A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 60.
Caroline watched him quietly.
Rather than explain the content of the Oyster Man, she focused on hearing what he felt while performing it.
Perhaps because it was a conversation that assumed Caroline knew him well.
‘Then I shouldn’t press him for information here.’
She mustn’t ask questions like the previous Players who had all failed and vanished.
All she had to do was listen, and say what she wanted to tell him.
‘Will what Aiden said about Friedman help me later when I meet Friedman and try to piece things together?’
Caroline pressed her lips together and watched Aiden in silence.
The man, having drained his glass once more, rose with a bitter expression and picked up the kite from the basket.
“I fear I’ve spoken at tedious length about unpleasant matters. Miss Caroline, the sunlight has improved since earlier—shall we try flying the kite?”
“I’d like that.”
Caroline followed him as he stepped out from beneath the parasol, carrying the purple kite cloth.
The sun was hidden behind clouds, so the light wasn’t harsh, and the breeze felt pleasant. A family of ducks bobbed on the surface of the lake.
“Miss Caroline, have you ever flown a kite?”
“Well… a very long time ago. My father taught me when I was small, but I don’t remember anymore.”
Oh, no.
She’d mentioned her father right in front of Aiden. She cautiously checked his expression, but he didn’t seem particularly bothered by it.
‘Thank goodness.’
“Do you know how to fly a kite, Aiden?”
“The circumstances are somewhat different, but I learned how to properly perform kite-flying scenes for the stage.”
“Ah…!”
In the scene where Regina and Friedman flew a kite together, the kite was attached to a stage apparatus that extended all the way to the audience. It created the illusion of truly soaring on the wind.
There’s no wind inside the actual theater, and adjusting the kite’s length is impossible—yet he’d learned to do it anyway.
Caroline was struck by her actor’s dedication.
“When I took the role of Clown Will, there was someone who taught me various skills. I asked him about this, and he gladly taught me. The last time was ten years ago when he was looking after his children, and he said it felt like he’d grown young again.”
“How charming of him.”
“But he was truly a master. He taught me quickly. Today I’ll teach you how to fly a kite.”
Following the juggling lesson from before, now kite-flying.
Caroline had lost track of whether she was playing a game or undergoing some kind of skills training.
‘But there must be a reason for all of this.’
“All right.”
As Caroline nodded, the man placed the kite handle in her hands. The string was wound tightly around the white grip.
“You control the kite’s length with this. First, let out plenty of string. Yes, more, more.”
Only after releasing what seemed like an excessive length of string did Aiden appear satisfied. He then took one of Caroline’s hands and positioned it to grip the slack string in the middle.
‘Our hands touched.’
Aiden seemed to give it no thought whatsoever, just as during the juggling.
Long, graceful fingers brushing against her wrist, palm, and knuckles—it was enough to make Caroline’s ears burn.
She deliberately looked away.
“Hold the middle section taut like this, and we’ll run. Shall we try it together?”
“N-now?”
You’re going to run right now?
Startled, Caroline questioned him, but Aiden grinned and nodded. He counted to three and began to run.
With his hand resting over hers, Caroline ran alongside him.
‘What is this!’
Despite the short distance, she found herself laughing. Racing along the lakeside with her actor, hands joined, trying to fly a kite—it was ridiculous and joyful all at once.
Though her hair flew in all directions, she could see his profile as he ran through the wind, looking like he’d stepped from a magazine cover.
‘He’s really beautiful.’
As Caroline lost herself staring at his face so close to hers, Aiden brushed back his hair and pointed upward.
“Look there. It’s already up.”
“…Oh! Yes, really!”
They gazed at the kite, which had risen to several times their height, walking backward with short, quick steps. It all seemed so endearing that Caroline had to suppress her laughter.
“Now you can release your fingers.”
Like the handle of a thrusting sword, Aiden carefully removed one of Caroline’s fingers from the grip. As only one finger remained precariously hooked, the handle spun with the wind and the string unraveled on its own.
“Um, is… is this all right?”
“Just be careful not to lose it. You’re doing well.”
After that, the kite continued to fly beautifully with the wind. Aiden kept his eyes on it, and whenever it sagged slightly, he pulled the string or wound it in to compensate.
Watching him, Caroline thought they truly looked like the two people from inside the Oyster Man.
She was enjoying herself, but seeing Aiden smile made her feel even better.

As Caroline smiled, a sudden thought struck her. Even if Aiden couldn’t remember, even if he was nothing more than a conquest target, she felt obliged to answer what he’d asked her moments before.
It might be presumptuous, but Caroline gathered her courage and spoke.
“……Aiden, is it possible your parents were people who could teach you how to fly a kite like this?”
He paused, looking startled, and gripped the kite string. Above the two of them standing by the Lake, the kite waved like a hand in greeting.
“……No.”
“Were they the kind of people who could show love to someone who was nothing but a random fan?”
“……No.”
“Did they examine themselves to check whether their resemblance to their parents might become a problem?”
“It doesn’t seem they did.”
As he answered, he looked away like someone caught in an embarrassing secret.
‘He’s uncomfortable.’
Caroline hesitated. She had no intention of presuming to advise him or lecture him, but she worried that what she was about to say might be misunderstood that way.
“I’m saying this because we’re flying a kite. You never asked for my thoughts, and I don’t know why you think the way you do, but this is just what occurred to me.”
Caroline pulled on the string the way he had, letting the kite climb higher.
“If our parents are the wind, then aren’t we like a kite? It’s easy to live according to where our parents lead, following in the footsteps they’ve walked. Our direction and movements would naturally become similar. And yet we have our own handle.”
Caroline held up her hand, the one gripping the handle, and waggled it in front of his face.
“Oh!”
She nearly dropped it, but Aiden caught it nimbly.
“Well, that wasn’t exactly graceful, but anyway. The point is, we can let out the string as we please, we can adjust the height and direction. And most importantly, we fly with the wind because we choose to—and we don’t have to if we don’t want to.”
Caroline wondered how to bring her words to a close.
“What I meant to say is this. Some people live exactly like their parents, but if you strive to be different, or even if you live similarly while never losing sight of your own life—isn’t that fundamentally different? That’s what I meant.”
This wasn’t mere comfort she was offering him.
‘It’s not empty talk. It’s true. How could they be the same person? The very fact that you recognize yourself as similar to your parents—that alone makes you different.’
Though she worried it might seem embarrassing or like excessive consolation, Caroline steadied herself.
But the man before her remained silent for a long while.
“…….”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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