Sanuki no Suke’s Diary (8)

 

     As dawn broke, I heard the sound of bells.  "Is dawn finally breaking?" I thought, feeling happy.  Then, I heard the birdsong.  The sounds of morning cleaning made me think, "It's completely dawn now."  I thought, "Well, when the usual people wake up, I'll take turns sleeping a little," but then a lady-in-waiting came in, lifted the lattice, and removed the candlesticks.  Thinking “I'd take a rest," I put my sleeping robe over my head.  The Emperor noticed and pulled it down.  "He really doesn't want me to sleep," I thought, and I got up.

     Shishi said,

     "We'll do our best to look after him during the day.  Please get some rest,"

so I left.  My maid was waiting for me in my room,

     "You should be in good health, so please take care of yourself."

     I felt even more unbearable when I heard such words.

     As the days went by, the Emperor became increasingly weaker, and I feared that this might be his last time.  I hope you can understand my sadness.  "How happy he would be if we were able to make him fully recover, just like we did the year before last when he was ill."