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Chapter 5 ā To Move Forward\nVolume 2\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nI thought back to the first time I cooked a dish and had someone try it.\n
The sound of the spoon hitting the bowl. The tension as it moved into the mouth. The tender moment.\n
From now on, Enami-san will experience the same feeling.\n
Enami-sanās long legs are moving forward little by little.\n
Perhaps because of the poor circulation of air, the closer she gets, the more stagnant she becomes. Iām sure a lot of things are swirling around in her head, but her pace didnāt slow down at all.\n
Mother Enami opened her eyes dazedly.\n\n
āMom, hereā¦ā\n\n
On the tray was a bowl of porridge that Enami-san had made. The steam was buried in the darkness.\n\n
āā¦Eh?ā\n\n
At that moment, what appeared on Mother Enamiās face was a bewildered expression with no room to spare. Her eyes were wide open, so wide that the whites of the eyes stood out.\n\n
āWere you ā¦serious?ā\n
āI told you I was going to cook for mom right. Why are you surprised?ā\n\n
Mother Enamiās back hit the cabinet. She frowned with an āOuchā.\n
Then she touched her lips with her left hand.\n\n
āPerhaps, have you been asleep since then, Mom?ā\n
āā¦Thatās right.ā\n\n
While we were standing in the kitchen, we didnāt hear a sound from Mother Enamiās side.\n\n
āYou want me to give this to meā¦?ā\n
āThatās what Iāve been saying. I wouldnāt be the one to eat it.ā\n\n
She placed the tray on the table.\n
The shawl that had been draped over Mother Enamiās shoulders slipped down. She pulled the quilt off her upper body and peered at the porridge with trepidation.\n
It was a very ordinary porridge. Egg porridge. There were chopped green onions on top of it.\n\n
āYou need to get over this cold as soon as possible. ā¦You havenāt been able to eat much rice, so you need to get some in your bodyā¦ So I thoughtā¦ā\n
āTo think Risa cookedā¦ā\n\n
It was made under my supervision, so there should be nothing wrong with it. Iāve also confirmed that the taste is fine.\n\n
āSit down, Mom.ā\n
āā¦ā\n\n
She was still stunned.\n
I start to feel a little uneasy. I wonder what Mother Enami was thinking at the moment. I wonder if sheās feeling uncomfortable. It could be that what we did had the opposite effectā¦\n
Eventually, Mother Enami sat down on a chair that had probably not been used in years. The back of the chair was unsteady, with her feet resting on the futon, but she didnāt seem to mind too much. Her eyes remained fixed on the food in front of her.\n
Her hand moved slowly.\n
The spoon scooped up the porridge. It gradually approached Mother Enamiās mouth.\n\n
āā¦.ā\n\n
She put it in her mouth. She chewed with her lips opening and closing in a small motion.\n
Then she swallowed.\n\n
āHow is it?ā\n\n
Enami-san asked anxiously, but Mother Enami did not answer the question.\n
While she was eating, her expression didnāt change much, and I couldnāt tell what she was thinking. However, she didnāt look angry or in a bad mood. It was clear that the situation was not the worst.\n
Her hand started moving again for the next bite.\n
Porridge after porridge went into Mother Enamiās mouth. Each bite was small, so the pace of eating was slow, but the bowl was definitely draining.\n
No one said a word for a long time.\n
All I could do was watch them.\n
I had already done all I could do. As an outsider, I could only watch.\n\n
āā¦surprisingly, youāve done well.ā\n\n
When she had eaten about half of it, mother Enami said.\n\n
āThatās obvious. I got help from the guy who always cooksā¦.ā\n
āThanks to Naoya-kun right.ā\n\n
Then Mother Enami turned to Enami-san.\n\n
āDo you have any water?ā\n
āI forgot. Iāll bring it right awayā¦ā\n\n
Enami-san grabbed a two-liter plastic bottle from the refrigerator. It was not tea, but mineral water. I think cold water is bad for her health at the moment, but I guess it canāt be heated since she hasnāt bought a new pot yet.\n
Mother Enami drank the water from a glass.\n\n
āThank you.ā\n\n
As she put the porridge in her mouth, she coughed, holding her mouth as if she had choked on it.\n\n
āAh, geezā¦ā\n\n
Enami-san rubbed her back.\n
In response, there was no sign of rejection from Mother Enami. When she calmed down, she took another drink of water and smiled, saying that she was fine now.\n
It seemed like she intends to eat it all.\n
ā¦Maybe, just maybe.\n
I believed this was a great thing.\n
Because, Enami-sanās body was trembling. Her legs, arms, and lips were shaking in small increments.\n
Itās not the face of desperation before cooking. Her body is not able to control the range of emotions caused by the scene in front of her.\n
Mother Enami and Enami-san donāt express such things in words.\n
They donāt even show it in their expressions.\n
But I guess this is a tremendous change.\n\n
ā-Karan~ A sound was heard.\n
The spoon was removed from Mother Enamiās hand. The bowl was empty. She exhaled loudly, her eyes staring up at the ceiling.\n\n
āā¦ā\n\n
At that moment, an emotion finally appeared on Mother Enamiās face.\n
I couldnāt understand what kind of emotion it was right away. She seemed to be smiling, but she was not. She was not frowning.\n
It was a strange expression.\n
Joy, sadness, pain, anger, anticipation, relief, anxietyā¦ I tried to apply various words to her expression, but none of them seemed to fit.\n
Eventually, I came up with a single word, and it just clicked in my mind.\n
I donāt know why I felt that way. It took me a long time to come up with the word because I didnāt understand it.\n\n
ā¦I thought that this face definitely represented ālonelinessā.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: We are almost at the end of this volume & available material. :p\n\n