Exploring the House
It took 3 days, but my fever has finally gone down and I have been able to eat a bit of food.
As the food, a salty soup with diced vegatables floating inside was very bland, and while tolerable while I am sick I’m not sure if I can stand the taste when I get better.
Also I have finally gotten used to being called Maine, as I will be living as her from now on giving up and getting used to it now will be for the best.
Tori “Are you done, Maine?”
Maine “Yep.”
After I handed my empty dishes to Tori, I quietly laid down in bed.
Tori “Make sure you stay in bed and sleep, okay Maine?”
I haven’t actually been able to leave this room for the past 3 days.
If I tried to leave my bed for any other reason than going to the bathroom, I was forcefully put back to bed, isn’t that horrible?
Plus, even if I say going to the bathroom, it’s not a toilet but a bedpan, talk about embarressing.
Plus, the whole family also uses the bedpan, and once they are done they just throw it out the window.
Also of course this house didn’t have a bath, and after being unable to bear it I was able to get my body wiped down. But afterwards they looked at me like some sort of freak!
I have about had it with this sort of lifestyle, but even if I say that there is no way a runaway sick child will be able to get my desired lifestyle. I’m technically mentally an adult, so even I know that much. Hence, no matter how much I dislike it I won’t suddenly flee the house without thinking of the consequences.
Plus after seeing the condition of this house, it doesn’t look like it would be too safe go outside. Who knows if this world even has the concept of child services or childcare facilities, and whether I could get a better living environment than my current one.
I’m sure that after fleeing from the uncleanliness of this place, the most I would be able to do is running about while getting covered in filth and finally dying on the side of the road.
My only other choice then is to focus solely on getting better, and improving my living conditions as quickly as possible.
My first goal shall be to reach the point where I won’t be yelled at if I leave bed, talk about low standards!
Putting all of that aside, the most important thing is books. The first step to improve my living conditions is finding books, as I think so long as I have them I’ll be able to tolerate any discomforts. No, I’ll be sure to over come them!
With that out of the way, I’ve decided that today will be the day I finally explore this house. After not being able to read books for so long, I’m sure I’ll soon be suffering from withdrawal.
Give me books! Roar! I’ll cry you know! A grown adult will cry in public without hesitation you know!?
I have my sister Tori, so I’m sure if I search this house I should find at least 10 picture books. Now there is no way I’ll be able to read the words, but I might at least be able to make a guess on the letters.
Tori “You sleeping, Maine?”
Tori suddenly opened the door and peeked her head inside, and after seeing me quietly in bed nodded in satisfaction.
As I collapsed while searching the house for books every time I woke up, Tori who has been taking care of me has become ever more vigilant in keeping watch over me.
After being asked by Mom to babysit me while she is out working during the day, Tori has been desperately trying to keep me from leaving bed. No matter how much I try to run away there is no way I can win against her with my small body.
Maine “I’ll be sure to win against you some day…”
Tori “What was that Maine?”
Maine “Hmm? Oh, just that I hope I get bigger soon.”
Not able to understand the hidden meaning to my words, Tori just chuckled in a troubled tone.
Tori “Maybe after you get better you’ll get bigger. You’ve always been so sick and unable to eat that people think you are 3 even though you are 5.”
I see, I’m 5 years old now, and that my body is so small because I’ve always been sickly.
This is the first time I know this as there were no special birthday celebrations within my memories. Or perhaps there were but I couldn’t understand them from not knowing the words.
Maine “Tori, are you big?”
Tori “I’m 6, but I’ve commonly been mistaken for 7 or 8, so maybe I’m on the big side?”
Maine “I see.”
Just one year older and this much of a difference. It seems that it’ll be difficult to win against her, not like I’m going to give up though.
Lets be careful about my nutrition and living environment and focus on getting healthy.
Tori “Mom is at work right now, so I’m going to go wash the dishes. Be a good girl and don’t get out of bed. If you don’t sleep you won’t get better, and if you don’t get better you won’t get bigger, right?”
Maine “I understand.”
I’m acting like a good girl since last night in order to have Tori let down her guard, as she has been cautious from my previous escape attempts. I slowly waited for the time for Tori to leave me in the room.
Tori “Well, I’ll be leaving. Be a good girl and wait in bed.”
Maine “Yeees.”
After giving an obedient reply, Tori left and closed the door with a thud.
Afterwards I waited quietly while Tori took the basket of dishes outside. I’m not sure where she washes them at, but she is always gone for about 20-30 minutes. It looks like each home doesn’t have running water, and probably has a shared watering hole somewhere.
Hehehe, now quickly leave.
After hearing what was probably the front door getting closed and locked, I heard Tori’s footsteps descending the staircase get quieter and quieter.
After checking that there was no more sounds, I slowly lowered my legs from the bed and I slightly frowned after feeling my feet rubbing against what seemed like dirt or sand.
I don’t exactly like walking barefoot over the dirty floor that my family walks over in shoes, but I can’t help it as I had my shoes taken away to discourage me from moving around.
More than my own feet getting dirty I care more about searching for books.
Maine “If books were here it would be a different story but…”
The bedroom that I have been trapped in whilst waiting for my fever to break has 2 beds, 3 wooden boxes that seem to contain things like clothing and other personal items, and several baskets that hold various things.
The basket beside my bed has a childrens toy made of wood and straw, but no books. If there was a bookshelf somewhere in the house, maybe it’s in the living room.
Maine “Yuck…”
With every step I take the soles of my feet grind against small grains of sand. It looks like this is a lifestyle where you wear shoes indoors, so I know there is little point in complaining about it.
I know that but as I am so used to Japan’s customs I just can’t seem to get used to life here. It seems like I have many things that I have to get used to in order to survive if I am to live on as Maine.
Maine “Ugh… it’s too high…”
It looks like the first barrier to being able to explore the house is the bedroom door.
It’s not unreachable if I stand on my tiptoes but turning the doorknob that is just barely reachable is turning out to be more difficult than expected.
After searching the room for something to serve as a stepstool I turned my eyes to the wooden chest containing clothes.
Maine “Grr….”
Maybe an adult would be able to move this wooden chest, but with my small child hands even with me pushing and pulling it, it won’t budge.
I also thought of turning over the toys basket, but I don’t think that it can handle my weight.
Maine “Seriously, I have to quickly get bigger or the things that I can do will be seriously limited.”
As a result of much thought and looking around the room, I tried rolling up my parents’ bedding and using it as a stepping stool.
I definitely don’t want to put my bedding onto this dirty floor, but there should be no problem using my parent’s as they seem to be able to normally live in this environment… I’m sure…
For the sake of reading books, getting a little yelled at by my parents is nothing at all.
Maine “Upsy-Daisy”
Standing up on tiptoe on the folded bedding, I was somehow able to turn the doorknob by using all my weight. With a creak the door opened… inside.
Maine “Wha!?”
I flusteredly released the doorknob as it seemed it would hit my head quite quickly, but as a result I fell backwards.
Maine “Uwawawa!”
Tumble Tumble… Thud!
I hit my head after tumbling down together with the rolled up bedding.
Maine “Owww…”
After raising my body whilst clutching my head, I noticed that the door was slightly ajar. I’ll take this pain in my head as an honorable injury.
Maine “Yay! It’s open!”
I vigorously stood up and put my hand into the crack and wrenched the door open.
I noticed that my parent’s bedding slid across the floor and that a part of the floor seemed to have become clean, but I’ll pretend I didn’t see it.
Maine “Ah, this must be the kitchen.”
After leaving the bedroom I found myself in the kitchen. Well, if you could call it that, it might be better called a galley or something.
Within it was a hearth, a metal pot and ladle, and something resembling a frying pan was hanging on a nail in the wall.
A dirty dust cloth was hanging on a cord hanging between two walls, but it seems like wiping anything with it would only get it even more dirty.
Maine “I feel like my weak constitution can’t be helped, considering these sanitary conditions.”
In the center of the room was a moderate sized table and 2 three-legged chairs, and a wooden box that seemed to also be used as a seat.
On the right hand of the room was what must be the cupboard, and in the corner on the opposite side of the hearth is a large basket. Within it seemed to be ingredients such as potatoes and onions. It seemed like there was also a large water jug and a water draining sink, but like I thought there didn’t seem to be a source for water.
Looking around the room, it looks like other than the bedroom that I came out of, there were 2 more doors.
Maine “Hehehee, I wonder which is the right door?”
Just looking at it there is no way this kitchen has a bookshelf, so I tried opening up another door connecting from the kitchen.
Maine “Hmm… a storage room?”
Within this room were many things whose purpose I didn’t understand. It looks like there is are at least shelves in here, but it doesn’t seem like this room is ordinarily used.
Maine “Wrong one.”
Giving up, I went to open up the other door, but with a clanking sound it seemed to be locked shut. After turning it mutiple times, there was no indication that it would open.
Maine “Perhaps… this is the door that Tori went out of? Eh? Both were wrong!? There was no right one!?”
Mumbling out a faint voice I was unwittingly perplexed.
If this is the door leading outside, then this house has no bath, toilet, running water, or even bookshelves. A small house with nothing, and obviously has no other rooms.
Hey God, exactly what resentment do you have for me!?
The reincarnations appearing in novels that had the place of rebirth be a noble or rich family occured in great numbers. At the very least poverty stricken families was a very small number. While having the memories, feelings, and common sense of a Japanese person, to be forced to live in this house with no bath, toilet, or even running water… impossible.
Plus, the most troubling thing is, there are no books to be found. Even within the storage room I couldn’t find anything that looked like a book.
Maine “Perhaps… are books expensive?”
Even on earth, until their mechanized mass production, books were extremely expensive things. If you weren’t in the upper class the opportunity to even read a book was practically nonexistant.
Maine “It can’t be helped then. Now that it’s come to this, the first thing to do is to search for anything with written text.”
Even if there are no books, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to study letters and writing.
Folded advertisements, newspapers, neighborhood notices, instructions, or even calendars and more. There should be something with written text located somewhere… at least there should be. At the very least, there was in Japan.
Maine “… Nothing. Absolutely nothing! Not a single one! What the hell is with this house!?”
I walked around and searched through the cupboards in the kitchen and shelves in the storage room, but within this home not just books, I couldn’t find a single thing with written text.
Even before written text, I couldn’t even find any paper.
Maine “What the heck is with this?”
My head started to hurt, as if signaling that my fever had risen. I could hear the sounds of my heartbeat, and my eardrums started to ring.
Feeling as if the string holding my body up was suddenly cut, my body crouched to the floor.
The inside of my eyes feel so hot.
Dying by being crushed by books was my ambition.
Being able to reincarnate too was all well and good.
But you know, am I really going to be able to live in this place?
What exactly are you telling me to live for?
Reincarnating into a world where even the existance of books is suspect is too unexpected. Exactly why did I get born into this place?
Unable to even find a meaning for living, I fell into such depression that the tears would not stop flowing.
Tori “Main! Why aren’t you sleeping in bed!? We told you that you aren’t allowed to leave bed without your shoes!”
Before I knew it, Tori had come home and noticed me sitting on the floor and let out a loud shout.
Maine “… Tori… there is no ‘books’”
Even though I want to read books so much, there are none to be found.
I didn’t even know in what way I should continue living on.
Tori “What’s wrong? Does somewhere hurt?”
Completely dumbfounded, Tori worriedly called out to me as I was crying profusely without end.
There is no way that Tori would understand my feelings, as she does not even question the absense of books nor understand their greatness.
I wish for books.
I want to read books.
Hey, who exactly should I talk to in order to get my feeling across?
Where should I go in order to find books?
Someone, please tell me.
I was completely in despair, unable to find any trace of books within my home.