He headed to the bench with a somewhat quick pace, and sat down with a thud.
“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;what’s wrong with you today?”
There was a voice behind him that sounded surprised by his force. The owner was of course the man he met by chance the other day—Kusamakura.
“G-Good afternoon. It’s nothing&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;! It sure is hot today!”
“Y-Yeah&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;even though it’s already fall.”
Tatsumi shook his head as hard as he could at Kusamakura’s suspicions. He opened his water bottle and vigorously drank it down as he avoided the subject. Hwah, he let out a sigh, wondering why he was so shaken up. Ever since the first day he spoke to him, he would always talk with him here other than on rainy days. The man with the strange name, Kusamakura, seemed to always be taking an afternoon nap on the well trimmed lawn behind the bench under the shadows of the trees. Once Tatsumi arrived, he would call out to him. He was worried about interrupting his lunch break, but was truly happy to have someone to talk to. He was alone at home, and alone at work. Even though he didn’t think those environments were especially lonely, talking with Kusamakura cheered his heart. That was probably because he didn’t talk or act in a way that made Tatsumi especially self-conscious about his eyes.
“&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;it’s hot today, but it’ll rain tomorrow.”