I recognized her right away. It was Enami-san’s mother.\n
She definitely seemed to have a fever. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were vacant.\n
She looked younger than I had imagined. She was a middle-aged woman, but she was still very pretty. To be honest, I had imagined her to be much dirtier. Her body was thin and her hair was long.\n
For some reason, there was a futon laid out in this secluded place. She seemed to be sleeping on the futon.\n
I couldn’t say another word.\n
Then, the person in front of me exclaimed, “Aa”.\n
“–Risa’s friend? What’s wrong?”\n
“Eh?”\n
“You are friends, right?”\n\n
Enami-san’s mother showed no sign of agitation. I nodded my head fearfully. Soon Enami-san and Nishikawa came up behind me.\n
“Oh, there is another……. Welcome …….”\n
She said to Nishikawa behind me. It was probably the first time she had met Nishikawa. Her tone was soft. The lowered corners of her eyes were filled with no more emotion than words.\n\n
This person is Enami-san’s mother …….\n
I was bewildered.\n
At first glance, the conversation seemed normal. But all I could feel was discomfort.\n
This was because this place was dominated by a stench and a lot of garbage. A complete stranger is looking at that kind of scene in her own house. Despite this, she felt no embarrassment or discomfort at all.\n
And that’s not all. I wondered why she was sleeping in this place.\n
She looked unconcerned. It was no different from sleeping in a clean space, with a futon laid out.\n
The fact that she didn’t feel abnormal in this abnormal space was abnormal.\n\n
“Mom, there’s a reason why I brought you two here.”\n
Enami-san stepped in front of me. She crouched down and spoke slowly.\n
“We’re going to clean this room now. Because it’s been neglected for too long. I’ve called the two of them to help me.”\n
Mother Enami’s reaction to these words was also dull. She only replied calmly, “Oh”.\n
“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Nishikawa. I’ve been getting along well with Risa-chan.”\n
Nishikawa bowed her head. I followed suit.\n
“I’m Ookusu. Nice to meet you. I’m a classmate of Enami-san ……’s daughter.”\n
“Oh, so polite.”\n\n
Enami-san’s mother made a small bow. It was eerie. I’m not sure how she can be so nonchalant. I wondered if it was because her nose had gotten used to it.\n
“I’m sorry, Mom. Can I ask you to leave this room for now? I want to get rid of everything. It’s the worst place to get over a cold in the first place.”\n
“Really? I don’t feel the need to leave. ……”\n
Mother Enami’s once calm expression stiffened slightly. She had a smile plastered on her face, but I felt that the smile did not express any emotion.\n
“Mom, ……. Do you see this room?”\n
Then, Enami-san turned around.\n\n
A pile of garbage. Broken furniture. It was hardly a place where one would expect to live.\n
However, Mother Enami was still as relaxed as ever.\n\n
“It’s normal. What’s wrong with that?”\n\n
Enami-san’s eyes swam as if she was having a hard time saying it. I think she’s scared. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she looked straight at her mother.\n
“This room is not a place for people to live, so I want to make sure it is. Please understand.”\n
She said clearly. I was curious about Enami-san’s mother’s reaction, so I looked at her face.\n\n
“……”\n\n
She was silent. There is no change in the expression before and after being told. You might even think that she didn’t hear you.\n
A gentle smile continued to appear on her face. It was as if time had stopped. She didn’t move her head, she didn’t move her body, she was just looking back at Enami-san.\n\n
It was frightening.\n
Seeing her reaction, I sensed that something bad was going to happen.\n
I guess my intuition was right. Enami-san was blatantly impatient. She immediately said,\n
“All right. You can forget about what I said earlier. Just don’t bother us.”\n
“Fu fu… I won’t do anything like that.”\n
And soon Enami-san’s mother’s time began to move. I patted myself on the chest.\n
I wondered what had happened at that moment. I’m pretty sure we stepped on a landmine. I don’t know why, but she seems to have an unusual obsession with being in this living room.\n
Enami-san quietly walked out of the living room. Nishikawa and I followed her, looking at each other.\n\n
We walked out into the hallway and closed the living room door.\n
Enami-san was standing there, holding her head in one hand.\n
“Things are like that…….”\n
“I see.”\n
I had no right to say anything. But I could understand part of the reason why she was described as mentally unwell.\n
“Risa-chan, are you okay?”\n
“I’m fine. I’m used to it.”\n
I guess they don’t usually have many conversations. She looked tired, even though she said she was used to it.\n
“For now, let’s decide on a plan. First, we have to deal with that huge amount of garbage.”\n
I said so.\n
It’s no use thinking about Enami-san’s mother now. There’s nothing we can do about it. Something must have happened to her. It must have been the result of that. There’s a history in the Enami family that I can’t even imagine.\n
“Let’s start by taking the trash from the living room to the front door! If we don’t want people to see too much of the house, we need to be able to hand it over right away.”\n\n
I was grateful for Nishikawa’s cheerfulness on this occasion.\n\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nTN: That’s all for today.. Now I’m lazy.\n\n