雪が融けたら
二三日前だったか、朝起きてみたら裏庭が白くなっていた。雪が降ると、それまで晴れて暖かだった日のことが頭から消えてしまい、冬の真っただ中に連れ戻されてしまった気分だ。翌日も一日中雪がちらつく始末で、春がすっかり遠のいてしまった感がある。遠くの山を見やれば、一面の雪景色、かなわんなあ。これを書いている間も、どんよりして今にも降り出さんばかり。それでも三月も中旬なのだから、晴れさえすれば、温かさが戻ってくるはずだ。
この間ある中学生が、「雪が融けたら何になるか」という質問をしてきた。これは裏があるなと直感したので、まずは用心した。頓智をあれこれ考えても思い浮ばなかった。やや間があって彼は素直に答えろと言う。私は「ウウ－ン、水かな」と応じる。皆さんならどう答えるだろうか。
尋ねてきた彼曰く、「水と答える人は理系だよ」。その時私は水の他に思い付かなかった。そこでその場にいたもう一人に同じ質問をすると、彼は「雪が融けたら春になるよ」と応える。なるほど、そうきたか。春はどうなのと聞くと、「春の場合は文系だよ」と言う。どうやらこの質問は彼の発案ではなさそうで、ある高校生に聞いてみると、内容を知っているということだった。子供たちの中では周知の話題なのかもしれない。
何かしら気に入った私はこの話をいい大人達に話してみると、彼らも面白がっていた。私と同じように「水」を答える人が多かったが、中には「春」を連想する人もいた。文系、理系の話をすると、あれこれ考える風で、遠くを見るような表情をする。
ただ根性のねじ曲がった年寄りとしては、文系、理系の真偽を確かめたくなる。理系と言われ、少々違和感があったので反論を考えてしまう。私は水と解答したが、雪解けの水が集まれば小川となり、フキノトウや福寿草など、野の花を開かせるではないか。更に小川を集めれば、冷たいながら水量の増した春らしい川となる。
それでも私に質問してくれたことが何となくじわっと嬉しかった。彼らも春が来るのを楽しみにしていることが分かるし、その気分を私と共有しようとしてくれているように感じた。
既に花粉症で目がかゆいし鼻水も出る。手ばなしに喜べる状態ではないが、彼らと共に春を待ちたいと思う。 髭じいさん
When the snow melts
It was probably a few days ago, when I woke up in the morning, the backyard had turned white. When it snows, I feel like I’ve been transported back to the middle of winter, forgetting all the warm, sunny days I’ve had before. It snowed all day the next day, and I felt spring was far away. If you look at the mountains in the distance, you’ll see nothing but the snow covered landscape. Even as I’m writing this, it’s getting gloomy and about to start raining. Still, it’s mid-March, so as long as the weather clears up, the warmth should return.
The other day, a junior high school student asked me, “What would happen if the snow melted?” I had a hunch that there was something behind this, so I took precautions. No matter how much I thought about Tonchi, I couldn’t think of anything. After a pause, he asks me to answer honestly. I responded, “Hmm, maybe water.” How would you all respond?
When I asked him about it, he said, “If you answer water, you’re a science major.” At that time I couldn’t think of anything but water. When I asked another student who was there the same question, he replied, “It will be spring when the snow melts.” I see, that’s how it came about. When I asked him what he thought about spring, he said, “If it’s spring, it’s liberal arts.” Apparently, this question was not his original idea, for when I asked a high school student, he said he knew the content. This may be a well-known topic among them.
There was something about it that I liked, so when I told the story to some fellow adults, they were also amused. Some people answered “water” like I did, but some also associated it with “spring.” When I talked about science major and liberal arts, they seemed to be thinking about things and looked off into the distance.
However, as an old man with twisted roots, I want to check the authenticity of sciences and the liberal arts. I was told that I was a science major, which made me feel a little uncomfortable, so I thought of a counterargument. I answered water, but when the water from melting snow gathers, it becomes a stream, and wildflowers such as fukinotou and fukujusou bloom. If more streams are collected, it will become a spring-like river with an increased amount of water, although it is cold.
Still, I was somehow glad that he asked me that question. I could tell that they were looking forward to spring coming, and I felt like they were trying to share that feeling with me.
My eyes are already itchy and my nose is runny due to hay fever. Although I’m not in a condition to be happy with them, I want to wait for spring with them.
bearded old man
