I had tea, chatted with her for a bit, and went home with Yuma. Hmm... Yuma’s always with me. Is she getting enough exercise?
“Yuma, you don’t have to stay with me all the time—you can go play if you like,” I told her, and she pecked me lightly. Why?
That evening, as we’d discussed, Yumoto-san brought Pochi and Tama to me. They would be getting weekends off—I cracked a smile while imagining them spending the next two days running around on the mountain. However, that night, I found out that they once again hadn’t gotten enough physical activity during the day. They still had so much energy left over. And unfortunately, it was raining, so I couldn’t kick them out. I had to listen to the chickens’ chorus all night. This is rough.
I woke up the next morning lightheaded and sleep-deprived. I made breakfast and took the chickens outside. Blasted chickens, screaming and singing all night. Don’t you get tired?
The large bag of okara I’d gotten at the tofu store was already nearly empty. No wonder they eat a lot—they spend all day running up and down the mountain. It was raining again, but I hoped they’d get their fill of exercise today.
The dehumidifier filled up in no time. I gotta remember to check the outside of the house too when the rainy season is over. This mountain sure is a lot to take care of.
“Can you believe there’s this much water in the air? Wow...” I looked inside the house. So we can’t see it, but there’re small water droplets floating around everywhere. No wonder mold grows so easily if you are vigilant.
I harvested some cucumbers and komatsuna from the fields. I picked up one of the cucumbers, removed the tip, and took a bite. Yup, juicy and tasty. Yuma was next to me; I offered her one, and she crunched on it loudly. The chickens have some bizarrely sharp teeth... I don’t even want to think about what would happen if they bit one of my fingers by accident. Guess they’re really not chickens.
I checked the river’s water level and stuff like that, then went back to get some sleep.
The two chickens who’d gone out on patrol didn’t come back for a while, but I felt relieved and happy that they were on the mountain. At that size, and with those tails, I figured there wasn’t anything on this mountain that could pose a threat to them, so there was no need to worry.
“Did they maybe...grow larger to make me feel more at ease?” I was reminded of Aikawa-san and Rin-san. It was pretty unusual, but not completely unheard of.
Well, as a downside, their voices also grew louder.
I yawned and stretched. I think I’ve done everything I needed to do today. I’ll make something with fried tofu and komatsuna for lunch. Then I’ll have a nap, maybe.
Yuma was loitering near the house, pecking at the grass and the ground.
Pochi and Tama spent the day running around the mountain and only came back when it was almost dark. That was probably why I was able to have a good night’s sleep. So the problem really was pent-up energy.
On Sunday morning, as usual, I made breakfast and took the chickens outside. It was cloudy but not raining. I’m pretty sure the forecast said it shouldn’t rain. Not that you can really count on the forecast up here.
I turned to my chickens and asked them, “Hey, can chickens predict the weather?” It was said that cats licking their faces meant it was going to rain. Maybe my chickens also had some kinda thing like that. Tama tilted her head and gave me a judgmental What the heck are you saying? look.
Always so mean...
Pochi and Yuma were out on patrol today. Usually, Yuma stayed and kept me company, but it seemed they took turns. All three need an appropriate amount of exercise, I guess. Oh yes, I understand. They won’t get any if they stay with me. I’m sulking a little bit, it seems.
I decided to take advantage of the decent weather and drive up to the cemetery to check the graves. As an inhabitant of this mountain, I felt like I might get haunted or something if I didn’t take good care of them.
I washed the graves, even though it might not make much of a difference due to the rain. I also pulled the weeds. You had to do this regularly and thoroughly, or they’d quickly take root and grow thick and strong like trees. I wish I had some of that vitality too. I felt a bit sorry that it was me—not the descendants of the buried—who was taking care of the graves. Oh yeah, that reminds me. I haven’t visited my own ancestors’ graves in a while...
“Obon, in August...will probably be too crowded... But if I go after the rainy season, I could run into acquaintances...”
It was a hard decision. Plus, it was one thing in this village, where the people were used to them, but taking my chickens to my hometown was probably out of the question.
“Can I just not take them? But...”
Visiting my hometown would take at least a full day. It was a three-hour drive on the highway. That was how far I’d run away.
“Having them stay in the car the whole time...would probably also be a problem...”
“Not a problem.”
“Huh...?”
Tama, did you perhaps just say, “Not a problem”? Tama just kept pecking at the grass as if nothing had happened. Can you actually speak more or less normally, like Rin-san?
“Hey, Tama, if you can talk, let me vent to you a little, won’t you?”
“Wooon’t.”
“Say what?!”
So you can understand me! So you can talk! What’s going on with your vocal cords?!
“Tamaaaa!” I was so happy that I instinctively hugged her. She shook me off and threw me to the ground, then pecked me furiously, as if to say, What are you doing?!
“Ow! Tama! Ouch! That hurts! Sorry! I’m sorry!”
Come to think of it, was that sexual harassment? I’m sorry. I should have known that Yuma only lets me hug her because she’s really, really nice.
I lightly brushed the dirt off my clothes and prepared to go back, but first, I checked my phone and found a missed call from Yumoto-san. I quickly called back.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Shohei. We’ve decided how it’s going to work. Starting tomorrow, we’re gonna do five or six farms at a time, every two or three days. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.”
“I see. Thank you.” That still might not be enough for my chickens, but it’ll be a lot better than a farm a day.
There was also a message from Aikawa-san asking if I’d like to go to N-Town with him tomorrow. I accepted the invitation.
Let’s hope we get good weather again tomorrow.