"Raphael, Michael, Raphael, Michael..."

These are the names of angels. Chanting them brings me peace. Shall we chant together?

From the serialized column "Ji-ji no Jikan" (Old Man's Time) in Shinbo Minami's book, "Hon no Jikan" (Book Time).

This story is about Kuwahara-san, the editor-in-chief of "Gendai Shi Techō" (Contemporary Poetry Notebook) and a friend of Shinbo Minami, who recounted an incident.

His assistant was chanting something when an earthquake struck their office.

The punchline, apparently, was "Kuwabara, Kuwabara."

The reason I clearly state that my name is not "Kuwabara Moichi" but

"Kuwahara Moichi" is this.

As a child, I was teased with "Wai, wai, Kuwabara, Kuwabara,"

and the embarrassing memories are still vivid.

I never expected to encounter "angels" again, especially two days after the last time.

And this happened this morning in the washroom.

Of course, this week's events took place at a mountain resort.

"Kuwabara, Kuwabara," and "Raphael, Michael, Raphael, Michael..."

Angels from the Land of the Rising Sun, aren't they? This is Yamatai-koku Nippon, after all.

So, where did my angel disappear to?

← Diary-T 62-67