Disclaimer: Characters of "Kikujiro no Natsu" are not mine, of course.
KIKUJIRO – THE SUMMER AFTER
When 10-year-old Masao opened the door to the small apartment where he lived with his grandmother, he was in a rather sullen mood. School was over until fall, and it was boredom all over again. His friends were on vacation, his Gran was working, and soccer training wouldn't happen in the summer months, either.
He took off his shoes and walked into the living room, where he found his lunch on the low table, as usual – his grandmother prepared it every day before she left for work. Masao sat down, legs crossed, and ate in silence.
When he had finished, he picked up his backpack from the floor and brought it over into his room. There, he sat down on his bed, unsure of what he could do now. He was not very fond of reading, so that thought didn't cross his mind. He had none of the fancy video games his friends played constantly, so that was not an option, either...
While he was thinking, his eyes wandered over walls and shelves, until they focused on a photo album. He got up, took it from the shelf, and opened it.
It was the album he had made after last year's trip with Uncle Kikujiro. Smiling, he leaved through the pages, his expression only momentarily darkening when he thought of the unpleasant things – the Scary Man, the fact that he had not been able to talk to his mother (by now, his sadness about her not even thinking about him had been reduced to a faint glimmer of 'what-if'-regret), and the one time when Uncle had fallen down some stairs and came back with some injuries.
But a lot of good and sometimes funny things had happened, as well. He had met a lot of nice people on the journey, and Uncle Kikujiro and him had been camping near a lake down southwest with a travelling poet and the two motorcyclists Uncle had called "Baldy" and "Fatso". They had been playing games together, and he had had a lot of fun. His grandmother hadn't lost any words about his vacation when he got back; obviously, Uncle's wife had told her that he was with her husband, so she wouldn't have to worry about her grandson.
And then, after reminiscing in this manner for some minutes, the solution to his summer dilemma struck him: He would ask Uncle Kikujiro whether he wanted to go somewhere with him again! Even if that meant sleeping at abandoned bus stops and sitting at the bike races for days – at least that wouldn't be as boring as sitting at home alone for weeks upon weeks!
He got up, put his shoes on at the apartment door and left for the house in which Uncle Kikujiro's restaurant was located.
***
"No, Masao, my boy, he isn't here."
Haruka Minekawa, wife of 'Uncle Kikujiro', as Masao called him, sighed inwardly. She had been ready and willing to help the boy last year, when he had showed up in their part of Tokyo, with an address where he hoped to find his mother and a meager amount of money for the journey. She had seen instantly that he was in no condition to travel alone – he did not seem to have any sense of direction (he would have had to go north to get to the train station, and they lived straight south of him), and he had been about to lose his money to some youths who forced him to show his wallet when she had found him. No, the boy could not look after himself yet.
That had been when she had sent Kikujiro along to watch over the boy – he had not been of much help in the restaurant anyway, and a little relaxation would do him some good. And it had – her husband had returned from the two and a half weeks with the boy with an unusual good mood. And Masao's Grandmother had been grateful that somebody took her boy on a trip, for she couldn't afford to stop working and go to a beach somewhere just because it was summer.
But now, Masao was back for more and presented an unexpected annoyance to Haruka. Surely he did not think that, because he had spent some time with Kikujiro last year, this form of vacation would happen every summer now?!
"Uncle Kikujiro is on vacation already – alone. I am afraid that he won't be back today. Why don't you go back home and ask your Grandmother whether you can help her with her housework? And give her my greetings!"
***
Masao was frustrated when he closed the door of the restaurant behind him. Uncle wasn't there, and his wife wouldn't tell him where he went... what if he had left her, like his mother left him, to move far away and forget about him? That would be bad...
The spring was gone from his step when he walked along the street, bound homeward. That was when he saw the old Mitsubishi van parked on the opposite sidewalk. Surely it couldn't be...?
But it was just the person the car had made him think of: The travelling poet, whose name they had never asked for. He sat in front of a small café, sipping on a cool drink and waving his arm over his head when he caught sght of Masao, motioning him to come closer.
"Hello, Boy! I had hoped to meet you and your friend around here somewhere on my way through Tokyo before going south again. I trust he is well?"
"I don't know," Masao confessed. "He isn't home, and they won't tell me where he has gone."
The thin man's brow furrowed under his straw hat.
"That is odd. Why wouldn't they want to tell you? Well, anyway: I wanted to talk to him, because I had hoped he could give me some inspiration for a narrative poem cycle I am writing on. Oh well... I have no specific place I have to be, I might as well try and track him down."
Masao's eyes lit up with sudden hope – here was the opportunity for an adventure, and a way to satisfy his curiosity about just where Uncle Kikujiro had gone, and for what purpose he had left.
"Please take me with you!", he blurted out.
The poet looked slightly taken aback.
"I can't just take you somewhere, Boy," he protested. "Last time was different – you were with your friend. But if I just put you into my van and drive off, your grandmother will be worried!"
"We can talk to her, she will surely allow it!", the boy begged, not at all sure that his Gran would approve.
The man stared at him – and then his stony expression split into a grin.
"You are a travelling man, alright – although you are just a boy yet. Very well, we will ask your grandmother whether you can come with me for a while. If she says no, promise me that you will stay home and don't go off on your own searching for your friend, okay?"
Masao thought about this for a moment, and then replied: "I promise."
***
"So, you know this young man from last year, when Uncle Kikujiro took you to the beach?"
Masao's grandmother eyed the poet suspiciously. She wasn't sure what to make of this – but she guessed that the young man Masao had brought to her workplace wasn't some sort of nutcase who liked little boys, or a kidnapper. After all, then he wouldn't have come to her to ask for her permission to take the boy with him. And Masao seemed to like him a lot.
'Just what did those two do last summer?', she asked herself, when she thought about the boy's attachment to Kikujiro, the grump, combined with the sudden appearance of this man, who claimed to have met them. She would ask Masao later.
For now, she focused on Masao's pleading expression, the young man's agreeable smile – and then she made a decision.
"You can take him with me – in exchange for your name and your license plate number. If you don't bring him back within a week, I will call the police."
Masao visibly relaxed when the man replied: "Of course, Ma'am. He will be back here within a week, I promise. If I didn't get him back to you by then, I deserve to be hunted down.", and emphasized his words with a bow of gratitude.
They would go and look for Uncle Kikujiro – what fun that would be!
****************************
Here Chapter One of this story – it will have between 3 and 5 Chapters at the end. Hope you enjoy! Please review!
KIKUJIRO – THE SUMMER AFTER
When 10-year-old Masao opened the door to the small apartment where he lived with his grandmother, he was in a rather sullen mood. School was over until fall, and it was boredom all over again. His friends were on vacation, his Gran was working, and soccer training wouldn't happen in the summer months, either.
He took off his shoes and walked into the living room, where he found his lunch on the low table, as usual – his grandmother prepared it every day before she left for work. Masao sat down, legs crossed, and ate in silence.
When he had finished, he picked up his backpack from the floor and brought it over into his room. There, he sat down on his bed, unsure of what he could do now. He was not very fond of reading, so that thought didn't cross his mind. He had none of the fancy video games his friends played constantly, so that was not an option, either...
While he was thinking, his eyes wandered over walls and shelves, until they focused on a photo album. He got up, took it from the shelf, and opened it.
It was the album he had made after last year's trip with Uncle Kikujiro. Smiling, he leaved through the pages, his expression only momentarily darkening when he thought of the unpleasant things – the Scary Man, the fact that he had not been able to talk to his mother (by now, his sadness about her not even thinking about him had been reduced to a faint glimmer of 'what-if'-regret), and the one time when Uncle had fallen down some stairs and came back with some injuries.
But a lot of good and sometimes funny things had happened, as well. He had met a lot of nice people on the journey, and Uncle Kikujiro and him had been camping near a lake down southwest with a travelling poet and the two motorcyclists Uncle had called "Baldy" and "Fatso". They had been playing games together, and he had had a lot of fun. His grandmother hadn't lost any words about his vacation when he got back; obviously, Uncle's wife had told her that he was with her husband, so she wouldn't have to worry about her grandson.
And then, after reminiscing in this manner for some minutes, the solution to his summer dilemma struck him: He would ask Uncle Kikujiro whether he wanted to go somewhere with him again! Even if that meant sleeping at abandoned bus stops and sitting at the bike races for days – at least that wouldn't be as boring as sitting at home alone for weeks upon weeks!
He got up, put his shoes on at the apartment door and left for the house in which Uncle Kikujiro's restaurant was located.
***
"No, Masao, my boy, he isn't here."
Haruka Minekawa, wife of 'Uncle Kikujiro', as Masao called him, sighed inwardly. She had been ready and willing to help the boy last year, when he had showed up in their part of Tokyo, with an address where he hoped to find his mother and a meager amount of money for the journey. She had seen instantly that he was in no condition to travel alone – he did not seem to have any sense of direction (he would have had to go north to get to the train station, and they lived straight south of him), and he had been about to lose his money to some youths who forced him to show his wallet when she had found him. No, the boy could not look after himself yet.
That had been when she had sent Kikujiro along to watch over the boy – he had not been of much help in the restaurant anyway, and a little relaxation would do him some good. And it had – her husband had returned from the two and a half weeks with the boy with an unusual good mood. And Masao's Grandmother had been grateful that somebody took her boy on a trip, for she couldn't afford to stop working and go to a beach somewhere just because it was summer.
But now, Masao was back for more and presented an unexpected annoyance to Haruka. Surely he did not think that, because he had spent some time with Kikujiro last year, this form of vacation would happen every summer now?!
"Uncle Kikujiro is on vacation already – alone. I am afraid that he won't be back today. Why don't you go back home and ask your Grandmother whether you can help her with her housework? And give her my greetings!"
***
Masao was frustrated when he closed the door of the restaurant behind him. Uncle wasn't there, and his wife wouldn't tell him where he went... what if he had left her, like his mother left him, to move far away and forget about him? That would be bad...
The spring was gone from his step when he walked along the street, bound homeward. That was when he saw the old Mitsubishi van parked on the opposite sidewalk. Surely it couldn't be...?
But it was just the person the car had made him think of: The travelling poet, whose name they had never asked for. He sat in front of a small café, sipping on a cool drink and waving his arm over his head when he caught sght of Masao, motioning him to come closer.
"Hello, Boy! I had hoped to meet you and your friend around here somewhere on my way through Tokyo before going south again. I trust he is well?"
"I don't know," Masao confessed. "He isn't home, and they won't tell me where he has gone."
The thin man's brow furrowed under his straw hat.
"That is odd. Why wouldn't they want to tell you? Well, anyway: I wanted to talk to him, because I had hoped he could give me some inspiration for a narrative poem cycle I am writing on. Oh well... I have no specific place I have to be, I might as well try and track him down."
Masao's eyes lit up with sudden hope – here was the opportunity for an adventure, and a way to satisfy his curiosity about just where Uncle Kikujiro had gone, and for what purpose he had left.
"Please take me with you!", he blurted out.
The poet looked slightly taken aback.
"I can't just take you somewhere, Boy," he protested. "Last time was different – you were with your friend. But if I just put you into my van and drive off, your grandmother will be worried!"
"We can talk to her, she will surely allow it!", the boy begged, not at all sure that his Gran would approve.
The man stared at him – and then his stony expression split into a grin.
"You are a travelling man, alright – although you are just a boy yet. Very well, we will ask your grandmother whether you can come with me for a while. If she says no, promise me that you will stay home and don't go off on your own searching for your friend, okay?"
Masao thought about this for a moment, and then replied: "I promise."
***
"So, you know this young man from last year, when Uncle Kikujiro took you to the beach?"
Masao's grandmother eyed the poet suspiciously. She wasn't sure what to make of this – but she guessed that the young man Masao had brought to her workplace wasn't some sort of nutcase who liked little boys, or a kidnapper. After all, then he wouldn't have come to her to ask for her permission to take the boy with him. And Masao seemed to like him a lot.
'Just what did those two do last summer?', she asked herself, when she thought about the boy's attachment to Kikujiro, the grump, combined with the sudden appearance of this man, who claimed to have met them. She would ask Masao later.
For now, she focused on Masao's pleading expression, the young man's agreeable smile – and then she made a decision.
"You can take him with me – in exchange for your name and your license plate number. If you don't bring him back within a week, I will call the police."
Masao visibly relaxed when the man replied: "Of course, Ma'am. He will be back here within a week, I promise. If I didn't get him back to you by then, I deserve to be hunted down.", and emphasized his words with a bow of gratitude.
They would go and look for Uncle Kikujiro – what fun that would be!
****************************
Here Chapter One of this story – it will have between 3 and 5 Chapters at the end. Hope you enjoy! Please review!