To see how well Kouki was developing was a relief, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Whenever I thought about it, I reflected that he was a strange child. He never cried at night, and when his diaper was dirty, he would immediately call out to me. He was such a cute and clever little boy that he understood when something was wrong without me having to tell him. I never felt any need to worry, despite being a new mother.
Kouki had spent a lot of time watching TV and looking at newspapers recently. There was no way he’d be able to understand television programs or newspaper articles yet, but his face was always so serious. His adult-like behavior seemed so strange that I ended up playing a trick on him. I took the TV remote and switched to a satellite network broadcast.
Even then, Kouki continued happily gazing at the screen with a sparkle in his eyes. It made me laugh to myself as I went to take in the laundry.
“Uwaah! Uwaah!”
From out on the veranda I could hear Kouki’s voice from the living room. Despite normally being such a quiet child, his voice was so loud! I dropped the laundry and immediately headed for the living room. There I saw Kouki clapping his hands energetically while watching the TV.
I didn’t think he was the sort of boy who’d react to something this way...
Surprised, I turned to the TV screen and saw that they were showing new powered suits to be supplied to the Ground Self-Defense Force from this year onward.
“Maa! Maa! Dey rowot? Rowot?”
Well, he is a boy after all, I thought to myself while still feeling a little surprised. I still didn’t understand the things he said. He was probably asking me to buy some for him...
“Kou, we can’t afford those.”
As I spoke, Kouki smiled strangely for some reason, but soon fell asleep. I gently picked up Kouki and carefully carried him into the next room.
✦ ✦ ✦
Oh crap. Oh crap. What am I going to do...?
Mom was in front of me with a fearsome expression on her face.
I suppose I’ll try crying... If Mom cools off for a moment, she’ll return back to normal.
“Waah! Maa! Scawy! Waah!”
While I was crying, I tried again to think of how it had come to this. It had probably started two months previously when I’d been taken to the library for the first time.
In the libraries of this age, virtually all books had been digitized as electronic books. It was like choosing a DVD at a rental shop. The only books that hadn’t become digital were the history books.
I’d taken a book from one of the lower shelves and spread it out on the floor, planning to read it, but Mom had run toward me with incredible speed and an extraordinarily worried look on her face. She’d been angry because I wasn’t supposed to run off by myself. In reality, there’d been nothing for her to worry about because personal terminals could be used to find where someone was these days, and all exits from the library required a personal identification nanochip. But, of course, I hadn’t exactly been able to explain this to her, so I’d simply apologized.
“Maa, sowwy.”
Mom had stroked my head while smiling kindly. Then she’d noticed the history book in my hands—I think it’d been a book on the architecture of old castles—and I’d easily been able to guess what she was thinking from the way she looked at me...
What? You’re into dirty old castles? Gross! I know you’re my son, but that’s just gross. You want to borrow it? And I suppose I get the job of carrying the book and you back home with me, do I?
She hadn’t been smiling with her eyes...
I’d hung my head, figuring I’d give up, but then Mom had taken the electronic picture book that she’d picked out herself to the counter together with the book that I’d chosen, which was as thick as any dictionary.
She’s so kind... I’m sure she thinks I’m a weird kid, but she’s still kind to me.
From then on, Mom had taken me with her to the library every day. Borrowing a picture book she chose and a history book that I chose became a daily routine.
One day, the picture book Mom had chosen contained some simple math problems. For some reason, I’d been interested and solved them all, and then tried making and solving some problems and solutions in my own sketchbook. And once again, I’d gone and made Mom angry, and she had that same fearsome expression now...
Well, I guess it should be safe to stop now? I stopped crying, but I had to figure out why Mom had been so angry. This home feeds me. If I put Mom in a bad mood, the worst-case scenario is that she decides to abandon me...
Hesitantly, I looked at Mom’s face. Her expression was confused like she was in shock. I seized the opportunity to hug her, and she gently stroked my head.
What was she so angry about?