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片方だけの靴下
日曜日の午後、久しぶりに靴下の引き出しを空にしてみた。床に広げて一足ずつそろえていくと、最後に相手のいない靴下が七枚残った。紺、灰色、白に細い線の入ったもの。どれも、そのうちもう片方が出てくるだろうと思って、引き出しの奥に戻してきたものだ。
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On Sunday afternoon I emptied out my sock drawer for the first time in ages. I spread everything on the floor and paired them up one by one, and at the end there were seven socks left without partners. Navy, grey, white with a thin stripe. Each of them I had pushed back into the depths of the drawer, thinking the other one was bound to turn up sooner or later.
洗濯機の中も、ベッドの下も、一度は探したはずだ。それでも見つからなかったのだから、もう出てこないと考えるほうが自然だろう。頭ではそう分かっているものの、ごみ袋を広げると手が止まる。しかも、こういうときに限って、片方をなくした日のことまで思い出す。灰色のは引っ越しの日に段ボールの間で消えたし、白いのはたぶん旅先のホテルに置いてきた。
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I must have searched the washing machine and under the bed at least once. If they didn’t turn up then, it only makes sense to assume they never will. I know that perfectly well, and yet the moment I open out a bin bag, my hands stop. And at times like this, of all times, I even remember the day each one went missing. The grey one vanished among the cardboard boxes on moving day; the white one I probably left behind in a hotel somewhere on a trip.
考えてみると、わたしの部屋には「片方だけ」のものがほかにもある。ふたをなくした水筒、もう持っていない携帯の充電器、三月で止まったままの日記帳。役に立たないことは分かっている。それでも捨てきれないのは、物そのものより、それを使っていたころの自分に未練があるからなのかもしれない。
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Come to think of it, there are other “only one left” things in my room. A water bottle that has lost its lid, a charger for a phone I no longer own, a diary that stopped in March. I know they’re no use. If I still can’t bring myself to throw them out, perhaps it’s less the things themselves I’m clinging to than the person I was when I used them.
ただ、七枚をまた全部引き出しに戻すわけにはいかない。引き出しはもういっぱいで、毎朝そろった一足を探すだけで時間がかかっているのだ。わたしは六枚を手放すことにして、袋に入れた。口をしばる前に、もう一度だけ洗濯機の裏をのぞかずにはいられなかった。もちろん、何もなかった。
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Still, I can’t very well put all seven back in the drawer. It’s full already, and every morning just finding a matching pair takes time. I decided to part with six of them and put them in the bag. Before tying it shut, I couldn’t resist peering behind the washing machine one last time. Nothing there, of course.
残したのは、いちばん古い紺の一枚だけだ。左手にはめて本棚をなでてみると、ほこりが思ったよりよく取れる。今、それは洗面所の棚で出番を待っている。片方だけでも、まだできる仕事はあるらしい。次は、ふたのない水筒をどうするか決めようと思う。
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The only one I kept is the oldest, the navy one. When I slipped it onto my left hand and ran it along the bookshelf, it picked up the dust better than I expected. Now it sits on the shelf in the bathroom, waiting for its next turn. Even on its own, it seems, there’s still work it can do. Next, I think, I’ll decide what to do about the water bottle with no lid.
Three expressions
説明書は読んだものの、使い方がまだよく分からない。
I did read the manual, but I still don’t really know how to use it.
「〜ものの」: after the plain form, “although …”: the first half is a fact, but things didn’t go the way you would expect from it. A little more written than 「〜けれど」. In the essay, 「頭ではそう分かっているものの」 means “I know that perfectly well, and yet”.
傘を持っていない日に限って、雨が降る。
It always rains on the very day I don’t have an umbrella.
「〜に限って」: after a noun, “on that very occasion, of all times”, usually followed by something unwelcome. In the essay, 「こういうときに限って」 means “at times like this, of all times”.
明日は試験なので、遅くまで遊ぶわけにはいかない。
I have an exam tomorrow, so I can’t stay out late.
「〜わけにはいかない」: after the dictionary form of a verb, “I can’t very well do that”, because of common sense, duty or the situation. It is different from being unable to (「〜できない」). In the essay, 「全部引き出しに戻すわけにはいかない」 means “I can’t very well put them all back in the drawer”.
One small thing to do
Tip
Find any socks that have lost their partners and decide on each one: keep it as a duster, or let it go. Keeping them all is fine too, as long as the decision is yours.