Kays Translations

Volume 1: Grandmother’s parting gift

Chapter 1: Grandma’s parting gift

　Ever since I was hospitalized, I have been on oxygen. My grandma is staring at me. The only thing I have left to think about is my grandmother and my cats, Yoru and Tarotaro.

　Grandma’s expression today is different from the sorrowful one she had yesterday. She looks strangely strong. I wonder why.

“Grandma?”

“Mai, I am feeling so much regret right now. I don’t know why I didn’t notice your illness until now.”

“You know what the doctors said.  it is a disease that is hard to notice until it progresses. I didn’t feel anything. It’s not your fault.”

　It’s really not my grandmother’s fault. Don’t worry about that.

“This world is so advanced in medical care that I let my guard down. People are living longer, and even I, who is nearly eighty years old, is doing well. I thought this world was convenient and peaceful, a paradise. But Eri and Hiroyuki died in a car accident. And now it’s you. Even if you live in this world, you can’t escape death. I was really careless.”

　What world?　What are you talking about?

　Did she go crazy because she was shocked by me? If so, I’m in trouble. I don’t have much time left. What will happen to Grandma after I’m gone?

“Mai, would you be scared to go to a strange world all by yourself?　A world without all the conveniences of this one.”

“What are you talking about?　Another world?”

　Grandma shook her head. I felt short of breath after just a few words. The tumors that had formed in my internal organs had spread to many places early on, and my lungs were diseased. They have already done everything they could do.  Yesterday, the doctor in charge , with  great reluctance, told me that all they could do now was to give me medicine so that I will not suffer.

“I’m not talking about the afterlife. If you go to that world, you will have to manage on your own somehow. Instead, you can start over with a healthy body. What do you think?”

“I like it. It’s great.”

　I smiled. Huffing and puffing and breathing wildly, I  regulated my disordered breathing and decided to apologize while I was at it.

“ I’m sorry, Grandma. I never thought that my life would end at twenty-five. I wanted to do so much more for you. It would be really great if I could start over again in good health.”

“I see. I understand. I’ll give you as many parting gifts as I can. You’re going to have to work hard in this new world, Mai.”   

　Grandma must have gone crazy after all. I’m in trouble.

　I have to call the ward office and ask them to take care of her. …… But my eyelids are heavy. I remember the doctor telling me to be prepared and to see anyone I want to see.

　Grandma touched my brow with her index and middle fingers and started chanting something in my ear. It was not like a Buddhist prayer.

　Her fingertips are warm. Something warm is flowing in from between my eyebrows. The something that entered from between my eyebrows slowly spread through my whole body. It feels warm and pleasant. But before I fall asleep, I want to call the ward office.

“Mai, live and laugh.”

　I’m sorry, Grandma. I couldn’t repay you even though you took care of me. Will you tell Yoru and Taro that I am not coming back? It would be hard for me if they were waiting for me to come back.

“I’m sorry, Grandma.”

　Warm and comfortable, I slowly closed my eyes.

　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

　When I woke up, I was lying on a bed in a modest room.  A friendly-looking elderly couple were watching over me from near the bed.

“Thank goodness. You’ve woken up. I found you collapsed in the middle of our field. You don’t seem to be hurt, but how are you feeling?”

　Even though I’ve never heard these words before, I naturally catch them.

　And what about the middle of a field? Unable to comprehend, I slowly got up.

　(Huh?)

　My body moves as it should. There is none of the fatigue and malaise that had weighed my body down to the point that I couldn’t move before I fell asleep. Even though I’m not on oxygen, I can breathe easily.

“Where am I ……?”

“This is Orb Village.”

　Orb Village?　Where is that? I got out of the bed and walked over to the window.

“What is …… this?”

　Outside, there are a few shabby houses scattered around.  Fields stretch out into the distance, and beyond that are tall mountains that look like two Mount Fuji lined up side by side. Moreover, the two mountains were both emitting smoke from their peaks. There are no mountains like that in Japan. Where have they taken me while I was sleeping?　How is Grandma doing now?

“Grandma ……”

　 I stood for a bit, but my skinny, muscle-less body couldn’t stand and I slumped down on the spot. Someone who appeared to be his wife picks me up and helps me onto the bed.

　Anyway, I am worried about my grandmother.

　But no matter how many mornings I spent there, things remained the same. It took me a few days to accept that I was not dreaming. My mind was in a state of Intense turmoil, but my body felt great.

“You’ll have to fend for yourself, but you’ll start over with a healthy body.”

　Is this what she was talking about?　How could she do this?

　For several days, I repeated this thought, eventually accepting it unconvincingly.

　I have no idea how she did it, but this is what she did to keep me alive. I forced myself to swallow that much for now.

　Since then, I have been putting all my energy into living and adjusting to this world. This time, I want to live a healthy life.

　I decided to forget my anxiety by keeping myself busy and physically active.

　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

　

　Two months have passed since I was rescued by Ingo and Ella in the field.

　Every day, I learned various wisdom and techniques for life from the couple. Living without electricity, gas, or running water, people spend most of their waking hours eating. There is no time for entertainment or education. They burn firewood for cooking, and large fields are plowed and harvested with a mulch. All the water they use is drawn from a well with a pump.

　When I was in Japan, I never even used matches. You have no idea how much trouble I had lighting firewood in the stove. Unless you are an outdoor enthusiast, you should try a metal fire starter and you will understand. Even if you use dried straw, the straw fire will go out before the wood burns.

　They get up at sunrise and work endlessly on meager meals. Then return home before the sun goes down. They are self-sufficient on two meals a day. I’m starting to regain my muscles back all over. Today I harvested greens, carrots, and beans from the field.

　It was late spring in May when I came to this world, and now it is July. It is summer. It is dry and hot with low humidity.

“I’m hungry. I want to eat meat. Okay, let’s hunt some more birds today and go home.”

　Grandma said, ‘I’ll bring you as many parting gifts as I can. The parting gifts were ‘magic’ and ‘magical powers’. There is a great deal of knowledge of magic in my brain that I don’t remember learning. When I tested that knowledge, I could use magic. Now, little by little, I can use magic .

　I have completely recovered from the panic and depression. Even though I am depressed and sad, I still get hungry. The feeling of guilt I felt when I was given food by a couple who worked all day while I do nothing motivated me.

(Let’s work. We can’t have them feed us without working.)

　It did not take me long to decide so.

　A bird flies toward us. Looking up at the bird, I worked up my magic inside my body. After concentrating enough magic, I gathered it in my fingertips and aimed at the bird, which was about the size of a duck. I made a pistol shape with my thumb and forefinger and fired a blast of air at high speed.

　The bird stopped moving mid-air and fell to the ground with a thud.

　The guilt of hunting animals had worn off. If I wanted meat, I would have to hunt it myself, and I was told that meat was a precious commodity for the couple, eaten only a few times a year.

　As a houseguest, I hunted wild birds diligently to repay them. I told the couple that I hunted them by throwing stones at them.

　What I just used was wind magic. By the way, the couple who sheltered me did not seem to be able to use magic.

　After I decided to work, my mind calmed down. I help out in the fields and with housework all day long with my emaciated body, then collapses to sleep every night. Every night I lie in bed exhausted, but before I go to sleep, there’s somethings I do. I look up the knowledge of magic stored in my brain.

When I choose a “fire magic” spell and chant it, a candle-sized fire lights up at my fingertips. At first I was in a panic because I didn’t know how to put out the fire, but when I thought to myself, “Go away,” the flame went out.

　Although I had knowledge of five different kinds of magic, I  was only able to do small things with them at first.

　With fire magic, about the size of a candle. In water magic, about a tablespoon of clear water. With wind magic, I could manipulate a feeble breeze. With earth magic, I could dig a hole the size of a fist.

　There was also transformation magic.

　Apparently, this was a rare kind of magic, and my grandmother was the best at conversion magic. Exploring the knowledge and memories my grandmother had given me, I found that this magic could be used in a variety of interesting ways.

　So I secretly practiced magic every day and my skills are steadily improving. I am not sure if It’s okay to show this knowledge and skill to the couple, so I have not shown them anything yet.

　Well, the sun will be setting soon. Let’s quickly return home with the bird I’ve killed as a souvenir. There is no moon in the sky of this world. When night falls, it becomes truly dark outside.

　As I was returning home, I remembered what happened during the day. The couple’s son had arrived. The son was surprised that I, a stranger, was living with them, but he cut in to tell his parents that he needed to talk to them. So I was the only one who went to the remote field.

　When I returned home, the husband was working in the field in front of the house and the wife was in the kitchen boiling beans.

 “I’m home. I picked some greens, carrots, and beans from the west field. And a bird along with them.”

“Welcome back. Oh, Juju, you’ve grown fat. Thank you, Mai.”

 “Mai is really good at hunting, thank you. It’s a dream come true to be able to eat meat every day.”

　Ella looks happy. They are both in their fifties, the same age as my parents. Ella-san’s skill in butchering the wild birds is amazing.

　It will be a few days before we can eat the bird I hunted today. She drains the blood, plucks the feathers, removes the entrails, and lets it sit for a few days. This is to allow the meat to mature. Tonight, I will make a soup with a lot of ingredients and roast the bird with the already prepared chicken.

　While we were eating supper under the dome light of the lamps, Ella and Ingo both started talking in a serious manner.

“This is hard for us to say, but there is something we need to tell you, Mai.”

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