Do you know what a rancel is?

A rancel is a backpack that Japanese elementary school students wear when they go to school. It is like having proof that you are in elementary school so, when someone has a rancel bought for them, they are very excited. Even I, for no reason, ran around the house with my bright red rancel.

Incidentally, there was an apple that lived on my rancel.

Sometime during my first year of elementary school, as I was going to school as always with my bright red rancel, a bully named Ai-chan said this to me. "Midori-chan, there’s something weird drawn on your rancel." "The usual teasing has begun. I can’t let it bother me," I decided my child’s mind. "Yeah, yeah, go on," I replied lightly, but… "No, really. I’m not lying. Go ahead and look!" said the curiously persistent Ai-chan. Because she was so persistent and also because she seemed unusually sincere, I took of my rancel and looked. When I did that, I was shocked. My mouth dropped open and I couldn’t move for a while. What in the world? There was a powerful graffitti drawn with a magic marker left there. It was huge and right in the center. "What’s this, Ai-chan?" "I dunno. See, I wasn’t lying." "No, no. I don’t care about that. Just tell me, who was it? Tell me." My rancel… I was dumbstruck. ……………….

At that time, my younger brother, Junpei, was four years old. He was mischievous and selfish and, to me, he was a hateful thing. Fights were a daily occurance. No doubt, our parents were amazed at how we would jump at each other with 120% of our anger and power in our life or death struggles. At that time however, because of that jerk’s ceaseless pranks, my whole family including me were troubled to the point of crying. This is the truth. The graffitti on my rancel was exactly the kind of thing my hateful brother, Junpei, would have done!! The reason he gave was this, "I wanted todraw something but I didn’t have any paper, so I drew this." What’s up with that?!? When I hit that unthinking head, I was scolded by my mother. I stomped and kicked. Moreover, incomprehensible roundish graffitti seemed to be an apple. No matter what, I couldn’t calm down, and I kept saying bad things like, "You no good…"

From that time on, the bright red apple that my hateful brother created lived on my rancel. And so, for a whole six years, it remained on my back. To the very end, it remained clearly visible, that tenacious thing. And now, I have come to have a great affection for that apple.
 

ランドセルとりんご

ランドセルって知ってますか？

　ランドセルとは、日本の小学生が学校に行く時に使う背負いかばんなんです。それが小学生になった証みたいで、自分のランドセルを買ってもらった時には、みんなとっても胸をはずませたはず。私も訳もなく、あの真っ赤なランドセルを、家で背負ってウキウキ走り回っていたものです。

　ところで、私のランドセルには、りんごが住み着いていたんです。小学１年生の頃、いつものようにピカピカの真っ赤なランドセルと共に、学校に向かっていた私に、いじめっ子のあいちゃんが言いました。「みどりちゃん、ランドセルに何か変なの書いてあるでぇー」「またいつものカラカイが始まった、動じてなるものか」と、子供心に決意し、「はいはい、うるさいっちゃ」と、軽くあしらうんですが…。「本当だで、ウソじゃないで！　見てみぃや！」と、妙にしつこいあいちゃん。あまりにもしつこい上に、いつになく真剣なので、仕方なくランドセルを肩から降ろし見てみることに。するとびっくり。私はポカンと口を開け、しばし静止。なんとそこには、マジックで勢いよく書かれたラクガキのあとがくっきりと。それもド真ん中にデカデカと。「何これ、あいちゃん。」「知らんでっ！ねっ、ウソじゃなかっただら？」いやいやあいちゃん、そんなことはどうでもいいからこれは何かを教えて、誰か、教えて。私のランドセル…。呆然。ちーん。

　当時、弟じゅんぺいは４歳。ヤンチャでわがままで、私にとって、憎き存在でした。喧嘩も日常茶飯事。お互い、１２０％の怒りと力で飛びかかり、まさに「生死を懸けた戦い」に、親もほとほと飽きれていたもよう。でもあの頃、奴の数々のイタズラで、何度、私を含めた家族が困り泣かされたことか。そうなんです。ランドセルのあのラクガキは、まさに憎き弟じゅんぺいの仕業だったのです！！理由はこう、「絵書こうと思ったら紙がなかったけぇ、これに書いた。」な、何だそれはぁぁぁーーー！！！　思わず頭を思いっ切り叩いたら、お母さんに怒られてしまった。まさに踏んだり蹴ったり。おまけに、この訳の分からない丸みをおびたラクガキは、「りんご」らしい…。どうにも怒りがおさまらず、「へたくそ」と、散々、の
のしってやった。

　以来、私のランドセルには、憎き弟が生み出した真っ赤なりんごが住み着くことになった。そして、見事６年間を私の背中で過ごしてしまった。最後までくっきり残って、しぶとい奴め。そして、あのりんごに何気に愛着が湧いてしまっていた自分がいます。