Cabbage Boy by Haruka Ono
I am a normal boy and live a usual life. However, I realized that my mother was not my real mother.
Please listen to my story.
I was a kindergarten student. One day I was playing with my friend at kindergarten, as always. My friend said to me proudly “I’m going to be a brother! I’ll get a younger brother. Now he is in mom’s body.” My friend seemed very happy, and I envied him. “That’s fine.” I said to my friend. After the conversation, I went home. When I was on my way home, I was wondering about where I came from. “How was I born?” This question confused me. So I went to my mother in the kitchen to ask her right away when I got home.
“Mom!! Where did I come from?” I asked her in a serious tone. This question bothered her. After a few seconds she replied “Oh,…well, You came from……a…..Oh! A cabbage field! Yes! At the back of our house! I picked you up from the cabbage field 5 years ago.” I was too shocked to say anything…I went to my room in despair. Even though I was only 4 years old, I decide to run away, because the woman who was in the kitchen was no longer my mother. I cried in my room, then left my house.
I didn’t know where I should go, so I went to the cabbage field. There were many cabbages covered with large leaves. I sat down in the field and thought about which cabbage was my mother. I didn’t have any idea, but I really wanted to find out my real cabbage mother.
First, I asked each of the cabbages. “Are you my mom?” But of course they couldn’t answer. Next, I asked a farmer, “Which cabbage is my mom?” But he didn’t know either. I was completely lost. It was getting darker and darker.
I was scared. My tears dropped onto the cabbages in the field. I heard someone’s voice!
“What are you doing here, little boy?” I looked around, but I couldn’t see anyone. “I’m here! On the ground!” I looked down and there she was, a cabbage! “Oh? You’re a cabbage!” I was surprised. “Yes, that’s right. What are you doing here all alone?” the cabbage asked. “ I’m looking for my mother. My mother is probably a cabbage!” I answered. “Oh, really? But you look like a human boy.” the cabbage lady said. Then I replied strongly “In fact I’m not human. I am a cabbage.” However the cabbage lady said that she couldn’t do anything for me.
The cabbage lady and the cabbage field around me just disappeared. I said to myself “Where am I. I am in the darkness alone. Suddenly, I could see the bright world around me. The sun was shining above me. There were a lot of other big cabbages around me. And I was in my usual place on the ground. I thought carefully…”I’ve got it!! I am a cabbage!! I am Cabbage boy! I was only dreaming that I had been a human boy. Oh, it was only a dream!” That’s right cabbage boy. You’ve always wanted to be a human boy. Your dream came true in your dream.
The End