These are the TIPS that correspond with Higurashi no Naku Koro ni episode 15.
He's...[]
Phone call hours are predetermined for hospitalized patients.
...That's why, there will no longer be any phone calls from that person for today.
Since she teased him for being a lonely person yesterday, it's possible that after fighting with himself about whether he should call or not, he decided to refrain from calling.
Compared to him being too busy to call, this scenario is far more believable.
...That's just the kind of person he is. Yukie whispered, and laughed.
Announcements signaling the end of visitor hours and musics begin to flow.
Greetings with family members of the other patient in the room whom she knows by face. A small child must be anticipating his mother's return home, his smile is brilliant.
The mother of that child, in the bed beside me, bears the child that will be becoming the little brother, or perhaps the little sister of that child.
Faced with the anticipation and uncertainty towards a new sibling, that child's mind must be bursting with imaginations right now.
The joy of a growing family
.........While being filled with such warm feelings, I gently petted my own stomach, which has become quite big.
I have talked with that person about how many children we should have.
We talked about how it'll be lively for sure if we were to have 3 of them.
...But, in the inescapable reality, I'm not certain if I can withstand so many births.
Yukie: "But, there are no moms who would dislike giving birth simply because of anxiety for those kind of things after all...."
While talking to herself and laughing, Yukie gently brushed her stomach.
Police Headquarters, Public Safety Department.
The destination point of that person's heart for justice.
......That person is really a very gentle, and fragile person.
Although he won't tell me much about it, ...I don't think that person's current job suits him very much.
But, ...as long as that person continues to say that he'll do his best, then I plan to support him warmly as well.
Yukie: "Your daddy, ...is a very hard-working person, you know? tickle tickle tickle tickle......☆"
While talking to her own stomach, Yukie looked very happy.
...And then, for some reason, Yukie remembered something, and looked out the window.
It's evening.
......Back then. Yukie remembers how, back when she was still little, the countryside where her grandmother lived would be filled by higurashi's chorus at a time like this.
This is the middle of Tokyo.
Unlike the countrysides, you can't hear the higurashi's chorus here.
......And yet, for some reason, ....at that moment, Yukie felt a desire to hear... higurashi's cries.
Mom's Diary[]
There's something I don't like about that child.
Now that I'm writing it down in words like this, I'm finally becoming conscious to it for the first time.
Without having to be told by child-raising books, I know children are not their parents' dolls.
Parents who stop loving their children simply because they don't reach their expectations anymore don't have the right to be parents.
That's not what I'm talking about here.
How do I say this.... ...It's actually harder to describe it in words.
I don't demand anything from my children except the average.
I believe that, as long as they're not poor, there's no need for them to be outstanding either. As long as they have the proper senses befitting of their age, then that's good enough.
But that child has changed ever since kindergarten.
While the other children in her class were in high spirits, unable to hide their excitement for the field trip tomorrow, that child made a bored expression, and stood alone from the group.
Same for the time when they broke the game equipments used for the athletic meeting. All the other children were apologizing wholeheartedly, yet, only that child made a bored expression, and stood alone from the group.
Even when the teacher reads fun picture books, only that child won't laugh.
Even when delicious lunch boxes are taken out, only that child won't express any joy.
...If that's all, then it's still not beyond my understanding.
But what I don't get is, ...sometimes, even when something that's exactly the same as the things I wrote above happens again, this time around, she would show the kind of joy befitting of her age.
As her parent, I have no idea what her standard is.
Why does she show no interest for that field trip, but is glad for this field trip?
Why does she show no interest for that picture book, but is glad for this picture book?
Why does she show no interest for that lunch box, but is glad for this lunch box...?
The former and latter appear exactly the same in my eyes.
...Sometimes, the former even appears to be the better of the two.
I don't understand that child's sense.
Even during parent interviews, her teacher would reveal the exact same thoughts as mine.
And I too, would respond by saying I don't understand my own child, and hanged our heads down together.
My husband is more optimistic, saying that since a child's sense is different from that of an adult's, it's okay if you can't understand them all. ......I sigh at his lack of crisis sense.
One day, when I was in a good mood.
Wanting to please that child, I made her all the dishes that she liked.
...Yet, that child only laughed dryly with a vague look on her face.
That behavior got me angry impulsively, and I hit that child's head.
One day, when the weather was nice.
The washed laundry that were just hanged up to dry was blown by a strong wind, and toppled over with the entire hanger rack, making a big mess.
...Yet, that child looked at me picking up all the laundry clothes in a panic, and laughed out loud.
That behavior got me angry impulsively, and I hit that child's head.
I think things like those happened many times before.
And before I know it, that child stopped looking at me except with a bored expression all the time.
......I have repented for being a bad mother.
I thought that I should try to regain the trust of my child bit by bit through small communications.
I meet the child at the house's open side corridor, working on something, and I called out to her.
Rika's mom: "We've been having all these pleasant sunny days for the past few days now, it sure feels nice, doesn't it?"
Rika: "....................."
That child, ...turned and looked up at me with that bored expression that I hate the most, and without any replies, returned to the work at her hand.
......If this was me up until now, I would've hit her head just for that action. ...I endure it.
Rika's mom: "What are you making? A doll?"
Rika: "......... Teru teru bouzu" (note: a doll-shaped charm for good weathers)
That child was making a teru teru bouzu using the newspaper fliers skillfully.
There are no forecast for rains.
But, in her own way, that child must be making the teru teru bouzu to wish for this refreshing sunny weather to continue, no doubt about it.
Being able to understand my child's thoughts for once in a long time, I wasn't able to hide my joy.
I brought the yarn ball, and hanged my child's adorable teru teru bouzu up on the house eaves.
Rika's mom: "Ahahaha.... That's no good, Rika. The head is too heavy, see. It's an upside down teru teru bouzu now. This won't make the weather sunny, but rainy instead, you know?"
As I tried to take down the teru teru bouzu, that child pulled on my skirt hem, as if wanting to stop me.
Rika: ".........I made it to become upside down like that, so it's okay."
Rika's mom: "...............But Rika, if a teru teru bouzu is upside down, it doesn't make a charm for sunny weather, you know?"
Rika: "I'm making a charm for rainy weather, so it's okay."
...I suppress the emotions rising up within me with all my might, and try to understand that child the best I can.
Rika's mom: "...Ah, ......I see. You want it to rain because the morning glories in the yard are getting depressed from all the sun, right?"
That child, ......turned to me with that expression that I hate the most.
Rika: "I'm tired of... sunny days."
......I don't get it, I don't get it. ...I don't get that child.......
Mom's Diary II[]
Everytime there is a family meeting, that child tries to go into Oryou-san's futon.
...Oryou-san loves that child as if it were her darling angel. She doesn't mind any insolence done by that child. It's safe to say that she cuddles that child like a pet kitten.
I scold that child as a duty of being her mother. I scold formally until Oryou-san says 'it's okay' at least three times. That child however, would never listen to me. ...That child behaves accordingly as she knows that Oryou-san's influence is greater than mine.
That's another reason why I don't like that child; it's her precocious attitude.
The problem not only lies with Oryou-san loving her as an angel, it's practically all the elderly residents here as well.
I was shocked one day. I saw that child at a candy shop as I was walking home with the groceries the other day. That child hurriedly opened up a fistful of candy and started putting them into her mouth. She had no intention of paying for it, nor did she care if anyone was looking or not. It was more atrocious than shoplifting; she ate them as if someone gave them to her.
But when I started to scold that child for what she had just done, the elderly candy shop owner came out to protect her. Unbelievably, he came out to defend that child by stating that he allowed her to eat any candy she likes whenever she feels like so. I tried in vain to at least pay for what she just ate, but the owner stringently refused. As I protested at the child's actions, more and more of the elderly began to crowd for her defense. I began to feel that I was the one that had done some wrongdoing.
The elderly villagers clasps their hands towards her as they mumble their thanks time and time again. ...Since I was born as a member of the Furude family as well, I do know how special that child is treated by the residents.
Back when I was little, my grandmother used to tell me many things like, "...when you grow up and have a child, and if that child is a girl, ...then that child is a reincarnation of the Oyashiro-sama."
The elderly blindly believes that she is indeed the reincarnation of the Oyashiro-sama. And not only do they give their devoted love towards her, they put bizarre ideas into her head such as "being the reincarnation of the Oyashiro-sama," "having shamanic powers with the god," etc. etc. Perhaps these might be the reason why that child believes that she is special than anyone else.
I desperately try to stop the elderly in putting things into her head for her own maturity.
Unfortunately, there is no use to impede against their superstitions that had been implanted for generations. I constantly tell that child not to listen to the tall-tales of the elderly, but in contrast, it is me that the child does not listen to.
If it was between the elderly who reveres her versus her own mother that constantly lectures her, anyone would the answer to which one the child would prefer to lend her ear to.
...It's all the elderly villagers' fault for making that child act with peculiar behavior.
They've probably crammed uncanny beliefs into her head since she was little. If it weren't for those, she would've grown up to become my very cute child!
Mom's Diary III[]
One sunny open-school day.
They had a cooking class that day, and that child showed how to make curry rice. While the rest of the children her age had trouble in using kitchen knives, that child's handling of the knife was exceptionally fine.
The teacher came up to me and whispered that I must've done a great job in teaching her with cooking skills at home. I evaded a response by pretending to be amused.
...As a matter of fact, I've never even taught her how to make curry rice. Yet, she tore the vegetables apart and placed them into the pot starting from those that take a while to boil.
A normal parent would embrace in joy for his/her child's talent and skill. But it was different for mine.
...Someone must've implanted her again on how to make curry rice without my knowledge.
...That was my initial response. Sudden unpleasantness began to surround me. As I learned, it seems that she can also sew and wash the clothes as well. However, I've never taught her those household chores yet, nor have I seen her doing them inside our home. ...Cooking, sewing, and washing clothes. ...It's those elderly members of the village once again, inserting things into that child's head. And to top it off, they brainwash her with queer superstitions that she's the reincarnation of the Oyashiro-sama.
I professed my arguments to my husband to isolate that child from mingling with the elderly. However, my husband is rather weak when it comes to dealing with the elderly - the main proponents of the Furude Shrine. "...She's being loved by everyone, just leave it at that," straddled my husband.
I protested. She is our child, and she should grow up to be a normal child just like everyone else. She is not something queer as a reincarnation of the Oyashiro-sama.
The elderly strongly believes that she has divine powers.
They say that she has can predict the weather. However, I have seen her coming home wet because she forgot the umbrella.
They say that she has clairvoyant eyes on what's happening elsewhere. That can be easily explained as she has the tendency to avidly watch current events on the news.
They say that she knows things that she shouldn't know. But that's just because the parties that put ideas and things into her head and the other that want to believe that she has such powers exist in the same village.
However, there was a time when everyone thought it was going to be sunny all day, yet she refused to let go of her umbrella. It must've been a coincidence that it suddenly began to downpour. Her umbrella did save us from coming home all wet.
...There might've been some times when Rika might've known about a big news event happening outside of Japan even before it broke news. I just passed it off that she might've heard a breaking news report on the radio or whatnot.
...As for knowing things that she shouldn't know...well, that's happening right in front of my eyes. She's making curry rice when no one has taught her how to make one.
No, no. Someone must've taught her, someone must've implanted her. Someone is telling Rika things when I am not around.
Chie-Sensei: "Furude-san, your curry is absolutely magnificent. It's so good, I'm gonna give you a flower-mark!!"
Rika: "....Nipa~[star symbol]"
Chie-Sensei: "Where did you learn how to cook, Furude-san? Did your mom teach you?"
Rika: "...Yes. It's from my house."
All the parents that were at the open-school were amazed.
No, it's a lie, it's a lie. ...I never taught her. Who? Who is it that taught her? Who is it that's putting things into her head?
She is not a reincarnation of the Oyashiro-sama! She is just my daughter! A normal daughter!!