“Huh?! Seriously?! Are you sure you’re not just pushing yourself for the sake of our family?!” my sister exclaimed.
“I’m not. Appearances truly don’t matter to me.”
“I guess that is part of who you are. As your mother, I worry about how you barely react whenever a cute, blushing girl approaches you.” In contrast to my sister’s surprise, my mother was more accepting.
“Hmph. Do what you want, then,” my sister said, folding her arms and tossing her head to the side. “For the record...if appearances aren’t important to you, then what do you look for in a wife? Spill,” she asked in an annoyed tone, side-eyeing me with her face still turned away.
I didn’t have an answer I could readily give. It had never even occurred to me to put conditions on the kinds of girls I liked, since all I’d ever earned from them was their disgust. Hm, what do I want from a woman?
Thinking back to my previous life, I’d died alone without ever being able to marry. That life of solitude had been painful. During the lantern festivals, all my friends would enjoy being surrounded by their children and grandkids. Meanwhile, I’d be alone, eating mochi and watching a TV special by myself.
It’d become difficult to get around, so I couldn’t make trips to visit my friends, which consequently increased the time I spent alone. It’d been difficult to spend my days without talking to anyone, and I’d stopped thinking that I wanted to live a long life.
“It can’t be helped. This is just how my life is,” I used to mutter to myself—a bad habit of mine.
I tried to tell myself that in an attempt to accept the sad state of my life, but ultimately, I never succeeded, even at the very end.
I wanted someone to talk to, even if it was just a word. I didn’t want the store attendants who were obligated to talk to me in their customer-service voice. I wanted kind, considerate words. That’d been my wish as someone who’d been plagued by solitude, and those feelings only became stronger with each passing of the seasons. I was done with my pitiful life of loneliness in my old age. I wanted a kind, gentle person who would peacefully drink tea every day even when they were old. Yeah. That’s the kind of person I want.
“Well...I guess I’d like a wife I can peacefully drink tea with even when we’re older. That’s the condition,” I said.
“Huh?!”
Everyone voiced their surprise at the same time. Leave it to a family to be so perfectly in sync.
“Are you serious?! You’re only sixteen, but you’re already thinking of old age? I always knew you were a weirdo, but this exceeds my wildest expectations.”
“Uh, honey, do you think that our son is thinking more realistically about aging than we are?”
“Hm... Even I haven’t given much thought to my golden years, and yet my youngest has these kinds of thoughts? It’s surprising...”
“Hmph! Whatever! If you’re fine with it, then I won’t say any more!”
“Ow!” I exclaimed as my sister smacked me on the head after she stood up and passed by me.
“Bring me some kind of present next time!” she said before going back to her room.
Her red hair bounced as she walked away. I couldn’t help but think she seemed lonely.