Ch 18 The world’s only true love chocolate
The day’s classes were over and I was on my way home alone.
I felt that there were more people than usual, probably because the after-school club activities had been suspended due to the fact that today was the first week before the test period.
I had to take my textbooks home to study, so my bag was heavy.
On the way, a group of three boys and a girl, about elementary school age, ran by me.
I stopped and looked at their backs.
I felt nostalgic, but not envious.
The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the first time you see a person, you know that they’re a child.
I was about to walk away again with this thought, when I smiled to myself in self-mockery.
I’m probably the only one among the three who will always be a child.
I stopped at a nearby park and sat down on a swing before taking out a piece of chocolate from Karen that I had put in my pocket.
It’s a genuine “giri” (obligation) chocolate, just like every year.
I unwrap the bag, take out a chocolate cookie from inside, and throw it into my mouth.
The sweetness spreads with a pleasantly light texture.
As soon as I swallow the cookie, I pop a small piece of raw chocolate into my mouth.
It melts in my mouth.
Next, I reach for the truffle and eat another cookie.
Then I crush the empty bag in my hands and take a breath.
The swing makes a squeaky sound when I rock my body lightly.
I watched the sky for a while and then left the park.
◆
“I’m home.”
“Welcome home!”
As soon as I went to the front door, I was greeted with a big smile by Ageha that came running out of the living room with great energy.
For some… reason, she is wearing a peach-colored apron.
“Why the apron?”
“Hehehe, how does it look good on me?”
As she said this, she turned around on the spot.
Well, it looks surprisingly good on her, though.
“I mean, why are you wearing an apron in my house?”
I told you. I told you I would give you the best
Honmei chocolate gift when you get home from school, Haru-kun! I was putting the finishing touches on it. I’ve already gotten permission from my aunt.”
“The final touches…”
I was beginning to dread what in the world she had prepared for me.
I took off my shoes and went up into the house with the excited looking Ageha at my side.
As I was about to go into the living room, I was blocked by her.
“Yes, Stoop! You have to blindfold me from here on out.”
Saying so, she handed me a towel.
She wanted me to use it to cover my eyes.
I put my bag on the floor and covered my eyes with the towel.
From the front, I heard her nodding her head in satisfaction.
“Yes. Then, yes.”
Something soft wrapped around my hands.
I knew that feeling.
It was Ageha’s hand.
I grasped it back, and with a voice saying, “Yes, go slowly,” she pulled her hand away.
I think I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of girls in the world who hand out chocolates like this.
I was starting to feel a strange tension.
I wonder what it is, and I hope it is something edible.
I could not get any information from my eyes, but I knew that I was in my own home.
I knew that I had entered the living room.
“Watch your step.”
I sat down on the couch at the invitation of Ageha.
Finally, I let go of Ageha’s hand.
“Can I take it off now?”
“’Yes, you can.”
With permission, I remove the towel restraints.
The backs of my eyelids turned vermilion.
I hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened my eyes.
“This is…”
My voice trembled involuntarily when I saw it placed on the low table in front of me.
To my astonishment, she said with a smile,
“Pfft, how about it? Isn’t it great!”
“No, it’s definitely amazing, but…”
I think it’s really great.
On a low table were heart-shaped chocolates of different sizes (large, medium, and small), stacked on top of each other like a cake.
I had never seen such large chocolates before.
I wondered how many sheets of chocolate were used.
While I was stunned, Ageha sat down on the sofa on the opposite side of the table, held the flat plate on which the chocolates were placed, and handed it to me.
“Yes, I’ll give it to you! It’s six years’ worth of Honmei chocolate.”
“Oh, thank you…”
It was heavy.
The moment she handed it to me, I felt the weight of it in my hand.
I gently put it back on the low table, and asked Ageha about it.
“How am I supposed to eat this?”
“Hmmm, maybe cut them up with a knife?… Oh, it’s no good!”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a heart-shaped chocolate…”
I was immediately put at ease by her words, and I understood her point.
Indeed, cutting hearts with a knife is not a pleasant thing to watch.
… I had no choice.
Holding the flat plate again, I bit into the smallest chocolate on the top, holding it with both thumbs so that it would not slip off.
Unlike ordinary chocolate, it was taller and I could not bite through it properly, so I felt as if I was scraping off the surface.
After I manage to swallow the chocolate in my mouth, I take a breath and open my mouth to Ageha, who pours expectant eyes on me.
“Is it Meiji?”
“That’s your first word? It fits, but…!”
“I’m just kidding. It’s delicious.”
When I said this with a wry smile, Ageha giggled and then laughed cheerfully, saying, “I’m kind of honestly not happy about it.”
Then she smiled a fleeting smile and squeezed her hand in front of her chest.
“Finally, I was able to give it to you…”
“—-.”
As if telling herself, she muttered in a small voice, and her words reached my ears clearly.
The sound of her voice, filled with her deepest feelings, made me feel so helpless that I bit into the chocolate again.
“It’s… delicious.”
When I said so again, she smiled proudly with tears in the corners of her eyes and said, “Right!”
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