Chapter 10 Section ten

It was the mother who first discovered that Chiori was mentally handicapped. When we took Lufthansa back to the country, my mother came to pick me up.Recalling the scene at the airport, I still feel that my mother's frustration and disappointment may be several times more than mine. After finding the mother in the white coat, I just said to her with sad eyes: "You are here." Then I turned my head and looked behind me, "This little girl is Kusumoto Chiori." Since then, Chiori Whenever I met someone for the first time, I would hide behind me, but I didn't have time to notice it at the time.

"I heard from the teacher. I came here by car, let's go!" Mother nodded, and after a few words, she strode forward. Among the joyous crowds that come and go, our conversation is just that.No one in the car spoke until we arrived at the house.Later, I heard from my mother that since then she has noticed that Chiori seems to be different from ordinary people. Waiting for us at home is my father who asked for leave from the company.Neither of them knew how to face me. We just spent the first night with each other. In the next few days, let alone asking me about the incident, there were almost no other conversations at home. None of them showed up, and they locked the upright piano too carefully.I sometimes think that my father's early death may be due to overwork and heartache at that time!But my mind is not strong enough to bear these pains alone.

Although our parent-child interaction is bad, the matter of Chiori must be dealt with as soon as possible.So, the day after returning home, my father took care of the negotiations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the first person who clearly told me that Chiori had a mental retardation was my father.After that, nearly a month later, my father said that he had to explain some things clearly to me. At that time, Chiori had already fallen asleep (we temporarily moved the guest room to Chiori as her room).The three of us sat face to face for the first time outside of mealtimes.After the mother brewed black tea for three people, she sat quietly beside the father, and after a while, the father spoke immediately.

"It's about Chiori's intellectual disability and the fact that Kusumoto and his wife have no relatives. The real estate left by the couple, because there are still a lot of loans that have not been paid off, so it was deducted by the financial institution. Chiori's account is specially collected In a private school for a child like her, the school not only regards Qianzhi as a hot potato, but also covets Qianzhi's insurance money and compensation in the name of late payment of tuition fees. At present, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to send Qianzhi to an orphanage, and I'm only responsible for the formalities, and I hope we can send Qianzhi there..." When the father explained, he said repeatedly that those people were like greedy coyotes.

Only now did I realize that I had to seriously consider Chiori's future.I thought of Chiori trembling on my lap that snowy night, and this was the first time I could look back and face the fact that the fingers on my left hand were broken. "I have discussed with your mother, we intend to adopt this girl, but we also understand your position, so the final decision is yours, Kyousuke." The existence of Chiori will remind me of the left hand. This is what my father really wants to talk about! "I also asked. The people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the fastest way is to become Qian Zhi's legal guardian, but the other party also said that the compensation that this child will receive in the future will not be too much." Ask me with your eyes, are you really willing to let this poor girl be thrown to the place arranged by those people?

Don't take me for a fool—I cursed inwardly, not to my father, of course, but to people who didn't know what to do. "I will not let her go to the orphanage, I also ask you, please adopt this girl." I folded my arms on purpose, exposing my gloved hands in front of their eyes, and slightly pursed the corners of my mouth (that's all I can describe ), showing the first smile after returning home. My father also smiled when he saw this, and the mother on the side lowered her head and secretly wiped the corners of her eyes, but I pretended not to see it, because this kind of pretending to be strong was already my limit.

After that, in less than two months (probably! I don’t have the habit of keeping a diary, so I don’t know the exact time), Qianzhi started to practice the piano. Later, because I was amazed by Qianzhi’s talent and rapid progress, I had a good time. I didn't remember what happened to my left hand for a while.I started to get out of the haze because I was angry at the unfair treatment Chiori received, and because I taught her to play the piano, I found the motivation to live. I am still alive and Chiori's existence are two inseparable facts, if separated, nothing will be established.I understand that this is an absolute, inevitable thing, but even though I keep thinking about it and repeating it to myself, even after eight years, I still can't forget that Chiori is the source of everything.

However, it was only after my father passed away that I deeply understood what "death" is.It can make everything return to zero, but it also makes people do not know how to face it; it is so simple that you can get it at your fingertips, but you can never get rid of it when you don’t want it—this is what my father taught me in the end with his life.