1月の帰省 / January Homecoming

ひと月前に義姉が亡くなりました。つまり、兄は何十年も連れ添った妻を失ない、間違いなく心に大きな穴が開いている様子が心配で、先日、帰省をしてきました。

My sister-in-law passed away a month ago. In other words, my brother has not lost his wife of decades, and I am worried that he will definitely have a big hole in his heart, so I went home the other day.

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天気予報を連日の様に確認して、雨や雪が降らず、標高の高い峠道が凍結しない可能性の高い日程を選びました。お蔭で、峠への登り坂は前夜の雨に濡れている程度で、路面に撒かれた凍結防止剤を踏み散らしながら順調に登り切りまたし。そして、県境の自動車専用道路のトンネルの歩道を走り抜けて、さあ、いよいよ気持ちの良い下り坂だ！と思った瞬間、路面には雪が。タイヤはほぼスリック。急にスタッドレスタイヤが欲しくなった瞬間です。

I checked the weather forecast every day and chose a date where there was a high possibility that it would not rain or snow, and that the high-altitude mountain pass would not freeze. Thanks to this, the climb to the pass was only wet from the rain of the night before, and we managed to climb smoothly while trampling on the anti-icing agent sprinkled on the road surface. Then, after running through the sidewalk of the tunnel of the prefectural border, it was finally time for a pleasant downhill! Just when I thought about it, there was snow on the road. The tires are almost slick. This is the moment when you suddenly want studless tires.

この時期、気を付けるべき場所は日陰になり易い路面や橋の上。一見、濡れているだけの路面に見えても、実際には凍結している事も珍しくありません。無事に峠道を下り切り、自転車を走らせ続け、一か月振りに会った兄は、電話した時に較べて回復している様にも見えましたが、この時期の路面と同じで安心できません。「大丈夫さ！ 生きているから」と言ってきたので、「違うよ、生きているから心配なんだ。そうじゃあなかったら心配しないからね」と言い返しました。人の心は簡単には回復しないもの。2月も帰省する予定です。

 At this time of year, you should be careful on roads and bridges that are easily shaded. At first glance, it is not uncommon for the road surface to look only wet, but in fact it is frozen. I made it down the mountain pass safely, continued to ride my bicycle, and saw my brother for the first time in a month, and although he seemed to be recovering compared to when I called, I was not relieved because the road surface was the same as at this time of year. He said, "It's okay, I'm alive," and I said, "No, I'm worried because I'm alive. If not, I wouldn't be worried." The human mind does not recover easily. I plan to return to my hometown in February.

画像は、生家の裏手にあって、僕の遊び場所の一つだった思い出の墓地です。ただ、墓の多くが墓終い（はかじまい）されていて、以前よりも立派になった大樹と合わせて、60年以上の時の流れが刻まれていました。

This image is a cemetery of memories that was one of my playgrounds behind my birthplace. However, many of the graves were closed, and together with the large trees that have become more magnificent than before, the passage of time of more than 60 years was engraved.