9th
July 2025
Hi Kiki today only Hiroshi and I went out to
find another B.G.S. because Professor Logan needed the other’s help with taking
care of the B.G.S.’s in his house. Hiroshi and I ended up on a rice farm in Takashima.
But apart from finding a B.G.S. there, there was something else there for us to
discover.
I’ll start at the beginning. It all started
after Hiroshi and I arrived at Takashima, in a forest next to the farm lands.
“It’s so beautiful and green here” I said,
taking a photo of the area at once.
“How are we going to find a B.G.S. here?”
asked Hiroshi “with all the rice fields around there’s no telling where it is.
Not to mention it could be hiding in any of the rice storage sheds around
here”.
“That is true,” I said “and the farmers won’t
like it if we go around poking around at their fields back and forth”.
Just then I had an idea and took out the red
B.G.S. from my back pack. My plan was for Hiroshi and I to pretend we were
looking for a lost toy and our B.G.S. was to squeak quietly while we looked
around for the ‘lost toy’.
“Will they fall for that?” asked Hiroshi, who
wasn’t sure with my idea.
“I don’t see why not,” I said “come on let’s
just try”.
So Hiroshi and I began our search for a
B.G.S. around the rice farm. My plan worked because whenever we came across a
farmer, we told him or her about our search for a ‘lost toy’ and they did fall
for our lie. So it was easy for us to look around the rice fields to search for
a B.G.S. We even looked around the storage sheds where the harvested rice is
kept. And the red B.G.S. remembered to squeak quietly through our search. But we
had no luck on finding any B.G.S.’s.
“Oh dear,” I sighed “as we have no luck on
finding any of the B.G.S.’s around the fields or in the storage sheds, I fear
they may be hiding in someone’s house in the attic or in a garden”.
“I hope that’s not the case” said Hiroshi. We
didn’t exactly want to go sneaking around houses or gardens to search for a
B.G.S.
Just then as the red B.G.S. squeaked another
squeak replied.
“Where did that come from?” I asked. The
squeak came again.
“Sounds like it’s coming from that garden
over there” said Hiroshi, pointing to a lone house on a hill.
“Oh no, please tell me the B.G.S. isn’t in
the garden” I said, worriedly.
I didn’t need to worry in the end because
when Hiroshi and I walked towards the lone house, a lime-green B.G.S. and a
lemon-yellow B.G.S. came out from a tree that stood just near the house.
“Oh thank goodness” I sighed, picking up the
two B.G.S.’s I was relieved that we didn’t need to look into the garden.
Just then an old man, who I later heard was
named Osamu Kenzou came out of his house. “Hello is someone out here?” he
asked.
“Oh please excuse us if we have disturbed you
sir, my friend and I were looking for some toys I lost, but I’ve just found
them again” I said.
“Oh no problem, just be careful with your
things from now on” said Mr Kenzou.
Suddenly Mr Kenzou fell over onto the ground.
Hiroshi and I went over to see if he was okay.
“Ah do excuse me it’s just my legs; they
aren’t as strong as the used to be, which is why I end up struggling with
walking and standing up most of the time,” said Mr Kenzou “my neighbour usually
comes over to help me with the house work and cooking, but her family have come
over today to visit her. So I told her I would take care of myself today, while
she enjoys her family’s visit. But as you children just saw I feel tired and
weak right now and I’ve still haven’t done much housework or fixed some tea for
myself”.
Hiroshi and I decided to help Mr Kenzou for a
bit before going back to Professor Largos’s house. Of course Mr Kenzou felt it
was going to be trouble for Hiroshi and I to help him today. But we assured him
that it was going to be okay for a little while. So Hiroshi got to work on hoovering
the house and I went into the kitchen to make tea and rice balls for us all.
While I waited for the kettle to boil I helped Mr Kenzou get comfortable on a
zabuton. Just then I noticed some photos on top of a table. There was a picture
of a woman, a picture of a young man, which I assumed was Mr Kenzou when he was
younger, a few photos of a boy as a baby, as a little boy and as a high school
student, and a picture of Mr Kenzou, the woman and the boy together.
“Are these photos your family members Mr
Kenzou?” I asked.
“Yes the woman is my late wife Haruno and the
boy is my son Masaru” answered Mr Kenzou.
“Oh does your son visit you sometimes?” I
asked.
“No the truth is we haven’t seen or spoken to
each other once since my wife died 23 years ago,” answered Mr Kenzou “and the
truth is it’s my fault that I haven’t seen my son for a long time”.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Mr Kenzou told me and Hiroshi about his life
while we had tea and rice balls. The story is Mr Kenzou used to be a successful
corporate lawyer in the past and he lived in the city of Nagahama at that time.
“I loved my job and I loved my family,” said
Mr Kenzou “and I always wanted to keep them well sheltered, well fed and happy.
But I ended up being a failure of a father and husband”.
Another part of Mr Kenzou’s story was he was
a workaholic; always busy with his job. Because of that he spent little time
with his wife and his son.
“Because I was always so busy at my job I
ended up breaking millions of promises to my family especially to my son,” said
Mr Kenzou “I missed Masaru’s birthdays lots of times, I always missed his sport
games like baseball and football, I even missed his school entrance ceremonies
and graduation ceremonies. I wasn’t better with Haruno because I barely
remembered our wedding anniversaries.
Worst of all I wasn’t even with her much when she became ill because of
how busy I always was”.
I recognized this story at once Kiki because
it was the same story as mine.
“My relationship with Masaru broke all at
once after Haruno died,” said Mr Kenzou “he lost his temper and blew into my
face about how I was never there for him or his mother. He even told me that he
was never going to trust me again”.
“Oh dear” I said. This really did remind me
of myself, especially when I told my parents I wasn’t going to trust them
again.
“As soon as my wife’s funeral was over Masaru
fell out with me all at once, cut off all contacts with me and moved away to
start his own life without me, and I never saw him again after that” said Mr
Kenzou.
“And you’ve never seen your son ever since?”
asked Hiroshi.
“I’m afraid no,” answered Mr Kenzou “we are
completely estranged from each other. My wife always warned when she was alive
about how I was never careful with my relationship with my son. I realized too
late that she was right; right after Maseru ran away from me. I tried many
times to locate Masaru and call him, but I never got any word of him. It’s
clear he never wants anything to do with me anymore because I was never there
for him. And there is nothing I can do now to try to make up with Masaru. As I
said before it was my fault”.
Hiroshi and I started to feel a bit sorry for
Mr Kenzou.
“So why and when did you move here to
Takashima?” asked Hiroshi.
“Ah I came down with an illness ten years
that made me lose strength in my leg muscles,” said Mr Kenzou “because of that
I couldn’t really work anymore so I had to retire from my job. I came to live
here in Takashima because of a suggestion I got from an old friend of mine. He had
a relative who lived in this house before I moved here. My friend showed me
pictures of the house in the past and I liked the house when I first saw it.
When his relative died there was no one else in the family who wanted to live
in the house so it was put up for sale. So when I retired from my job I decided
to move here because the countryside is always the best to be when you retire;
that’s what I’ve been told before anyway. And I’m glad I moved here because I
enjoy the peace and quiet here and I’ve made new friends here”.
“But don’t you miss your old life in Nagahama
city sometimes?” asked Hiroshi.
“Well yes,” Mr Kenzou admitted “but I have all
of my memories that I think about all the time, which is enough for me. Not to
mention I always have Masaru on my mind even though I will never see him again
even when I die. But I know we will all be together in heaven someday”.
Hiroshi and I didn’t know what else to say to
Mr Kenzou after that because we felt sorry for him.
After finishing tea, Hiroshi and I said
goodbye to Mr Kenzou because it was time we got back to Professor Largos’s
house. Hiroshi and I hid behind a tree where no one could see us and Hiroshi
pressed the button on the remote which teleported us back to Prof Largos’s
house. Once we arrived back to the house, we introduced the lime-green and
lemon-yellow B.G.S.’s to everyone and told them about Mr Kenzou.
“Wow Mr Kenzou’s story is like yours Kyoko”
said Yuko.
“Yes you’re right Yuko” I sighed.
So Kiki the other thing Hiroshi and I
discovered at Takashima, apart from the lime-green B.G.S., was a man who was
estranged from his son because of his mistake of never being there for Masaru
because of his job. Just like my parents who made the same mistakes of never
being there for me because of their jobs.
