I am Karen Minakawa.
I had just run out of food for Popporo the pigeon and the chick.
However, on my way home from work, a female coworker invites me out to grab a drink.
Unlike me, she is popular with boys, and sometimes she even does “dad-kats” (compensated dating).
She sometimes tries to force me to kiss her, but I have Kanade and Hinato, so I tell her, “Let’s stop that.”
She presses on, saying, “Well, if we are just friends then—,” so I tell her with words that it is okay if it is like that.
Still, she is bold today. The cigarette smoke stings my eyes.
–Waterside Park, a little past 7:00 PM
There are ten boats lined up there, and several platforms to use as seats.
They are arranged very naturally, and sometimes when I feel tired, I linger long enough to feel a sense of comfort.
And right nearby, are there about twenty or thirty pigeons stopping at the waterside? It is just as you would expect from a popular spot for pigeons. Even so, there are fewer of them today. There is hardly any foot traffic, and I want to enjoy this place a little more. After all, there are only the two of us here.
By the way, she said she was inviting me out for drinks, but what she was holding was not alcoholic drinks, but juices. It seems the juice she chose had more meaning than her usual alcohol. It was a red beverage with a rich aroma.
“I got dumped,” she says, gulping down the juice.
I say, “That is unusual,” and put my arm around her shoulders.
Then—flap, flap, flap… a few pigeons move over toward us.
Are they going to bless us just at a time like this? I pray to myself. —But two of the pigeons hit my legs with their wings.
As she gently links her hand with the hand on her shoulder and asks, “Why?”, I evade the question by saying, “You look lonely,” pull her other hand, and start running toward the boats.
“Wait!”
Hahaha, follow me!
Saying that, I hop into an empty boat, grab the oars, and move forward, saying, “I’m going to row.”
The boat management company here has a sign posted saying, “Empty boats, please feel free to row them,” so it is just the right timing when you are feeling down like she is today.
When I ask, “What’s wrong?”, the pigeons at the waterside rub their bodies against each other.
When she confesses, “This is my first experience,” the pigeons turn their heads away and walk near the water’s edge.
For something like this to happen, you must be at your prime too.
Hey, you have been my coworker for a long time, but are you really that free? I ask.
The pigeons seem to have found partners, pressing their bodies together and overlapping their beaks.
As if to match our actions and words—
She says, “A momentary impulse got the better of me,” and confesses that she wanted to stay with me longer tonight.
Since we have known each other for a long time, she teases, she is ready for someone new soon.
The pigeons overlap their necks alternately and spin around in circles on the park ground.
Perhaps the two of us could have stayed as shared partners even if we never truly bonded.
Some of the pigeons break up, some succeed, and they begin to overlap their bodies.
Even if we do not fall in love, is love still spun—?
If you and I were pigeons, what on earth would we have done…?
–Before 12:00 AM
“Minakawa, thank you.”
You are welcome… Do you feel relieved?
She smiles with tears left in her eyes, but I am also a little worried.
“The pigeons have fallen asleep, haven’t they?”
They should have reached their “base” by the time they visit here again.
Could it be that you, about me—
Kiss!
She kisses me on the cheek, says “Goodbye,” and disappears into the night.
Will she be able to go to work tomorrow, I wonder?
–The next morning at 8:30
“Minakawa, good morning♪”
Good morning…
Ah, I am glad. She is her usual self.
I had a hard time making excuses to Kanade and Hinato after that.
Come to think of it, I have Popporo to thank for this, too.
I am sorry for forgetting your food.
By the way, as for the meaning of the juice she was drinking, it seems it is a beverage known as a “breakup” drink, which supposedly conveys a fresh start after a farewell.