Wolf looked into my eyes again. It was a look of testing, of gauging.
I fought back tears and replied, “Of course I will work to make people’s lives better. I don’t care about the Immortality Operation. I’m going to be the best doctor around. That’s what I’ll use my powers for.”
Once I made that declaration, I couldn’t help but notice a satisfied look come over the Junker’s expression.
“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” I asked. “I want to go back to my room. I’m feeling tired.” It seemed like a good time to wrap it up and move on, but Wolf looked panicked for a moment.
“Uhh, wait! No, that wasn’t the main thing,” he said, holding me back.
“What? You mean there’s more?” I said.
Wolf wasn’t forthcoming. He scratched at his head and looked uncomfortable for a minute. Then he finally looked up, right into my eyes.
“Listen, is there anything you want?” he asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“It doesn’t have to be an object. Anything you want to see, places you want to visit? Anything I can make happen for you.”
“What are you going on about, Junker? I don’t have an answer for you. I like the life we have here, and I don’t really want anything else. Oh, actually…the fishmonger said he’ll be getting a special kind of fish tomorrow. If you get some of that we can have it for dinner…”
“That’s not what I’m talking about!” Wolf shouted, slapping the table. He looked desperate. “You saved my life, Law! I have to give back something of equivalent value! It’s my policy of give-and-take. But I can’t think of what could be worth a human life. So if there’s anything you want, anything you desire, I’ll do it, whatever it is. If you asked me to be your servant for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t complain.”
“Shut up, old man!” I shouted. Now it was my turn to be angry. “I didn’t save you because I wanted something out of it! And the same goes for Bepo and Penguin and Shachi. Whatever values you live by, that’s your business. But those guys were crying tears of joy that you survived… That was all we wanted, and that was enough! I’m not going to listen to you insult their tears like they mean nothing!”
A wrinkle formed between Wolf’s brows. He clammed up. For a while, silence settled over the room.
“I…I suppose you’re right,” Wolf admitted eventually. “I take back what I said. It was insulting of me to suggest that. I’m sorry.”
“As long as you realize why it was insulting,” I told him.
“You boys really do have the hearts to do things for others without expecting anything in return.”
“Shachi and Penguin and Bepo aren’t keeping track of who owes what. They’re just grateful to you for taking them in and caring for them. Of course they’d be desperate to save your life.”
“And you?” Wolf asked.
“Me?” I said, surprised by the question. “I want to be a doctor, so I save people who are dying. It’s just what I do!”
“Heh heh heh. Fine, I won’t push you any further. At any rate, it’s a fact that you saved my life. And that means I have to do something for you in return.”
“I told you, I don’t want…”
“Shush! Let me finish! My point is, it would be rude to try to give you boys money or gifts, so I’m going to make it up to you in a different way.”
“What are you getting at? Just spit it out already!”
“I’m going to be your friend!”
“Huh?” My mind went blank. That wasn’t at all what I expected.
Wait a minute. Did he just say “friend”? No, I must’ve misheard that. I’m too tired for this.
“Sorry, Junker. I’m too tired. I don’t think I caught that. Say it again?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself!” he shouted. “I’m saying that Wolf, the genius inventor, wants to be friends with you boys! Y-you should be honored!”
What is he talking about? I burst out laughing.
“W-what’s so funny?!”
“Nothing. All right, Junker. I accept your thanks. From now on, we’re friends!”
“Hmph…”
Wolf crossed his arms. His face was as red as a boiled octopus.
What a joke. How funny is that… He wants to be friends.
Such a commonplace, unremarkable idea. It was strange that he had gotten so worked up about such a thing. But after the time I’d spent living with Wolf, I’d come to understand the kind of person he was. Friendship was something that existed outside of the bounds of his give-and-take policy. There was no gain and loss in friendship. You became a friend simply by caring for another person. I realized that for Wolf, who always put things in the context of a give-and-take relationship, to actually talk about true friendship took a lot of bravery and determination.
If I don’t meet him on the same level, I’m going to look like a weak, petty person.
“All right then, Junker. Go ahead and make me dinner.”
“Okay, now you’re trying to treat me like I’m your servant!” Wolf snapped.
We glared at one another, then burst out laughing. Maybe we laughed too loud, because Bepo and the others came down the stairs at that moment.
“Junker,” I said.
“Hmm?”
“They’re not strangers, are they?”
“Hmph. Of course not.”
“Then I guess I can tell them about the Op-Op Fruit…” I started.
Friendship: a hard-to-define relationship that’s much more than strangers, but not exactly family, either. Maybe it’s the kind of relationship that’s just right for someone like me. That evening I really hoped our time together of feasting and having fun would continue for a while.
✦ ✦ ✦
And it did, for three whole years.