（続き）
The music used for the slides was
OlexandrMusic - No Copyright Music
Aspiration Piano (Beautiful Inspiring Motivational Piano Music) [No Copyright]
SoundCloud
I noticed my wife's roses were in bloom.
A small pot, bought at a home improvement store, had been planted in the ground at some point. However, it was too close to the fence, so the blooming flowers were being blown by the wind and rubbing against the fence. If they were still potted, I could move them. As I watched the wind blowing and the clouds, which seemed to indicate an approaching storm, I looked in the direction of the baseball stadium in Suma Ward. Last August, I heard the sound of fireworks going off and watched them from my second-floor window. When I called out to my wife, she slowly came up the stairs and watched the fireworks in the distant sky with me. I had no idea that it would be the last fireworks she would ever see.
Four days later, when the weather had improved, I went out into the garden again to look at the roses. What had been buds had blossomed, and the flowers that had been rubbing against the fence were beautiful, with petals still on them.
A yellow flower that my wife had once told me was full of Matsuyoi grass. I must have returned a dubious look, because she told me that she was referring to Takehisa Yumeji's 'Yoimachigusa' (Evening Primrose).
I looked at them again, remembering my wife's words and thinking, "I see what you mean", as I had already finished my dinner.
I don't have a hobby of gardening, and the green leaves and small flowers blooming on their own seem to be enough for me.
My wife, who loved flowers, is dead, leaving a tactless man standing alone in a small, grassy garden, looking up at the evening sky.
When it is time to wear short sleeves, it seems possible to take a walk in the western sun after dinner.
妻の薔薇が咲いているのに気づいた。
ホームセンターで買ってきた小さな鉢、いつのまにか地植えされていた。しかし、あまりにも柵近くにあるため、咲きかけた花が風に吹かれ、柵と擦れ合っていた。鉢植えのままなら移動させられるのだが。低気圧が近づくのが分かるような風の吹き方、雲の有様を眺めながら、須磨区にある野球場の方角に目をやった。昨年の8月、花火が上がっている音を聞きつけ、２階の窓から眺めた。妻に声を掛けると、ゆっくりと階段を上がってきて、遠くの空の花火を私と一緒に眺めた。それが彼女の見る最後の花火になるとは思いもしなかったのだが。
天候が回復した４日後、また庭に出て、薔薇を眺めた。蕾だったものが開花し、柵に擦れていた花も、花弁が残っていて美しい。
かつて、妻に「マツヨイ草が一杯あるよ」と言われた黄色い花。怪訝な表情を返したのだろう、竹久夢二の「宵待草」のことだと教えられた。
既に夕食を食べ終えた時間。妻の言葉を、なるほどなぁと思い出しながら、改めて眺めた。
私には土いじりの趣味はなく、緑の葉や小さな花が勝手に咲いているだけで、それで充分にも思える。
花が好きだった妻は死に、無粋な男が独り残って、草の繁茂する小さな庭に立ち、夕空を見上げている。
半袖を着る時分になれば、夕食後、西日を眺めながら散歩することができそうに思えてきた。
