Queen big ant honey is as sweet as always this morning. Nevermind my internal organs, I feel like it fills every single one of my cells.
It really is a sublime drink.
But this sublime honey is starting to run out. I check my Storage Space, and see I have a two liter bottle, and half of another one.
So three liters.
I thought I had a lot, but it’s running out before I knew it. I’ve been cutting it with carbonated water, but I’ve been drinking too much without being aware.
I look on at what I have left with longing, when suddenly, my phone rings.
Who could it be so early? I look at the screen, and see it’s my father.
That’s rare. I pick it up, and hear his voice for the first time in a month.
“Hello. Good morning Haruto. Sorry, I know it’s early.”
“Good morning. You haven’t called me in a while. Did something happen?”
“Yes, something serious happened with your mother.”
“Mom! What happened? She was doing well the last time we talked.”
“I want to ask about that. What did you send her?”
“What? Just some stuff from here and menma.”
“…I see. We didn’t tell you, but your mother had cancer.”
“…Ah? Cancer?”
“Yes. Alre… can… Home…”
“Dad, you’re cutting out. I’ll head there, okay?”
“Lease… Station…”
“Dad? Dad!?”
The call was cut off.
I wasn’t expecting to hear my mom had cancer when I picked up the phone.
I was going to take it easy today, but I have to get ready to head to my parents’ house as soon as possible.
I can buy a bullet train ticket when I get there. I’ll take as many clothes as I can. Where did I put that trolley bag?
When everything’s ready, I pull the trolley bag, and put my shoes on in the entrance.
When I see my fat self in the full length mirror in the entrance, I sigh. I decided not to go back until I lost weight, but the situation means that won’t happen.
What if people say something? Let’s talk with our fists, sure.
I think as I leave.
◇ ◇ ◇
After shaking for three hours in the bullet train, I reach my hometown.
It looks the same, and the smell in the air brings back nostalgic memories.
There’s a shopping center near the station, where I used to snack with my friends on our way home from school.
Coming here always brings back memories.
I look around the station plaza for a car that could be my father’s, but don’t find any that could be his.
Maybe I misheard him at the end.
I go to where the taxis are parked, but stop when I see a familiar face nearby.
It’s this body. They might not know it’s me, but what if they do? I want to avoid acquaintances as much as I can.
And if we do meet, my fists…
Anyway, I get on a bus, and get off at the stop closest to my parents’ house. It’s fifteen minutes away from here, so I roll my trolley bag behind me as the summer sun roasts my skin.
This is supposed to be easy compared to the dangerous dungeon, but the sun and this rolling sound really sap away my strength.
It’s only when I reach the house that I realize I could’ve put my luggage in my Storage Space.
I thought of that way too late, so I just ring the doorbell.
No one’s coming. I ring it again, and nothing.
Are they in the hospital?
It would make sense for my mother to be hospitalized if she has cancer. I should’ve called the moment I got off at the station.
I immediately call my father.
“Hello. I just got here. Are you in the hospital?”
“No, I’m in the shopping center in front of the station.”
“Hey! Did you leave mom alone in the hospital?”
“Tae… Your mother is here, don’t worry.”
“Ah!? What are you talking about? Is she okay?”
“We’ll explain when we get there. Go inside. The key is where it was before.”
“…Okay. Just come back quickly.!
“Ah, that’s right. I’m calling Takato and Haruka, so let them in if they get there.”
“They’re coming too? Okay, I will.”
We end the call, and I retrieve the key from under a flower pot. It’s always been there.
Sometimes my cousin would run away from home and use it to enter our house, but my parents didn’t mind her doing that.
My brother was really pissed when she blabbed about his dirty books, but knowing he’s married nowadays makes me jealous.
I was in grade school at the time, and I thought they were really annoying, but looking back, they were probably together back then.
When I go inside, the distinctive smell sends me right back to my youth.
The smell of the town, and the house… It’s like every smell here triggers memories.
The house has been remodeled since we kids moved out, but it really feels like I’m back home.
Our rooms don’t exist anymore, being turned into guest rooms and rooms for our parents’ hobbies, but the family photo in the living room is still here.
I sit on the sofa, and my body sinks more than it ever has. I can hear the sound of the springs doing their best.
This is nostalgic too. This is the sofa where I used to jump.
Can I do that now?
I wanna try.
Should I?
…
The sofa’s broken. It’s been used for such a long time, it just reached the end of its life.
It was here when I was little. It wanted to be put out of its misery.
I know, since my wallet’s doing well, I’ll give them a new one as a present. It’s important to look after your parents. I’m sure they’ll be happy with a sofa that’s easy on their backs.
Hm, well, now let’s think of an excuse.
◇ ◇ ◇
I take ice coffee from the fridge, pour it into a coup, and take a breather.
The cold wind from the fridge feels nice and cools my body. And the ice coffee cools it on the inside.
And as I experience this sublime double cooling, I noise outside.
I wait in the living room, wondering if my sister’s here.
Spatial Grasp shows me the reaction of a woman, but also one of a man. Did she bring her husband?
The door opens, and a woman walks into the living room. She looks like she’s in the first half of her twenties.
She looks like someone I know, but I don’t know her.
I’ve seen her before, but I don’t know where.
“Hum, who are you?”
I ask straight. If I don’t know, I ask. Basic stuff.
The woman is very surprised to see me.
“Eh, I should ask you that. How did you get in here?”
The woman looks at me like she’s confused, but doesn’t look wary.
And for some reason, I don’t feel danger coming from this stranger either. The sense of danger I cultivated in the dungeon doesn’t kick in, and somehow, I feel like I can trust her.
“What do you mean how? This is my parents’ house.”
“What are you talking about? This is my house. Did you get the wrong one?”
“Did you? This is my old home.”
“Hum, you’re a student, aren’t you? I won’t pursue this any further, so please just leave. I’ll call the police if you don’t.”
The woman grabs her phone to call the police. And I’m surprised. Not at who she’s calling, but at her phone strap, because it looks familiar.
Then someone else comes in.
The reaction I picked up before moves to the living room, confusing me even further.
“What’s wrong Tae? We need to get this ice cream in the freezer or it’s going to melt.”
My father says to the woman as he comes in.
“We have a stranger in the house, Jin. He says this is his house and he won’t leave.”
“What? Who are you… You don’t look like a thief. How did you get in here?”
Then it all clicks.
My father brought a new, younger woman home while my mother is in the hospital. I can’t believe my respected and dignified father would do such a thing, but what I see before me tells the story.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“What are you doing, dad? Mom is sick, isn’t she? Are you just going to abandon her!? Why are you fooling around with younger women!? Is this a joke!?”
My father and the woman are confused by the sudden verbal abuse.
Then my father realizes something.
“…Are you… Haruto?”
“Ah, you forgot your son’s face too? Did fooling around with a young woman screw with your head? Then I guess you were right to leave mom.”
“Haruto, calm down. Listen to your father.”
“What’s there to hear? You left mom to live with another woman. It’s all a big joke”
I let out a disgruntled snort, and the woman, who I guess doesn’t like my attitude, walks between us and glares at me.
And then she strikes my face.
“Haruto, apologize to your father.”
“…Ah? Why do I have to do what you say? Stay out of this, this doesn’t concern you.”
Is she upset because her man is being treated like a fool? I don’t want this outsider sticking her neck into family affairs. But she continues, and laughs like she’s making fun of me.
“What, you don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“The woman in front of you is your mother, Haruto!”
“…Ah?!
I don’t get what she’s saying.
My mother’s a plump woman in her late fifties. She looks her age, and it’s clear she has been married to my father for many years.
I really don’t get it, and keep looking at her.
I do see the resemblance.
“Are you doubting me? I’m Taeko, who gave birth to you! Get it!?”
I pick at my ears, but I just cleaned them yesterday.
I look at my father, and he nods.
“It’s true.”
“Ahhh!?”
My scream tilts the family photo just a little.
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Thanks for the chapters
I guess that is the aftereffect of the queen ant honey.