Then she would praise me as uncovetous and clean of heart.
Whatever I said, she had praise for me.
I lived, after the death of mother, in this fashion for five or six
years. I had kicks from father, had rows with brother, and had candies
and praise from Kiyo. I cared for nothing more; I thought this was
enough. I imagined all other boys were leading about the same kind of
life. As Kiyo frequently told me, however, that I was to be pitied, and
was unfortunate, I imagined that that might be so. There was nothing
that particularly worried me except that father was too tight with my
pocket money, and this was rather hard on me.
In January of the 6th year after mother's death, father died of
apoplexy. In April of the same year, I graduated from a middle school,
and two months later, my brother graduated from a business college. Soon
he obtained a job in the Kyushu branch of a certain firm and had to go
there, while I had to remain in Tokyo and continue my study. He proposed
the sale of our house and the realization of our property, to which I
answered "Just as you like it." I had no intention of depending upon him
anyway. Even were he to look after me, I was sure of his starting
something which would eventually end in a smash-up as we were prone to
quarrel on the least pretext.
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