allowance – Hidemi Woods

It’s common in Japan that a child remains at a parents’ house after going on to college or starting to work at an office, or even after marrying. That had been my family’s tradition for a very long time and as a result, we lived in the exact spot where our ancestors had lived, without moving for hundreds of years, because a firstborn should have stayed in the parents’ house. That had lasted until one particular firstborn broke the tradition by leaving the house; that was me.

　So, my grandparents, my parents, my uncle, my younger sister and I had all lived together when I was little. This uncle of mine is my father’s younger brother and he was such a troublesome man when we lived together. He constantly teased me and stole from me. My biggest pleasure back then was to get a snack at a nearby small candy shop after school with my scarce allowance. But the snack was often gone the moment I put the bag in the house and looked away from it. My uncle would eat it. I never understood why a grown-up like him sneaked a kid’s snack.

　He brought me a toy whenever he went on a trip or out for an errand. Even so, his daily plunder harmed goodwill, and I earnestly wished he would leave the house as soon as possible…

Episode From An Old Tree in Kyoto /Hodemi Woods

Audiobook 1 : Japanese Dream by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps.

Audiobook 2 : My Social Distancing and Naked Spa in Japan by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps.

Apple Books, Audible, Google Play, Nook Audiobooks, 43 available distributors in total.

One day in my early teens, I heard a scream
from my younger sister’s room. My mother and
I went in and my sister was crying over the
open drawer of her desk. She said her money
was gone. She had stashed all her money in an
envelope there by saving her allowances and
money as New Year’s gifts from relatives. She
had thought the total amounted to well over
$1000 and had decided to count for the first
time in a long time. But there was less than
$500 and she was devastated. My mother
lulled her by explaining that was how money
was gone. While spending a small amount of
money on candies and snacks at a time, it
accumulated a big amount in total. “That’s why
we say money has wings,” my mother said to
her. But my sister insisted she had never
bought candies that much and never wasted
her money like that because she loved to save.
My mother’s theory wouldn’t change though,
and she kept telling her that money
disappeared slyly while we were unaware. She
said, “You learned an important lesson today.
Now you know what is money.”
Quietly seeing my sister cry hard and say
repeatedly that was impossible, I had a clear
idea what had happened to her money really.
It was I who had regularly stolen her stashed
money. I was in junior high school and my
allowance was always short for what I wanted.
I was constantly in a battle with my mother for
a raise and denied. While there were countless
things in the world that I wanted to buy, my
sister wasn’t interested in buying at all. So, her
money was useless and I did a favor by
spending it instead of her. My sister’s money
had wings all right, and brought me a lot of
records, posters, concert tickets and
accessories. Neither my mother nor my sister
had the slightest idea what I had been doing.
And they still don’t know about this…

Episode From An Old Tree in Kyoto /Hodemi Woods

Audiobook : Japanese Dream by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps. Apple, Audible, Google Play, Nook Audiobooks, 43 available distributors in total