【Short Story】Red Beans and Rain Umbrellas

Subtitle: How a simple child’s trick brought back a mother's happiest

I hear the distant hum of the ocean.

Swish, swoosh. The waves reach out and retreat, and I am there, splashing barefoot in the surf.

Ah, this is the sea—the one from my childhood.

My parents were still young and vibrant, and I was a schoolchild, brimming with an innocence so profound it felt boundless.

Back then, I had no inkling of how truly blessed I was to be brought to the shore for summer vacation. I could not see the vast, hidden well of my parents' devotion and effort poured into these fleeting moments.

How exhausting it must have been for them, worn down by their work, yet choosing to bring their child out to play—what a heavy burden they carried for my joy.

If I were to tell my parents about that time now, they would surely shrug it off as "just what parents do."

Back then, I simply laughed, made my demands, and basked in the warmth of it all. Oh, how happy I was.

I had my small troubles, of course—like dreading the school footrace—but they were so trifling.

I wanted to stay right here, bathed in this shimmering, golden happiness, forever and ever.

No more pain. No more sorrow.

Just as I thought, I don’t want to go back; the tide swelled with sudden, violent force.

CRASH! A towering wave surged over me, swallowing me whole, sweeping me away into the deep.

…I jolted awake.

It seems I had drifted into a dream.

Something small and hard hits my face. I pick it up—a single red adzuki bean.

Below me, a child stands holding an open umbrella, tipped downward.

"Oh, Mommy! You're awake."

"What... is this?"

"You said it was lonely here because you couldn't hear the ocean, right? So, I made the sound of the waves for you."

By swirling the adzuki beans inside the curved umbrella at just the right tempo, one can mimic the sound of the tide with haunting accuracy.

I close my eyes and listen to the sound effect the child has crafted. Indeed, it sounds just like the sea.

"I see. You worked so hard for me. Thank you."

I pull the child into a warm embrace, watching their eyes light up, glowing with the anticipation of praise.

Since we moved to this town, far from the sea, the rhythmic song of the waves had vanished from my life.

I had only mentioned it once or twice, yet the child had remembered.

The child’s face breaks into a radiant smile—their own special way of showing love.

Though as I look down at the tatami floor littered with red beans dragged from the kitchen, I smile, too.

"Shall we go pick up the beans?"

(The End)

[Author's Note]

•Tatami: Traditional Japanese Floor Mat

Tatami are traditional Japanese floor mats made with a core of packed rice straw and a woven surface of igusa (rush grass). They feel smooth and comfortable, so people often sit, relax, play, or nap on them.

•Adzuki Beans: Small red beans commonly kept in Japanese kitchens, mainly used for traditional sweets and dishes.

•Wave Sounds: Long ago in Japan, people made sound effects for movies and shows by hand using everyday items! For example, to make ocean waves, people rolled red beans inside an upside-down umbrella.

In this story, a child lives far from the sea. The child makes wave sounds this way to comfort a mother who misses the ocean.