The rattling went on for a while. Then, as I was still recovering from the fright, a cheery voice greeted me from the other side of the door.
“Wake up!”
“Huh?!”
I bolted awake and opened the door to find Tama standing there. When she saw me, she went running down the hallway.
“Whew, it was just Tama...”
I breathed a sigh of relief, but I didn’t seem to be able to go back to sleep. Why did she have to wake me up? I washed my face and headed to the living room-slash-kitchen, where the three chickens were fidgeting about on the earthen floor.
“We’re not going to Yumoto-san’s until this evening. You know that, right?”
I could see the look of disappointment on their faces. No, really. I realized that this was probably the reason Tama had come to wake me up, and I felt a bit relieved. It would seem my chickens were quite the gluttons.
Later, at nightfall, I helped the chickens onto the truck and went down to the village before it got too dark. I stopped at the general store, thinking I should buy something to bring them. Suddenly, a voice called out to me.
“I hear you caught a wild boar!” exclaimed the shop owner. “That’s incredible!”
“O-Oh, it’s no big deal...”
Word sure does get around quickly in small villages like this. I wondered why she knew about it, but it turned out that the man who’d butchered the boar was a relative of the general store’s owner. Everyone seemed to be related in some way or another.
“I can’t go this time, but invite me next time you catch one!”
“I will.” But if possible, I’m hoping there won’t be a next time.
The Yumotos grew their own vegetables, and the store didn’t sell any vegetables they didn’t have at home. Also, since we were having meat for dinner, bringing more meat was off the table. That left me with few options for stuff to bring, and I ended up getting rice crackers.
By the time I got to their place, the sun had already long set.
“Good evening,” I called out.
“Hey, Shohei! What took you so long?”
“Sorry.”
Yumoto-san was already drinking. Besides him and his wife, there were a few other people from the neighborhood gathered, all adults.
“From what I hear, you were the one who caught it, right, Sano-kun?” asked one of the villagers. “That’s amazing! Hope you don’t mind us joining you tonight!”
“Oh, no, of course not. I’m always thankful for your kindness.”
“We’re not that kind, though!” Yumoto-san’s friends laughed heartily. I gave a reserved smile and scratched my head. They had made barbecue preparations in the backyard. I should have come earlier and helped them set things up.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could have helped more,” I told Machiko-san.
“Oh, please don’t mind. We’re having boar hot pot later—is that okay with you?”
“Of course. Thank you.”
It was dark, so I couldn’t quite tell, but it looked like all the meat was already precooked. I figured this was probably a necessary step to get rid of any parasites.
“Er, Pochi-chan, Tama-chan, and Yuma-chan, was it?”
“Yes.”
The three chickens had been following behind me like chicks following their mother.
“We picked out half of the innards for you. Would you like some?” Machiko-san asked them.
On the dot, Pochi replied to her with a cluck.
“Come over here, then.”
The innards were laid out on a stone in the corner of the garden, along with vegetable scraps and bones with some meat on them.
I thanked her once again.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Let me know if you need anything else. I haven’t had boar in a while, so I’m looking forward to tonight’s dinner!”
She said not to worry, but I couldn’t just keep imposing on their kindness. Maybe I could try looking for something you can only get in the mountains...
Just then, someone else arrived at our gathering.
“Sorry I’m late...”
The tardy attendee was a young woman, and it seemed there was something else tagging along behind her. I was straining my eyes to try to get a better look when I felt Pochi tugging at my pants.
“Oops, sorry. Yeah, you guys can go ahead and eat.”
Pochi clucked. Not wanting to get dirty, I left them to eat their dinner and went back. They were probably going to make a mess, especially with the innards.
“Hi, Miya-chan!”
One of the old women, probably someone from the neighborhood, called out to the young woman.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help...”
“Don’t fret, don’t fret. Life in the mountains is pretty tough, isn’t it? Right, Sano-kun?”
“Indeed,” I replied. It was hard to tell in the dark, but the woman that they called Miya appeared to be in her early twenties.
“Miya-chan, this is your neighbor Sano-kun. I hope you two get along!”
“Nice to meet you...” I greeted her a bit reluctantly.
“G-Good evening, nice to meet you...”
It was my first time meeting my neighbor from the mountain to the east of mine. She glanced down and took a slight step back. Maybe she’s not good at talking to men, I pondered, also stepping back a little.
“You know, Miya-chan, Sano-kun is raising chickens. Three of them, and they’re pretty big.” The old woman then turned to me and brightly said, “Sano-kun, she’s raising a big lizard.”
“Chickens... Then it’s probably best not to get too close...” Miya noted in a disappointed tone. As I asked myself what she might have meant by that, I took a look at what was behind her. “Big” was an understatement, to put it mildly. It felt more fitting to describe the thing as a crocodile or dinosaur rather than a lizard. Pretty frightening. She must have meant that it could eat the chickens.
“Uh... So, what does he eat?” I asked.
“I try to discipline him, but...he will eat just about anything...”
Even my chickens are no match for this, I thought to myself. I wanted to get along with my neighbors, but this could unfortunately make it a bit difficult.
“Hey, Shohei! Come here!”