While she couldn't see or hear Kana, she could certainly feel her. She knew Kana's mischievousness firsthand (literally) whenever she was playfully groped in the shower. She could tell whenever Kana was angry because Daikichi would have the bruises to show for it. She could tell when Kana was happy whenever the air seemed to bristle with excitement, to the point that the energy would infect those around her. She hadn't felt anything like sadness from her before-either she was remarkably courteous for any sentient creature, ghost or human, not letting negative feelings burden those around her, or she relegated all such things to her alone time with Daikichi, not deigning to waste precious daytime sulking over the past. Most of all, she could always feel when Kana was there. She had a distinctive feel about her. It was a complicated feeling-difficult to categorize. As you might expect given what Kana was, the air seemed to cool whenever she was in the room. But it wasn't a gnawing chill of death like what you would think- there was a certain warmth whenever she was with Kana and Daikichi. Whether Kana was just cold and the warmth was due to Daikichi's presence, or if Kana was a little bit of both, their being inseparable made it hard to tell. But whenever she was with them, she never felt too cold. It reminded her of a very early spring day-the sun, out and covering everything in a comfortable warmth, while every now and then Winter, as it bustled back and forth packing its bags for the year, stirred a cool breeze, brushing through her hair and tickling the back of her neck.
These feelings were all she had, but they were enough for her-although she obviously hoped to grow closer to her as time went on. Maybe someday she might even catch a glimpse of her-or even see her regularly like Daikichi did. But she had the feelings anyway, and with Daikichi as mediator, she knew she had a friend in the ghost-girl. Two friends-one that she could relate to in a very personal way, and another in spirit, at least. That was a pretty good start, in her mind.
ANs: Itoshi no Kana (My Lovely Ghost Kana, for the non-moonspeakers) reeeally impressed me. It has a very pointed narrative focus, kinda like Yotsubato!, that focuses on the positives or one certain part of the world of the story, acknowledging that there is more going on in the background, but not giving quarter to any plot exposition that would drag the story too far into angst or otherwise letting CerberusSyndrome (tvtropes lingo for story narratives going darker and edgier) develop. Arguably InK has reverse CerberusSyndrome, starting with a character seriously contemplating suicide, and doing an almost complete 180 in mood afterwards (although it doesn't drop the melancholic undertones of real people trying to make crappy lives work). Anyway, great story. This was just me thinking about Utako a little bit. I hope she got to see Kana eventually. Who knows?
