A few days ago, my grandmother passed away.
To clarify, she was my father’s grandmother, so she would be my great-grandmother. We had grown distant over the years due to the geographical distance between our homes. However, even though we were distant, it was only natural for me to attend her funeral and reunite with relatives whom I rarely saw.
Let me provide a brief introduction about myself. I’m a 27-year-old single employee. It may be uncommon for someone my age to have had a great-grandmother alive until recently.
This story takes place during the gathering of relatives for my great-grandmother’s funeral. As I mentioned, we were distant, but when I was younger (around six years old, before starting elementary school), I lived with my great-grandmother for about a month.
This happened because my father’s house construction got delayed, and we had to move out of the apartment we were living in before the new house was ready. My great-grandmother’s house was in a rural town in Fukuoka Prefecture, with a neighborhood consisting of a gateball court, row houses, and fields where I didn’t know what was being grown. I remember it as a time of daily adventures for a curious young boy before entering elementary school.
Returning to the funeral, given that my great-grandmother was nearly 100 years old, the atmosphere was more about praising her and sharing memories rather than being engulfed in sorrow. We admired her and recounted stories, celebrating her life.
The funeral was held at a local funeral hall, but afterward, all the relatives gathered at my great-grandmother’s house to continue the memorial gathering while reminiscing and looking at photo albums from her home.
As for my memories of my great-grandmother, they mainly revolved around the time before I entered elementary school. Therefore, as I looked at the photo album, I found myself somewhat bored seeing pictures of people I didn’t know.
At that moment, I heard a voice saying, “Hey, there’s S!” (S being my father). My attention returned to the album, and there was my father in his rather “DQN” fashion, wearing a white suit to commute to high school. I couldn’t help but chuckle and think, “Why on earth would he wear a white suit to school?” The album was organized chronologically, so I progressed from my father’s high school days to his coming-of-age ceremony, gradually approaching the present.
Then, I saw a photo that made me realize something.
What I noticed from that single photo was that Norichan, who should have been close with my great-grandmother, was absent from the funeral. Everyone’s smiles seemed to fade as they looked at Norichan’s photo.
Norichan always played alone and was seen as creepy by the families with small children in the neighborhood. There were complaints about her causing minor troubles. However, my great-grandmother was a magnanimous person and didn’t stop Norichan from playing alone. In fact, she even retorted to the complaining family, “If you’re so worried, then keep your children inside!” Norichan was around 45 years old, and it might have seemed creepy to see a 45-year-old man playing alone outside like an elementary school student. But the fact remains that she didn’t bother anyone.
As everyone’s smiles disappeared when Norichan was mentioned, I couldn’t help but wonder. The gathering ended, and those who came from afar stayed at my great-grandmother’s house, while the locals went home. Due to drinking alcohol, I had planned to stay at my great-grandmother’s house, but I was invited by M-nee-chan (35 years old, divorced), who lived near my great-grandmother’s house, to go drinking in the city.
M-nee-chan was a distant relative in terms of blood ties, but we had a connection through seniority and friendship. M-nee-chan had lived near my great-grandmother’s house since childhood, so I thought she might know something and mustered the courage to ask her about Norichan.
According to M-nee-chan, Norichan was living in a facility because she was getting older and there was no one to take care of her. It seemed that the relatives felt guilty for not taking care of Norichan and didn’t bring up the topic during the photo viewing. I accepted that explanation and felt somewhat relieved.
We drank with M-nee-chan until around 2 a.m. and then took a taxi to her house. I decided to stay over that night. However, when I woke up, it was still pitch black outside. Looking at the clock, I realized it had only been an hour since I fell asleep. Despite not having slept for an hour, I felt surprisingly refreshed, which was puzzling. I tried closing my eyes again to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t seem to fall asleep.
As I lay there, listening to the ticking of the clock, I suddenly remembered the photo I saw at my great-grandmother’s house. “So, it was bothering me after all,” a voice inside me whispered. I had tried not to think about Norichan, but for some reason, her photo kept bothering me.
Come to think of it, I do have memories of playing with Norichan when I lived at my great-grandmother’s house for a month before starting elementary school (around 6 years old). Norichan would visit my great-grandmother’s house in the afternoon, and we would play together in the fields and vacant lots nearby. I can remember that much, but something felt off. I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer that fit. I woke up in the afternoon without any answers and thanked M-nee-chan before leaving.
Since it was Sunday, I decided to visit my parents’ house, thinking it had been a while. I had just seen them at the funeral, so it didn’t feel like a long time had passed, but I was glad to see our family dog again. As a dedicated cat person, I found my parents’ dog adorable.
I became curious about “Norichan” and decided to bring it up with my parents, saying, “Do you remember Norichan?” Naturally, my parents remembered Norichan, and it turned into a lighthearted conversation about memories of Norichan.
As we talked about the things Norichan did when I was a child, it was all amusing stories. In the midst of these stories, I recalled a surprising fact, but I held back my astonishment as a sudden sense of fear started to well up. Apparently, when I was six years old, I used to say to my mother, “I played with Norichan and Yanshan,” referring to the three of us playing together.
Hearing the name “Yanshan” made me remember, but now I realize that Yanshan couldn’t have been a real person. Within me, a gloomy and unpleasant memory resurfaced.
Yanshan was the person who was always with Norichan, accompanying us when we played. My memories are vague, but I think Yanshan was there about 80% of the time we played with Norichan, although there were days when Yanshan wasn’t present. (I think so, at least.)
When Norichan came to my great-grandmother’s house before noon, my great-grandmother would prepare lunch for Norichan and me, but there was no meal for Yanshan. While Norichan and I had our meal, Yanshan would sit behind Norichan with folded legs.
My great-grandmother never talked to or made eye contact with Yanshan. Looking back, I don’t recall ever having a conversation with Yanshan either. I was simply present because Norichan called for Yanshan and they seemed close.
Yanshan wore trousers resembling a school uniform, while the upper body was always bare. Unlike Norichan, Yanshan had black hair and a shaved head. I’m not sure about their age, maybe around 30… I can’t quite remember. Yanshan wasn’t thin or fat, but I recall thinking their arms were thick. I had never heard their voice.
I don’t know how Norichan and Yanshan communicated, but sometimes after some sort of exchange, they would cheer and get excited. I didn’t understand the content, but seeing Norichan burst into laughter, I would join in and laugh along. I remember that Yanshan remained expressionless and didn’t get excited.
One day, there was an episode like this. As usual, Norichan came to pick me up at my great-grandmother’s house. On this day, Norichan came alone and said we would go together to pick up Yanshan.
About a 30-minute walk from my great-grandmother’s house, there was a candy store with a fighting game that you could play twice for 100 yen. As we passed by this store on our way to pick up Yanshan, Norichan said, “Let’s play this game,” and forgot about Yanshan, putting all the money they had into the game. We played the game at the candy store and played in the park across the street from it, and as it was getting late in the afternoon, we decided it was time to go home.
On the way back, I remembered that we were supposed to go to pick up Yanshan today. Worried, I asked Norichan if everything was alright. Norichan said that Yanshan had been with us until a moment ago. I was sure Yanshan was definitely not there, but even though I thought that, I felt a bit annoyed, thinking that if Yanshan had come, they should have at least said hello.
Other than this memory, I have no other memories of Yanshan. Yanshan was someone who would occasionally whisper something to Norichan and make Norichan burst into laughter.
Going back to the story, on that day, we had dinner at my parents’ house and then drove back home. As soon as we arrived home, I called my older sister, M-chan, and asked her if she knew Yanshan. M-chan didn’t know Yanshan, but she kept asking, “Why? Why?” So I explained everything I wrote above.
M-chan responded with a satisfied tone, saying, “I’ll look into it,” and hung up the phone. Then, three days later (last night), M-chan called me. I had almost forgotten about Norichan and Yanshan, and my mood had dropped, but I answered the phone. To my surprise, M-chan sounded cheerful, and it gave me a little relief.
Here is M-chan’s investigation report:
- M-chan’s father is of a similar age to Norichan and has known Norichan since their high school days.
- Norichan was a healthy individual until around the age of twenty when they had an accident at work (civil engineering) and was hospitalized. They started behaving strangely after the accident.
- The cause of Norichan’s accident is unknown. It happened when a metal plate used for road construction fell and hit Norichan due to a crane cable snapping.
- Norichan suffered a complex fracture in one leg and was hospitalized. It seems their leg was almost severed.
- Language difficulties emerged during their hospitalization.
- There was a patient called Yanshan admitted to the same hospital room as Norichan.
- Norichan’s intellectual disability worsened rapidly after being discharged from the hospital.
- After the discharge, Norichan started wandering alone and would talk to themselves or suddenly burst into laughter.
- Norichan had been lonely even before the accident and had no friends.
I feel like I have somewhat understood Norichan’s situation, but apart from Yanshan being someone they met at the hospital, everything else is unclear. When I was six years old, it had been nearly 25 years since Norichan’s accident.
So, Norichan, who met Yanshan at the hospital when they were twenty, continued playing outside together for almost 25 years…? Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.
Although Norichan may have had a severe injury, considering they only injured their leg, it’s strange that they developed an intellectual disability that worsened over time. M-chan couldn’t provide detailed information about Yanshan. I felt scared inside, and I started to care less. I wanted to forget about it as soon as possible.
Even now, Norichan mentions the name “Yanshan” at the facility, but they are hardly capable of having a conversation, so it seems it’s impossible to get more details from them.
Around the time of Norichan’s accident and hospitalization, there was another person who had an accident on a motorcycle and suffered a severe head injury with a fractured skull. This person was also admitted to the same hospital room as Norichan but passed away after about three days since the accident.
This person’s name seems to be Yamane-san, and Norichan’s friend was exchanging greetings with Yamane-san’s mother in the hospital room… If Yanshan is Yamane-san…
Just thinking about it makes my stomach ache, and I feel an intense sense of fear, so I won’t dig any further. I apologize for the length, but it’s not particularly scary.
