The loneliness of being separated from my mother, who works as a live-in worker, while being influenced by my two uncles.

“The mother and child moved to the house of “Occhan” (the mother’s eldest brother and Fumie’s uncle). Soon, her mother had to live and work at a cooking inn, and the mother and child were forced to live apart, and loneliness grew.

My mother works as a live-in worker during weekdays and comes home on Saturday nights on weekends. I can’t wait for that. Looking back, I think it would have been possible for mother and son to rent a room and live together. Why did you leave me with your uncle and go work as a live-in worker? She said that she left her marriage because she didn’t want to be taken away from me (by my father).

Now that I think about it, my mother was still young (she was in her mid-30s at the time). I wonder if her mother had her own “circumstances”… Although it was still a time before the period of high economic growth, the city of Osaka was rapidly developing, with underground malls being built and entertainment districts expanding. If you are a woman today, your 30s is probably the time when you want to have fun. This is just my imagination, but my mother may have had “fun” times like going dancing and drinking alcohol after work.

“One Saturday, my mother, who was supposed to come home at night, didn’t come home…”

There’s no phone at my uncle’s house, so I don’t know what’s going on. I was in the upper grades of elementary school, and I was anxious and anxious. Although she and Uncle are related by blood, she is not his parent. If her mother does not return, she will be left alone. I wonder how she will survive.

Early the next morning, with no arrows or shields to spare, I walk to the inn where my mother works. I didn’t have the money to ride the streetcar. However, I remembered that I had taken the tram to work with my girlfriend’s mother before, and I thought that if I followed the tram’s tracks, I would be able to reach the inn. In front of Osaka Station, Miyakojima Garage… I walked, catching up with the streetcar that had the destination sign that I remembered, but it was quite a long way from Taisho Ward (where my uncle lived) to Nakazakicho. Especially if it’s an elementary school student’s feet. My legs are tired and my heart is flat. When we finally arrived at the inn, the people at the inn were surprised. “Did you come walking alone?” I asked.

According to the people at the inn, my mother had a fever and stayed overnight last night, but she returned in the morning because she was worried about me. I put it in wrong. On the way back, the people at the inn gave me a souvenir, such as a net for collecting insects, and sent it to me on the streetcar. When I got home, my girlfriend’s mother scolded me and said, “I can’t believe how worried you were,” but I couldn’t understand why.

“The “old man” at the house I was entrusted with was a strict person, but he was a serious student. When I go on long holidays, I go to my mother’s sister’s house in Yao, Osaka, and experience a different world.

Although my uncle’s family was poor, he raised me the same as his own children. Since he couldn’t go to higher education due to the war, he was a very studious person, learned English through radio courses, and had a lot of books. He was also admired by those around him. When I was reading manga or listening to entertainment programs on the radio, I got yelled at.

During summer vacation, I go to my aunt’s house. The husband there (my aunt’s husband) works in a formal government office but loves performing arts. Rakugo performances by the previous master Hayashiya Somemaru held at a nearby high school, as well as the then-popular radio drama “Daddy is a Good-natured Person” (broadcast from 1950 to 1950, a manzai performer, He took me to the NHK Osaka studio to attend the public recording of the popular hit movie starring actor Achako Hanabishi and others. This is what made me yearn for this world.