As December arrived, the streets were decorated with Christmas lights everywhere, and even the people passing by seemed to be in a festive mood.
But as if oblivious to such an atmosphere, Onpu was walking with quick steps.
In her casual outfit of a cap and down jacket, her figure braving the cold wind looked like just another pedestrian.
When she reached the street lined with mixed-use buildings, she descended the stairs to the small theater below.
There had been quite a few offers to put Onpu on a bigger stage…
But those kinds of jobs would involve a lot of time spent on rehearsals and long performance runs.
That would inevitably mean less of her own free time.
And that was something she wanted to avoid.
To maintain her free time while working, her activities had to be limited to short-term small roles and small stages.
In the beginning, she was a bit bewildered by the situation of being in a small theater troupe without a manager. But as she got used to it, she found the tight-knit camaraderie of her fellow members more enjoyable than the bigger stages, and that when something came up, they would all work together to overcome it.
It had been extremely difficult to find the kind of work she really wanted to do among the many available stages. But the sense of achievement from finding it herself was something she could now savor.
It seems fulfilling, but I'd like to see Onpu perform on bigger and more glamorous stages like she used to...
She had even started making a name for herself on Broadway, but I wonder if she has no intention of going back?
But why Fukushima, of all places...?
Well, when Onpu was little, her mother's friend lived in Fukushima, and they used to visit often.
Ah, I see...
While Onpu was applying her stage makeup in front of the mirror, she reminisced about her childhood.
Being carried on her father’s shoulders, walking along the beach with her mother.
The sea in front of them turned into white waves that came and went on the sandy shore, but the distant sea was just blue and sparkling, and it seemed strange that it was so calm.
Making a bracelet with the seashells she had picked with her mother…
The sand castle she had built with her father that was washed away by the waves…
Watching the sunset sink into the sea, the three of them together…
Her father, who was a train driver, was often away due to the nature of his work, so there were periods when they couldn’t see each other much.
And after she started working, the time they could spend together became even scarcer, so those memories of the three of them together during her childhood were precious treasures to Onpu.
“The sea was so beautiful back then…”
When the disaster had swept away everything, it felt like not just the physical landscape, but even her own happy memories had been erased and lost.
That’s why she felt the need to reclaim them.
Her own memories, and everyone’s smiles.
Even if she couldn’t do anything major, she wanted to lend a hand for that purpose.
The opening buzzer rang five minutes before showtime.
Checking her appearance in the mirror one more time, Onpu headed for the stage.
The audience seats in the cramped theater were almost full.
The opening music began to play on the pitch-black stage.
Onpu, standing on the gradually brightening stage, quickly transformed into the character in the story and smiled.
It was close to midnight when Onpu returned to MAHO-do after the performance.
Quietly entering the entrance so as not to make any noise, she noticed that the living room was dimly lit.
Doremi was sitting at the large table, her hands wrapped around a cup of hot milk, lost in thought.
“Doremi-chan, you’re still up?”
Doremi turned around as if coming back to her senses.
“Oh, welcome back, Onpu-chan! I had some paperwork to do for the end of the semester. Just finished it.”
“I see…”
Onpu made some herbal tea in the kitchen and sat down next to Doremi.
“Are you okay, Doremi-chan…?”
She peered gently at Doremi’s face.
The girls were quite surprised when they heard that Doremi had rejected Kotake's proposal.
Yes. But Hana's words seemed to hit the mark.
Didn't you just say you're not going to the Netherlands!? You didn't say you don't want to marry him!!
That's right! It's Doremi and Kotake, after all. They won't break up that easily.
Doremi-chan surely needs time to think it through properly.
I'm sure Doremi-chan will be able to find the answer.
But she must be agonizing over it a lot, I imagine...
Aiko, Momoko, Onpu, and Hazuki, who were connected via tablet, vowed to watch over Doremi together with the slightly teary-eyed Hana.
After taking a sip of milk, Doremi smiled and said,
“I’ll be fine!”
“Well, if you say so.”
In Onpu’s glass cup, the red color of the hibiscus tea was spreading as the tea bag steeped.
“Wow… it looks like a flower blooming in the cup…”
At that moment, Doremi suddenly stood up as if remembering something.
“Onpu-chan, there’s a letter for you.”
“Eh?”
What Doremi placed on the table was an airmail envelope marked ‘VIA AIR MAIL’.
“Airmail, how unusual these days.”
“I wonder who it’s from…”
“Something like Saku… Saku…”
Looking at the sender, there were the characters “SAKUYA”.
“Sakuya…!?”
“Oh, right!”
At that name, a vivid image of an actress flashed through Onpu’s mind.
“Is that Sakuya-san…!?”
“Huh!? What? Onpu-chan!!”
Onpu quickly opened the envelope.
As she started reading the letter, her eyes began to shine brighter and brighter.
“Ah…”
She read the letter over and over, hugging it to her chest.
“Onpu-chan?”
Eventually, Onpu began to speak, recounting the memories.
“Do you remember when I failed the audition for a Hollywood movie a long time ago?”
“Oh… I think it was when you were in the sixth grade, right?”
At that time, Onpu, who was at the height of her popularity as a child idol, had her attempt to break into Hollywood heavily covered by the media, with high expectations placed on her.
But the result was failure.
Deeply hurt by the insensitive media coverage that followed, Onpu used magic to become an “ordinary girl”.
She then went out into the city, behaving freely without anyone noticing, but her heart remained clouded.
Onpu, still carrying her gloomy feelings, climbed up the stairs to a hill overlooking the sea.
That’s when it happened.
I believe that beauty is the most important thing in this world. If you have beauty, you can obtain any happiness!
You little girl know nothing! Beauty is the root of all calamity! Beauty attracts misfortune!!
The voices sounded like they were arguing, like a young woman and an old woman…
Startled, Onpu ran up the stairs, only to find that it was just one person - Sakuya.
“I was surprised. I thought there were two people, but it was just one. What I had heard was Sakuya-san practicing a one-woman play, ‘The Maiden and the Old Woman’.”
“I see~~.”
“After that, I immediately went to see ‘The Maiden and the Old Woman’. Sakuya-san on that stage was even more amazing…”
Sakuya had effortlessly switched between portraying the young, beautiful maiden and the old, hunchbacked woman with a hoarse voice, leaving Onpu overwhelmed by her acting prowess.
“To see one person portray two people so vividly… it was like magic.”
“Magic…!”
“After the performance, I went to Sakuya-san’s dressing room. I wanted to know how she could perform like that.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Sakuya-san told me, ‘Understanding the heart of the role is the most important thing.’ But back then, I still didn’t really get it… And then she said, ‘For now, cherish the time you can still be a child.’”
“The time you can still be a child, huh…”
“That’s when I realized for the first time that I had been trying too hard to grow up. After that, I began to treasure the time I spent with you all even more. If I hadn’t met Sakuya-san back then, I think I would have gotten stuck and wouldn’t have been able to continue as an actress. I might not even have been able to stay friends with you all like this.”
“I had no idea… So what does the letter say?”
“Sakuya-san is going to be in a stage play in London next year, and she asked if ‘I’d like to perform together?’”
“Wow! That’s amazing, Onpu-chan!!”
But then Doremi suddenly realized.
“But wait, back then, Sakuya-san wouldn’t have known it was you, right?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m so happy. The fact that Sakuya-san chose me despite not knowing it was me makes me feel there’s some special connection between us.”
“Then it’s settled, London!”
But Onpu fell silent.
“Onpu-chan!?”
“I’m not sure if I should go…”
“I see…”
Doremi leaned her head on Onpu’s shoulder.
“Oh dear. We’re at that age where we can’t help but agonize over things…”
So you still can't bring yourself to leave Japan, huh...
But it's such a great opportunity... Is it okay to just let it slip by like this?
The next day, Onpu was sitting in front of the mirror in the same theater.
Sakuya’s letter had a significant emotional impact on Onpu.
Take time by the forelock - if you don’t seize the chance when it’s right in front of you, you’ll miss it.
Even knowing that, she couldn’t bring herself to take that step forward.
And the opening buzzer rang again today.
The moment she stepped on stage, Onpu became absorbed in the reality of her role, forgetting everything else.
The audience was ecstatic, and they gave her a standing ovation at the end, making it hard to bring down the curtain.
But amidst the cheering crowd, Onpu didn’t notice the young man gazing at her with a nostalgic look in his eyes.
“Good work today~~.”
Onpu greeted her troupe members in the dressing room with a loud voice and then headed up the stairs.
Upon stepping onto the street, she could witness a multitude of people bustling beneath the brilliance of the illuminations, likely drawn by the allure of the weekend.
The moment she started walking, hunched over involuntarily against the blowing wind, she bumped into someone.
“Ah! I’m so sorry!!”
“Segawa… san?”
”!?”
She looked at the person before her without thinking twice.
It didn’t take long for her to recall the name of the tall, slender man who seemed kind-hearted.
“Noguchi-san? Is that you, Noguchi-san!?”
“You remembered me!?”
“Of course!”
Noguchi was one of the volunteers she had met in Fukushima before.
Onpu took Noguchi to a rice ball store.
It was a small, local store that had long been beloved by the community.
Noguchi brought two sets of rice balls from the counter to their table.
“Thank you~.”
“I’m surprised this is one of your favorite places, Segawa-san.”
“Because I can get freshly made, warm rice right before or after work. And it’s filling, you know.”
“I remember you like salmon and kelp, Segawa-san.”
“And you hate pickled plums, Noguchi-san.”
“Haha… But I’ve gotten much better at making them.”
“You made a lot, didn’t you.”
“I didn’t know you were an actress, so I ended up making you do a lot of work… I’m really sorry about that.”
With an innocent smile like that of a boy, he bowed his head.
“After that, I actually got a lot of roles where I had to make rice balls…”
“Eh!?”
“Just kidding.”
“Come on, don’t tease me like that~.”
They both laughed heartily.
To Onpu, Noguchi seemed like someone she just couldn’t help but tease.
They do look like they're getting along well, don't they...
I've never seen Onpu look so at ease with a man before...
The two of them had met two years ago, during a volunteering activity in Fukushima.
Noguchi had graduated from university a year earlier, and had been working as a temporary employee while aiming for a full-time position, but he seemed to have hit a wall.
He had joined the volunteering to try to change something, and that’s where he met Onpu.
But he had no idea she was a former child idol or still actively working as an actress.
“But that time was really tough, you know…”
“Eh?”
Onpu quickly realized what he was referring to, but pretended not to understand.
It was when she had performed a play for the children.
As a makeshift stage was set up near the evacuation shelter, the children quickly gathered.
When the curtain rose on “The Giant Turnip”, the children cheered and clapped excitedly.
“Heave ho, heave ho…”
The Grandpa and Grandma pulled the giant turnip that had grown on the stage.
But it didn’t come out at all, it was a story about everyone cooperating to pull it out.
Meanwhile, backstage, Onpu, dressed as the granddaughter, and the staff were in a panic.
“Ehhh!? The person playing the mouse suddenly got sick?”
“Yes, we just got a call about it.”
Seeing the confused Dog and Cat actors, Onpu said,
“Dog and Cat, please go on first.”
“Y-Yes!”
The Dog and Cat rushed onto the stage and started pulling the turnip together.
“In this case, without the mouse…”
The perplexed staff said to Onpu.
Since “The Giant Turnip” had been shown as a picture-story show before, the children were eagerly awaiting the appearance of the mouse.
“But the mouse has to take a bite…”
At that moment, Onpu noticed Noguchi looking worried in the corner.
“Noguchi-san! You watched the rehearsal this morning, right?”
“Y-Yes…”
Onpu suddenly placed the mouse-eared hat on Noguchi’s head.
“Please, play the mouse!”
“Eh!? No way, I can’t!! I’ve never acted before!”
“Can’t do it? But you might be able to if you just try. Come on, let’s go!”
Onpu grabbed Noguchi’s hand and they dashed onto the stage together.
“Waaah!?”
The children were overjoyed when the tall, lanky mouse appeared.
“We’ll help too!”
“O-Okay, I’ll do it!”
As Onpu pulled the Cat, the Mouse Noguchi also pulled Onpu, chanting,
“Heave ho, heave ho!”
“Come on everyone, let’s cheer together!”
When Onpu called out,
“Heave ho, heave ho!”
The children also enthusiastically joined in shouting.
Onpu and the others kept up the act of straining to pull the turnip.
With each movement, the ends of Onpu’s pigtails would tickle Noguchi’s nose.
Noguchi was desperately trying to hold it in, but…
“A-ACHOO!”
At that moment, his hands slipped off, he somersaulted backwards, and fell off the stage.
“Noguchi-san!?”
The children murmured in concern, but Noguchi sprang back up.
Applause and laughter erupted.
“If I take a bite of the turnip, it’ll come out!”
He jumped onto the stage and pretended to take a bite of the turnip. With a crack, it split apart, and Onpu and the others who had been pulling it fell on their butts.
Lots of candy spilled out from the broken turnip.
“I can’t forget the smiles on the children’s faces when we handed out the candy afterwards…”
“I pushed you too hard that time, didn’t I?”
“No, not at all!!”
“But you must have been embarrassed, right?”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong! It was completely different.”
“Eh?”
“The moment everyone burst out laughing at me, I felt a sense of… liberation, I guess you could say.”
“Ehh!?”
“I’ve been called ‘quiet’ and ‘passive’ since I was a kid, and I really disliked standing out. But then, seeing the smiles and laughter of everyone watching me, I felt strangely happy, and it was like something inside me just broke free…”
“Now that you mention it, you seem more lively now than back then, Noguchi-san…”
“You told me back then, ‘You might be able to do it if you just try.’”
Onpu hurriedly swallowed the rice ball in her mouth.
“Did I really say something like that…?”
“Yes, you did. It really struck a chord with me. And that made me want to challenge the things I had always just decided I ‘couldn’t’ do, without caring what others thought about me failing.”
“I see…”
“I took the civil service exam, studying hard. I wanted to find a job where I could utilize what I’d learned in university. It took me two years, but…”
“That’s amazing…”
“No, I really think if I hadn’t met you back then, I wouldn’t have been able to change… I’d still be drifting aimlessly. Thank you.”
“Oh, stop, you’re exaggerating.”
“No, I’m not. I wanted to thank you before I left, so I’m glad I came to see the play.”
“Leave? Isn’t your workplace around here?”
“Yeah, but I’m continuing the volunteer work. I’ll take some time off. I won’t be able to go as often, but the most important thing is to ‘never forget.’”
As Noguchi said this, his smiling face looked somewhat reassuring.
“Yes, that’s right. To never forget… huh.”
The station had passed the peak of the evening rush hour, and the number of passengers getting on and off had significantly decreased.
Onpu and Noguchi passed through the ticket gates and onto the platform.
“I’m headed that way.”
He pointed to the platform across from them.
As they reached the stairs down to the concourse, they both somehow stopped walking.
“Well then, maybe the next time we meet will be in Fukushima, huh?”
“I hope so.”
“Shall we do a play together again?”
“Ah, maybe not that…”
“Then, rice balls?”
“Yeah.”
“Take care at work!”
“You too, Segawa-san!”
Onpu held out her hand, and Noguchi firmly grasped it.
Noguchi descended the stairs, eventually appearing on the platform across from Onpu.
When Onpu waved, Noguchi waved back.
At that moment, Onpu suddenly realized something.
“Noguchi-san, where will you be working next?”
“Ah, Wakkanai. In Hokkaido.”
”!”
At that moment, a train pulled into Noguchi’s platform.
Boarding the train, Noguchi came to the door and smiled cheerfully through the glass.
The train slowly started moving.
As Onpu tried to wave to Noguchi, a train entered her platform as well.
Blocked by the train car, Noguchi quickly disappeared from view.
“Ahhh…”
For a moment, she looked wistful, but then she smiled.
“I have a feeling we’ll see each other again soon…”
While gazing at the bustling city lights passing by the train window, Onpu found herself thinking about Sakuya once again.
The Maiden and the Old Woman
If she could work with an amazing actress like that…
The most important thing is to "never forget"...
“That’s right…”
Even if they’re far apart, as long as she keeps them in her heart, she should be able to find the time to “return” to Fukushima.
“I thought I ‘couldn’t’, but maybe I ‘can’ if I just try.”
Before she knew it, a smile had appeared on Onpu’s face.
Onpu returned to MAHO-do after midnight.
“Oh?”
Unusually, the living room was still brightly lit, when it’s usually only dimly lit at this hour.
The moment she opened the front door, Doremi, Hana, and Momoko, hearing the doorbell, swiftly came like ninjas, speaking in hushed voices.
“Welcome back, Onpu-chan! We’ve been waiting for you.”
“News, news~~!”
In an instant, Hana had grabbed Onpu’s arm and sat her down on the living room sofa.
“What is it? What happened?”
“Something wonderful!”
“It’s true! Hazuki-chan is coming back before Christmas!!”
“Really!?”
“She just contacted us via video chat. I called Ai-chan too.”
“I see!”
Doremi looked around the living room happily.
“This Christmas, we’ll all be together after so long!”
“Hey, hey, are we going to decorate the tree now?”
Hana was hopping around the room as if searching for the perfect spot for the tree.
“That’s right. And this weekend is our first December Cafe.”
“Alright! Should I bring out the big one with magic~~!?”
“Hana-chan!”
The three of them spoke in unison,
“Okay, okay! I won’t use magic carelessly!”
And Hana replied with a pout.
“Tomorrow, we can ask San-chan for help.”
“Yaaay!”
Hana let out an exclamation, and they all quickly silenced her,
“Shh!”
Hana stuck out her tongue and shrugged, silently expressing her joy through an odd little dance.
Doremi and the others stifled their laughter as they waved their arms.
“But you know, I’m really looking forward to Christmas.”
“Yeah.”
They all looked up at the sky through the window, and the clouds parted to reveal a bright, round moon.
Hazuki was also absent-mindedly looking up at the sky from the window.
Yada wrapped a quilt around her shoulders from behind, enveloping her.
“Thank you…”
The moon shed its gentle light upon the two of them.