The tip of the electronic white cane Tatsumi held let him know about any obstacles in the way through vibrations in the handle. Even though he had never tried it before, it was probably possible to use that function to find things too. He searched around slowly, once he held it out towards a certain area the handle vibrated a little. Wondering if that was it, he knelt down and searched around his feet. He patted his hands in all directions until his fingertips touched something lightweight.
“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;here it is. It must be this.”
When he picked it up and checked its shape, he could tell it was shaped something like a fox in the palm of his hands. He could confirm it when he searched around for the small holes around the eye area. He said it was a mask, so he had imagined one made of plastic like the ones they sell at festivals, but it seemed to be made of papier-mâché. Since the strings attached to it were different lengths, the little weight the mask had felt unbalanced. He returned to the bench with the mask and held it out behind the backrest.
“Here you go.”
The man immediately took the mask from him. He heard him let out a sigh of relief. Tatsumi was also relieved he could properly hand over what he was looking for.
“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;sorry. I owe you my grat.i.tude.”
You’re welcome, Tatsumi replied with a smile to the man’s unusually humble way of speaking. Realizing that he was usually the one receiving help from others, especially once he started living alone, and was employed, it really had been a long time since someone had thanked him for anything.
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