The Parcel with Nothing Inside
무료 · 8장면
Baaba smiled from the other side of the screen. “Emi, are you enjoying school?” Emi had so much she wanted to say—but the Japanese words caught in her throat, and all that came out was “…yes.” Three cloth bundles sat on the shelf behind Baaba. “It must be bedtime there. See you soon.” Click. Emi's face stared back from the dark screen. Something pricked deep inside her chest.
The next day, their teacher said, “Friday is World Day. Share a country or culture your family treasures.” Teo planned to bring his favorite little cars. “What will you share, Emi?” Emi could not answer. She had been to Japan only once, when she was a baby. She did not yet know the Japan inside the family photographs.
Knock, knock. On Saturday morning, a parcel arrived from Baaba in Japan, wrapped in brown paper with a red-and-blue striped edge. Emi untied the string. Inside were only a folded cloth and a letter. “…There's nothing in it?” She turned the parcel upside down and shook it. Nothing fell out. Mama laughed. “Oh, Baaba. Another riddle.”
Emi opened the letter. “Dear Emi. The sweet olives are in bloom. And now, a riddle. ◇It can be a bag or a hat. Wrap a present and it needs no ribbon. Open it out and it is just one sheet. What could it be?◇ From across the sea, Baaba.” Mama smiled at the memory. “Baaba always puts a riddle in her letters. I used to solve them too.”
Tap the thing that answers Baaba's riddle! 1 to go
“It can be a bag and a hat, and it can wrap a present…?” Emi and Mama laid everything from the parcel on the table: the brown wrapping paper, the white string, the envelope that held the letter, and the folded cloth. Read the letter one more time, then tap the thing you think answers Baaba's riddle.
Mama tied one corner of the cloth to another—pull, pull. “It became a bag!” Over Emi's head and tied at the back, it was a hood. Around a jam jar, it lifted in one hand. “This is a furoshiki. Wrap, tie, open—one Japanese cloth that can become almost anything.” Papa came home and stared in surprise. Emi traced Baaba's letter with one finger and read aloud the words Papa could not read.
On World Day, it was Emi's turn. When she stood at the front, her words stuck again. Then—CRASH! Teo's box fell, and cars rolled everywhere. Emi opened the furoshiki in their path, gathered them up, pulled the corners tight, and handed the bundle to Teo. “A magic cloth!” “It's called a furoshiki. It can be a hat too.” This time the words came flowing out.
That night, Emi's words would not stop. “Baaba, listen, listen!” But how did you know about the furoshiki? Baaba's eyes crinkled. “How indeed? Perhaps I will make that our next riddle.” Emi wrote a reply. Its last line said, “Now it is Emi's turn. And now, a riddle. From this side of the sea, Emi.”
Word Treasure Box · 1
- Remember the night when Emi's words would not come? They had not run away. They were waiting for their turn. A word you do not know yet is a word still waiting to meet you.
- Even across a great distance, the thing you need most can still find its way to you.
- Furoshiki is said to have taken its name from cloths used at old bathhouses—to wrap and carry clothes, and to spread beneath them. Reusing one cloth instead of throwing it away carries the spirit of mottainai: do not waste what still has value.
- Why do Baaba's parcels always hold the thing someone needs most? The next parcel may already be crossing the sea.
