IKIGAI
"The reason to be"
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Page XX
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"InuYasha picked up the body of that man like it were a wet weed floating down the river. More than once, I found myself surprised before the strength he possessed, and how supernatural of a creature he was." I note the way your cheeks are pink-touched as you read.
"Otōsan, Okāsanhas become all colorful," our daughter points out, as she sits on my lap.
"Blushing," I clarify.
"Bushing," she tries to repeat.
You and I laugh, while you place a hand on your cheek, your gaze fixed on the book.
"Continue," I ask, and you nod. My eyes follow your movement as you rest the length of your hair over one shoulder, exposing your neck in an innocent flirtatious gesture, before resuming your reading.
"Shinokuke's story really touched me. The young man was looking for his bride, Wakana, who he hadn't seen in years, which once again pointed us in the direction of the village of the female onis, even if we didn't know it yet…"
"Ohhh…" Moroha lets out, momentarily interrupting your story. You continue.
"We found a community of women who appeared to be kind, contrary to what we expected of the oni we were told about previously." In that moment, you stop.
"Something wrong?" I wonder.
"Okāsan, keep going," Moroha urges you.
You look at me, then flash a smile.
"Miroku," you mention, and then the memory crosses my mind and I laugh, even though you are not reading it.
"Skip that part," I offer.
"Skip? Why skip?" Our daughter doesn't miss a detail of our conversation. She is but four human years old, and is understandable that you don't want to go into the details of Miroku's behavior back then.
"It's not important. The fun part comes after," you tell our Moroha, so that she accepts the parenthesis in the narration. She seems to ponder it, and her way to show it, is through crossing her small arms over her chest, yet she says nothing else.
"That village didn't seem to be the community of female oni we were looking for; they just looked like lonely women, who were kind enough to give us a place to sleep, something we accepted eagerly. I felt content with being able to spend a night under a roof, and even though the cabin was old and shabby, it was pleasant. In that moment…"
You stop again and look at me. I gesture with my head the pertinent question: What's wrong?
"Sango," you answer, then you quickly skip a couple of pages ahead, probably looking to see if you can continue with the story.
"What's wrong with Sango obasan?"
Moroha's question is left hanging in the air. A question nor I, nor you, felt like answering.
"I think this story will remain unfinished," I say, and you nod.
"Otōsan." Our daughter looks at me, and complains by furrowing her brow in a way that would seem impossible in such a small face.
"Do you want me to tell you how your Okāsan and I met?" I ask her.
"Again?" You inquire, smiling as you close the book.
"Yes!" Moroha voices, excited. "Tell me about that centipede woman, and about the well of time, and about Okāsan and the Osuwari!"
"The last thing is the one I like the least," I confess.
"You know I don't cast it anymore," you say, as if wanting to compensate me somehow.
"The damage is done," I reply, then gently massage my shoulder with a hand, in reflex, as if there were a sort of phantom pain.
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A/N
I like to write about these moments in family, they bring me so much peace.
The community of female onis appears in the chapter 288 of the manga.
Thank you for reading, and commenting,
Kisses,
Anyara.
This text is possible thanks to the translation of: Dezart