3.

I woke up early the next morning.

Because the curtains were thick, the room was somewhat dark even if it was daytime, but a faint, still-weak light from outside leaked through a tiny gap.

Maybe thanks to the soup I ate yesterday, I felt my body had steadied a little.

Strangely enough, my mood was also remarkably clear.

That said, I still couldn’t remember my name.

Not just my name—nothing about myself would come back to me.

It was as if only that part of my memory was wrapped in a white mist.

I had talked with Rose, and the everyday things—basically speaking, walking, that sort of thing—I could do just fine.

Only the parts about me had been completely plucked out, as if my soul had suddenly been switched.

When I put strength into my body to sit up, I found I could do it more easily than I thought.

I took another look around the room from on top of the bed.

It was large. Far too large. A splendid chandelier hung from the ceiling; there were tables, sofas, furnishings. Everything looked luxurious.

I gently slipped out of bed and tried standing up.

I felt somewhat floaty, but I seemed able to walk on my own somehow.

A soft carpet was laid wall to wall on the floor.

I walked slowly and examined the furnishings closely.

The feel and the sheen were impeccable. It was like a hotel suite.

There was also a door different from the exit. When I tried opening the door that seemed rather solid, it turned out to be the bathroom.

This was large too. A big mirror was there as well.

A mirror, huh…

I quietly stood before the mirror and looked at my reflection.

Chestnut hair fell lightly wavy over my shoulders. My complexion was on the fair side.

My eyes were chestnut, the same as my hair. Overall, I was thin—or maybe a bit too thin.

How old could I be? Around twenty? It didn’t feel like I was a teenager. It didn’t feel like I was close to thirty either.

I was wearing a big shirt down to my knees. Was this something Rose had lent me?

This is me.

Even thinking that, it didn’t feel clear. Maybe it was, but if someone said it wasn’t, I could believe that too.

In any case, I had to remember. This appearance was my only clue.

When I gently touched the mirror, the me beyond the glass gently touched me too.

That face had sorrowful eyes, like a forgotten doll waiting all this time to be remembered.

I left the bathroom and headed toward the window.

Parting the heavy curtains, I found more layers of lace curtains hung there, and I pushed through them as if to brush them aside.

The windowpane was polished so you could hardly see the glass; it, too, was large enough to reach the ceiling.

Just after dawn, the outside was wrapped in mist, and the sky seemed veiled in a very pale light blue. I put my hand on the window and slowly opened it. The chilly early-morning breeze stroked my cheek.

The window was heavy, but when I leaned my body against it, it opened smoothly outward.

There was a terrace there. My bare feet felt a pleasantly cool touch.

When I ran out to the railing, a forest of roses spread below my eyes.

“Ama…zing… Beautiful…”

Pink flowers spread on and on in the morning haze.

Within them I saw a human figure. Squinting, I realized it was Rose.

He was picking roses until his basket was full. All by himself, carefully observing each rose in the vast farm, he kept his hands moving as he worked.

Then, suddenly, he stopped and turned back this way.

Rose smiled and waved at me broadly.

I reflexively waved back.

He came back this way holding the basket. The pile of roses reflected the rising morning sun in a dazzling way.

There’s a light knock, knock at the room’s door.

“Yes.”

“Good morning.”

A friendly smile peeked in.

“How are you feeling? Is it okay for you to walk around?”

“Yes, I feel amazingly good for some reason.”

“I see! That’s great!”

“Are you working this early in the morning?”

“Yeah, I have to pick them before the sun gets too high, before the fragrance fades. Then I put them in a refrigerated storehouse and load them onto the weekly Cessna flight. That’s about the extent of my work.”

Rose smelled of roses.

“Now then, aren’t you hungry? I’ve got breakfast ready, but it’s still early—what would you like to do?”

Convenient as I am, the moment he mentioned food, my stomach growled loudly.

“I’ll bring it right now, so wait just a bit.”

After a short while, Rose came back with a meal on a cart.

He quickly set the table. Some fruits, still-warm bread, soup, and an omelet.

“Did you make this, Mr. Rose?”

“Yeah. Well, this hardly counts as cooking. Once you’re better, I’ll make something that will really surprise you.”

The bread was fluffy with the scent of butter. The soup, simmered until the vegetables melted, had spices neither too weak nor too strong that whetted the appetite and brought out the vegetables’ sweetness. Even the plain omelet without fillings was more than enough with just the taste of eggs.

For a while I ate in silence, seriously intent on the food. Rose’s gaze brought me back to myself.

“Is it good?”

“It’s delicious!! I got carried away without thinking.”

“When you eat like that, it makes it worth making.”

Rose also offered tea. It was a very fragrant tea that needed neither sugar nor milk.

“By the way, have you already eaten, Mr. Rose?”

“Yeah, it’s an early morning, you know. If I don’t eat first, I can’t get moving.”

He said this with a smile. It was always such a pleasant smile to see.

“By the way, um, about these clothes…”

“Ah, I’m really sorry about that!! The clothes you were wearing got dirty with dew and everything, so I had you change into my clothes, but, um, I truly beg your pardon!!”

Rose kept bowing his head, looking terribly apologetic.

“No, no, it’s fine—if I’d stayed like that, I might have come down with pneumonia or something. If anything, I should apologize.”

With his embarrassed look, Rose seemed several years younger than his usual composed face.

Maybe he was even younger than me.

“And look, being this skinny, there’s not much sex appeal anyway, right?”

I said, jokingly,

“N-no, that’s not true!! Ah, no, saying that is… uh…”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Seeing me laugh amusedly, Rose scratched his head.

“You’ve got a mischievous streak, don’t you.”

He cleared his throat once.

“Well then, so…”

Maybe he was surprisingly shy.

“About clothes—the ones you were wearing, I sent them to be cleaned. They should be ready the week after next, but for now, I’ve prepared something to tide you over.”

“Huh?”

Saying that, he took a pale light-blue three-quarter-sleeve dress out of the room’s closet.

“This??”

“It’s my specialty—sewing.”

“Did you make this, Mr. Rose?”

“I made it while thinking this would be about your size—though that might sound suspicious— but this kind of thing, I’m good at.”

“Thank you, for, well, everything.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I like doing things for someone.”

“Um…”

“What is it?”

“May I ask you something?”

“Ask me anything. After all, I’m an unknown quantity. Ask anything you like. As long as it helps you feel even a little safer, that’s all that matters.”

He said this while spreading his hands to show it.

“That’s not what I mean! I feel safe. Very much. It’s just, um, since when have you been here, alone?”

“I see. It’d be better if I properly talked about those kinds of things.”

“I mean, it’s not that I want to pry out of idle curiosity or anything…”

“I understand. More than that, it’s better if you feel safe and focus on getting well.”

Saying so, he took an apple in hand and deftly began to peel it.

“I came here with my father. My mother’s side was wealthy, and when my mother died my father inherited her entire estate. He bought up this whole area and built a house. My father started cultivating roses here, and whether the climate and soil were good, he succeeded in producing roses with a wonderful fragrance. The roses here were suddenly in demand all over the world. He chose good companies and signed contracts with them. The fortune swelled more and more. Before long my father died. And, naturally, I inherited this place. My father disliked people, and we did everything in the house between the two of us—cleaning, laundry, cooking. So, I deliberately didn’t hire anyone either. I’m alone and can manage. That’s why I live here by myself.”

He cut the apple into easy-to-eat pieces, set them in front of me, and smiled as if to say, go ahead.

“At that time, didn’t you think of leaving here? Wouldn’t it be lonely by yourself?”

“I thought about it, but I couldn’t abandon this place. You saw those roses just now, didn’t you?

I can’t leave those roses behind, and to me, the roses are like my last remaining family.”

“When did your mother pass away?”

“So long ago I can’t remember. So, I have only memories of my father. My father and the roses.”

He stood up, went to the window, and opened the curtains. The dazzling morning sunlight spread through the room.

Beyond the window, the forest of roses spread out.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

On Rose’s face, standing by the window with the sun at his back, a faint shadow of a loneliness not usually seen fell across.

“After you finish eating, would you like to take a nap?”

He spoke brightly, as if to cut off the somber impression.

“No, the weather’s so nice—it would be a waste.”

“Really? At this rate you’ll recover faster than I thought. You might be able to go back on the next Cessna flight.”

Come to think of it, how many days had it been since I came here?

“How many days was I asleep?”

He quietly returned the dishes to the wagon, very practiced at it.

“Not that long—today is only the third day. If you hadn’t woken up today, I was just wondering what I should do.”

“I’m sorry to have worried you.”

“Don’t worry about it. More than that, let’s focus on getting your health and memory back.”

“Actually, I looked in the mirror earlier.”

“Yeah? And how was it?”

“Uh… it felt like, ‘Ah, was this my face?’…”

“Hm, I see. Well, don’t push yourself—maybe look for some kind of foothold.

For example, your favorite foods. I’ll try making different things.”

“…Favorite foods, huh…”

“The stomach is honest, after all.”

He gave a quick wink.

“Well then, I’ll withdraw for now. If you need anything, use the house phone there. I always carry the extension.”

Pushing the wagon, Rose left the room.