Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 11 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Not Really about Summer at All

ON THE WAY home from pool day at my school, I spot a panda cub toddling along. This I wasn’t expecting to see, so I stop in my tracks on the street corner. It’s wearing a blue backpack that’s as big as, or maybe bigger than, its body. Kind of surreal watching it march through the searingly bright sunshine. Hoping maybe it’s Yachi, I chase after the panda and peer at its face. 

“What the?” 

I lock eyes with a girl a lot shorter than Yachi. A pure white glimmer swirls in her eyes like clouds. 

“What. Do. You. Want?”

“I’m getting déjà vu…” 

I feel like I encountered this same girl in this exact same way last year. Was she dressed like a panda back then, too? As I recall, I mistook her for Yachi and called out to her. No clue why I thought I recognized her from behind, but upon further inspection, she feels the same as Yachi, even if their faces look nothing alike.

Her silver hair and eyelashes shine bright enough to dazzle me. Her eyes are pale blue, lighter than Yachi’s purple. Almost like each one is an image of Earth from space. 

“Hm? Do you know me?”

“Not really. I just realized I’ve seen you before.”

“I see.” 

With this brusque reply, she acts like the conversation is over and starts walking again. For someone so short, she sure talks with a tongue as sharp as a grown-up’s—but from behind, she looks like she hasn’t even made it to elementary school yet. I watch her toddle along for a bit, then jog up beside her.

“Hm?”

“Can’t let a little kid walk around on their own, y’know,” I explain smugly, pointing my index finger into the air.

“Little kid…?” The panda tilts her head for a moment, then shrugs. “Whatever.”

Beneath her panda hood is sparkly white hair so delicate, it looks fragile to the touch, and I can’t take my eyes off it. It feels cold almost, like moonlight’s shining directly onto it. But her soft cheeks look like they’d stretch for miles.

“That’s a big backpack you’ve got.” 

“When I said I was going out, they made me take a few things.” The panda chuckles like she’s in a good mood.

“Where’s your mom and dad? Are you lost?”

“I am not lost this time.” 

Answering only my second question, she points in the direction of an intersection. Heading straight from there, we reach a public park, which she cuts across to head next door. And next door…is a little cemetery. 

In the back is a field with a great view, and I can count the number of graves on my fingers. But I haven’t spent much time in a cemetery before, so I feel a bit awkward. Then the panda walks up to the largest grave in the cemetery and comes to a stop. I can’t read most of what’s etched onto the headstone. 

“Whose grave is this?”

Standing here in front of it, I’m not sure how to ask. Is it a friend or family member? A grandpa or grandma? A bunch of ideas come to mind, but something tells me I need to tread carefully.

“My guess is as good as yours.”

“What?”

“But I made a promise, you see.” The panda pulls a tall, skinny jar from her backpack. It’s full of kompeito candy. “And it seems keeping promises is our favorite hobby.” Placing the jar by the headstone, she stares firmly at the grave.

“What do you mean?”

“A hobby is something you do for no benefit whatsoever, is it not?” she asks dryly as she slings her backpack back over her shoulders. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m eating it.” With a devilish grin, she grabs the jar she only just gave as an offering. “Put out your hands and I will give you half.”

“You sure?”

“That is how these are meant to be eaten.” Then she lets out an evil laugh that doesn’t match her voice whatsoever. 

Specks of purple, blue, and white spill from the jar into my waiting palms. I can feel their medium-firm bumps poking into my skin. But I’d better eat them fast before they melt and make my hands all sticky.

Meanwhile, the panda pours the rest of the jar into her open mouth. So instead of picking them up one at a time, I decide to funnel them all into my mouth, too. Together we stand in front of the grave, our cheeks stuffed full of candy. She manages to smile without spilling any, and a chuckle rises in my belly. 

“Wanna come over to my house?” I offer once we’re done visiting(?) the grave. “I know someone you’d really get along with.” Yeah, she and Yachi would make super sparkly friends.

“Hmm.” Her gaze wanders for a bit. “Sadly, I must return home by dinnertime.”

“Darn.” Apparently the panda has a home to go back to, and I don’t mean a bamboo forest.

“…Hrmmm?”

Just then, she suddenly leans in close to my hand, looking at the strand of sky blue still tied around my finger. Even after all this time, the butterfly continues to sparkle and flap its wings.

“What is it?”

“Oh, I just thought the color was familiar.”

“Blue…? Wait, does that mean you do know Ya—”

“Fare. Thee. Well!” Instead of letting me finish, she toddles off down the street at full speed. 

“She and Yachi have that in common, too…” She doesn’t look like she’s running all that hard, but somehow I can tell I won’t be able to catch up. 

Will I see her again next year? Maybe summer is the season of encounters.

I turn away from the cemetery and start heading home. My pace quickens with the urge to tell Yachi everything that just happened.

“Welcome hooome!”

“Wow, she was right…”

When I open the front door, I’m greeted by a dolphin riding my mom’s shoulders. One thing’s for sure: I can count on having a strange home life all year round.