Chapter Five

On Halloween, I was preparing the children’s area for the workshop when Mr. Sasagawa appeared, carrying a cardboard box in his botanical garden staff jacket.

“Ms. Ono, will these do?”

The box was packed with intricately carved miniature pumpkins.

“They’re beautiful… Thank you so much.”

We began arranging them along the top of the decorated bookshelves. Mr. Sasagawa helped, taking care not to disturb the origami decorations on the wall.

Each pumpkin had a single letter carved into it. Placed in order, they spelled:

**HALLOWEEN**

At either end stood two pairs of jack-o’-lanterns, each with a different expression.

“I know I asked you at such short notice. Thank you, truly.”

“It was no trouble. I’ll come and collect them when the event is over.”

“Would it be all right if we kept them on display for a while?”

“Of course.”

Once the pumpkins were arranged, he picked up the empty box, said a quick goodbye, and hurried out of the library.

“Was that Mr. Sasagawa?”

Mayumi came out of the office just as he was leaving and watched his retreating back through the closing door.

“You know him?”

“My husband works at the botanical garden. Mr. Sasagawa is a researcher, while my husband is on the grounds and maintenance staff. Do you know him, Haruka?”

“He lives next door to me. I asked him to make these decorations.”

I showed her the row of pumpkins.

“Well! In a small town, everyone turns out to be connected somehow. I never would have expected this from Mr. Sasagawa. Who knew he had such a talent?”

Just then, the participating families began to arrive.

We spread the prepared materials across the tables and welcomed the children.

◇◇◇

The workshop was a great success.

With the parents’ cooperation, Ms. Hasegawa and I somehow managed to keep everything running smoothly enough for all the children to enjoy themselves.

“These pumpkins are adorable! Did one of the library staff make them?”

As everyone was leaving, a mother holding the hands of two sisters stopped to speak to me.

“No, someone I know is very skilled at carving them. He kindly lent them to us.”

“They’re wonderful. You should hold a workshop for adults too.”

She smiled and left with her daughters.

I wanted to tell Mr. Sasagawa what she had said.

◇◇◇

That evening, I placed some baked treats in a paper bag and pressed the intercom next door.

There was no answer.

Then I noticed light spilling from the garage.

“Good evening.”

I called to the figure standing beyond the parked car.

Mr. Sasagawa looked up. He was wearing his glasses and a lightweight cardigan.

“Oh, good evening. I’m sorry. I must not have heard the intercom.”

“That’s all right. Thank you for today. Everyone loved the pumpkins.”

“Really? I’m glad to hear that.”

“The children kept looking up at the letters spelling ‘HALLOWEEN.’ One of the parents even asked whether we were going to hold a pumpkin-carving workshop for adults.”

A large pumpkin sat on the workbench behind him.

“Is that a new one?”

“It’s a lantern for one of the walking paths at the botanical garden. One of the others broke yesterday, so I’m making a replacement.”

“Would you mind if I watched you work for a little while?”

I had been curious to see how he carved such designs into the pumpkin’s hard skin.

“What? I’m not doing anything particularly impressive, but…you’re welcome to watch if you’re interested.”

“I’m extremely interested.”

The tips of his ears turned faintly red.

He appeared to be partway through hollowing out the pumpkin. Using something that resembled a large spoon or ladle, he scraped firmly at the flesh inside.

“It looks quite soft.”

“I warmed it slightly to make it easier to work with.”

“I see.”

“Would you like to try, Ms. Ono?”

I had become so absorbed in watching him that, without realizing it, I had moved close enough to be almost pressed against his back.

“I’m sorry. I was completely fascinated. There’s so much flesh inside. It seems a shame to waste it.”

“This variety is grown for lanterns. Apparently, it doesn’t taste very good.”

“I didn’t know there were pumpkins like that.”

I took the tool he offered me and began scraping vigorously at the inside of the pumpkin.

“That should be enough,” he said after a while. “Would you like to carve the face too?”

“What? But it’s going to be displayed along the garden path. I’d feel terrible if mine turned out badly.”

It would be unfortunate if one pumpkin among the others ended up looking remarkably ugly.

Mr. Sasagawa laughed.

“It’ll be perfectly fine. Look, I’ve already drawn the design. You use a knife like this.”

With a narrow-bladed carving knife, he expertly cut out one of the triangular eyes.

Then he held the knife out to me.

“It’s easier if you insert the blade perpendicular to the skin.”

I steadied the pumpkin with one hand and placed the knife against its surface.

Without hesitation, Mr. Sasagawa reached for my hand and adjusted my grip.

“Like this. Push the blade straight down…”

Just as the knife pierced the skin, he seemed to realize what he was doing.

He released my hand at once and took a small step backward.

A ghost of his touch lingered on the back of my hand.

“Be careful not to use too much force,” he said. “The blade may slip. Move it slowly along the outline.”

He had probably noticed that my ears were red.

But for the moment, I had to concentrate on the knife.