Seaside in November

The evening light, so warm it was hard to believe it was November, illuminated the color of her braided hair. On this particular day, my mother-in-law was in her twenties and was wearing a dress she had made herself from a piece of cloth. I was told later that the braids were a symbol of her mother-in-law, a kind of determination. The braids shining in the gentle breeze.

11月とは思えないほど暖かい夕方の光が、三つ編みの髪色を照らしていた。この日の義母は20代の頃、一枚の布から自分で作った服を着ていた。後で聞いた話だが、三つ編みは義母の象徴でもあり決意みたいなものなのだそうだ。そよ風にたゆたう三つ編みは輝いていた。