虹
図書館からの帰り道、バイパスの信号を渡る辺りで細かい霧のような雨が降っているのに気づいた。雨具が要るようなものでなかった。寄り道をしようと学校橋を渡っていると、青空に虹が架かっていた。
例の友人宅でゆっくりしていると、近所のお婆がやってくる。みたらし団子と大判焼きを手土産にもっている。私は手ぶらに気づき、まあこういうこともあると納得させた。
このお婆の口癖は「ああ、エ－ライ」である。足が痛いらしく、いつもゆっくり歩いている。この日はいつもより軽く歩いているように見えたので、見ている私も気が楽になった。彼女は近ごろ主の人柄にひかれて毎日来るようだ。
彼女はご主人に先立たれ、独居で暮らしているらしい。都会だかで暮らす息子に来いと言われているのに、昔からの付き合いがあるからここで晩年を過ごしたいと言っていた。この日彼女が気にかかっていたのは年末に離れた息子の所で過ごすかどうかという事で、迷っているようだった。
そうこうしている内に、もう一人お婆が入って来た。やっぱり近所の人で、二人とも顔見知りである。彼女も入ってくるなり、「ああ、エ－ライ」だ。彼女はどこも痛いところがないらしく、今日も畑へ行って草抜きをしてきたと言う。それなら納得である。
今朝は携帯が無いと大騒ぎしたらしい。電話をかけてもらい、無事に見つかったそうで、何度も主にお礼を言っていた。彼女もまた独居で、ふと孤独だか不安だかを感じたらしく、肩にかけていたバッグの話をする。
旦那の背広をやり直して作ったという。撫でたり、くちゃくちゃしたり、何だか愛おしい様子である。何を思ったか何やら中から取り出す。大事にカバーに入れた旦那の写真である。彼はなかなかハンサムで、朗らかに笑っている。いつもはその写真と携帯を入れているそうな。
何かの拍子にバッグから携帯を出したままにしておいて、行くへ知らずになったらしい。結局仏壇にあったとかでホッとしていた。めでたし、めでたし。
主に仕事ができたというので、彼女が去り、私が帰る時には一人目のお婆もそわそわしていた。
私は満足して帰路につき、新橋の上から東の方を向くとすっかり曇り空になっていた。見上げればはっきりした虹が一本綺麗な弓型に架かっており、少しかすれ加減でもう一本その上に架かっている。二本の虹が同時に架かっているのを見たことがあったかなあと顧みたが、途中でやめた。
爺婆の日常にこれ程の非日常が隠れていたかと思うぐらい、美しくてやがて寂しい寄り道だった。 髭じいさん
Rainbow
On my way back from the library, I noticed a fine mist of rain falling near the bypass traffic light. There was no need for rain gear. As I was crossing Gakkobashi bridge to take a detour, I saw a rainbow in the blue sky.
When I was relaxing at my friend’s house, an old lady from the neighborhood came over. She has mitarashi dango and obanyaki as souvenirs. I realized I was empty-handed and convinced myself that this could happen.
This old woman’s favorite phrase is ”Oh, that’s hard.” Her legs seem to hurt, so she always walks slowly. She seemed to be walking lighter than usual that day, which made me feel better as I watched her. Recently, she seems to have been drawn to the host’s personality and comes every day.
Apparently, her husband passed away and she lives alone. Her son, who lives in a city, has asked her to come, but she says she wants to spend her later years here because they have known each other for a long time. What she was worried about that day was whether or not she would spend the end of the year with her son, who was away from her.
While I was doing this, another old woman came in. She is also a neighbor , and we both know each other. As soon as she came in, she said like, ”Oh, hard.” She doesn’t seem to have any pain, but she said she went to the field today to pull weeds. That makes sense.
Apparently she made a fuss this morning because she couldn’t find out her cell phone. She received a phone call from the host and told that she had been found it safely, and she thanked him many times. She also lives alone, and she seems to suddenly feel lonely or anxious, and she talks about the bag that was on her shoulder.
She said she made it by redoing her husband’s suit. It looks like it’s adorable as it’s being petted and scrunched up. Whatever comes to mind, she pulled something out from inside. That was a photo of her husband, which she carefully kept in the cover. He is quite handsome and has a cheerful smile. She seems to usually put that photo and her cell phone in the bag.
For some reason, she left her cell phone out of her bag and lost sight of it. She was relieved to find it at the Buddhist altar after all. Happy, happy.
The host said he had work to do then, so by the time she left and I returned, the first old woman was also restless.
Satisfied, I headed back home, and when I looked east from Shimbashi bridge, the sky had become completely cloudy. When I looked up, I saw a clear rainbow hanging in the shape of a beautiful bow, and another slightly fainter rainbow hanging above it. I wondered if I had ever seen two rainbows at the same time, but then stopped thinking.
It was such a beautiful and lonely detour that I wondered if there was something so extraordinary hidden in the old people’s daily lives.
Higejisan
