The next day it rained heavily as predicted.
I was organizing photos together with Kotoe-san, who was hungover.
“Ugh…… I drank too much.”
“I’m going to put them in this file, okay?”
“You should worry at least a little bit.”
I ignored her words and organized the photos on my own.
The photos of cats and landscapes taken yesterday.
As I thought, all the photos taken by Kotoe-san are wonderful.
I was currently in the room where Kotoe-san was staying.
Kotoe-san and Mikoto are in the same room, and I am in a different room.
It was raining heavily outside, and the ocean seen from the window was gray.
“Hey, this is…….”
Kotoe-san approached me.
She pointed to a picture on her computer screen.
The married woman in a loose-fitting T-shirt and hot pants was looking strangely serious.
“Ah, this is the place I found yesterday.”
“You mean the islanders told you about it?”
“Yes.”
I clicked on the photo and enlarged it.
“It’s mostly untouched, and there are a lot of cats.”
“Did you take this?”
“Yes, I did.”
I took a picture of it so that I could easily explain it to her later.
I will probably go there tomorrow when the rain stops.
“What……You take interesting pictures, huh?”
“Eh?”
“Okay, this one.”
Turning the computer screen to herself, Kotoe-san changes the photo with a delighted expression on her face.
Each time the picture on the screen changed, Kotoe-san nodded deeply.
“Okay, let’s go back tomorrow.”
“Haa?”
I gaped at the suddenness of the situation.
“I’m going to show this to an editor I know.”
“What do you mean? What about the job?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll pay you well. More importantly, Koumei…”
As I cut off my words there, Kotoe stared at me.
Wild is the best way to describe Mikoto’s mother.
She had been close to me since I was little, and we often went together on activities.
Whenever she went to faraway places to take pictures, she would take me and Mikoto with her.
I enjoyed this, and it was a precious memory from my childhood, when family vacations were out of the question.
“Komei…… You could be a photographer.”
“What are you talking about……?”
“I didn’t know there was a gem so close by.”
“Wait, wait……What are you talking about?”
“I mean it as it is. I’ll go back tomorrow and show this photo to the editor. Even if I can’t get it published, I will submit it to a competition that will be held soon.”
In this case, my will was ignored.
Right now, Mikoto was sleeping peacefully in my room.
She might be awake, but there was no sign of her coming this way.
“How about it? Are you willing to give it a try?”
Kotoe’s eyes sparkled.
She seems like a pure child, yet she also has the seriousness of an adult.
“I understand…….”
“I’m glad. Then we’ll go home tomorrow.”
Words were made.
Kotoe-san quickly talked to Udo-san and made a reservation for the ferry.
After taking some pictures of the cats sheltering from the rain, she called it a day.
We got up early the next morning and went to the place I had found to take pictures.
Mikoto complained when she heard we had to leave, but that was completely ignored.
Udo-san drove us to the ferry terminal.
The island was somewhat damp from yesterday’s rain.
Still, the sun was shining brightly.
“Thanks…… I couldn’t’ do anything.”
“No, I will be back soon.”
Kotoe-san and Uto-san exchanged such words.
Kanae, Uto-san’s daughter, who accompanied him, also said a few words of farewell.
“I knew I’d seen her somewhere before…….”
Mikoto muttered something like that after we boarded the ferry.
Taking the opposite route, we arrived home earlier than planned.
Upon receiving the promised money, my work was done.
“I got you an appointment for next Wednesday, so go to Tokyo.”
“Eh?”
Kotoe-san had apparently already made an appointment with an editor who wanted to meet me.
She said as she handed me the money in the envelope.
“It’s just a meeting…. Don’t get so worked up. I can’t come with you, because I have another matter to attend to….”
“I’m going alone?”
“That’s right…..What, you’re just going to Tokyo. Consider it a job and take it on.”
I was not able to say anything once I was told that.
I had returned from the island earlier than planned.
The thickness of the envelope in my hand gave me no right of refusal.
“And this.”
Kotoe-san handed me a piece of luggage she had just unloaded.
“It’s yours.”
“A camera……..”
It was the camera I always borrowed.
I like it because it is small and easy to use.
“For now, just try to take pictures of what you like. It doesn’t have to be a landscape. Don’t worry about technique, okay?”
“I don’t get it……But I understand.”
Next Wednesday, I was going to Tokyo.
Mikoto, who was listening to this conversation, pursed her lips.
“I would go as well.”
“That’s right. Mikoto should go with you.”
After all, being alone is somewhat discouraging.
But Mikoto shook her head.
“No, I have an appointment with Fukiko-nee-san and a fireworks maker on that day.”
Apparently, she would rather have an appointment with Eda than go to Tokyo with me.
And what’s more, she has an exciting appointment with a pyrotechnician.
“Well, I think I’ll go alone…….”
With these words, I went back home.
As I went back to my room to change my clothes, I received a call on my cell phone.
“Ah, um!”
The caller was Rino-chan.
In a somewhat nervous tone of voice, she asked.
“O, Okutani-san. W, would you like to come to Tokyo with me?”
