I just finished the story. I was definitely more invested in the characters and their story this time, I found it quite emotional and powerful. Fusagi might have been a difficult man to deal with in some respects, but it’s obvious that the love between him and his wife was real. I suppose Kotake (sorry, Mrs Fusagi) can now be happy in the thought that even if he seems to have mostly forgotten her, they are in this together after all. He desperately clings to whatever remains of her in his memory, and he has explicitly expressed his wish to remain a couple for as long as she can take it, so that’s what she’s going to do - stand by him, secure in the knowledge that that’s his wish too. Not that she wasn’t standing by him before. I think her newfound energy stems from the fact that whatever comes next, it’s almost as if they have discussed how to proceed as a couple, it’s not her own decision only. She doesn’t feel as alone and helpless anymore, a nurse dealing with an invalid, she’s a wife caring for her husband.
It was quite a surprise when Fusagi so quickly caught on that she’s from the future. They were regulars in this cafe though, so they must both have known what that specific seat was for. Seeing someone in that seat must be suspicious in any case, let alone if they appear to know more than they’re supposed to.
Plot related niggles
How can you bring a whole letter, a tangible object, from the past, and not change the present? Are there two letters around now? Or has the letter moved from Fusagi’s bag to Kotake’s possession? And how is that not changing the present again?
Also, although their meeting was quite emotional, I still don’t see what traveling to the past really achieved. I assume they still live together, so having access to his bag would be no problem. I can see how she would hesitate going through his things, but if she knows the letter is addressed to her, and he desperately wants to give it to her, then why not just fulfill his wish by taking and reading it?
Can someone help me with a sentence from the letter?
I know all the words, but I’m still not sure I understand.
だから、もし、おれがどんどん、きおくをうしなってどんな言どうや、こうどうをとったとしても、たとえ、お前のことをわすれるようなことが、あったとしても、お前は、きっとれいせいに、かんごし、として自分をころし、うまくつき合ってくれることだろう。
At first I thought he was asking her to kill him, but that makes no sense from context. Is he asking her to stop acting like a nurse?
What is it with commas in the weirdest places by the way? It’s not just Fusagi’s letter, I keep having to ignore them because they just end up confusing me, making me break up sentences in the strangest places.
And another question: In the end, is Kei thanking the ghost? or the cafe in general? Is there something going on I’m missing, or is it just general thankfulness for some personal stories getting sort of a happy ending?
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