PAGE 6. The Unlucky Errand Boy

When the harsh sunlight began to soften, one particular gaze following a certain person was exceptionally intense.

Two boys who were among the older ones in the group but still had plump baby fat remaining on their faces stared diagonally ahead and whispered quietly.

“Should I ask now?”

“Yeah.”

“No, should I ask when we leave?”

“Ask now.”

“What should I say?”

“Start with what you want.”

“Ah, but we’ve never even had a proper conversation.”

One boy interlocked his fingers and stamped his feet restlessly. At the end of his furtive glances was a girl with long teal hair flowing down.

Her hair, tied low, was decorated with a white ribbon as always. The man who had been persistently staring at that ribbon, at the wavy flowing hair, muttered as if entranced.

“It really suits her.”

“You think so? In terms of prettiness, Rosette is prettier though.”

“Well, that’s true, but……”

The prettiest girl on the island.

Rosette, who would become an adult in a year, was still unanimously considered the prettiest girl on Iota. Her slender, stretched limbs had matured firmly like an adult’s, and her violet hair burned both gently and passionately.

Confident, refreshing, and kind.

There was no one on this island who hated her.

But to the man who kept stealing glances at the teal back of the head, Rosette was merely a wave to overcome and a troublesome obstacle.

“Hurry up and go. She’s rarely alone.”

“That’s true.”

An immature hand swept across his dry face.

The girl he liked was the quietest and most reserved student in school, but there were always one or two people hanging around her.

Rosette, or…

“But isn’t she dating him?”

“No. ……She said no.”

“Who said that?”

“I heard it directly from Lucio’s mouth. That it’s not true.”

The fingers that had been fidgeting without being able to say a word curled up. Tension appeared on his face as he watched the other’s movements.

The outsider who came to attend school in the same year as Asha had won the favor of most of the island girls within just a few days.

Unlike the island men, his pale white skin, gentle speech, and subtly playful attitude enhanced his charm.

They all have no eye for men, the boy thought, pursing his lips while his eyes trembled unsteadily.

The place where that ‘pale and sickly’ guy stayed was Asha’s house, and they were often seen hanging out together outside of school.

While the boy in love agonized, his friend nudged his ribs and urged him on.

“Hurry up and say it. What if she doesn’t come to school tomorrow?”

“That’s true, but.”

“The next composition class is next week.”

“I know that too.”

Asha’s paper-thin body had been well known since childhood. The boy recalled Aila, who was exceptionally lively and eye-catching, and her younger sister who rarely came out of the house.

Until then, she had been nothing more than a stranger whose face he had seen only a few times while living on the island. Until Rosette took Asha’s hand and threw open the classroom door.

‘Please take care of me from now on.’

A bowed head. Round glasses. Ice-white skin and a gentle tone.

Asha, who easily fell ill, often missed school. As the years passed, the frequency decreased, but a few months ago she had been absent for as many as ten days.

The class she never missed was composition. If you had even the slightest interest in Asha, you would notice this fact within a month.

Asha, who was absent once every week or ten days and left early once or twice a week, always stayed until the end of composition class.

Never missing it even once.

The man recalled the white back of her hand scribbling with a pen on white paper and made up his mind. Only now. Only now.

“Alright, I’ll say it.”

“Yeah. Please.”

Want to come play at my house? Shall we go look at the sea together?

The tactless boy repeated the obvious but harder-to-say sentence than a hundred other words as he stepped forward.

That’s when it happened.

“Asha!”

A fresh breeze carrying a faint salty scent brushed past the boy. The hurried steps showed no hesitation unlike the boy’s.

The motion of embracing her narrow shoulders was the same. Rosette, who naturally wrapped her arm around Asha’s shoulder as if hugging her, picked up Asha’s bag and said lightly.

“You haven’t left yet. Want to go to the sea together?”

“No. I’m not feeling well.”

“Are you very dizzy? Should I support you?”

The latter words weren’t from Rosette. The man who had been leaning against the front door of the classroom had somehow approached slowly, raising his eyebrows.

His unhesitating manner was too vigorous for someone who had supposedly come to Iota for ‘recuperation.’

Surrounded by the tall shadows, Asha didn’t notice the gaze from behind at all as she stood up from her seat.

“It’s not that bad. You two go ahead. I’ll go straight home.”

The bag Rosette had been holding returned to Asha’s hands.

“Aw, how can you do that? We can go together. Right, Rosette?”

“Yeah, that would work. Let’s go quickly.”

The two notably tall people on the island shortened their strides to match Asha’s faltering steps. The boys who had been making all sorts of fuss just moments ago watched the scene blankly with their mouths tightly shut.

Then, the head of the woman who had lightly taken Asha’s hand turned slightly. Her cool purple eyes turned toward the man who had been hesitating behind them.

A momentary glance.

But the target clearly noticed. The face of the boy in love was colored with disappointment, and his friend beside him shook his head as if disgusted.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time Rosette had done this.

[Dear Sha,

How are you? It seems like I’m sending a letter after several weeks. We’ve both been that busy.

My desire to send you a reply is thicker than the snow piled up in Kasoche, but my body collapsed the moment I arrived in my bedroom. Like snow meeting spring sunlight.

You probably expect snow to be very beautiful, but it’s not necessarily so. Not simply because it’s cold. When snow melts, the streets become very slippery. The soles of shoes become a mess with melted snow, dirt, straw, and such all tangled together.

Cleaning up such dirty streets is also work. Everyone in the village has become accustomed to this annual cleaning, but clearing the remnants of snow that fell for weeks is tiring no matter how many times you do it.

After the boring severe cold ends, the snow slowly prepares to melt. But you never know, it might snow again in a few days.

Just because the severe cold has ended doesn’t mean winter is over. That scenery is beautiful, but to be honest, it’s also tedious.

The sea must be like that for you. What would a day be like with waves crashing from when you open your eyes until you close them? I can’t easily imagine.

The best I can do is hold the conch shell you gave me to my ear and appreciate the sea of Marso Cella up close.

I vaguely wonder if the sea you see is the same.

Probably different from reality. Here I can’t feel the salty smell you describe, nor the fishy smell of seaweed and the vast bird cries.

I’m glad your classes seem enjoyable. Even though you miss several days, it’s better than not attending at all. But you were happy that your boring time decreased too. There’s no need to be grumpy about it.

I’m the same as usual. Recently I met with the mayor of a nearby city together with Dad.

Kasoche is a very small village, so various administrative processes are under city hall jurisdiction. Communication isn’t very smooth, but nothing has gone seriously wrong yet.

City people think we’re frustratingly stubborn, and village people think city people are smooth-tongued fraudsters.

Me? I honestly don’t know.

We’re not young enough to accept the ideologies adults instill in us at face value. We’ll become adults when the year changes.

When I become an adult, should I try alcohol first? I want to try the alcohol stored at home, and also the fruit wine that’s popular in the capital.

What about you? You said you were a bit envious of the kids who secretly drank alcohol at last year’s village party. Though you couldn’t try it because you’d be caught immediately.

Drinking alcohol, visiting cities away from Kasoche, and…… Anyway, there are many things I want to do. Do you also have a list of wishes written down like that?

When people drink, some cry loudly, some tell old stories. Some dance, some kiss the person next to them.

Seeing such drunken behavior makes me wonder ‘Do we really need to drink alcohol?’ The custom of warming the body with alcohol has taken root, but people don’t abstain even in summer.

Alcohol was served at the dinner with the mayor too. It was alcohol made in our village and alcohol the mayor had procured.

Sha, being the only sober person among completely drunk people is a terrible thing. It’s more comfortable to lose your mind together with them.

Still, the work was handled well. Looking at the broken pier and castle walls in the village, he promised to send materials and workers soon.