There was no point in rushing now, so she strolled down the street towards the supermarket that the security guard had pointed out.
In the four-level supermarket, the ladies’ clothing section was not far from the escalator to the second floor. As she browsed around, Shoko was aware of people’s gaze upon her, still without any sense of meanness. The clothing on offer was targeted at older women, or else young housewives – it wasn’t the kind of place where Shoko would usually shop.
She selected an acceptable pair of trousers and a knit top, which she brought to the cash register.
‘Excuse me, I’d like to wear these right away. Could you cut the tags off so that I can change into them in the fitting room?’
Clad in a navy uniform, the female employee gave Shoko a look. After showing her to the fitting room, she lingered outside while Shoko changed, as if suspecting she was up to some kind of clever trick. Even if that wasn’t the case, clearly Shoko’s dress had been noticed.
Having changed out of it, Shoko stuffed the dress into her plastic bag, making the package as compact as possible and tying off the handles.
She pulled back the curtain and came out of the fitting room, and when the employee saw what was crammed into the transparent plastic bag, she exclaimed with surprise, ‘But miss, your dress …’
She was obviously concerned that the outfit Shoko had changed out of was much more expensive than what she had just purchased.
‘It’s fine,’ Shoko said as she slipped her high heels back on and picked up her handbag. These dressy accessories were a bit incongruous with her now-casual clothing, but not quite enough to attract attention. ‘Well then …’ Shoko bowed her head as she departed, leaving the employee standing dumbfounded.
Once outside, Shoko tossed the bag stuffed with the dress into a garbage bin.
Considering what she had spent on it, perhaps she ought to have got rid of it at a consignment shop, but the dress was tainted with Shoko’s grudge and with the successful incursion into the wedding reception of the woman who had slept with her fiancé. Shoko wouldn’t want to inflict that misfortune on anyone else, so her better judgement had prevailed.
And anyway, it would have been a futile effort to recoup a trifling sum. The hundred thousand yen she’d paid for the dress was the price of her incursion – and it had been money well spent. She needn’t worry about the shoes and the bag – those were things she’d already had in her wardrobe.
These thoughts cleared her head.
It was a pain to have to carry the wedding favour all the way home, but those items would need to go into the recycling so that couldn’t be helped.
Having come all the way here, she figured she might as well have a good look around, so she set off walking again, heading for a narrow, bustling street when—
Whoosh!
From the eaves of a boxed-lunch shop and a beauty parlour nestling along the street, three swallows swooped low, like a fluttering flash. A closer look revealed that the eaves of these shops were also home to nests.
Of course, Shoko had seen swallows before, but it had been a long time since she’d had such an up-close-and-personal encounter with their nesting behaviour and swooping flight patterns.
This town was far from sleepy – rather, it was as lively as one could expect for a population of its size. But for migrating swallows, it clearly seemed like a fine place to build a nest and to raise their young.
Indeed – a lovely station in a lovely town.
It was just as the old woman had said.
Though since Shoko was unfamiliar with the area, best not to venture too far. She’d do a loop around the supermarket and then head back to the station. The trees lining the road around the supermarket’s parking lot looked to be in full bloom.
They appeared to be the same variety of tree but in different colours, practically bursting with flowers in alternating white and pink. She was filled with awe – even the landscaping was a delight.
She had made it almost all the way around the supermarket so she continued walking under those pink and white blossoms as she headed towards the station.
Passing a drugstore along the way, she decided to pick up a travel packet of facial cleansing wipes.
She walked idly on towards the station. Despite the narrowness of the streets, there was a steady stream of cars coming and going – it seemed the town was thriving.
It’d be nice to live here someday … even Shoko was surprised by the thought that flitted through her mind. The location did seem unexpectedly convenient and livable.
Slowly – and reluctantly – she arrived back at the path to the station.
How boring to take the same road, she thought as she bypassed the slope she had come down earlier, choosing instead to take the next street that was also in the direction of the tracks. Sure enough, a train’s pantograph came into view. The end of this street connected up with the forked brick path outside the ticket gate. She could see the turnstiles ahead.
She climbed back up the gentle slope and as she hovered in front of the ticket machine, she made another pleasant discovery.
The sides of the machines were decorated with art that was clearly the work of small hands, celebrating the Tanabata Star Festival.
These decorations were made and donated by students from XX elementary school. May the lovers Princess Orihime (the Vega star) and Hikoboshi (the Altair star) be reunited again this year.
From the looks of it, this must have been the youngest students – rather than the entire elementary school – who decided among themselves to make these decorations and offer them to the station employees, who had accepted them graciously, as adults are wont to do.
Nevertheless, how many grownups nowadays would respectfully display children’s clumsy decorations? Especially when they weren’t those children’s teachers or parents.
Shoko bought another ticket for Umeda, and after passing through the ticket gate she called out to the person in the booth.
‘Excuse me …’
‘Yes, what is it?’ A salt-and-pepper-haired station employee emerged from the booth and responded amiably.
Shoko reached into the wedding favour bag and pulled out the package of hikigashi sweets.
‘Perhaps you and your colleagues would enjoy these?’ she said, setting the cookies on the counter.
The man looked a bit puzzled and before he could offer an excuse, Shoko continued:
‘I was invited to a little event and these were the favour that was handed out. I have a condition that prevents me from eating sweets. These cookies are from the hotel, and it would be a waste to throw them away, so if you’re willing to take them, I’d be grateful.’
In contrast to her dress, bought for the express purpose of her incursion, these cookies were blameless. What’s more, they had been baked at the hotel with the sincerest of intentions. Relinquishing them was a matter of convenience for Shoko – as long as someone else ate them, she would avoid the guilt of letting them go to waste.
‘You say you have a condition – are you diabetic?’ The station employee looked concerned. ‘What a pity, you’re so young. Isn’t there someone at home who might enjoy them?’
‘I live alone. And I was so happy to see that sign over there, I’d like to do something for the station workers before I go. As a sort of treat.’ Shoko pointed towards the notice about the swallows.
The man scratched his head.
‘They come here every year and they’re so adorable. I’m the one who built the cradles but I enlisted someone with far better penmanship for the sign.’
‘It’s lovely.’