Chapter 298: Rocking Chair

Just before Yoichi lost hope of finding anyone in that godforsaken place, about ten people appeared in the fountain square. Surrounding the central monument, consisting of a statue of a man whose head had been destroyed, were the usual columnar buildings.

In that cold gray stone, the wooden doors of those houses were strictly closed, except for a couple of them. In front of one house, indeed, an elderly couple was enjoying that tranquillity. 

A man and a woman, both in their eighties, were sitting in their rocking chairs. The woman was crocheting something while the man lazed blissfully with his eyes closed and arms crossed. 

Across the street from their house, two more doors were open to the square. A grown man outside the door was intent on talking to the residents of that building, while another man was carrying a wheelbarrow full of heavy pieces of rough rock.