If Enami-san’s mother was there, what would she think of our presence? That’s what I was worried about. If she hadn’t noticed that we were in the house, it would mean that we had suddenly appeared. I was worried that we might scare her.\n
The door to the living room felt thicker than usual.\n\n
“I’ve never actually been in there before. ……”\n\n
Nishikawa said.\n
“Risa-chan told me not to go in there. But at that time, I could definitely feel the presence of someone.”\n\n
Now, there is no sign of anyone beyond the living room. There was no noise. There was no movement of light.\n
To be honest, it was eerie. Shadows were falling on Enami-san’s face. I wondered if this was an area that I should be involved in.\n
However, I had already bought what I needed for cleaning. There was no way I could turn back now.\n\n
“I’m sure she’s in there. As I said at the beginning, if you think it’s impossible, you can stop. I’ll handle this on my own.”\n
“Hmm…”\n\n
Of course, once I took on the job, I intended to finish it. I’m sure there’s a reason why she advised us to that extent.\n
We left Enami-san’s room, crossed the hallway, and stood in front of the living room door.\n
A strange smell wafted up to my nose.\n
I hadn’t noticed it before. There was a strange smell wafting through the slightest of gaps.\n
“What’s that smell, ……?”\n
Enami-san didn’t answer.\n
“I’ll open it.”\n
Then the door to the living room was opened.\n\n
The first thing that struck me was that the strange smell had become even stronger. Earlier, I had wanted to cover my nose, but now the smell was so strong that I wanted to stop breathing.\n
Next, over Enami-san’s back, I could see the entire living room.\n
Through the window on the other side, I could see the blue sky and a small balcony.\n
Then I was immensely surprised by the scene in front of it.\n\n
If I had to use an analogy, it would be after a typhoon. Exposed to wind and rain, the orderly arrangement of things is destroyed and overturned. A table is usually supported by four legs. But there it was, with two of its legs broken off, sinking into the sofa as if it were leaning against it.\n
The whole room was a mess. It looked as if a small typhoon had formed in the room, rampaged through it, and then left it without repair.\n
It was probably about 12 tatami mats in size. There was a dining room and a kitchen, and it seemed to have been a beautiful space, to begin with. The floor was softwood flooring, and the ceiling was quite high. However, from what I can see now, it doesn’t look like a place where people could live.\n
The lace curtains hanging from the curtain rail were torn to shreds. It was torn wide open in the middle, and the bottom part was hanging down by a small joint. I don’t know why, but there were even traces of blood.\n
There was a large pile of garbage between the kitchen and the dining table. A few flies were swarming around. Perhaps, the strange smell was caused by a large amount of garbage. I dreaded to think how long it had been left there.\n
–Where is Enami-san’s mother?\n\n
As I looked around, I couldn’t tell where she was. All that was there was inorganic matter scattered in disorder.\n
“That’s more than I imagined.”\n
Nishikawa pinched her nose and narrowed her eyes.\n
It was not impossible, but it was not something that could be done in a day. Because we had to clean the water area as well, I felt that it would be a tremendous amount of hard work.\n\n
“Do you ever enter this room, Enami-san?”\n
“…… Basically, I don’t go in.”\n\n
I guessed that would be the case. Enami-san must be staying in her room all the time while she is at home.\n\n
“But sometimes I go in to make sure my mother is still alive. As soon as I’m sure she’s alive, I leave.”\n
“Oh, I see. ……”\n\n
I walked forward, enduring the strange smell.\n
It’s hard to walk properly. The carpet is littered with shards of dishes. Not just one or two, but many. The soles of my feet ached from time to time.\n
I could hear the slight hum of the air conditioner. The slightly warm breeze hit my skin.\n
I look at the garbage bags piled up on the dining table. Tissue paper, mechanical products, books, etc., were visible in them. There was even a garbage bag where a bowl of rice had been thrown away.\n
Anyway, they seemed to be stuffed with all kinds of things. There were also food scraps, which must have gone bad. The closer I got, the more shock I felt in my nose.\n
–I wonder what brought about this situation.\n
In reality, typhoons do not occur inside houses. It was artificially destroyed. I’ve heard of cases where a room is ruined due to inactivity. However, I had never seen a case like this one, where all kinds of furniture were impacted and made a mess.\n
Anyway, I had to get rid of all the garbage in here.\n
That’s when I thought to myself.\n\n
On the other side of the dining table. I heard a noise coming from a gap in the wall door, about a meter away.\n
–Is anyone there?\n
“……Aa”.\n
A small voice. It sounded like a moan. It was clearly a woman’s voice.\n
But the pile of garbage bags made it hard to tell who was there. I swallowed my spit and walked around the table to look at the other side.\n
There, I saw a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair.\n
She seemed to have just woken up and I could see her rubbing her eyes as she sat up halfway.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: Next time we meet the Enami mom..\n\n