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<b>Chapter 13: Fuji Kaede 6</b>
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I spent the rest of the day as it was in front of the fire door and then returned to the staff room. I thought that my staggered gait might be indistinguishable from the infected people I had seen on the video.
Then I take the backpack that was assigned to me in the staff room and sit down in front of the fire door again.
âDaddyâŚâ
I eat the little bit of food I have left and wait for my father to return. I didnât go looking for food in the distance, I just went to pick up the items below..
And yet, a day passed and my father was still not here. I knew in my head that it must be âthat wayâ but it was not something I could accept right away.
I could manage to accept my mother because my father was there.
Then, what about my father?
I turned my gaze toward the room my mother was in, the girlsâ changing room in the backyard, and then shook my head.
I donât know what Iâm thinking. But what should I do now?
Many questions popped into my head, and then disappeared, and I lost consciousness.
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How long has it passed since then?
In the emptiness, I forgot to look at the clock and just sat there aimlessly.
For the umpteenth time I endured hunger, but I was still hungry, so in a daze I returned to the staff room and opened my fatherâs backpack to see if I could find something. What I saw there was almost untouched portable food.
When I opened the entire contents of the backpack on the table, there seemed to be about two full days worth of food left.
I had given one dayâs worth of food to my mother, and we had split the remaining two days worth of food between the two of us, making four days worth of food for each of us, but my father had only eaten two days worth of food, even less, for almost ten days.
âWhyâŚâ
And then I found a neatly folded piece of paper among the things randomly placed on the table. I grabbed it with trembling hands, unfolded it and looked through the writing inside.
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âTo Kaede
Kaede is a good girl, so when you read this letter, Iâm sure youâll be really hungry and helpless and will open your fatherâs package. And at this time, Dad will probably not be able to see Kaede. After what happened to Mom, I hope she will forgive me for leaving Kaede all alone.Â
I wish I could leave more food for you, but you know how hard I worked, right? If Iâd known from the beginning that rescue couldnât come soon. I could have left a little more, but Iâm sorry.
Eat little by little and survive for as long as you can. If Dad could do it, Kaede can do it better. Then, maybe rescue will come sooner or later. Maybe the electricity will come back on, maybe the phone will come back on, maybe we can call for help. Or maybe someone passing by will come and help us.Â
Dad is not afraid of the infected people. No, it might be a lie to say that Iâm not afraid of them at all. But more than that, Iâm very scared to leave Kaede alone. I worry about Kaedeâs safety and survival.
Oh, there are so many things I want to write, but I canât put them into words. I love you, Kaede. Your father and mother love you so much, Kaede.Â
Kaede, this is a request from your father. Iâm sure your mother feels the same way. Kaede, youâll survive. No matter what you have to do. It doesnât matter what you do. It doesnât matter if you do something bad. Kaede is a good girl, so it might not be possible, but still⌠You will survive, I promise.
From your father.â
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As I read more and more, my vision became increasingly blurry and my tears fell in drops on the letter.
When I touched the tears that fell on the ink that had been blurred from the beginning, I realized that my father must have spilled tears while writing this letter.