昼過ぎまで寝た。10時間以上は眠ったはずだ。
起きてからも、安楽椅子に身を埋めて無為に過ごした。昨日観られなかったF1アゼルバイジャン・グランプリの練習走行をチェックし、やがて今日のセッションに追いつき、それをライブで観た。
テレビの前から動かず、猫を撫でたり、顔を押しつけたりして、だらだらへらへらしていた。休むほかに仕様がなかったという感じ。いまごろは夏の疲れもきっとある。
日が暮れて、調布の花火大会の音が聞こえてくる。ぼくの目の前で眠っていた猫は首を伸ばし耳をぴんと立てたが、よくわからないまま、ふたたび眠ることを選んだ。縄張りの安全は確認されたのだから、それでよいのだろう。もし危険が迫っていれば、猫は隠れて、こちらがなにを言ってもしばらくは出てこないはずだ。動物の行動の論理的な一貫性は、いつもぼくを安心させる。人間だけが説明のつかないことをする。
数年前から、花火を見たり聞いたりしたときには、爆撃のことを考えるようになった。なにかが爆ぜる様子に興奮する気持ちはぼくのなかにも確実にある。猫よ、人間のやることは恐ろしいんだ。
夜は世界陸上とF1の予選セッションを観た。
F1は若手もベテランもつぎつぎに壁に突っ込み、さらに最後には雨も絡んで荒れた。なかなか面白いスターティング・グリッドになった。アミーゴ、バモス。
今日も走らず。
If I had moved my leg, the cat would’ve fallen. Of course, I thought of The Catcher in the Rye.
The cat and the World Athletics Championships. Tomorrow is the final day.
The cat stayed close to me all day today. So sweet.
I slept in until early afternoon—must’ve been over ten hours.
Even after getting up, I stayed sunk into my armchair, doing absolutely nothing. I caught up on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice sessions I’d missed, and eventually caught up to the current session, watching it live.
I didn’t move from the front of the TV. I stroked my cat, pressed my face against his fur, and just lazed around. It felt like there was no choice but to rest. Maybe the summer fatigue has finally caught up with me.
As the sun went down, I heard the sounds of the Chōfu fireworks festival in the distance.
My cat, who had been napping in front of me, stretched his neck and perked up his ears, but not understanding what was going on, he chose to go back to sleep.
Once he confirmed there was no threat to his territory, that was enough. If there really were danger, he’d have hidden and stayed there no matter what I said. Animals have a kind of logical consistency in their behavior that always reassures me. Only humans do things that defy explanation.
In recent years, whenever I see or hear fireworks, I find myself thinking about bombings. There’s no doubt that I also have that thrill-seeking part of me that reacts to things bursting and exploding. But oh, cat—humans are terrifying creatures.
At night, I watched the World Athletics Championships and the F1 qualifying sessions.
In F1, both young and experienced drivers were crashing into the walls one after another, and by the end, rain came into play, turning the session chaotic. The starting grid ended up being quite the mess—but that made it all the more interesting.
Vamos, Amigo.
No running today, either.
Konome-ame 