[Episode 3] Call Me by No Name | From Page to Screen | On Helping, Movies and Dates...

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

In the last post we left Kotoha and Megumi as they entered the video rental shop (in case you missed the first one, it's here). So get ready to see how the convenience store scene in the drama plays out in the novel. I hope it can bring some extra light to Megumi's inner reasoning and perception! Also...I ended up writing pretty much a book, so apologies! Enjoy!

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Once in the video rental store, Megumi asks Kotoha what sort of movies she likes, and she replies that she hasn't watched enough movies to have preferences. Then she heads toward the back of the store, and Megumi starts looking around, wondering if it'd be better to browse through movies while talking with each other instead, and reflecting on the fact that as of that point, the only thing she knows that Kotoha likes...is shrimp. Not much, indeed!

As she was reaching the recommended movies section, Megumi sees a bunch of young guys that appear to be up to no good, surrounding a more serious looking boy. Megumi stops for a moment, but then decides to move away from that section, avoiding making eye contact and pretending to look at some poster and stuff. Murmuring to herself the deal she has just found out about - "4 DVDs for 1000 yen" - she notices the group of boys pushing the serious one out of the circle, almost as if they were releasing a dog. So Megumi decides to...go look for Kotoha.

 

She finds her quickly. She is exceptionally beautiful, after all.
Her side profile looked almost like the image on a movie poster.
Megumi quietly gets closer to Kotoha, while she's intensely looking at romance movies (cutie!).
After wondering what to say to approach her, she ultimately decides to inform her about the offer, about the fact that borrowing 4 movies would be quite convenient. That phrase starts with the word "Yonhon", which obviously starts with "Yo". And, as soon as Megumi says "Yo", Kotoha turns her way, her eyes wide open. She looks as if someone had pushed a blade right through her neck. She then gradually regains her composure.

Megumi doesn't know if it's the influence of being surrounded by movies, but at that moment, she fantasizes about Kotoha being some sort of exiled princess from a country far away. That, or an old-fashioned female spy! Anyway Kotoha, doesn't buy into the offer. Considering a couple of hours for each movie, one would have to love each other a whooooole lot to go through four movies together, so they opt for a couple (each of them would pick a movie)! In any case, Megumi has no doubt about the fact that Kotoha's expression right before, when she turned her way, was definitely a misstep on her part. 

 

 

In the section with the new releases, Megumi finds the serious boy again. He keeps looking at a note he's holding, and then at the store employee, almost as if he was looking for help. After a few minutes, he grabs a bunch of DVDs. Megumi gets closer and starts checking out movies. Not long later, the boy bumps into Megumi, and all the DVDs he had grabbed fall on the floor. It was totally Megumi's fault for standing at a blind spot (toooootally by chance). The boy apologizes. Megumi also apologizes, as she helps him pick up the DVDs. Then he moves to the back of the store.

 

Kotoha had chosen a movie called Happy Ending (more on it later). Megumi is a bit surprised that she picked something with a title that appears to be so cheerful. But Megumi hadn't picked any movie yet, she says one will be fine and Kotoha laments that she feels embarrassed being the only one having to choose (awwww). Then, it's time to meet the boy again. He's now removing the security tags from the DVDs and then putting them in his bag. Kotoha points at him, telling Megumi that he's shoplifting and commenting on how nasty a game they were playing (after she also saw the kids waiting for him). The boy checks his note one last time and then reluctantly puts the bag over his shoulder and moves toward the gate...Once he tried to pass through, the alarm went off! The store employee rushes to the gate, checks the boy's bag and finds the DVDs without the security tag...and one with the tag still on. As the boy was being brought away by the store employee, he somehow looked relieved.

It's after they leave the store that Kotoha asks Megumi: Why did you do that?
Megumi ignores her, so she continues, pointing out that she put the DVD with the security tag on. Kotoha had seen it. Megumi put that DVD in the inner pocket of the bag while the boy was collecting all the DVDs. The boy was panicking, with the DVDs falling, even more so with the bullies checking on him, so of course he didn't notice. Then Kotoha tells Megumi she did the right thing, she stopped the kid from shoplifting. But...

M: That's not it.
K: It isn't? Why?
And Megumi goes off in the following weird way.
M. First of all, the boy was meaning to explain the situation to the clerk. He was trying to fight what was happening (in hindsight, these words now also make me think of Kotoha and her trying, in her own way, to fight against what happened to her). He kept looking at a note saying "I'm being threatened and forced to shoplift. Please help me. Call the police". He was probably waiting for the opportunity to show the note to the clerk or someone else but, given that he was being monitored, he couldn't find the courage. That's why I thought I'd at least stop him at the gate. He had put the note in his pocket, so if he was caught by the clerk, he could show it to him. If he got caught and took the blame alone, he wouldn't feel like saying anything. I think adults should intervene in these situations. There’s some viciousness kids just can’t deal with. He probably realized it himself, since he wrote to call the police in his note.
K: Again...why? (without changing her tone)

Megumi thinks Kotoha is not the kind of person that she can try and deceive. Still, for some reason, she feels frustrated and doesn't say anything at all...
I'm reporting pretty much the entire conversation because this part was covered somewhat lightly in the drama (for obvious and understandable reasons!), so I thought you might be interested.

K: Why didn't you just reach out to him when you read his note? Why go about it in such a roundabout way? Surely it's not like you wanted to see him startled at the gate.
M: That would be just nasty.
K: That kid was hoping to get caught by the clerk, without you having anything to do with it. So it felt odd that you did that. And looking like you had nothing to do with it, on top of that. That's when I realized what the matter is. I'm the only person you can pretend with...
We're made aware that Megumi feels like Kotoha is cutting deep into the softest parts of her heart.
K: You were basically trying not to let me realize that you were being kind.
M: This is not being kind. I haven't done anything good.

If she really were kind, Megumi would've reached out to the kid as soon as she saw the note, or she would've told the clerk. The fact that she did neither of those things, means that her actions, her kindness, were incomplete, partial.

K: So, Meguchi, why did you do that?
M: A good detective has to figure out the motive on her own. 

And this, we're told, was Megumi's misstep.
Kotoha 1 - Megumi 1.
The mistake of trying to help the boy without Kotoha realizing it. At the same time, if she really - really - didn't want for her to find out, she could've just done nothing. And yet...
Then Megumi kept silent, and Kotoha didn't insist.

Now to the movie, my friends. Happy End, which is an actually existing movie.
Unlike A Quiet Dining Table, that, as much as I tried to think would mean something, was just a made-up title to compensate for the fact that they didn't get the right to mention Happy End.
It was a weird and hard to describe movie, we're told. Despite the bright title, the movie starts with a girl killing her mother, poisoning her. When Megumi asks Kotoha why she picked that movie, she says "because I also hate my mother", like in the drama, but she adds "that's only part of the reason, though". Let me tell you the rest.

"I read an interview with the director of the movie somewhere, some time ago. He said that people confess their sins on social media, because part of them wants to be found out. It's almost like confessing in a church".

The protagonist of the movie recorded everything she's done on social media. However, nobody found her confession. This part of the theme also made me unavoidably think of Crime and Punishment by my beloved Dostoevsky. Anyways...!

This is when - and it feels meaningful in connection to the dialogue, in my personal opinion - Meguchi asks her if Kotoha would be happy if she guessed her real name (...if she was found, right? RIGHT?).

The rest of the conversation goes on like in the drama, up until Kotoha leaning against Megumi, who could perceive her warmth. Megumi couldn't understand Kotoha's intentions, especially since the scene in the movie wasn't one to inspire affection. We're also made aware of the fact that Megumi is feeling nervous. To make it even clearer, we're told that it had happened that Miki fell asleep on her shoulder on the train, but she didn't feel anything. Almost as if the label "lovers" had changed everything, as if the two of them were being fitted into the mold of romance. "Might as well take this as far as it goes", Megumi thinks to herself. So Megumi asks Kotoha out on a date. Novel Kotoha also answers with what is describe as a testing tone, that only "deepens the mystery that is the warmth" beside Megumi. Novel Kotoha is also too taken by the movie to be properly interacted with, maybe even more so than drama Kotoha.

There was no Kotoha placing her hand on Megumi's. Thank our saviour Lady Miki Matsugasako for that (and Mio for her potrayal of Megumi's nervousness in the moment. This scene is brilliant. Still one of my favorites!)

Now...time to go on a date, my friends.
Our very diligent but also inexperienced Megumi read online that it's good practice to arrive at a date 10 minutes earlier, so that's what she does (not 30 minutes, Mio!), but...Kotoha is already there!
In the novel, Kotoha is wearing a white off-the-shoulder sweater and jeans shorts (Megumi opts for playing it safe, even in the novel, but we don't get to experience her overthinking it like in the drama).
Kotoha's exposed legs were radiant and, even though she was supposed to be used to that sight, Megumi was once again captivated by it. Furuhashi Kotoha was cute. So much so it was overwhelming.

Kotoha keeps staring at Megumi. When she asks for the reason, Kotoha laughs it off a bit and says "I mean, it's nothing, but you have quite a nice figure and, now that I look at it better, your face is well defined". Well, that's a veeeery weird way to say that Megumi is stunning and perfect, but we'll take it, Kotoha, we'll take it! 
Megumi's heart starts racing, because of course! Then Kotoha takes her hand, interlocking their fingers, saying the phrase about Megumi being the one leading, that day.
As she puts some extra strength in her hold, almost as if to challenge Kotoha, Megumi says that she won't disappoint, and then "Before that, can I tell you something?", "Sure, anything", "Today's clothes look really good on you", "I know that". Despite sounding so arrogant saying that, Megumi didn't fail to notice that Kotoha's tone of voice sounded slightly brighter. We don't get super awkward adorable Megumi telling Kotoha that she's cute!! Again, send thanks to Miki MatsugaSaint!

 

Anyway, Megumi did her best to plan the date, focusing on trying not to leave empty gaps, so that things wouldn't get boring for Kotoha. Maybe real couples would find ways to fill those moments in enjoyable wats, but they were only pretending, they were not a real couple, she thinks. She picked the aquarium because, even if merely being together wasn't entertaining enough, she could entrust the element of fun to the place. It's okay if Megumi Yotsugi is boring, as long as the aquarium is fun. Megumi, nothing about you is boring, you precious perfect baby!!!! Anyway, unless Kotoha REALLY hated aquariums or had zero interest in them, the exhibits should prove to be interesting. If not...well, she could blame it on the aquarium being boring...

We find out right away that it's not Kotoha's first time in an aqaurium. She says it herself when Megumi asks her if she dislikes aquariums. And here Kotoha lets go of Megumi's hand once there starts being more people around (writing that moment in the - beautiful and heartbreaking and perfect - way it was in the drama, was clearly just meant as a hint for us viewers). Megumi's hand kept feeling cold ever since Kotoha's let go of it.
And she starts wondering what would happen if she had taken Kotoha's hand again. She fantasizes about it over and over again, but fails to grasp the right timing to put that thought into action.

At one point, while looking at the fish tank, Megumi notices a small fish with a pale pink tale, all alone, swimming in circles around the same point. The choice of words of novel Kotoha might be even lamer than that of drama Kotoha...
"That pale, flesh colored fish...I wonder if it has a name"
"I mean, you could just say pink!!" Ahah.
After the brief  - similar to the drama - interaction about the fish not having a name, Kotoha says the line about nobody being able to escape their name, sliding her finger on the tank.

Megumi knows all the fish in the tank have names. However, they also have individual differences, and they make it hard to identify which specific fish the pink one is...Then she asks Kotoha if she used to visit aquariums often. It's a yes. And this is when Kotoha says she's been in that specific aquarium too.
Now ready for some differences and interesting information.

Before that, though! Let me leave you a "warning" I will probably repeat in the future. Considering that there are significant differences in the past of novel Kotoha and drama Kotoha, you have to decide for yourself what you want to take and incorporate in "your Kotoha", the full image of Kotoha you will keep with you, and what you want to simply let exist on the pages of the novel. Maybe not now, but the time will come when you will necessarily have to make those choices. Look at me, sounding all prophetic. Anyway...! Now we have Kotoha telling Megumi about her past.

"You know, I've lived in Tokyo until I was in middle school. Remember how you asked me if I was from the Kansai prefecture? How to explain? Well, from my second year of middle school until the end of high school, I've lived in the Hyogo prefecture. Still, I lived in the Kanto region (where Tokyo is) for a longer period, so it’s hard to just sum it all up quickly."
"Oh, so it's Hyogo's dialect?"
"Not quite so, either. I barely attended middle school, and I basically would never speak in high school. So I just use words I was able to pick up from what I heard. If I were to try and join that community, I'm sure they'd think I speak weirdly and they'd push me out."
And as soon as Kotoha says that, the lonely fish swims their way.
"That's quite the timing", thinks Megumi. "I bet you just thought it was quite the timing. Poor fish, and yet it hasn't done anything wrong..." says Kotoha. "Don't read my mind" replies Megumi. This was cute.
Then she says something that is so perfect but that unfortunately couldn't be in the drama because Kotoha doesn't speak the dialect.
"Who cares if it's the Kansai dialect, the Hyogo dialect or whatever else. The dialect you're speaking is one with no name. That's it. It's not an aquarium, so it's okay if some thingsdon't have a name. We could even call it the Kotoha dialect" (this is, basically, the novel version of "To me, you're Kotoha, you use the Kansai first-person pronoun. And there's nothing weird about it").
Megumi thought she'd ask someone working at the aquarium the name of the fish, but she lost sight of it. Then again, it was full of fish with names, so what was the big deal with a name-less one?

Now you have to listen to (read) what Kotoha has to say, about her past, after telling Megumi that she could keep staring at the fish tanks forever.

"Even when I was a kid, I would stop and stare at this tank for a long time. My brother would say he got bored, but I just wanted to stay here. when my brother said he was bored, I just wanted to stay here. I would always get my way, in the end."

While Kotoha is speaking, Megumi's brain is working. Kotoha had previously told her she had changed her name when she got in middle school. Now she knows that's when she left Tokyo and moved to the Hyogo prefecture, so she assumes the reason why she moved has to do with the reason why she changed her name. The most obvious thing to consider would be a divorce, but that would only explain a change in surname. Kotoha Furuhashi, moving from Tokyo to Hyogo, using a nameless dialect that's only hers. Aware that she doesn't speak properly and that things would be much easier if she spoke standard Japanese. And yet she doesn't. What the hell happened to this girl, thinks our Megumi.

K: I wonder if the pale pink fish will still be here, next time I come.
M: I guess it could, though...we have to take the lifespan into consideration.
K:  I wonder if the fish that were here last time I came have all died.
M: Well, they say turtles can live for like a thousand years. (there was a turtle in the upper part of the tank; it started circling around and moving toward them as Megumi said this)
K: You might be right. I wonder if it remembers me.

It could be that the turtle knew Kotoha's real name, thinks Megumi. But there was no way for Megumi to understand the turtle which, in any case, didn't make any sound. Thanks for the help, turtle!! I liked the nostalgic vibe of exchange, so I thought I'd share it with you! And...yes, there is no fish-naming scene in the novel! No Takuanuo!! No Lemon Fish!!

Megumi was pretty pleased so far with the date because it seemed like Kotoha had been enjoying the aquarium. As they were waiting for the sea lions show to begin, Megumi thinks that since they weren't even holding hands, people would probably see and think of them merely as friends.

Kotoha's hand was on the bench, defenseless. As Megumi looks at it, she is hit by a weird, sweet yet heartrending feeling. What if I touched her hand? How would the two of them appear, in other people's eyes, if she took her hand? Probably, still just as a couple of very good friends, she concludes. So what the hell am I supposed to do, to prove that we're lovers? The answer was easy. She just had to do what Kotoha had demanded of her in the cafè. A kiss. See, this is my comment now here. Yuuki Shasendou had no idea, since the drama ending is completely original, but all of this actually links VERY well with what Queen Matsugasako has written for the end, with having the world recognize their love. Don't you think? Don't you think? I think. Let me know if you also think. Let's think together. So much thinking.

And...as Megumi is lost in her thoughts, Kotoha is all excited about the eared seal coming up in the show, and Megumi notices she has the same lipgloss she had when they first kissed. When Kotoha turns her way, and those lips get closer and closer, Megumi is instinctively taken aback. Kotoha had no idea Megumi had been thinking of touching and kissing her this entire time, and instead thought she got sleepy or something. Our puppy was really too much into the seals to notice poor Megumi losing her mind!!

Okay then. We look like mere friends. And if that's what we look like, I guess that's for the best, concludes Megumi as she also starts clapping for the seals.

Then...shopping time, my friends! And we get to know it's actually Kotoha who suggested they went to the souvenir corner! Because "I want a plushie of that pale pink fish!". There is no such plushy, though. Eventually, Kotoha picks up a penguin plushie, and as she does, her face breaks into a smile. Seconds later, though, she puts it back. Novel Kotoha also tells Megumi she has nowhere to put a stuffed toy in her house, and novel Megumi proposes to buy her a gift. We also have the love ceiling line, when Megumi mentions the 10.000 yen + plushy being off limits!

Kotoha starts to attentively check out all the stuffed toys and ultimately picks up the little otter.
Megumi pays, gives Kotoha the bag with the otter, and Kotoha kindly hugs the otter from over the bag (this also made you think of Kotoha's house and her hugging the otter, didn't it? Didn't it?).
"Thank you. I'll take good care of it", says Kotoha with a voice so gentle that it would be unthinkable considering how she normally is. Then Megumi jokingly says "You better! I'd cry if you were to just throw it away!" and Kotoha "I'd bring it with me even to the garbage dump. We could wait for the collection vehicle together!". I thought it was funny.

Now, here comes something interesting! So read up:

M: Why did you choose the otter? You kept staring at the penguin, so I thought you would go for it. Or for the seal, considering how much fun you had at the show."
K: I thought so, too, but I got both the penguin and the sea lion bought for me when I came in the past.

Megumi replies with a casual "Oh, I see" but she's very nervous inside, thinking about how any talk about Kotoha's family can be a hint in regard to her name...Now keep reading:

K: Back then, I had a fight with my brother. We were supposed to get one stuffed animal each, but I wanted both the penguin and the sea lion, so I tried to get my brother to pick the sea lion. Quite cheap of me, I know, but also pretty smart, don't you think?
M: I guess so. After all, they'd end up in the same home anyway.
K: But my brother wouldn't listen. He wanted the squid plushie. Come on, the squid, of all things!! I threw a tantrum, telling him to go for the sea lion. Now that I think of it, I have nothing but memories like these...No wonder my brother didn't have fun at the aquarium.
M: So how did things go, in the end? Did your brother give up on the squid plushie?
K: No, he didn't. He was calmed down and got his squid. And I got both the penguin and the sea lion stuffed animals...
And then she continues...
K: That's because I was being spoiled. I'd get bought every single thing I wanted. I kept receiving and receiving, but without even realizing it, so I'd end up having stupid fights with my brother. And yet, the truth is I could have gotten two or even three, if I wanted to.

Of course she would spoil her. Of course she would...
After this (and they went to the game center and then to an Italian restaurant - that Megumi had previously researched), Kotoha never talked about her family anymore. Everything goes smoothly, but Megumi can't stop thinking about Kotoha's past. In particular, about the fact that it was a story about being bought stuffed toys by someone, but that someone was never mentioned. Who calmed her brother down? Who bought her two stuffed toys? Just based on Kotoha's story, it was impossible to know. Obviously, Megumi thinks that it's normal to assume it would be her mother or father, but for some reason Kotoha avoided explicitly mentioning that. Almost as if she was afraid to give that a name. 

 

 

Newsflash: Kotoha is the type to eat spaghetti with chopsticks. Noticing that she has just found out that her fake girlfriend likes Japanese style pasta, Megumi realizes that this is what dates are about. Getting to know each other better. Megumi, you smartass! But lost in her thoughts, she stares at Kotoha, and here we get her telling Megumi it's hard to eat (just different setting compared to the drama). Megumi says she's a bit nervous, and then wonders about the reason why, considering she didn't feel like that at all when she was with Tabane at the cafè. Come on, Megumi, it's not that hard!!! 

When, after Kotoha points out that maybe she squeezed a bit too many things in the date plan (to Megumi's very serious "EH!? Seriously!?"), she adds "I guess that, being with you, everything would've been fun anyway", we're made aware of the fact that Megumi didn't know how to express the euphoria she felt in that moment. 

Now come with me inside Megumi's mind at that point.
The taste of cream sauce spreading in her mouth overlapped with Kotoha's smile. Inside her, the feeling of being caught up in something pretty weird was alternating with the feeling that cream sauce pasta had just become her favorite food. Isn't this so cute? It is right? She's so in love! Then she tries to play it down, thinking that maybe she was just being affected by the fact that they were on a date. Otherwise, it would be absurd to feel so happy about those words. But then...does this mean that people are bound to fall more and more in love as they keep going on dates? Megumi felt as if she had just discovered some important truth!

She bites her lips, lightly, because she just had the thought "What would happen if I really end up falling for Kotoha?". Would it be fun being out together, even if not on an official date? It would definitely be fun, wouldn't it?, she concludes (of course!!!). But, unlike now, she wouldn't be eternally hesitating to hold her hand. At least she thinks so. After all...even in the case of a pair of close friends there wouldn't be need for hesitation. It's because they're supposed to be lovers, that she ends up hesitating so much to touch her. Then again...What would happen if they became friends, like she initially wanted, and like they're supposed to become if she "wins" the game? 

I love getting into Megumi so much. I hope you also enjoy it. I'm totally taking something from all this and bringing it to my experience of the drama, too! Anyway, after an eternity of overthinking, without showing any sign of it, she just says "Let's come back again", to which Kotoha agrees. And yes, this means there is no wonderful, perfect exchange about Megumi being a romantic, which leads to Mio's beautiful smile! Such a crime!! And novel Megumi feels indeed less of a romantic than drama Megumi! There is also no moment at the temple expressing their wishes. This is a lovely narrative completely made up for the drama!

Look at this beauty! I love her so much!

Anyway, Megumi's morning date plan was a success.
But things weren't over, and an unexpected problem was about to come up...
For that one scene I'll pick up in the next post, but let's cover the leading up to that point!

Turns out Megumi had come up with several versions of her date plan, depending on how it would go. Such as the one where things aren't going too well, and to avoid making them worse they call it a day by 5PM, the one where they have dinner together and leave at around 7PM and the one where, in case they still want to talk, they can move to a cafè until 8:30PM and even go to her place for drinks later. Megumi, what the hell! But also, so cute! Kotoha's comment to this was pretty funny: "You're kind of dividing it up like a serialized manga on Jump!" When Megumi asks for explanations, Kotoha says she means she's divided it in such a way that it would end neatly no matter when it was over.

What Megumi says to this is so cute because it calls back to the first kiss. She says "I mean, I honestly don't know when it would be right for a date to end! Even when going out with friends, usually the time of parting ways is decided based on the flow of the moment". She does have a point.
But this isn't an outing with friends. This is a date. And Megumi really wants for things to be perfect. No matter at what point they decide to end it, she wants for Kotoha to have had fun!
Kotoha naughtily smiles and says "I know of a certain classic way to end a date...".
And Megumi is very much comic relief drama Megumi as she very seriously says "Really!? What is it?".
"That would be spending the night together, in one of those" replies Kotoha, pointing her finger to a love hotel. 
Now imagine Megumi getting like this 😑 as she says "...Thanks for the useful advice. I’ll keep it in mind for next time." And, and! Guess what Kotoha says? She says, she says "I don't dislike that attitude of yours".

What if she took her advice now?, thinks Megumi.
Kotoha smiles teasingly but she probably isn't giving any real thought to going there with Megumi (this would be quite correct as an assumption for them at that point, I would say. It's just part of Kotoha's act).
For a moment, Megumi felt like taking Kotoha by the hand and leading her to the hotel, if only to take that expression off her face. Yeah, right...When in reality, she can't even bring herself to hold her hand!

Anyway, they agree to stay together a bit longer, and Megumi had decided they'd go to the amusement park near the Tokyo Dome! After all, that's where people go to dates in TV shows and manga.
When Kotoha comments "...Meguchi, when you go on a date with someone other than me, you'd better avoid such a test of strength of a plan" to which Megumi, as she starts walking, replies with a casual "There's no reason for me to go on a date with anyone else anyway." Novel Megumi has this resolute, somewhat detatched vibe about her, that mixes interestingly with her awkwardness! I love it. Also, I don't know about you, but I absolutely picture Mio and Ichika as Megumi and Kotoha while reading.

M: Have you ever been to an amusement park before?
K: I guess it wasn't her type of thing.

We're told that Kotoha's tone of voice as she says that, made it sound as if she was thinking about someone who wasn't there, but Megumi didn't pay too much attention to it because she was thinking that, if it was her first time there, then she would surely have fun (her only priority really was for Kotoha to have a good time). Now, the original Japanese phrase doesn't specify anything about the person she's talking about. She could've even been talking about herself (I guess it wasn't my type of thing), but the detail about how she said the phrase clearly alludes to the fact that she was not talking about herself. And we can veeeeeeery safely assume it was about her mother, so I adirectly dapted it to "I guess it wasn't her type of thing". The witch wasn't into amusement parks, my friends.

Moving on, when Megumi points to a roller coaster far from where they are, time suddenly freezes. Why?
Because she sees a little girl sitting by the bridge abutment, holding a cat, in a place where most likely - ironically - only a cat could pass through. She was curled up, shivering.
She was small, but not small enough to be able to keep sitting there like that for long.
Megumi realizes that the girl probably saw the cat and, in an attempt to try and save it, ended up stuck in the very same place. Getting down wasn't much of an issue, but going back up was pretty much impossible. 

Yeah, this is the novel version of the girl's stuffed animal in the water.
And we'll get to the bottom of that in the next post, because this one has gotten shockingly long!
Thank you so much for reading so far, if you have. As always, I'm always happy to read your comments and thoughts! Until next time!