Heroine Life

Chapter 10: Traces of the Past

It's early in the morning before the sun has risen.

Even though it is the weekend, I woke up earlier than I do on weekdays. I did not feel like going back to sleep, so I decided to go to the garden and do some weeding.
It has been a while since anyone took care of the garden, so the weeds grew everywhere. I kept pulling and pulling, but I couldn't notice any improvement.
Even though I decided to do this on a whim, I gradually became depressed at the lack of results.
I didn't mind getting my hands dirty with the grass and soil though, so it is still a good way to pass the time.
It would be nice to liven up this dreary garden with some flowers or vegetables, but that's going to be a lot of work so I don't think I'm up to the task.
In fact, the garden's in this state precisely because I failed to tend to it.
Grandma doesn't care how much weed grows and Yuzuha is doing most of the housework already, so I'm the only one left that can take care of it.

"Phew."

I exhale and my breath turns white in this cold air. I stand up and straighten myself.
I feel discomfort from my back down to my waist, probably because I had been crouching the whole time. I might have overdone it.
It's easy to ignore because I don't feel any pain, but I can still get tired and if I'm not careful, I'll faint if I reach my limit.
I don't know whether I should consider it a blessing or a curse, but I had no choice but to give up and accept that my body has become like this.

(Hmmm...)

I sit down on the porch to take a break and look at the garden I had just been working in.
I must have been weeding for at least an hour, but it didn't look much different compared to when I started.
Looks like I can't make any progress manually doing this with my hands.
We don't have a weed cutter or any convenient tools like that, but it would probably be more efficient to use herbicide instead of pulling by hand.
I don't have any plans today anyway, so I'll go buy some later.

"Fuwaaah... I'm sleepy..."

I let out a big yawn.
I notice that the sun has risen quite high and the sky has brightened.

(Hm?)

The cell phone in my pocket vibrated, so I take it out and see an unexpected name on the caller display.
The person on the other end seems to be Misora, but it was unusual for her to call so early in the morning.

"Hello? Misora?"
"Morning, Chiharu. I'm sorry to call you so early in the morning. ...Were you awake?"
"I was awake, so don't worry about it. I had a bad dream and was feeling restless, so I was weeding the garden as a distraction."
"Bad dream?"
"Well...I don't know if it was a bad dream or a dream of my past. I don't remember much about it.

Recently, I had been having dreams about my past almost every day.
Those dreams of the past included happy things, trivial things, embarrassing things, sad things, and so on.
And...... what they all shared in common is that they are memories from after I moved to this town.
So even though I dreamt about the past, I still haven't made any progress in recalling my missing memories.
Incidentally, the dream I had today was when I had just arrived in this town and was still unfamiliar with it.
I wouldn't say those times were particularly bad, but remembering my former self...... remembering the past tires me out and mentally drains me.

".....Are you okay?"

Misora's concerned voice reached my ears.
...I didn't mean to cause her to worry unnecessarily but looks like I made a mistake.
Usually, she'd be interested in what kind of dream I had and ask for details about that. Furthermore, her voice was grim.
Perhaps it's because we've known each other for so long, but she seems to have noticed that I was feeling down.
Come to think of it, Yuzuha, who I've only known for a short time, has also been giving me worried looks every time I see her in the morning, so maybe she noticed as well.
Hmmm, am I that easy to read? Maybe these two are just perceptive?

"Well,  I'm okay. It was just a dream about the past. I did some weeding to change my mood and am feeling refreshed now.
More importantly, did you want something from me? Otherwise, you wouldn't have called so early."

I made an effort to reassure my meddlesome friend, brightening my voice and switching the subject.
Then Misora said, oh, that's right and her serious voice changed completely to a happy and lively one.
I was relieved to hear her usual cheerful voice.

"By the way, Chiharu, are you free today?"
"Hm? I guess so, I don't have anything in particular planned today."

I thought about buying herbicide and taking care of the garden, but it doesn't have to be today.

"In that case, do you want to hang out today?"
"Sure, but where are we going?"
"To the new botanical garden that just opened. My mom received complimentary tickets for a group of people, so how about it?"
"Sure, I'll go!"
"Awesome. You really do love flowers and plants."
"So, where is this botanical garden? Was there one in this town?"

Even without a botanical garden, this town is surrounded by nature.
I didn't think there is much demand for a botanical garden in such a rural area. It might be nice for those who are interested in plants though.

"Actually, we'll need to ride the train for 40 minutes."
"Nevermind, I don't want to go after all."
"I knew you would say that."

I could hear her sigh over the phone.
It's true that I'm interested in the botanical garden, but I don't want to risk going through such an ordeal to get there.