You don’t have anybody, either!

It’s not that… I don’t have one—I’m just not looking!

It’s not that…

That’s Mitsuha’s ringtone.

Meaning, I’m living in the country today, I think sleepily. Awesome. I’ll get to put in some more time on the café project I’m working on with Teshigawara after school. Yeah, and also—

I sit up on the futon and look down at my body.

Mitsuha’s pajamas have gotten really conservative lately. She used to sleep in a baggy nightshirt without a bra. This morning, though, she’s wearing underwear that’s kinda constricting and this shirt that’s buttoned up all the way. There’s no telling when we’re gonna swap, so she’s being careful. Well, I get that. I do. But.

I reach for her breasts. This is my body today. Nothing wrong with touching my own body, I think, just like always. Only. Except. But…

My hands pause, and I mutter quietly:

“…Guess I shouldn’t.”

The sliding door rattles open.

“……You really do like your boobs, don’t you, Sis?”

That’s all the little sister says before closing the sliding door. I watch her go… while kneading my breasts.

…This is okay, right? From on top of her clothes. Just a little.

“Graaaaan. Why’s the body of our shrine’s god all the way out here?” Yotsuha whines.

Gran, who’s walking in front of us, answers without turning around. “Thanks to Mayugorou, I don’t know, either.”

Mayugorou?

“…Who’s that?” I whisper to Yotsuha, who’s plodding along next to me.

“Huh? You dunno? He’s famous.”

Famous? I don’t really get how these relationships work in the country.

The three Miyamizu women—me, the grandma, and Yotsuha—have been hiking mountain roads for almost an hour already. Today, they tell me, we’re taking an offering up to the body of their shrine’s god on top of the mountain. These people are living in a folktale, I think, thoroughly impressed.

The sun shining through the canopy of maple leaves dyes them bright red. The air is crisp and dry, and there’s a strong scent of dead leaves in the pleasant wind. October. Who knows when it happened, but it’s full autumn in this town now.

Come to think of it, I wonder how old this old lady is.

The thought comes to me gazing at the small back ahead of me. Even on this mountain trail, she’s wearing traditional clothes. She’s a surprisingly strong walker, but her back has a textbook stoop, and she’s using a walking stick. I’ve never lived with an old person, so I can’t even begin to guess her age or what kind of shape she’s in.

“Hey, Grandma!”

I break into a run, then kneel in front of her, offering my back. After all, this little old lady is raising Mitsuha and her sister, and she always packs us really good lunches.

“Let me piggyback you. If you want…”

“Oh, may I?” Even as she speaks, she’s happily lowering her weight onto my back. I catch a distinct whiff of a mysterious fragrance I smelled once at somebody else’s house a very long time ago. For a moment, I get a strange, warm feeling, as if this moment has happened before. The old lady weighs nothing.