Side Story. From Your Devoted Fan

[To Author Asha

Hello, Author.

This is my first letter like this, so I’m bewildered about how to start. Sending a letter to someone who doesn’t know me seems as tricky as writing a grade reconsideration letter to a professor.

Though letters to professors make me cry out to all the gods, my heart writing this letter is full of heated excitement and flutter.

Oh my, I’m late with introductions.

I’m Mallear, a graduating student at the capital’s academy. Do other readers introduce themselves like this too?

There’s no one around who understands such troubles, so please forgive me if my introduction is somewhat rude. This really is my first letter like this……

My heart is racing ahead and the ink keeps smudging. I hope you, busy as you are, can read this easily. You are reading this, right?

One of my friends, Rabbit—it’s a nickname—asserted that if the content isn’t inappropriate, the publisher will definitely deliver it to you.

That friend enjoys reading like me, but has never written a letter to an author. Saying ‘it’s beneficial to keep books and authors separate.’

I agreed with that opinion until recently too, that is, until your new book came out.

The preface was long.

Embarrassingly, I first learned about you through 『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』 published last summer. The despair I felt when I looked up your previous works after finishing it!

You’ve published quite a few books. Of course, I think it’s a bit few to savor each one over and over……

Since there are authors who wrote no other works after finishing one masterpiece of their lives, I console myself that this much is abundant.

After reading this new book, I’ve read all your books.

It was fortunate that articles you contributed to newspapers and magazines a few years ago were included in the short story collection that came out a year ago. I almost had to scour the used market for magazines from before I even entered the academy.

Or put out newspaper ads.

I’m glad I didn’t have to spend my modest allowance that way. Thanks to that, I could buy several more of your books to share with friends.

Oh dear. So, I didn’t mean to say how much of my allowance your books take up.

I swear.

It’s just that I, well.

I wanted to say this book was so good.

Your story, I mean.

The atmosphere too.

The writing style and……

Anyway, everything in its entirety!

I enjoyed reading all your books. But if I had to pick one, I’d choose 『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』 without hesitation!

Until then you mainly wrote short essays, very short novels, and poems.

If your first full-length novel hadn’t been on the bookstore shelf! If I hadn’t visited that bookstore that day! I would have lived longer without knowing that work.

That’s horrible just to imagine.

Because, Author, after reading that book, my perspective on the world changed. I don’t mean I gained some great enlightenment.

『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』 is a story about four girls living in a boarding school……

Though some idiots try to dismiss it as ‘content only girls would like’—what’s wrong with that?—it’s a thrilling, captivating novel that you can’t put down once you pick it up.

I’m really glad the day I grabbed that book was a weekend.

I was seriously relieved. If it had been a weekday, I would have been caught turning pages secretly while the teacher was writing on the board! Then I would have gone crazy all week wondering about the rest.

The good points of that story are endless, but I definitely want to tell you why my ‘perspective changed.’

Hmm, have there been readers this talkative? I hope you don’t find it bothersome.

I don’t want to cause even a fingernail’s worth of interference with your writing time.

Anyway, about my perspective changing—it’s actually a childish reason.

The main setting of 『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』 is a boarding school in the deep mountains. The children left at the school for various reasons while looking at the maze-like mountains they can never escape.

Tempe, smart but with naive corners.

Lime, the prettiest in school but awkward at socializing.

Oji, athletic and always climbing over the school walls.

Chila, lively but blindly believing in fortune-telling.

To confess honestly, I didn’t fall in love with these four from the beginning. At first I just observed Chila, who always carried seventy-seven cards, with interest.

But as the story progressed, I simply couldn’t help but love those kids.

Lime’s fussy vocabulary, Oji’s self-centered attitude, everything!

Then something amazing happened. Though what I read was a fictional story, I saw other academy kids differently too.

To be precise, kids I’d never exchanged a word with despite taking the same classes!

More specifically, I started opening up conversations with kids I’d prejudged as ‘we’d never get along even if we died and came back to life.’

The only motivation was that book.

I didn’t approach them out of nowhere. But when there was an opportunity, instead of keeping distance like before, I reached out.

As expected, there were kids we ‘really didn’t match,’ but there were also kids I got along with so well it was a shame we’d been distant.

This letter paper is a gift from that kid too. Though they won’t read 『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』, they’re a kind friend with round rabbit-like eyes.

Thanks to you, thanks to the four girls you created, my days shine a bit differently.

Like leaves sparkling after rain.

This weekend I plan to go out with the kids who became new friends. I really wanted to tell you this.

I wanted to convey my gratitude.

These days, I’m moved every minute and second.

Eek, this got too long. I’ll stop here. Until your next book comes out, I’ll be reading 『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』 until it’s worn out.

Always cheering you on, reader Mallear]

[To new reader,  Mallear

This is Asha.

I’m glad you enjoyed reading the new book 『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』.

There are other readers who write about their impressions as passionately as you do, so you don’t need to feel too embarrassed.

Readers’ affectionate reviews are one of the greatest driving forces that make me write.

Opening the beginning always makes me hesitate. I still ponder the opening when writing letters to strangers.

The person who writes the story is the author, but how to read it is the reader’s role.

So while 『Afternoon Tapestry and Stardrops』 might have pushed your back, it was thanks to your courage that you moved forward.

I hope you have an enjoyable academy life for the remaining time.

Thank you sincerely for your passionate impressions of my work.

Asha]

[To Author Asha

This is editor Winkle from Bloomier Publishing.

I was greatly impressed reading your recent essay…… Oh, speaking like this would definitely catch your attention, right?

You probably receive several letters from readers each week, so I wanted to have this much of a unique point.

Of course, it’s true that I’m an editor and that my affiliation is Bloomier Publishing.

But unfortunately, if you’re interested in cooking you’d know, Bloomier is a publisher specializing in practical books.

We mainly publish cookbooks. Recently we published 『Northern Desserts Everyone Can Easily Follow』. I’m enclosing it with this letter, so please enjoy it if needed.

Oh, of course, naturally!

I didn’t write this letter to promote the book. I absolutely don’t do such things. I just used my profession to catch your attention.

……It sounds strange either way.

Your writing started with 『Children of Rempata』 for me. It was a very short poetry collection.

I liked the concise composition, so it’s already been two years since I searched bookstores for other books. Do you know? By then, your first poetry collection was already out of print, so I searched the used market for quite a while.

『June Waves』, I mean. I tried to obtain it through work connections, but it rarely appeared.