I think grape juice tastes better because …maybe my tongue is just too young.
“When was the last time you had a drink with your dad?”
“Isn’t this the first time since last New Year’s? You didn’t show up for Obon.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Why didn’t I go home for Obon?
Ah, yes…
I was on a trip to Europe.
First and last time in Europe.
I felt like I’d gone a long way back then, but …I’m a whole lot further away now.
Because I’m in a different world.
“Hey, Dad, what would you think …if I went to some faraway place and never saw my dad or mom again?”
“You have a smartphone nowadays, if you want to contact me, it’s not like you can’t always contact me…”
Dad put his hand on his chin and began to think, “Hmmm.”
If anything, I’m more like my dad than my mom.
I waited for my father’s reply, thinking that I would have looked like this in the future.
“Is there anyone you care about?”
“Someone I care about?”
“I’ve been telling you for a long time that I don’t care where you are, what school you went to, what company you work for, but I care about the people you care about, and that’s much more important.”
That’s what he told me.
My father laughed at me when I failed in my exams and job interviews, telling me not to worry.
He told me to be a person who cares about others rather than such titles as education or company name.
“There are… many of them.”
The servants who adore me.
A friend I became friends with at the school.
A teacher who points the way for me.
I met a lot of people over there.
All of them are my loved ones—.
“Then it’s no problem, wherever you go, you’re my son—go for it.”