V.
     When we got back to the shop we went up to the second floor. There were seven or eight people who had come back already. Some were getting ready to go to school, others were reading or chatting, and there were a few people who'd gone back to sleep. Tanaka was getting his book bag ready to go to school. When I saw people getting ready to go to school, I felt a funny feeling inside and I wished that I - 54 - could go too. But when I thought about how I had to borrow money just to eat, I got depressed again. I sat leaning against the wall like a deflated ball, feeling as though I ahd no energy or strength. I stared vancantly through a small window at the road below.

     I liked looking at the scene around the road in the morning. There were stores lining both sides of the street, and the morning sunlight reflected off the sign boards, casting a lovely glow over everything. The streets were crowded with almost every kind of vehical imaginable. The people going to work and the people going school all looked as though they were full of energy. Who would have thought there were three million unemployed people in this country? Or that you'd have to struggle so hard to find a job, or to feed yourself?

     Suddenly I felt something being pressed into the palm of my hand. I turned around and saw it was Tanka, who was getting ready to leave for school. He had given me fifty cents. "Take this - - for lunch," he said. "When I get back from school, we'll figure something out."

     I gazed fixedly at the coins in my hand. Something rose from my stomach and lodged itself in my throat. My throat felt tight. I raised my head silently and watched Tanaka as he ran down the stairs. I felt very close to hime then - - I almost started to cry. As soon as I'd found a way to support myself, I'd have to think of an appropriate way to thank him. While I was thinking, I heard the sound of someone crying again. It was the same young boy that I'd heard crying the day before. He seemed reluctant to leave - - he gathered his belongings together and went downstairs, sobbing the whole time.

     He was probably homesick. He was too young, no wonder he was feeling so uneasy?I reached the same conclusions that I had the day before. I turned to face the window again. I heard the sound of the door downstairs opening, and I saw the boy quietly slip out. He walked towards the main street - - his shadow gradually grew smaller and smaller, then he turned and looked back. I don't know why but I starting to get depressed.

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