Volume 14 Melon Books Bonus Short Story
A residential neighborhood in Tokyo. A detached rental house situated in the middle of the city. In the living-dining area, which was about ten tatami mats in size. The resident sat alone at the dining table eating dinner. The meal consisted of bento boxes and side dishes bought from a nearby convenience store. Two residents of the share house, including Rose who was serving as the donor for Gabriela's limb transplant, had been away for several days. For the Futsumen, left alone, it felt like the first time in a very long while he had this time to himself.
"It's been ages since I last had this packaged salad..."
With the absence of the chef, dinner quality has declined, leaving him to feast on mediocre meals.
Dinner time is usually noisy. Yet these past few days, it's been eerily quiet, as if the previous atmosphere had been a lie. In the silent room, the sound of the Futsumen eating his meal echoes unnaturally loud.
".........."
The quiet that had been everyday life just half a year ago.
Now, it felt strangely fresh to Nishino.
After a moment, he turned on the TV, seemingly on a whim.
A variety show filled the screen, and the cheerful banter of celebrities began streaming from the speakers. It seemed to be a live feed from a restaurant, and the crowd was buzzing with excitement over the array of delicious-looking dishes.
"Maybe I should go out to eat tomorrow."
Watching the restaurants featured on the show, he muttered such things to himself.
A popular seafood restaurant in Tokyo right now. Generous servings of various rice bowls for just one thousand yen at lunchtime. And get this a self-service plan where you can pile on as much salmon roe as you want. Captions designed to grab viewers' attention flashed across the screen one after another. Cheers erupted repeatedly from the studio.
But to Nishino, the television's broadcast felt a little distant. The scenes on the show felt like events unfolding in a distant country to the Futsumen.
It was around the time he'd eaten about half of his packaged salad.
Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening and closing drifted up from downstairs.
"...Francisca?"
Nishino muttered to no one in particular.
Immediately afterward, footsteps ascending the stairs drew nearer. Appearing in the living room where he was staring was Rose. Dressed for going out, she carried a travel bag in her hand. It seemed she had finished her role as donor and returned home.
"You're quite early. Are you alone?"
"That child is still scheduled to be hospitalized for a while."
Rose's attention turned to the dining table.
Finding a convenience store bento there, she said in disbelief.
"You're eating that again? How did it come to this?"
"I don't think it's bad at all, it's just......."
"Wait a moment. I'll whip something up for you right away."
"You must be tired after just getting home. You don't have to go to all that trouble."
"I'm a bit hungry myself. If I'm making something, it's no big difference whether it's for one or two."
".........I see."
Rose tossed her suitcase onto the living room sofa and headed for the kitchen.
Watching her retreating back, Nishino turned off the TV.
"Oh, was the TV any good?"
"There weren't any particularly interesting programs on."
The cheerful sounds of the TV show echoing through the living room faded away as the screen went black.
The house fell instantly silent.
Nishino and Rose weren't particularly talkative to begin with. From then on, only the solemn sounds of meal preparation drifted from the kitchen. The thud of a knife on a cutting board, the gurgle of water boiling in a pot on the stove, these sounds were subdued compared to the TV's volume.
Yet, to the Futsumen, this unexpectedly felt like a lively bustle that wouldn't stop.
"Sometimes, this kind of quiet isn't so bad after all."
"Oh? Could it be you were feeling lonely all by yourself?"
"Well, I wonder..."
While trying his best to sound tough, he kept glancing sideways at what was going on in the kitchen.
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