Title: A day in the life…
Author: kira
Rating/Genre(s): T, slice of life, general
Word Count: 360
Warning(s): none
Summary: Jii-chan takes comfort in his simple daily routine…
Prompt: Chalky
For the people of Japan…
888
Jii-chan picked up the bottle of milk of magnesia, carefully pouring some in a spoon. He set the bottle down and put the spoon in his mouth, pulling it out. He swallowed the chalky tasting liquid, and picking up his glass of water, he sipped from it. A handful of pills later, and the first part of his morning routine was complete. He shuffled out of his room, carefully making his way downstairs to the kitchen.
After warming a couple of spoons of leftover rice for breakfast, Jii-chan thought about his "neighbors" to the north and how they had lost everything thanks to the tsunami. He closed his eyes and offered up a prayer to the gods to watch over them and get them through it, like the other hardships the Japanese people had faced in his lifetime. Slowly pushing one hundred years up hill, Jii-chan remembered his life. He recalled being in the army and worrying about his new bride and his family, especially when the Americans dropped the bomb. And he remembered hearing stories of the hardships they faced, of having no food or water just like these people. Then there was the earthquake that hit home over ten years ago that brought with it similar hardships. He sighed softly, eating half of his meager breakfast, intending to eat the rest for lunch. After putting it back in the fridge and murmuring "good morning" to his daughter-in-law and grandson, Jii-chan headed outside to the shrine.
He stopped outside the well house, offering up a quick prayer to the gods, this time to watch over his granddaughter in the past. He also asked them to watch over her husband and his unknown great-grandchildren. Jii-chan kissed his fingers, silently placing the kiss on the door, before shuffling off to the main shrine. Once there, he got out his broom and began to sweep the area in front of the door, like he did every morning for as long as he could remember. He took comfort in his simple routine, it had got through the death of his wife and son, and Jii-chan knew it would get him through this too…