Book 6: Chapter 12: December 31st (Thursday) – Ayase Saki
“It’s a hard-packed floor…” I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
Asamura-kun’s family’s house (or Stepdad’s family) was much bigger than I had imagined. Not to mention that it was relatively old. Judging by the architecture, it was probably built in the early Showa period. It had tiles for a roof, with a tataki at the doma. After stepping into the doorway, the hallway shone brightly like ebony, making it obvious how well it had been looked after.
I really love these kinds of old, Japanese-style houses. Looking at buildings and furniture that has survived the passage of time thanks to the care of the inhabitants tells me the story they went through, and I like doing that. The hallway that was hidden by the covered storm shutter was illuminated up by the winter sun’s shine. It was directly connected to the garden, and the covers of the storm shutters had faint signs of rain remaining on them.
But leaving that aside, I was feeling a bit… no, I was extremely nervous. To be perfectly honest, I was scared. I began to regret that I had so nonchalantly agreed to come with the others, but at the same time, I felt disgusted at myself for my unfriendliness, and I wanted to cry. I’m different from Maaya, who can open her heart to practically anybody within three minutes. Stepdad’s mother seemed like a genuinely nice person, and she was smiling throughout my introduction, but I still can’t fight this sense of nervousness assaulting me. From the sliding screen to the left of us, I heard loud banter.
“My, my, they’re awfully lively today.” Stepdad’s mother said, opening the sliding screen.
There were several people sitting around a table in the large Japanese-style room. Met with the pressure emitted by them, I took a step backward.
“Taichi is here.”
“Oh! Finally! It must have been a long drive from Tokyo.”
An elderly man with white hair responded and stood up. He’s probably Stepdad’s father. And to me, he’s my step-grandfather.