Mrs. M, an old friend of my mother, came to our house the other day.
I told her
that Mom had passed away six years before, but she said it’s fine and still
wanted to visit us.
Mom and Mrs.
M worked together for three years as senior and junior colleagues at a facility
for children with disabilities when they were in their 20s. They got married
around the same time, and both left the facility: Mrs. M to run a Japanese noodle
restaurant in the Izu-Shimoda region, and Mom to run a candy store in Kawasaki
City, almost 200 km away from Mrs. M.
Apparently,
my whole family visited Mrs. M's house when I was little, but I don’t remember
a thing.
Since
leaving the facility, the two ladies stayed in touch through New Year's cards
but had few chances to reunite in person, each being busy with everyday life.
Before they knew it, half a century has passed.
Last
November, Mrs. M decided to close the restaurant, considering her age, after
having a knee surgery. “On the last day of the restaurant, all the neighbors came
over to say good bye. I was really glad I kept the restaurant running. It was
such a joy to learn that the place was loved by local people.”
“Now that
the new year has started and the weather has gotten nicer and warmer, I’ve
decided to visit places and old friends with fond memories. Being over 80, I
thought I should travel while I could move around.” – Hmm, that would explain it.
Mrs. M and
her husband stayed at their daughter’s house in Tokyo, and their grandchild, a
taxi driver, took her to wherever she liked to visit. The first on her list was
visiting Mom.
As we sat in
the living room, Mrs. M took out a badge of the facility they used to work at
and said, “Your mother really took good care of me.” She then told me stories
about Mom's younger days, the part of her I had never heard of.
In return, I
showed her some photo albums and shared some memories about Mom when they were
away from each other.
When I asked
where she would go next, Mrs. M said, “I think I’ll go to my old workplace,
though I’ve heard that the place has a new building and a new name,” showing me
a picture of the new facility building on her smartphone screen.
Chances are
I will never see this old friend of Mom again.
Even though they
worked together only for three years, Mom was the first on Mrs. M’s list for what
could be her final trip.
“It was really
nice meeting you. Goodbye.” As I greeted on her way out, my heart ached a bit
with a pang of sadness.
<Written by Mamiko Kashima>
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