Enami-sanâs house was a room in a six-story apartment building.\n\n
The exterior was quite ordinary. The color scheme was based on beige. There is a parking lot around the apartment, with about 20 cars parked there. There is also a bicycle parking lot near it.\n
The building is located in a residential area, and there are similar apartments nearby.\n
We entered the building through the entrance.\n
The door was not locked automatically, and it seemed that non-residents could come and go as they pleased. The building was so old that it looked like it was at least 30 years old. The mailbox was dirty and the automatic door was slow to respond. There was an elevator, but it didnât seem to stop on every floor.\n
And it seemed that Enami-san lived on the fifth floor. Since the elevator only stopped on even-numbered floors, we went to the sixth floor and then took the stairs down to the fifth floor.\n
There are about six houses in a row on one floor. The Enami family was in the middle of them.\n
As far as the door was concerned, there was nothing strange about it. There was no accumulation of things in the doorway.\n
âItâs more normal than I expected.â\n
Itâs old-looking, but it doesnât look terrible. In some cases, mailboxes are in shambles, or dead insects are left in the hallways of apartments.\n
Here, cleanliness is kept to a minimum.\n
âThis apartment is not so bad, there are not so many strange residents.â\n
Enami-san replied as she took the key out of her bag. The apartment seems to be properly occupied, and people are living on both sides.\n
âAnyway, come on in.â\n
Enami-san unlocked the door. When she opened the door, a nondescript entrance was revealed.\n\n
There were only a few shoes. All of them were womenâs, and about half of them were high-heeled shoes. There was a bit of dust, but nothing too dirty.\n
âWhat about the father?\n
I swallowed again the question that had almost reached my throat. I thought it would be better not to ask too much.\n
The bracelet on Enami-sanâs hand was still in place.\n\n
âPardon.. my intrusion âŠâŠ.â\n
I tried saying something, but there was no reply. Nishikawa said in a small voice as she took off her shoes.\n
âThis is the second time Iâve been to Risa-chanâs house.â\n
As expected, she had been here once before. Nishikawaâs expression was the same as always.\n
âDoesnât look like things have changed that much since my last visit.â\n
Enami-san replied.\n
âHow can it change so rapidly? Wasnât it only about three months ago?â\n
âYes, butâŠâ\n\n
The hallway was narrow. I took off my shoes and stood in the corridor that stretched from the entrance, but it didnât seem possible for people to stand side by side. The hallway led from the front door to what appeared to be the living room. I could see a door with frosted glass in the back.\n
There didnât seem to be too many rooms. I looked around and said.\n
âIt doesnât look like a place that needs cleaning. So far.â\n
I had imagined a much worse scene. I had heard that she couldnât get over her cold and couldnât cook properly, so I expected to see garbage all over the place.\n
Enami-san did not look me in the eye.\n
âThis placeâŠâ\n
Apparently, something is going on. When I looked at Nishikawa, she was smiling a little.\n
All three of us were carrying bags that we had bought at Home Depot. To put them down, we went into Enami-sanâs room instead of the living room. We opened the door at the side of the hallway and found a small room of about six tatami mats.\n
It was a bleak room. There was only a study desk, a small bookshelf, and a hanger rack. It didnât have much of a sense of life. There was a futon folded up in the corner.\n
âYou can just put it there.â\n
âOkay.â\n\n
I put my student bag and the stuff I bought at Home Center down on the floor.\n
This room doesnât look like the kind of place that needs cleaning either. So, I guess the living room is the dirty one. This house is probably 1LK or 1LDK, and thatâs all thatâs left.\n
âIs the family still not here?â\n
I asked what I had been wondering earlier. Since there was no response to Enami-sanâs return, I naturally assumed that no one was home.\n
But she shook her head.\n
âMy mother is here. Sheâs been holed up in the living room.â\n
âEh?ăNo way.â\n
There was no noise at all from the living room. If that was the case, she might be asleep. I wonder if she doesnât usually talk much.\n
ââŠ.Itâs a good thing sheâs so quiet today.â\n
I am not sure, but it seems that there are times when she is noisier. I wonder what kind of direction Enami-san means by âmentally unwellâ state.\n
âWhatâs her cold like?â\n
âShe has a fever of about 37 degrees Celsius all the time. We went to see a doctor once, but he said it was just a cold.â\n
âDo you think sheâs sleeping?â\n
âWho knowsâŠâ\n
Somehow, I felt a distance between Enami-san and her mother. She was trying to take care of her, so it wasnât like she didnât care. But they didnât seem to be on good terms.\n
âIs the living room where we need to clean?â\n
I looked at the living room through the open door. The lights didnât seem to be on.\n
Enami-san nodded.\n
âYes. The living room is nothing compared to this place.â\n\n
I was right. So it must have been Enami-sanâs mother who made the house dirty.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: Starting new chapter⊠\n\n