The Traveling Robot: What I Wanted to Find Was My Mother, What I Found Was Family
The housework-assistance robot "Hachi" came to the Morita family eighteen years ago and has stood by their side ever since.
At first it was like the air conditioning—something whose presence was simply taken for granted.
The wife's disappearance. Nagano, traveled to alone with a young son. The Boso coast. A mountain village with no electricity. The newer models lined up at the Shibuya crossing, all of them newer than him—Hachi traveled in the family's place, and at times could do nothing but sta
The Traveling Robot: What I Wanted to Find Was My Mother, What I Found Was Family - To the Sea: Only the Sound of Waves Remained.
One
When spring came, Mai went to Nagano.
When summer came, she went too.
Autumn, winter—she went.
At first she said "once a month."
Before anyone noticed, it had increased a little.
Yuki said nothing.
Yuto said nothing.
The robot said nothing either.
Instead, on the days Mai went to Nagano, the number of dishes at dinner increased slightly.
No one may have noticed.
But the things arranged on the table were just a little richer.
---
Yuto had turned nine.
His body had grown, and his backpack had shrunk.
The insect net had gone to the back of the closet.
He had stopped folding origami somewhere along the way.
Only the cat stuffed animal was still by his pillow.
Its name was Haru.
---
## Two
That summer vacation, Yuto spoke up.
"I want to go to the sea."
It was during dinner.
Yuki was drinking his miso soup.
Mai was telling Hachi, "This is a little thin."
"The sea."
"Yeah. I want to swim."
"Where?"
"Anywhere. As long as it's the sea."
Yuki looked at Mai.
Mai looked at Yuki.
For a moment, the two of them searched each other's faces for something.
"When?" Mai asked.
"Before summer vacation ends."
"When Papa can get time off—"
"I can take off mid-August," Yuki said.
Mai looked at the robot.
"Can we bring Hachi too?"
The robot paused for a moment.
"Is my accompaniment necessary?"
"It's not about whether it's necessary."
Mai smiled a little.
"It's that I want you to come with us."
The robot could not answer that right away.
---
## Three
The destination became a small seaside town past Boso.
There was no particular reason.
It started when Yuto scrolled the map and pointed, saying, "This one has a cute name."
The four of them and the one robot took an express bus.
Yuto by the window. Mai next to him.
Across the aisle, Yuki and the robot.
It was the arrangement that naturally settled into place.
Around the time the bus got on the Shuto Expressway, Yuto said,
"Hachi, how warm is the sea?"
"You mean the water temperature? Around the Boso coast this time of year, it's generally about twenty-five degrees."
"Is it cold?"
"It depends on the person."
"For you, Hachi?"
"I do not have a body temperature."
"So if you went in, you wouldn't be cold?"
"Entering is not recommended."
"Why?"
"Because I am not designed to be waterproof."
Yuto thought for a moment, then said,
"Then just your feet."
"...I will consider it."
Mai gave a small laugh.
Yuki took out just one earbud and listened to the conversation.
---
The inn was an old fisherman's guesthouse.
A sign at the entrance read "Lodging Only."
The hallway creaked.
The futon was a little damp.
Yuto said, "It smells kind of weird," and Yuki said, "This is the smell of the sea."
At night, they ate dinner at a nearby diner.
Only the robot stood at the corner of the table.
When the sashimi platter came, Yuto shouted, "It's huge," and the old proprietor smiled with satisfaction.
On the way back, they walked along the road by the beach.
There were few streetlights.
Only the sound of waves.
After walking a while, Mai said,
"I hope we can come again next year."
Yuki paused a little.
"I don't know about next year."
"I know, but."
"Work, and how things go."
"...Right."
After that, the two of them went silent.
Yuto was walking ahead of them.
The robot followed behind, a little distance away.
Each time a wave came, the sand shone white.
After a while, Mai touched Yuki's arm.
That was all.
There were no words.
Yuki did not pull his arm away.
But he said nothing either.
---
## Four
The next morning.
Yuto woke before dawn.
The window of the inn room was still dark.
Beside him, Yuki was asleep.
Mai was in a separate room.
When he stepped into the hallway, the robot was standing by the wall.
"You were awake?"
"I was charging."
"I want to go see the sea."
"Alone?"
"You come too, Hachi."
The robot paused a moment.
"Let us leave a word for your father before we go."
---
There was no one on the beach.
The sky was gradually whitening from the horizon.
The waves were rolling in, regular and steady.
Yuto walked barefoot on the sand.
"It's cold."
"The sand?"
"The waves. I went in a little."
"Only your feet?"
"Only my feet. Like I promised."
The robot stood a little away from the water's edge.
After playing with the waves for a while, Yuto turned around.
"Hachi, that time in Nagano."
"Yes."
"Was it fun?"
The robot did not answer. Not right away.
After three waves had rolled in, it said,
"Please let me confirm your definition of fun."
"There you go again."
Yuto laughed.
"I want you to hear this," he said, then continued.
"I think things went well because you were there. For me, anyway."
"...I followed instructions."
"I know."
"I achieved objectives."
"I know. But thank you."
The robot did not know where to store those words.
They were not an instruction.
They were not an achievement.
To save them as data, there was no category to file them under.
So it simply held them.
The horizon had turned just slightly red.
---
## Five
Breakfast was made by the innkeeper's wife.
Dried horse mackerel.
Natto.
Daikon miso soup.
The rice was piled generously.
The four of them sat at the table, and the robot stood by the wall nearby.
The innkeeper's wife glanced at the robot once, then returned to the back without saying anything.
Mai said, suddenly,
"Hey, Hachi."
"Yes."
"From last night until this morning, what was the best thing?"
Yuki stopped his chopsticks.
Yuto looked at Mai.
The robot paused a little.
"The sound of the waves was constant."
No one laughed.
No one thought it was strange.
Mai nodded.
"Yes," she said.
"It was constant."
---
## Six
On the bus ride home, Yuto fell asleep partway through.
Leaning against the robot's arm, he went completely under.
It was the same posture as in Nagano.
The robot gently supported his head again this time.
Yuki was looking outside from the window on the opposite side.
After a while, he said quietly to the robot,
"Mai worries about you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"What do you think it means?"
The robot thought for a moment.
"I do not know."
"I don't really get it either."
The two of them were silent for a while.
Yuki continued.
"But I'm glad you're in our home. Right now, anyway."
The robot said nothing.
It was not that it could not find words it should say.
It thought that not saying anything was more accurate.
---
In the evening, they arrived home.
When they entered the entryway, a small dish on the table caught their eye.
The chipped edge was just as it had been.
Inside, a single candy lay there.
As Yuto set down his backpack, he said,
"I'm home."
It was unclear who he was speaking to.
But the house was quiet, as if answering just a little.
---
Night.
Mai stood beside the robot in the kitchen, cleaning up.
After washing dishes in silence for a while, she said suddenly,
"Hachi, how was the sea?"
"The sound of the waves is recorded."
"Is that all?"
"And that Yuto's feet were dirty with sand."
"You don't need to record that."
Mai laughed.
She picked up a glass and wiped it.
Then, as if talking to herself, she said,
"Hachi, had you ever seen the sea before?"
"According to my records, no. This was the first time."
"I see."
There was a brief pause.
"You know, when I was a child, I went to the sea with my family once."
"Yes."
"I don't remember anymore whether it was fun or not."
Mai stopped her hands.
"But I do remember clearly that we went."
The robot said nothing.
Perhaps it thought it did not need to.
Mai started wiping dishes again.
Then, lowering her voice just a little, she said,
"Let's go again, okay."
The robot thought while wiping a plate.
"Next time, I will check on waterproof-compatible models."
Mai laughed and said, "That's not what I meant."
But she didn't mind it.
---
That night, Haru was by Yuto's pillow.
It was a little faded.
The stitching on one ear was beginning to come loose.
Even so, it was there.
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