ごたつの大きなテーブルの上に皿を並べる。
場所を変えての、食事会のようだ。
春近いのか日差し明るく、実家の二階の広間は暖かい。
亡くなったはずの親父の姿もある。
テーブルの四隅に直接、米粒のようなものを
撒くように、親族の誰かが置いている。
皿数が足らないわけでもないから、風習だろう。
きっと食べるつもりで置くのではあるまい。
人数が多そうだから、おれは角に座ろうと思う。
Rice in the Four Corners
Arrange the dishes on the big table of kotatsu.
It's like a dinner party in a different place.
The sun is bright, probably near spring, and
the hall on the second floor of my parents' house is warm.
There is also the figure of my father who should have died.
Someone in the family puts something like
a grain of rice directly on the four corners of the table.
It's not that there aren't enough dishes, so it's a custom.
I'm sure they're not going to eat it.
I think I'll sit in the corner
because there are so many people.
