There were even more people by the pool. The general admission entrance had a queue that was twice as long as it had been in the morning. Heat shimmered above the tiles in waves, the chlorine sharp in the back of the throat.
The VIP area was on the other side. A glass partition cut the two worlds apart. Over there, two rows of loungers were laid out, each stacked with a snowy white towel. No one was sitting on them. That seagull was still perched on the back of the front-row chair, its head tilted, watching the general area.
I crouched by the poolside, took the squirrel out of Tsukago's light pink bag, and placed it on the tiles, facing the VIP area. The squirrel's bean-black eyes reflected the empty chairs over there. It was perfectly still.
I took a container of body powder out of the Lingguang Armlet. A white round box, the lid a little tight. Tsukago reached out.
"This girl will hold it for you."
I handed her the box. She cupped it in her hands and dabbed a little powder onto her fingertip, patting it onto the back of her hand. "Too fragrant." She wrinkled her nose. Then she sneezed, a tiny sound, like a cat sneezing.
The general queue shuffled forward a few steps. That young mother was there again, with the same bag, now with two more diapers inside. She shifted the child higher on her hip, tucking a stray corner of the blanket under her chin.
Her child was awake today, resting on her shoulder, its fingers tugging at her hair. She was standing in the middle-to-back of the line, still seven or eight people away from the entrance.
Her gaze was on the pool water, but she wasn't really looking at it. Her eyes were unfocused.
A middle-aged man walked past the queue. Dark blue striped swim trunks, a white T-shirt, a slight belly, his hair fixed in a neat side part with gel. He was holding a drink, the cup already empty, nothing but ice clinking inside. He walked over to the glass partition, glanced at the VIP area, then turned and started back, passing right by us.
Tsukago stood up. The movement was natural, like she was just shifting positions.
"Sister, isn't this powder a little too slippery?" She cupped the powder box, her finger rubbing against its edge.
"It's okay."
"This girl thinks it's really slippery. Look."
She tilted the box, pretending to shake a little powder into her palm, but the angle of her wrist was off. A thin layer of white powder drifted from the opening and landed squarely on the middle-aged man's pant leg.
He stopped and looked down at his leg. The ice in his cup clinked.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" Tsukago held the box with both hands, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly open. "This powder is too slippery. My hand slipped."
She took a step forward, reaching out to brush the powder off his pant leg, but her hand stopped halfway, as if she'd suddenly realized she couldn't just touch a strange man's thigh.
The middle-aged man looked at the white powder on his leg. His brow furrowed, then relaxed. "It's fine." He switched his drink to his other hand and used his free hand to pat his leg twice. The powder drifted up, glinted once in the light, and was gone.
"I'm really sorry." Tsukago's voice was even softer. "See, even the powder can't stand steady. But the people who've been standing a long time, they're steady."
He froze. He looked down at the print on his pant leg, then up at Tsukago.
"People who've been standing a long time, they're steady." He repeated the phrase, so softly it was like he was saying it to himself. Then he turned and walked away. His pace was neither faster nor slower. The ice in his cup still clinked.
——People who've been standing a long time don't need a chair. What they need is someone to tell them they can actually sit down.
I stood up, walked over to Tsukago, took the powder box from her hands, tightened the lid, and stored it in the Armlet.
[chat] Daughter was so cute just now
[chat] "Even the powder can't stand steady" I'm dying 😂
[chat] That uncle had a really good temper
[chat] "People who've been standing a long time, they're steady" — well said 👏
The general queue shuffled forward again. The young mother had now reached the entrance, only two people ahead of her.
She bent down, the child in her arms, to pick up a pacifier she'd dropped on the ground. The movement was slow. She supported the child's bottom with one hand and stretched the other hand down, her fingertips reaching twice before she finally picked it up.
She popped the pacifier back into the child's mouth. The child sucked on the pacifier, its eyes half-closed.
As she straightened up, her eyes met mine. She looked away first, down at the child's face. Her fingers paused on the child's back.
Her right hand was resting quietly on the child's back. That hand had once rubbed the button below her collarbone so many times that the thread around its edge had loosened. But now it was still. It had found a place more worthy than the button.
The button is still there, but her hand was down. That said more than a smile.
Tsukago leaned over. She didn't speak. The pool water cast flowing ripples of light across her face, sliding from her chin to her cheekbones and back again.
On the other side of the glass partition, the seagull lifted off the chair back, flapped its wings twice, crossed over the glass, and landed on the railing in the general area.
It tilted its head, its bean-black eyes watching the children splashing in the pool. A child was learning to hold his breath, pinching his nose and sinking into the water.
Seconds later, he burst out with a splash, a jet of water spraying from his mouth. The seagull, startled by the sound, hopped aside, then resettled its wings with a brisk shake.
——The empty chair doesn't know it's empty. But the person standing does.
I turned and walked toward the pool exit. Tsukago followed, still cradling the squirrel. The squirrel's tail dangled from her elbow, swaying gently in the breeze.
[chat] Daughter, are you leaving 😢
[chat] Coming back next time
[chat] Bye, wifey 👋
[chat] That seagull flew over
The corridor fell quiet, only the distant sound of waves. The seagull's shadow passed once across the glass partition, and then it was gone.