An Page #3

I was.

Still you came early this morning.

OK, I got it.

- Hov\/ much bean paste today?

-Two kilos of dried beans.

Two kilos.

Well, Tokue.

If you're not too tired,

and only if you Want to,

could you help serve customers?

Oh, boss...

- Do as you please.

Really?

Look at these.

There's a hole!

It's hot.

Boss, I knitted these at home.

It's still too hot for them, but...

- You made these?

-Which do you like?

See them in the light.

- Which one?

-Which one...

I guess the blue one.

Sure? it's thin, the other has two layers.

No, I like this one.

It's still so hot.

- Shall vve take a break?

-Oh, that would be nice.

Thank you.

L, ah...

I have a debt to this shop.

Really?

Ifs... a burden I'll carry all my life.

Is it a large amount?

You haverft been tricked, boss?

No.

The owner of the shop paid the debt

for me.

That's why I'm here.

We all have our stories.

We just have to vvork hard.

Thank you.

I'll do my best.

- That math we're doing...

-What is it? Factor something.

Factorization.

Factorization, Whats that all about?

-It's pointless.

Meaningless.

Is it really?

Of course it is, just factorizing time.

- School is boring.

-it is boring, these days.

Find a Way to make it matter.

Hovv would vve do that?

Turn it into a game.

- No Way.

-Miyu's parents...

They'd kick me out.

Then let them kick you out.

Just for a day.

That's trouble.

- You Want us to fail?

-We'll fail.

- You're cruel.

-No.

I dorft Want that.

But you should do What makes you happy.

You have all that freedom.

What did you Want to be, Tokue?

At our age.

At your age, I Wanted to teach Japanese.

No, really.

I Wanted to read poetry with my students.

But, back then,

the vvar had just ended,

and everything was chaos.

Oh, no! The time!

- What?

-Cram school.

Well, take those with you.

Be careful.

We've only got five minutes.

You're not going, Wakana?

- I dorft go.

-Oh, I see.

- Do vve have discards, boss?

-The rejects.

- Here.

-Thank you.

- The rejects.

-Thanks.

Uh, Tokue, What happened to your fingers?

I carft shake this summer cold.

I keep coughing.

- Are you OK?

-I'm all right.

Uh, your fingers, What happened to them?

These...

They ended up crooked like this.

I was sick when I was young.

You're sweating, boss.

- This is hot vvork in the summer.

-The summefis tough.

It was like this.

Reading Braille with his tongue.

The Leprosy Prevention Law was repealed

in 1996.

Until then,

people were forced to live in isolation.

People lost their hands or feet,

or they were crippled.

They lost their noses

and their faces vvere deformed,

which made people fear them.

We Want to live in society

Where the sun shines.

What's happened?

It turned cold.

When ifs cold...

people Want a sweet dorayaki.

I'll take a break.

- Tokue.

-Yes.

Take the rest of the day off.

Ah, OK.

See you later.

Hello. This is for you.

Thank you.

Dear boss, How are things at the shop?

I worry that your spirit might be low.

When / was cooking the bean paste,

I was always listening

for the stories the beans tell.

It's a way of imagining

the rainy days and sunny days

the beans have seen.

What breeze blew across the beanstalks?

Listen to the story of their journey.

Yes. Listen to them.

I believe

that everything in this world has

a story to tell.

Even the sunshine and the wind,

I think you can hear their stories.

Maybe that's the reason.

Last night, the breeze that blew in,

across the hedge of holly,

seemed to be telling me

I should get in touch with you.

Boss.

We try to live our lives beyond reproach,

but sometimes we are crushed

by the ignorance of the world.

There are times

when we have to use our wits.

I should have talked about that with you.

I'm sure that someday, boss,

you'll create a dorayaki

that fulfills your own vision.

Have confidence to fol/ow your own path.

I'm sure you can do that, boss.

Where's Tokue?

- She quit.

Really?

What is it?

L, ah...

I'm running away from home.

Running away?

Since When?

This morning.

Just this morning.

His name is Marvy.

We live in an apartment,

and pets are prohibited.

A neighbor complained to the landlord,

and he said to get rid of him.

I once talked with Tokue about this,

here at the shop.

Here?

When I first met Tokue.

And?

She said,

if I carft keep Marvy,

either you or she would take him.

Without asking me.

You carft?

I live in an apartment.

I carft.

I only told one person

about Tokue's fingers.

Who?

My mother.

The rumor mill is scary.

But then...

in this case...

more than the rumors...

I'm to blame.

I couldrft protect her.

I'm to blame.

Boss,

why dorft vve go see her?

In the place Where Tokue lives.

When I first met Tokue,

vve looked at the moon together.

The moon was rising

above those cherry trees.

Tokue said,

ifs so pretty, lefs have a look.

The two of us were looking at the moon...

when she said shed look after Marvy.

Tokue and the moon and me.

The three of us promise, she said.

A promise to the moon.

The next stop is Zensho-en.

It's so quiet.

Yeah.

With Hansens disease,

some people lose their noses.

Their faces are disfigured.

There will be people like that here.

This Way.

Tokue.

Hello.

Hovv have you been?

Both of you.

This is Marvy.

You're a beautiful yellow, Marvy.

Marvy.

It's ten years now since my husband died.

I was feeling lonesome.

Marvy came just at the right time.

Tokue...

when did you start living here?

When I was about your age.

So,

it was a long time ago.

I came here with my brother.

He brought me.

When vve got to the station,

he said for the first time,

You probably have leprosy.

If you do, I'll have to leave you.

I'll leave you and go back home.

My mother...

stayed up all night...

sewing a blouse for me.

I dorft know Where she found the material.

It was a white, knitted fabric.

I had never vvorn anything like it.

But when I got here,

everything I vvore and everything

I carried was disposed of.

I never saw the blouse again.

Tokue.

Are you the boss

of the dorayaki shop?

Yes, I am.

- I see.

-Hello.

I Wanted to vvork there too.

This is my friend Yoshiko.

Glad to meet you.

This is Where vve cooked sweets,

for many years.

Back then,

the cooks

and the customers were all patients.

Yoshikds specialty is Western cakes,

unlike me.

Please, go ahead.

While ifs warm.

You dorft need a sweet tooth.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Delicious.

This salted kombu is Tokue's homemade.

Huh?

This is... pickled plum?

Yes, I use plum, and shiso too.

Hovv do you make this?

I'm not telling.

You should tell him.

I'm glad.

It's really nice.

They seem to like it.

Worft you have some?

Well, l...

- She's lost her appetite.

-I'm all right.

I'm a little worried.

I'm having dental vvork done.

When vve cook bean paste,

vve use just a little salt.

But along with red bean soup,

vve serve distinctly salty things,

like kombu.

That's right.

We combine salt and sweet dumplings too,

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