Chapter 6 - "I May Not Last Much Longer" VI

A Traffic Accident

ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT . . . Ako was injured and entered hospital. On her way home on her bicycle, she was hit by a car that didn't stop where it was supposed to. She was taken to hospital by ambulance. Will she be all right? I don't know what to do. I can only pray for her . . .

Mom came back from the hospital. Ako has broken two bones in her right leg. She'll have to have an operation once the swelling goes down. Mom said Ako was crying as she did her best to endure the pain, and kept saying, "Mom, I'm sorry about this."

"It was a good thing that she didn't hurt her head. I was really relieved," Mom said quietly. She looked smaller somehow or other.
"Please take me to see her," I said.
"I'll take you when her operation's over and she starts smilingm" Mom replied. "If you start crying, it may make her injury hurt more. So you'll have to wait for a while."

Oh I feel like flying to Ako and saying, "Ako-chan, hang in there!"

My brother dropped by the hospital on his way back from school, but he didn't tell me how she was. Is she that seriously hurt? I really want to eat some sweetened adzuki beans, but I'll be patient until Ako gets better. Hang in there, Ako-chan!

Is Mom all right? She doesn't seem to be sleeping much.
"Mom, I'm anxious about Ako, but I can't do anything," I said.
"Please don't fall over and hurt your self," she replied.
"That's the best thing you can do to help."

It seemed to me a rather passive way to help, but I nodded. Then I said, "Yes, I can see that. I know I won't be able to see Ako until I stop crying. But I'll try hard not to cry, so please take me to see her."

Rika suddenly said, "Ah, I want to die!"
I go serious just hearing the word 'die'. Even when I threatened her by saying "It'll hurt you know," she said,
"That's OK." When I said, in haste, "You won't be able to go on any picnics," she finally said, "I don't like the sound of that. I won't die then."

She wasnt seriously saying that, of course, but I was kind of seirously trying to stop her.

A breeze is blowing-you can feel the arrival of spring. Even the grass shoots are growing rapidly. I can't scretch my left Achilles tendon very well, and it's difficult to sit-maybe because I didn't do much exercise during the cold das. I've also developed a phobia about going to the toilet. I often get stiff shoulders and feel uncofortable because I don't sweat, even when it's hot. My tounge's movement's poor and I can't even lick a soft ice cream. I guess that's part of the reason I'm having difficulty speaking.

Yamaguchi-san's brother brought a new car. He invited me out for a drive. That was really unexpected!

It was a beautiful spring day. The shepherd's purses, Chinese milk vetch, dandelions, and early clovers were all beautiful. I wanted to make a ring of flowers, but I couldn't do it by myself. I felt embarrassed to ask a man, so I didn't. I found one clover which was sticking out over a ditch. Worried it might fall in, I peered over at it. But it was all right because it had a big root. I felt it must be strong as long as it has that support.

We dropped by Yamaguchi-san's house on the way back. He played his electric guitar. It was a very powerful sound. He said he's deeply into guitar-playing now. He wants to have more equipment, but, he said, "The money comes first, and everything else follows."

In my case, "A sound body comes first, and everything else follows."

That's more difficult than money.