed all day is monotonous and stifling. Rosette is very cheerful, and she’s also a girl I quite like.

Here, ‘like’ literally means I have a good impression of her.

Well, there probably isn’t anyone on Iota who doesn’t like Rosette.

She brings textbooks to teach me, or picks any book from our library to read. She tells me about what’s happening on the island, and sometimes she rambles about her lover—Bash.

I don’t understand her feelings.

Sometimes she seems to not care about me at all, then suddenly she takes care of me. She says mean things but then rubs her forehead against my shoulder as if she never did.

Rosette says I get bored easily and am capricious, but I don’t understand what she’s trying to do.

Why does she act so ambiguously only toward me when she’s a mature and cheerful friend to other children? What do you think?

Ah, I’ll pass on questions like ‘Maybe she likes you in THAT way?’

She kissed Bash while looking straight at me. If she liked me, how could she do that? Think about it carefully and let me know your opinion.

September 1st

Sent by Asha]

[To Asha, more stubborn than the ancient trees of Kasoche

Do you know?

The trees surrounding our village are all very old, at least a hundred years old. Having survived in the harsh mountains by necessity, they don’t budge even in blizzards. The layers of trees also serve as Kasoche’s precious guards.

Sometimes when a new child is born, we plant a young tree to commemorate it, but that’s literally very ‘occasionally.’

What do I mean all of a sudden?

That your determination and stubbornness are stronger than the tall trees visible from my room window! My goodness, Asha. I’m curious about why you’re so certain, but first, let me point out one thing.

Rosette looked at you while kissing? You didn’t say that.

You said you happened to witness the two of them kissing, but you didn’t say her gaze was directed at you!

Why on earth did you omit this? Asha, this is really important. Since ancient times, people have divined a person’s heart by the direction of their eyes and hands.

It’s not uncommon for someone with a lover to have feelings for someone else. Why else would so many plays sing of tragic love?

Of course, I’m not telling you to drink poison and lament reality. Much less to jump into the whirlpool of blind love.

But, Asha.

Oh, yes. I’m a bit excited. I admit I’m excited.

This flying handwriting! I finished penmanship corrections long ago. This makes me no different from a child trying to finish homework as quickly as possible to roll in the snow.

I am, while not an avid reader, someone who knows the joy of fantastical stories. As I’ve said several times, Kasoche is a monotonous village, and I know dozens of ways to kill time.

Knitting or embroidery, games you can play with your eyes, climbing trees, how to scale the mansion without equipment……

Among those many options is ‘reading.’ I usually indulge in art books, but I occasionally read romance novels too. Grandmother and Dad enjoyed them back in the day, and there are enough to soothe my boredom.

Anyway, those novels always deal with it.

Unrequited love!

Of course, since I didn’t see Rosette’s expression directly, I can’t assert anything either. But Asha, isn’t her capricious attitude a ploy to get your attention?

If she really disliked you, would she bother visiting and acting friendly? Unless she’s mentally destitute enough to need that. Craving the attention of someone you dislike—ugh! I can’t even imagine it.

It would make me vomit today’s soup.

Anyway, it’s best to keep as many possibilities open as possible in human relationships. You never know what might happen in life.

Like Miss Aila who married a wealthy man she met at a resort.

The experience of betrayal still makes my mouth bitter, but it no longer feels like spitting ice picks down my throat every time I think about it. Not anymore.

Thanks to you, Asha. I’m always grateful for this part.

So my opinion about ‘Rosette’ stems purely from my heart that cherishes? values? treasures you. I can swear to that.

While I can’t fully know Rosette’s inner thoughts, surely receiving complete affection from someone would make each day joyful. Such affection is hard to receive even from the person who gave birth to you.

Anyway, it seems like you should carefully observe Rosette’s true feelings. Not many people can ignore a gaze filled with sincerity.

It’s important what a person says, but pay attention to how they treat you. They might carefully craft their expressions, but may not be able to hide the trembling of their throat or hand movements.

I’m glad to receive your reply again.

When the envelope flew through the air, you don’t know how relieved I was. Although it left a faint mark on my forehead.

I was about to ride a horse around the area, but as soon as I received the letter, I went straight home. The stable keeper grumbled about why I had him prepare the saddle if I was going to return so soon, but I didn’t feel bad about it.

I had been wondering what it would contain until the day before, but holding the reply, I couldn’t make any guesses.

More precisely, any guess was useless. Because the only correct answer was in my hand.

Did the flower petals I gave you help your recovery even a little? If so, I could pick flowers wedged between rocks many times over. It’s not that difficult, you see.

The moon was really big today.

By the time you receive this letter, the date will have already passed, but I still wanted to tell you. It was big enough to make your eyes widen.

The moon hanging behind the tallest tree was surreal, like a misshapen hole. If you enjoy looking at the night sky, you would know how big and bright today’s moon was without my explanation.

No poet could perfectly describe this scenery.

Sincerely celebrating your return, Carol]

[To Carol

The enormously big moon, I saw it too. I’ve been looking at the sky more frequently these days.

There’s no special reason. Just, I think my observation skills need to improve if I want to transcribe what I see. The sea I see every day, similar weather, actions that don’t differ from yesterday.