Solnus 2. The Girl, The Young Woman, The Miner's Song, and The Chime

5741 days, or 15 years, 8 months, and 2-3 weeks before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one morning.

A little girl, about four years old, sat in a room. Behind her stood a middle-aged woman. The room was shaped like an octagon.

The octagon had a ceiling higher than most. The room was part of a residence in a building that could be called a skyscraper. The residence was on the 38th floor—one floor below the highest floor. There were 43 floors in total, as there were four basement floors in addition to the 39 floors.

These dozens of floors, in addition to being residential compartments for those who could afford them, also offered a variety of amenities to their residents. There's ample basement parking, a meeting room, an in-house convenience store, a laundry service, a restaurant, a children's play area, a gym, a public swimming pool, and so on. Some of these facilities are open 24 hours a day, including the convenience store.

The building overlooks the city center where it stands. From the top floor, residents can enjoy a skyline view of one of the world's megacities: "the Big Mikan," aka "the Tokyo Metropolis." Residents can observe various buildings, streets, lights, and the various rituals performed by Tokyo residents.

Observing the lights and the rituals of Tokyo residents, not hearing the sounds of those rituals. Of course. The skyscraper, with all its offerings, certainly doesn't offer sound-recording devices to listen in on human rituals, right?

The octagonal space is a space rarely used in many types of human habitation. This shape was indeed a request from the owner to the skyscraper's builder. The owner of the residence is none other than one of the investors in the company that built the high-rise building.

The octagonal room, currently occupied by a middle-aged woman and a young woman, is the "living room" of the residence. In addition to the living room, the residence also includes a balcony, a kitchen and dining room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and one other facility. One such facility is a private swimming pool located on the roof deck on the top floor of the skyscraper.

The pool, located on the 39th floor, is approximately 20 meters long and 5 meters wide. The pool is connected by an elevator to a hallway that connects the three bedrooms. Of course, the elevator is not connected to the living room to ensure privacy in case guests visit the residence.

The price of such a residence reaches millions of dollars, not including other monthly expenses. One of the fees that must be paid is a "government rent." This occurs because the building actually stands on government-owned land, and the government does not sell it but leases it.

Such a residence could clearly be defined not as an “apato” or apartment, but as a high-end mansion. For your information, an “apato” in Japan is the term for a basic residence for ordinary people. A mansion, on the other hand, refers to a residence with higher specifications, offering more luxurious features and amenities.

A luxurious high-rise residence is naturally furnished with high-end furniture and furnishings. One such high-end item in the residence is a piano placed in the corner by the window of the octagonal room. At that moment, the piano was playing a melody, created by the fingers of a young girl pressing the keys.

The girl's name is Eiru Inman Anno. Her surname, Anno, is written with the kanji characters "案納." Her middle name, Inman, is written with the katakana characters "インマン." Her given name is written with the kanji characters "詠瑠."

Anno is the family name of the little girl's father. Meanwhile, Inman is the family name of the little girl's mother. Inman is written in katakana because the girl's mother is a gaikokujin or gakikojin, meaning a foreigner who is not a Japanese citizen.

The little girl's given name, Eiru, consists of two kanji characters: "詠," which is read as "ei," and "瑠," which is read as "ru. " 詠 means "recite, chant, compose poetry," while "瑠" means "lapis lazuli." Eiru is arguably an unusual name for Japanese people.

Although written in kanji, the name "Eiru" doesn't sound like typical Japanese syllables. The name can be classified as a "kira-kira name" or "sparkling name." “Sparkling name” is a term for a name that sounds unusual.

The Japanese government previously restricted the use of kira-kira names. However, the government has now relaxed the rules on the use of kira-kira names. One reason is to support their population-maintaining program. According to surveys, many couples who want to have children prefer the option of naming their children with "kira-kira names."

Eiru's parents chose that "kira-kira name” because it reflects their backgrounds. Eiru's mother is an academic in the arts, while her father is a company owner whose primary business is in the chemical, energy, and mineral trading sectors.

Speaking of mining, the song the little girl is playing is "Tanko Bushi," or "Coal Miner's Song." This repetitive melody is often used during the Obon festival. Obon is an annual festival in Japanese culture that honors the spirits of the deceased, who are believed to return to the afterlife to visit their families.

“Tsuki ga deta deta, tsuki ga deta” (“yoi yoi”)

[Here comes the moon.]

“Uchi no oyama no, ue ni deta”

[Over our mountain]

“Anmari entotsu ga takai no de” (“yoi yoi”)

[Is the chimney too high?]

“Sazoya otsuki-san kemutakaro” (“sa no yoi yoi”)

[I wonder if smoke stings the moon]

“Hitoyama futuyama miyama koe” (“yoi yoi”)

[Hitoyama, Futsuyama, Miyakoe] [(heave-ho)]

“Oku ni saitaru yaetsubaki”

[The blooming camellia in the distance]

“Na-n-bo iro yoku saita to te”

[How many different colors bloomed?]

“Samachan ga kayowanya ada no hana” (“sa no yoi yoi”)

[Sama-chan is fragile, and her adversary's flower] ([Oh, heave ho])

“Anata ga sono ki de aru naraba” (“yoi yoi”)

[If you want to leave me] [(heave-ho)]

“Omoi kiri masu wakare masu”

[I'll give you up, let you go]

“Moto no musume no juuhachi ni”

[If replaced myself in my youth]

“Kaeshite kuretara wakare masu” (“sa no yoi yoi”)

[I'll leave you] ([Oh, heave ho])

“Osatsu o makura ni neru yori mo”

[Then I will sleep with a pillow full of money]

“Tsuki ga sashikomu barakku de”

[I prefer to sleep in the barracks where the moon shines in]

“Nushi no kaina ni honnorito”

[With my darling, holding me his arms]

“Watashi dakare te kurashitai” (“sa no yoi yoi”)

[I want to have such a life] ([Oh, heave ho])

“Anata wa ittaizentai doko no hito?”

[Where on earth are you from?]

“Kao wa Fukuoka Me wa Kurume”

[Face from Fukuoka, Eyes of Kurume]

“Ashi wa Nagasaki te wa Bizen”

[Legs of Nagasaki, hands of Bizen]

“Kokoro Moji Moji ki wa Sasebo”

[Heartwarming Letters, Let's star lettering]

“Okuyama-zumai no uguisu wa” (“yoi yoi”)

[The nightingale sings in the mountains] [(heave-ho)]

“Niwa no koeda de hirune shite”

[Napping to the sounds of the garden]

“Haru ga kuru yoo na yume o mite”

[I'm dreaming of spring coming]

“Hokekyo hokekyo to naite iru” (“sa no yoi yoi”)

[Crying "Hokekyo, hokekyo”] ([Oh, heave ho])

A young adult woman approached the piano and simultaneously sang the lyrics to the melody Eiru was playing. Meanwhile, a middle-aged woman who had been standing behind Eiru began to sing along, singing the lyrics "yoi yoi" and "sa no yoi yoi" to the song Tanko Bushi. The woman standing was Eiru's maid, while the woman who had just arrived was Eiru's older sister.

Eiru's older sister was Eiru's only sibling. Her name was Marika Inman Anno. Like Eiru, her surname and middle name were written as "案納" and "インマン," respectively. However, unlike Eiru, her given name was written in katakana "マリカ".

Marika's name was written in katakana because it was derived from a typical European name. The name was chosen to reflect Marika's mother, who was European, specifically Greek. Marika is a diminutive of the name "Maria." The name Maria itself can mean "Star of the Sea."

The spelling of this name is in accordance with the agreement between the Anno sisters' mother and father. They agreed to have a maximum of two children. They agreed to name their first child in katakana and their second child in kanji.

After Eiru, Marika, and their maid finished the Tanko Bushi song, Eiru turned her head to the side. Eiru stared at her sister for a few seconds, then the four-year-old girl asked, "Onee-chan, you just went swimming, right? Why are you still wearing a towel and haven't changed?"

Marika, who had just gone swimming in their family's private pool, was indeed still wearing her bathing suit. The woman, now in her 20s, responded to her sister with a laugh, "Hahaha, it's okay, it's okay. If a guest comes here, the bell will ring. If someone arrives without the bell, it's Mom or Dad."

Eiru remained silent, not responding to her older sister, while Marika immediately continued the conversation with an offer, "Speaking of bells, Ei-tan, you've never been to a coastal area and heard the Bosai Musen bell clearly, have you? If you want, let's go later, while I'm not overseas yet."

Eiru smiled and nodded, agreeing to her sister's offer in the octagon.