I mean. I don?t feel nearly so afraid now. I?m going to look forward to it. I?m going to be optimistic from now on.?
?And so you should, Etsuko. After all, you have a lot to look forward to. In fact, you?ll discover soon enough, it?s being a mother that makes life truly worthwhile. What do I care if life is a little dull at my uncle?s house? MI I want is what?s best for my daughter. We?ll get her the best private tuition and she?ll catch upon her schoolwork in no time. As you say, Etsuko, we must look forward to life.?
?I?m so glad you feel like that,? I said. ?We should both of us be grateful really. We may have lost a lot in the war, but there?s still so much to look forward to.?
?Yes, Etsuko. There?s a lot to look forward to.?
Mariko came nearer and stood in front of us. Perhaps she had overheard some of our conversation, for she said to me:
?We?re going to live with Yasuko-San again. Did Mother tell you??
?Yes,? I said, ?she did. Are you looking forward toliving there again, Mariko-San??
?We might be able to keep the kittens now,? the little girl said. ?There?s plenty of mom at Yasuko-San?s house?
?We?ll have to see about that, Mariko,? said Sachiko.
Mariko looked at her mother for a moment. Then she said: ?But Yasuko-San likes cats. And anyway, Maru was Yasuko-San?s cat before we took her. So the kittens are hers too.?,
?Yes, Mariko, but we?ll have to see. We?ll have to see what Yasuko-San?s father will say.?
- The little girl regarded her mother with a sullen look, then turned to me once more. ?We might be able to keep them,? she said, with a serious expression.
Towards the latter part of the afternoon, we found ourselves back at the clearing where we had first stepped off the cablecar. There still remained in our lunch-boxes some biscuits and chocolates, so we sat down for a snack atone of the picnic tables. At the other end of the clearing, a handful
of people were gathered near the metal fence, awaiting the cablecar that would take them back down the mountain.
We had been sitting at the picnic table for several minutes when a voice made us look up. The American
woman came striding across the clearing, a broad smile on her face. Without the least sign of bashfulness, she sat down at our table, smiled to us in turn, then began to address Sachiko in English. She was, I supposed, grateful for the chance to communicate other than by means of gestures. Looking around, I spotted the Japanese woman nearby, putting a jacket on her son. She appeared less enthusiastic for our company, but eventually she came towards our table with a smile. She sat down opposite me, and when her son sat beside her, I could see the extent to which mother and child shared the same plump features; most noticeably, their cheeks had a kind of fleshy sagginess to them, not unlike the cheeks of bulldogs. The American woman, all the while, continued to talk loudly to Sachiko.
At the arrival of the strangers, Mariko had opened her sketchbook and begun to draw. The plump-faced woman, after exchanging a few pleasantries with me, turned to the little girl.
?And have you enjoyed your day?? she asked Mariko.
??It?s very pretty up here, isn?t it??
Mariko continued to crayon her page, not looking up. The woman, however, did not seem in the least deterred.
?What are you drawing there?? she asked. ?It looks very nice.?
This time, Mariko stopped drawing and looked at the woman coldly.
?That looks very nice. May we see?? The woman reached forward and took the sketchbook. ?Aren?t these nice, Akira,? she said to her son. ?Isn?t the little lady clever??
The boy leaned across the table for a better view. He regarded the drawings with interest, but said nothing.
?They?re very nice indeed.? The woman was turning over the pages. ?Did you do all these today??
Mariko remained silent for a moment. Then she said:
?The crayons are new. We bought them this morning. It?s harder to draw with new crayons.?
?I see. Yes, new crayons are harder, aren?t they? Akira here draws too, don?t you. Akin??
?Drawing?s easy,? the boy said.
?Aren?t these nice little pictures, Akin???
Mariko pointed to the open page. ?I don?t like that one there. The crayons weren?t worn in enough. The one on the next page is better.?
?Oh yes. This one?s lovely!?
?1 did it down at the harbour,? said Mariko. ?But it was noisy and hot down there, so I hurried.?
?But it?s very good. Do you enjoy drawing??
?Yes.?
Sachiko and the American woman had both turned towards the sketchbook. The American woman pointed at the drawing and uttered loudly several times the Japanese word for ?delicious?.
?And what?s this?? the plump-faced woman continued. ?A butterfly! It must have been very hard to draw it so well. It couldn?t have stayed still for very long.?
?I remembered it,? said Mariko. ?I saw one earlier on.? The woman nodded, then turned to Sachiko. ?flow clever
