The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura

Author:Natsuko Imamura [Imamura, Natsuko]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780571364695
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 2021-06-14T22:00:00+00:00

WHEN THEY HAD FINISHED THEIR CHOCOLATES, one of the boys put his hand on the now empty box.

“Can I have this box?” he said.

“All right, you can have it. What do you plan to use it for?”

“To store coupons. My mother collects them to use in the school bazaars. The box she’s got now is way too full!”

“I want it!” A girl spoke up.

“No, it’s mine. She gave it to me!”

“I’ll let you have the next one, Mika-chan,” said the Woman in the Purple Skirt.

“When will that be?”

“I can’t say for sure. As soon as I manage to get hold of one.”

“I want one too,” another boy said.

“All right. Then we’ll make a waiting list. Top of the list, Mika-chan. Then it’s you, Mok-kun.”

“Promise?”

“Hey, I think I’ve seen this picture before,” one girl said suddenly, peering across the lid of the box now in the boy’s hands. “Now where did I see it …?”

“That’s the logo of the hotel where I work,” said the Woman in the Purple Skirt. “The same logo is on the boxes of all the sweets I’ve been giving you—the cookies, the Baumkuchen cake, everything. It’s on all the hotel’s products.”

“Oh. What is it? A horse?” This from the boy she had called Mok-kun.

“It’s Pegasus,” the Woman in the Purple Skirt replied.

“Ohh!” The girl staring down at the box suddenly looked up. “I remember! It’s the same as the mark on some of our towels at home!”

“Your towels?”

“Yes. It’s on our bath towels, our hand towels, and on the really small facecloths as well. They’re easily the prettiest and softest of all the ones we have!”

“Hmm. Maybe someone in your family bought them at the hotel. But I wasn’t aware that they were actually selling towels….”

“No! We bought them at the local bazaar!”

“The bazaar?”

“Yes, the bring-and-buy sale at school! I went along with Mommy, and that’s where we bought them. You mean you don’t go to the bazaar, Mayu-san?”

“I have to admit, I don’t.”

“Really?” one boy asked with a surprised look on his face. “I always make sure to go, every time. They sell hot dogs and everything! And there’s also a game center. It’s a blast!”

“I see. Well …”

“Whenever I go, I get my mom to buy me manga and sneakers!” a girl said.

“No kidding. And when does this bazaar take place?”

“The third Sunday of every month! Next time, come, Mayu-san!”

“All right, I will. If I happen to have the day off.”

Well, it appeared they were now all on first-name terms. To me, the children’s faces were indistinguishable, but from this conversation I was able to divine that one of the boys was called Mok-kun, and one of the girls Mika-chan. As for the rest, there seemed to be a Yuji, someone else called Kanepon, and a girl called Minami-chan. The person they were calling “Mayu-san” was the Woman in the Purple Skirt. This conversation was soon followed by another in which “Mayu-san” entertained the children with a story of how she’d nearly brushed shoulders with a celebrity at work.

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