(Please scroll down for the English version.)
ディナー・フォア・ツー
足を床に滑らせながら、冷蔵庫から吉野杉のまな板まで踊った。隣の部屋からレコードの音楽が流れ、味噌汁の支度に拍子を与えた。野菜を切りながら音楽を聞く。どう見ても、悪くない夏の夜だ。まな板を鍋の中へ傾けて、豆腐を滑らせた。
味噌汁を待ちながら、包丁とまな板を洗った。流しの上の窓はもう山の陰で黒く染められた。小さな虫は中の灯へ誘導されて、窓の近くに飛び回っていた。僕が気づいた時、僕の指ほど大きなヤモリはガラスにくっつく足指で窓をゆっくり歩いていた。ヤモリさんは窓の真ん中に止まり、しばらく身じろぎもしなかった。「もう見なくてもいいかな」と思いきや、ヤモリさんは舌を何センチか飛ばして、虫を捕って飲み込んだ。窓の上へ数歩上がったヤモリさんは再び止まって、じっくり待っていた。僕はこの小さな生き物の行動に夢中になって、見るのをやめられなかった。
そのうち、味噌汁ができた。僕は冷凍したご飯を電子レンジに入れて、隣の家にいただいた沢庵漬けを数枚切った。レコードをひっくり返し、音楽を聴きながら簡単な夕飯を一人で済ませた。台所の電気が点いた限り、ヤモリさんも夕飯を食べたいだけ食べられる。しかし、お皿を流しに持って行った時、ヤモリさんの姿がなかった。「もうごちそうさましたかな」と独り言を言って、吉野杉のまな板を吹いた。どう見ても、悪くない夏の夜だ。
Dinner For Two
I slid my feet across the floor as I danced from the fridge to my Yoshino cedar cutting board. Music played from the record in the next room, adding a beat to the preparation of my miso soup. Listening to music as I chopped vegetables. However you look at it, it’s not that bad of a summer night. I tilted the cutting board toward the pot and slid the tofu.
I washed the knife and cutting board while I waited for the miso soup. The window above my kitchen sink was dyed black by the shadow of the mountain. Small bugs attracted to the light from inside flew around the outside of the window. At some point, I noticed a gecko about the size of my finger slowly walking across the window, its toes sticking to the glass. The Gecko stopped in the middle of the window, and didn’t move for quite some time. Just when I thought, “That’s it, I don’t need to watch this anymore,” the Gecko shot out its tongue a couple of centimeters, catching and swallowing a bug. Moving a few steps up the window, the Gecko once again stopped and just waited. I became entranced by the movements of this small creature and couldn’t stop watching.
The miso soup was ready in due time. I put some frozen rice in the microwave and cut a few slices of takuan pickles that my neighbor gave me. I flipped the record over and listened to music as I ate my simple dinner by myself. As long as the kitchen light was on, the Gecko could eat as much dinner as it wanted. However, when I took my dishes back to the sink, the Gecko was no where in sight. “I guess you’re all done, eh” I said to myself as I dried my Yoshino cedar cutting board. However you look at it, not that bad of a summer night.
