Wishing World 1
From the moment we dived, it was already clear who was in the lead. Nazuna crawled through the water—already six feet ahead. Even watching from behind, I could appreciate her flawless swimming form. Her arms and legs moved with a precise efficiency that widened the gap more and more.
Behind her, Yusuke and I were swimming neck and neck.
The turn’s gonna be the key…, I thought, crawling forward with all my might.
Nazuna made a well-practiced turn on the far wall and headed back toward us. As Nazuna and I passed each other, I looked in her direction. She seemed not to notice and pressed onward, looking straight ahead.
Huh…?
Something felt odd… I had a nagging feeling about that moment we’d passed by each other in the water… It felt familiar—like I’d been there before. What was the name for that sort of thing…? The feeling of reliving the same moment over again…déjà… What was it again…?
While I was preoccupied with those thoughts, the far wall of the pool loomed in front of me.
I replayed Nazuna’s perfect turn in my mind, blew air out through my nose, and plunged my head down toward the bottom of the pool. At the same time, I bent my knees and placed the backs of both feet squarely against the wall and pushed off as hard as I could.
Nice!
My turn was a success.
When I looked to the side, Yusuke’s spin hadn’t gone as planned, and he was flailing about in the water.
Limiting my breaths as much as possible, I threw everything I had into the remaining twenty-five meters.
I managed to take second place. Hurting for a good lungful of air, I brought my head up to the surface at the starting wall. A stream of water splashed in my eyes.
“Whoa! What’s going on?!”
When I whipped off my goggles and looked again, Nazuna had already pulled herself out of the pool and was spraying me with water from a hose, laughing. Confronted by her carefree smile, I felt my own face turn red. I forced a glower, trying to hide my shyness.
“What are you doing?!”
“Hey, Shimada, are you going to the fireworks display tonight?”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go together.”
“…Why?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’…?”
A hint of mischief surfaced in Nazuna’s smile, and she began squirting the hose at me again.
“Come on! Quit it!”
“I’ll come by your house at five. Be there.”
And with that, Nazuna dropped the hose and walked away.
Huh? What did she just say?
Dumbfounded, I watched her leave. Finally, Yusuke made it to the finish line.
“Oh man. Right at the turn, I suddenly felt like I needed to take a dump… Huh? Where’s Nazuna?”
Yusuke’s words didn’t even register. I stared at the abandoned hose, mentally replaying the conversation I’d just had with the girl.
Nazuna and I are going to the fireworks display together? Just the two of us? Why…?
The more I thought about what had happened, the less progress I seemed to make in comprehending it. I felt all the strength leave my body, and I sank down under the surface with air bubbles loudly burbling up from my mouth and nose. Yusuke splashed over to try to bring me back to the surface. I heard him calling in my direction, but I couldn’t process what he was saying.
We’d managed to spend our entire time on cleaning duty at the pool without actually cleaning an inch. Yusuke and I made our way back to the classroom. The hallway leading to the classroom was filled with the commotion of students heading home, but the only thing I could think about was that last exchange with Nazuna.
Tonight, the two of us alone at the fireworks display… This has to be a date… Norimichi Shimada, age thirteen, in the summer of his seventh year of school, about to go on the first date of his entire life…
Yusuke, probably wondering why I was acting so weird, gave me a punch on the shoulder.
“What gives? What’s up with you?”
I felt a momentary panic, remembering the suspicions he’d voiced before the race, and dodged the question. “Um… It’s, uh, nothing…”
Yusuke liked Nazuna. Even if I were subjected to torture, I wouldn’t dare tell him that she’d asked me out to the fireworks display.
“Look, it’s Nazuna,” Yusuke said.
“Huh?!”
Had he seen right through me? I was sure he had. I turned toward him, face full of surprise, only to find that he was looking in another direction entirely.
I followed his gaze to the door of the school’s faculty room. In front stood Nazuna. Unlike either of us, the girl was a model student. It seemed absurd to think that Ms. Miura had asked her to stay after class. So if not because of that, then why was she there?
Yusuke cocked his head to the side, likely wondering the same thing.
“What’s she doing there?”
“Could be anything…”
Nazuna appeared not to notice us staring in her direction. Her hair was still damp, and her eyes were trained intently on the door. There was a hint of nervousness in her expression—nothing like what I’d seen at the pool. Again, it felt as if I were seeing another person entirely. Her hand was closed tightly around what looked to be an envelope. Perhaps she was there to deliver it.
At long last, Nazuna raised a fist, knocked on the door, slid it open, and went inside.
In the Faculty Room
Ms. Miura sits at her desk.
MS. MIURA
(Grumpy)
Unbelievable…
Mr. Mitsuishi, another teacher, sits in his desk, directly across from hers.
MR. MITSUISHI
(In a small voice, cautious of whether anyone else is nearby)
What’s the plan today?
MS. MIURA
Huh?
MR. MITSUISHI
The fireworks display. Where are we meeting each other?
MS. MIURA
(Now also cautious of their surroundings)
The students were just asking me in class whether I was going with my boyfriend.
MR. MITSUISHI
Seriously?
(Grinning)
Hmmm… So I guess that means it’s time to make this public?
MS. MIURA
Oh please. There’s nothing to announce. We were both drunk, and that’s the only reason anything…
Nazuna walks up to Ms. Miura’s desk.
NAZUNA
Excuse me, Ms. Miura?
MS. MIURA
(Visibly agitated)
Y-yes?! …Oh, Miss Oikawa. What do you need?
Nazuna hands the envelope to Ms. Miura.
MS. MIURA
What’s this?
NAZUNA
Mom… My mother told me to give it to you.
MS. MIURA
(While taking the letter)
?
NAZUNA
…
Ms. Miura is reading the letter.
MS. MIURA
Oh, wow. They’re moving away.
MR. MITSUISHI
Who? Nazuna?
MS. MIURA
And it’s happening during summer vacation.
MR. MITSUISHI
Sheesh. That’s pretty short notice…
MS. MIURA
(Still reading)
Apparently, Nazuna’s mother is getting remarried.
MR. MITSUISHI
Really? …Man, how are you supposed to respond to that?
MS. MIURA
No kidding… I can’t believe she made her daughter deliver the news…
Ms. Miura’s brow furrows.
As we watched Nazuna disappear into the faculty room, Yusuke punched me once more on the shoulder. It was his usual playful gesture, but this punch felt a little stronger than the last one.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“Something happen to you?”
The question was vague, but we’d known each other so long that I immediately understood what he really wanted to ask. Yusuke had a sharp nose for stuff like that.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
I tried to keep my voice as level as possible, like I hadn’t picked up on his intent. Yusuke wasn’t fooled. He struck at the heart of the matter.
“Back there at the pool. You talked to Nazuna, didn’t you? She didn’t, like, ask you out or anything like that, right?”
“Huh?! What are you even talking about?! Why would I ever do that! Don’t be stupid! And anyway, you’re the one who likes Naz—Oikawa. There’s no way I’d fall for a weirdo like her!”
“Whoa, what’s got you all pissed off?”
He was right. What was I getting upset about?
“Um, it’s nothing… Sorry.”
“Yeah, whatever. Hey, are you going to the fireworks display tonight?”
“Uh, yeah. I think so.”
“Wanna go together? Actually, can I just go over to your house after school?”
“Sure.”
“I can’t stand being at home. Lately, my dad won’t shut up about studying, and it’s driving me crazy. My last report card was pretty bad, and you remember how much my parents wanted to send me to private school.”
“Yeah…”
“I’ll come over after school—and then let’s go to the fireworks display straight from there, okay?”
Giving in to Yusuke’s excitement, I nodded. Only afterward did I realize the problem.
Crap… Nazuna said she’d be at my house at five. If Yusuke’s there when she shows up… Wait a second, am I serious about going with Nazuna now? Whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s no way that’s happening. It’s not like I actually said I’d go with her, right…?
I was still busy with my internal Q and A session when we made it back to the classroom. Once inside, we heard Junichi and Minoru embroiled in some kind of argument with Kazuhiro, the most diligent and passionate student in our class.
“They’re flat!”
“Yeah, they’re totally flat!”
“I’m telling you, they’re round! Think about it! The powder inside ignites, right? And then, it explodes outward in all directions. Of course they’re going to be round!”
Normally, when they argued like that, I’d teasingly jump right into the fray. But I was still reeling from the encounter with Nazuna. I walked past without even acknowledging the argument and started gathering my things in preparation to go home.
“Hey, listen. If you see a firework explode from the side, does it still look round like a globe, or is it flat like a pancake?”
“What do you mean? Like a bottle rocket?” Yusuke replied to Junichi’s question, disinterested.
“No! Big ones, like at a fireworks display!”
“Um…flat, I guess?”
“See?” Junichi declared proudly.
Kazuhiro, outnumbered three to one now and clearly indignant about Yusuke’s lackadaisical response, was about to boil over.
“Don’t be ridiculous! They’re totally round! Norimichi, what do you think?”
His question confronted me so unexpectedly, I struggled to respond. I’d gathered the gist of the conversation: Would fireworks shot up into the sky at a professional show always look round, no matter where you were standing, or was that shape dependent on the angle you were watching from? That’s what they seemed to be arguing…but who even cared?!
I couldn’t just say that outright, so I gave a half-hearted response instead.
“Huh? I dunno.”
“Well think about it!” Junichi pressed.
“Sorry…”
Even as I apologized to Junichi, I was still thinking about Nazuna. She was coming over at five… But Yusuke was coming over to hang out, too… What was I supposed to do? I shot a glance at Yusuke. Our eyes met: He’d been staring at me. I felt uncomfortable under his searching gaze, so I pretended to concentrate on packing my things into my school bag.
Kazuhiro and the others continued their argument, no longer paying attention to us. It registered as background noise to me.
“All right, so have any of you ever seen a flat firework before?!”
“I have!” Minoru announced.
“Oh, like you’d know anything, Minoru.”
“It’s true. Last year, I watched the fireworks display from my grandpa’s yard. The fireworks were totally flat. Grandpa said it was because his house is at a bad angle for viewing the show.”
“See? If his grandpa says so, it has to be true!”
The fireworks argument continued to stream by me, somehow managing to become even less interesting. I was trying to come up with a plan for the Nazuna situation when Nazuna herself walked in through the classroom’s back door. She seemed to have finished up whatever business she had at the faculty room. She walked to her desk, her hair still slightly damp.
“!!”
Thump!
It felt as if my heart had caused my entire body to jolt. Nazuna had turned straight toward my desk and was staring at me. My immediate reaction was to focus on something else: the schoolyard outside the windows. I’d spent the entire term sneaking glances at her, trying to be careful she didn’t notice. It seemed my bad habit of glancing away had stuck.
Now afraid that my evasion had been too obvious, I tried to casually turn back. She’d already finished packing and was on her way out of the classroom.
As I watched her walk away, she didn’t bother to turn around again. A strange mixture of relief and guilt flooded through me.
“Then it’s decided!! We all meet at Moshimo Shrine at five PM! Norimichi, you’re coming, too, right?”
The others seemed to have reached some kind of agreement. Junichi’s excited voice called out to me, pulling me back to reality.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“Weren’t you listening?! We’re going to Moshimo Lighthouse! We’re gonna see for ourselves whether fireworks are round or flat!”
“We are?”
“Yeah, we are! And if they’re flat, Kazuhiro’s gonna do all our summer homework.”
“Whoo-hoo!!” Minoru raised his hands up above his short frame, giving Junichi and Yusuke high fives as he cheered.
Kazuhiro muttered something about how someone “better be serious about taking that up-skirt pic of Ms. Miura.” I didn’t really care whether fireworks were round or flat—and what in the world did that have to do with an up-skirt pic anyway?
I knew I could ask Yusuke to fill me in on the details, but I didn’t want him to know I hadn’t been listening to the conversation. I looked out the window again to try to keep them from asking me any more questions about whatever they were discussing. The baseball club was practicing in the schoolyard, and that was when I saw her. Walking right through the center of the practice was Nazuna.
She always carried herself with good posture, but in that moment, it seemed like her back was held even a little straighter than usual… Maybe it was just my imagination.
The five of us split up at the unbelievably huge, age-old beech tree that marked the fork in the road.
“Five o’clock! Don’t be late! Minoru and I will start heading over early, around four.”
“Yeah, we got it!”
Junichi and Minoru sped away to the left, and Kazuhiro to the right.
“All right, so we’ll hang out at your place until then. You’ve got some cola or something to drink, right?”
Yusuke hoisted himself up onto the seat of his mountain bike.
“We might not have anything but tea.”
“Oh man. The tea at your house is always so blah.”
“Shut up,” I answered, half laughing.
When I lifted my right foot up to its pedal, a strange sensation came over me.
Huh? Didn’t something happen to my ankle…?
I reached down and felt my right ankle, but nothing seemed to be wrong. I couldn’t figure out why the thought had occurred to me. When I straightened back up, the town noticeboard flashed in the corner of my eye. A poster was stuck to it, advertising that night’s fireworks display. For some reason, the poster seemed strange, too.
It wasn’t like I’d ever stopped to look at it carefully, but the photos of multicolored firework explosions spreading across the sky seemed flatter than they should have been…
“Norimichi? What’s up?”
I’d fallen silent as I stared intently at the poster. Concerned, Yusuke peered into my face.
“Hey, did the fireworks poster always look this way?”
“What do you mean?”
I didn’t exactly understand what about the poster felt strange, and I didn’t think I’d be able to explain it to Yusuke, so I dodged the question.
“Um…never mind.”
“Whatever. I’m gonna get changed, then I’ll be over.”
“Okay.”
Yusuke and I pedaled away in our separate directions. The strange feeling in my ankle was gone when I pushed down on the pedal again. Satisfied that it must have been my imagination, I began pedaling harder. Suddenly, the date with Nazuna returned to mind.
Crap… What was I going to do about her?
At Nazuna’s Home
(Public Housing)
(Public Housing)
Nazuna walks into the living room.
NAZUNA
Anyone home?
A middle-aged man sitting on the sofa turns toward her.
MAN
Welcome back.
NAZUNA
...!
Nazuna’s mother emerges from the kitchen, where she has been preparing tea.
NAZUNA’S MOTHER
Where are your manners? Say hello.
MAN
Oh, did you have school today? Must’ve been pretty hot. I brought some cake over. Shall we all have a piece?
The man is Nazuna’s mother’s new fiancé. He picks up a box of assorted cake slices and moves toward Nazuna.
MAN
Do you see one you like, sweetie?
(He smirks a little as he addresses her.)
NAZUNA
…
Nazuna heads toward her room without responding.
NAZUNA’S MOTHER
Nazuna!
The girl’s door slams shut.
NAZUNA’S MOTHER
…I’m sorry about that.
MAN
Oh, don’t worry. It’s all right.
Nazuna’s room is dimly lit from behind the drawn curtains.
NAZUNA
…
The conversation between her mother and the man is still faintly audible.
MAN’S VOICE
Did you already make the arrangements at her school?
NAZUNA’S MOTHER’S VOICE
Yes. I let her homeroom teacher know today.
MAN’S VOICE
It must be hard for her, leaving all her friends behind.
NAZUNA’S MOTHER’S VOICE
Goodness, no. That girl hardly has any friends. Nothing to worry about.
MAN’S VOICE
What about a boyfriend?
NAZUNA’S MOTHER’S VOICE
(Laughing)
At her age?!
MAN’S VOICE
I wouldn’t be so sure. You never know about girls these days.
NAZUNA
(Disgusted)
…
Nazuna stands and opens her dresser. She pulls her yukata out from the back.
She strips off her uniform and begins to put on the yukata.
A makeshift sign reading CLOSED FOR TODAY dangled from the storefront door. I circled around behind the shop and pulled our spare house key out from the mailbox. When I opened the door, I was met with the muggy air of a house left unoccupied during a summer day.
“Why does it have to be so hot?”
I threw my sweat-soaked button-down shirt into the laundry basket, then walked into the kitchen. I opened the fridge, expecting to see my half-finished bottle of cola from the day before. It was right where I’d left it. I reached out for it, then stopped, thinking I ought to leave it for Yusuke.
Next, I pulled open the freezer and saw a box of my dad’s favorite ice pops: Watermelon Bars. There was only one left in the box, and I decided to take it.
Whoever came up with the idea of an ice pop that looks just like a wedge of cut watermelon, with an easy-to-eat triangular shape and little chocolate “seeds” inside, was a genius… Except… Huh?
When I pulled the bar out from its plastic wrapper, it wasn’t the normal wedge shape I was used to. It was cylindrical—like a normal ice pop. Had the freezer cut out for a while, causing the bar to melt and then refreeze?
The cylinder seemed too perfect for that. The ice pop had to have been made that way. Maybe it was shaped like that for some limited-edition campaign to drum up sales, or maybe they made small batches of special shapes sometimes and mixed them in with the normal ones, and it was like finding a rare holographic trading card in a booster pack.
Still shirtless, and now biting into my super-rare Watermelon Bar, I climbed the stairs to my room. It was even hotter on the second floor. I slid open the window in my room, but the warm summer air that blew in didn’t do much to help.
Holding the Watermelon Bar between my teeth, I pulled down my elementary school graduation album from the bookshelf. I pulled the album out of its sleeve and opened it, landing by coincidence on the particular section I was looking for.
It was a page I’d looked at over and over again, filled with pictures from our school trip to Nikko. Our class had been split into groups for the field trip, and Nazuna and I had been assigned together. Our little group had gathered for a photo in front of the Toshogu Shrine. I’d just happened to be standing next to Nazuna when it was taken—well, no, that wasn’t right. I’d pretended it was by happenstance, but really I’d made sure I was next to her… In the photo, Nazuna stood expressionless, while I had a wide-open grin and was flashing a peace sign.
Nazuna and I had first met two years ago, over our fifth grade summer vacation.
Nazuna’s father was born and raised in Moshimo. He’d left to go work in Tokyo, but he eventually quit his job there and returned to open a surf shop along the coast of our little town. My own dad used to be a surfer, too, long before he took the reins of our family’s worn-down fishing shop. Back in high school, he’d been friends with Nazuna’s dad.
Shortly after Nazuna’s family moved to Moshimo, the three of them paid a visit to my dad’s shop to say hello. Nazuna had stood shyly hiding behind her parents.
In fact, I remembered I’d been eating a Watermelon Bar that day, too. I’d sunk my teeth into it as I looked at the girl from behind the doorway.
Her mother had said, “This is our daughter, Nazuna. Go on and introduce yourself, honey.”
And Nazuna had politely bowed and said hello. In contrast, I’d stayed in the living room, furtively peering out at our visitors. If my mom and dad had asked me to introduce myself like Nazuna’s parents had, I wouldn’t have known what to say. It wasn’t like we were automatically friends just because our parents were.
Nazuna had been wearing a white summer dress and a straw hat that day. Her dark hair had shone, and her milky skin had seemed almost translucent… Not to sound cliché, but it was the first time I’d seen a perfect-looking girl, like someone who could have come straight out of a TV show or a commercial.
Then, as I’d sat in the living room, staring at that perfect girl with a vacant look on my face, my dad had said the most embarrassing thing ever.
“Hey, Norimichi! You and Nazuna are in the same grade. You must be pretty excited to be going to school with a cutie like this.”
Tipped off by my dad’s comment, Nazuna had looked toward the living room, finally realizing I was there. Our eyes had met.
Mortified by my dad’s comment, I’d announced, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” and escaped into another room.
That’s right… That was the first time our eyes met…
I was reaching one finger out to touch a photo of Nazuna when I heard the drumming of feet on the stairway.
“Norimichi!”
I scrambled to close the album and tossed it down onto the floor. At that exact moment, the door slid open, and Yusuke burst in.
“Yo!”
“What do you mean, ‘Yo’?! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“You guys gotta take better precautions. The back door was unlocked.”
“That doesn’t mean you can just waltz right in, you know.”
“What were you doing anyway? Why are you standing around in your room half-naked?”
“…No reason.”
“Oh man, a Watermelon Bar. Gimme.”
Yusuke pulled the ice pop out of my hands, then sat down and turned on the Wii. Using my foot, I surreptitiously slid the graduation album underneath my bed so Yusuke wouldn’t notice it. Then, I sat down next to him. I looked at the Watermelon Bar he’d taken and was reminded of my earlier confusion.
“Hey, isn’t that bar shaped kinda weird?”
“How so?”
“It’s probably a rare special edition. Like one in ten thousand or something.”
“What’s so rare about it?”
“It’s round. Not shaped like a triangle.”
“Huh? Watermelon Bars are always round.”
Was he being serious?
I mean, I knew his grades last term had been pretty bad, but his comment made me start to worry whether his brain was working right. Yusuke, for his part, was staring back at me with the same look of incredulity. His eyes seemed to say, Is this guy serious? He fished his hand in the garbage can and pulled out the wrapper I’d just thrown away.
“What are you talking about? They’ve always been wedge shaped. That’s how it is on the wrapper!”
…Huh? The wrapper design, which I’d seen a million times since I was little, was supposed to have a wedge-shaped bar on it—one that looked just like a real piece of watermelon. But when I looked at the wrapper Yusuke held up…the bar was cylindrical.
“They’ve always been round, ever since we were kids. Are you feeling okay?”
“…”
Is this what it feels like to step into the twilight zone?
“Anyway, we’re supposed to be at the shrine at five. So if we leave here ten to five, that should be enough, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
I was reminded I didn’t have time to worry about the Watermelon Bar. The real problem was Nazuna. She’d be showing up soon… What time was it now?
I looked at the alarm clock on my desk. It had just turned 4:10.
At Moshimo Shrine
Moshimo Shrine lies just beyond a train crossing for the Moshimo Railway line.
An old single-car train slowly rumbles by with a leisurely click-clack coming from its wheels.
Street vendors are busy setting up their stalls for the festival.
Among them, one stall is already open for business: an oden soup vendor.
A coarse but friendly man sits at the stall, drinking a glass of hard liquor and speaking with Junichi and Minoru.
JUNICHI
Seriously?!
MAN
Yeah, completely flat.
MINORU
We were right!
Kazuhiro arrives at the stall.
KAZUHIRO
Hey. Were you waiting long?
JUNICHI
Hey… Huh? What’s up with you?
MINORU
Why’re you dressed like that?
KAZUHIRO
Huh?
Kazuhiro is wearing an almost comically large hiking backpack. On his head is a helmet, and in his hands are an ice ax and a large flashlight.
KAZUHIRO
What do you mean? We’re going on, like, an adventure, right?
Junichi and Minoru clutch their sides with laughter.
KAZUHIRO
Come on! Quit laughing!
JUNICHI
Oh yeah, and guess what we just heard? This guy says fireworks are flat!
KAZUHIRO
What?
MINORU
Yeah. This gentleman is, not to put too fine a point on it, a genuine, professional pyrotechnician!
The man drinking liquor is wearing a jacket emblazoned with the name of a fireworks company.
JUNICHI
And a genuine pyrotechnician’s word is as good as gold!
MAN
*Hiccups loudly.*
Over the next forty minutes, Yusuke’s Bowser consistently won every Mario Kart race. That wasn’t usually the case. In pretty much every game we played, our scores were about even. But that day, the game was the furthest thing from my mind. Nazuna would arrive soon… What was I going to do?
“Oh, look. It’s almost five.”
Yusuke seemed to realize how much time had passed, too. He checked the clock while taking another swig from his plastic bottle of cola. It was still light outside, but the calls of the morning cicadas had petered out in favor of the dusk cicadas’.
“Yeah, looks like it.”
I answered with a carefree tone, but the fact that so much time had passed and I still didn’t have a plan weighed heavy on my mind.
How am I gonna deal with Yusuke? Wait… So does this mean I’m planning to actually go to the fireworks display with Nazuna?
Just then, Yusuke piped up. “Hey, wanna skip going to the shrine altogether?” He slapped at a mosquito on his arm.
“Huh?” I responded. I was confused for a moment, but then I remembered that was how Yusuke always acted. It was pretty common for him to change plans at the drop of a hat, depending on how he was feeling.
He went on without a trace of concern about the promise he’d made to our friends. “You know, does it really even matter whether fireworks are round or flat? Let’s just go to the beach and enjoy the show.”
“Uh, yeah…”
“Seriously, though. Of course fireworks are flat.” Yusuke suddenly made the declaration as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I couldn’t help my surprise. “Huh? Really?”
“Yeah! Whoa, whoa, you don’t really think…?”
“No! I mean, I dunno…,” I faltered.
Yusuke reached out and grabbed a fan that was sitting on my bed. There was a photo of a perfectly round firework printed on its surface.
“Think about it. They explode out in a circle, right? But if you look at it from the side, like this, of course it’s gonna look flat!”
Yusuke held the image of the firework in front of my face, then rotated the fan ninety degrees to the side. As to be expected, the firework on the fan looked flat when it was turned sideways.
“Right?!”
“Yeah, I guess…”
That last, confident proclamation from Yusuke almost had me convinced. Except…
Kazuhiro had pointed out that the powder inside the firework exploded and… How did he describe it? Like radiation? No, that wasn’t quite right… Anyway, didn’t the explosion spread outward in all directions in a big, round pattern?
“See? So there’s no reason to go all the way out to the lighthouse. Let’s just forget about it. And hey, close the window. This place is swarming with mosquitoes.”
“Okay.”
As I stood, I mulled over this new turn of events.
Wait… If we aren’t going to the shrine anymore, then there’s no reason for Yusuke to be here.
If I made him leave my house now, then I wouldn’t have to worry when Nazuna showed up in a few minutes… As for the date with her, that could wait. I’d figure that part out after she arrived.
“You know what? You’re right. And hey, I just remembered I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of today any—”
When I put my hand on the window, I saw the figure of a girl wearing a yukata in the distance. She was pulling a suitcase along behind her… Nazuna! Oh man! She’s here already!
My mind racing, I slid the window shut… What was I going to do? She wasn’t far. It wouldn’t take more than a minute, maybe even forty-five seconds, before she was in front of the house…
Think! Think, dang it!
“Huh? ‘Stuff to take care of’? What do you have going on?”
Yusuke downed the last of the cola.
“Um… Yeah! I was just thinking, I’m gonna go buy some drinks. We’re gonna play some more Mario Kart, right?”
“Nah, I don’t need anything else. I’m not thirsty anymore.”
“No, no, no. I mean, that one was already flat, wasn’t it? I felt kinda bad giving it to you. I’m gonna go buy a fresh one, so wait here.”
“Really? Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Even I felt like my argument hadn’t made any sense, but Yusuke had agreed, and now was my chance. I grabbed some change out of one of my drawers and stuffed it into the pocket of my shorts.
When I tried to leave the room, Yusuke spoke up again. “Whoa, you’re going out dressed like that?”
“Huh?”
I followed his finger and took a good look at myself. He was right. I still hadn’t put on a shirt since I’d arrived home.
“Um…”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha…” I gave him a sheepish grin as I reached toward my bed and snatched the Uniqlo T-shirt I used as a pajama top. I awkwardly hustled down the stairs in a flurry of loud thumps.
Nazuna would probably go to the storefront first. She’d see the sign saying it was closed and then circle around back… And that meant she was probably nearing the door just then!
Praying that I’d made it in time, I threw open the back door. I saw a right hand reaching out toward the doorbell and instinctively grabbed it by the wrist.
“!!”
Nazuna’s eyes were wide with surprise. She looked from my face then down to where my hand gripped her wrist. She opened her mouth to speak, but I held a finger to my lips.
“Shhhh…” I continued to hold her as the tiny, hoarse warning escaped my lungs.
Apparently growing more and more uncertain of the situation, Nazuna tilted her head to the side. Her braids swayed back and forth like pendulums.
It was the first time I’d ever seen her in a yukata and the first time I’d ever touched her. I was shocked by how thin her wrist felt in my hand. But the important thing at that moment was to make sure Yusuke stayed unaware of the situation.
“Yusuke’s here.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go outside.”
I released my grasp and turned to close the door. I stepped out onto the path in front of my house. Nazuna followed wordlessly. The calls of the morning cicadas were gone; only the dusk cicadas were singing now.
“Sorry, he just suddenly came over and wanted to hang out…”
“…Well, what are you going to do? Are you canceling on me?” Her response was a bit prickly. Yeah, my explanation did sound like an excuse.
I took a step forward to escape her piercing gaze.
“J-just hang on a sec. I’m thinking…”
In truth, I had no idea what to do. What would happen if I just left with her? What would Yusuke do if I didn’t come back?
A window rumbled open above us.
“Hey, Norimichi!”
“!!”
I looked up and saw Yusuke sticking his head out the window. Nazuna seemed to be hidden by the eaves. He hadn’t noticed her.
“I was thinking, we oughtta go to the shrine, after all.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, they’re all expecting us.”
“…You gotta be kidding…”
“I’ll come down. Let’s head over.” Yusuke closed the window as he made his latest announcement.
What on earth? Why’s he suddenly…?
I stared at the window in disbelief. A small tug came at the hem of my T-shirt. Nazuna had pressed her back up against the wall during my conversation with Yusuke. She was peering into my face now.
“…What are we going to do?”
Her eyes were not burning with anger. Rather, they seemed to be clouded with sadness.
What was I going to do?
Wait… Why is it up to me to decide anyway?
The whole situation felt absurd. I didn’t ask to go to the fireworks display with Nazuna—or even to go to Moshimo Lighthouse with Yusuke and the others. They all pressed that stuff onto me! Why did Nazuna even ask me to go see the fireworks in the first place…? It was just because I came in second place at the pool, right…? So if… If it hadn’t been me, and Yusuke had been in second place instead, then she’d have invited…
The door clicked open, and I heard Yusuke shoving his feet into his sneakers.
She’d have invited him instead?
My mind went blank at the thought. I impulsively grabbed Nazuna’s hand and began to run.
“This way!”
“Huh?!”
Between my tugging and the weight of her luggage, Nazuna almost lost her balance. I yanked her along to the front of the store. I hastily righted my bicycle, which had been leaning against the door.
“Get on!”
“Huh?”
“Just do it!”
“But…”
While Nazuna was hesitating, Yusuke’s voice rang out from the back of the house.
“Where’d you go…? Hey! Norimichi!”
I snatched the suitcase from Nazuna’s hands and balanced it across the bike’s front basket.
I turned to Nazuna once more—this time looking her directly in the eyes.
“Get on.”
I saw her indecision melt away as soon as our eyes met. The clouds of sadness from before were nowhere to be found. A burst of confidence spread across her face, and she nodded.
“Got it.”
She circled an arm around my waist and hoisted herself up on the narrow luggage rack behind the saddle, her legs dangling to one side.
I pushed into the pedals. I wasn’t used to the extra weight of a second passenger, and the handlebars wavered unsteadily. As soon as the wheels hit the grade of the slope, however, the ride evened out, and we began to pick up speed.
I heard Yusuke’s footsteps rushing around to the front of the store.
“Hey! …Huh? …Nazuna? …Norimichi! What the heck are you—?”
Yusuke’s voice was drowned out by the roar of the wind whipping by.
As the slope became more intense, so did our speed. Nazuna’s hand tightened on my waist, and I felt her draw her body closer to my back. I’d never had a girl ride on the back of my bike before. The fact that it was Nazuna dawned on me anew. I felt her warmth spread from my back and around to my stomach. The handlebars wobbled again as my concentration shifted, and Nazuna let out a small yelp. With a jolt, I refocused my attention on steering.
As we continued downward, the sea drew nearer. I could smell the ocean air; it mingled with the scent of Nazuna’s hair fluttering behind me.
Nazuna called forward in a loud voice, “Hey!”
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going?!”
I hadn’t thought about a destination until she posed the question. I’d been driven by instinct back at the house.
“…No idea.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“I don’t know!”
I caught the faint sound of her laughing softly behind me. Apparently, it was contagious; I found myself laughing, too.
We heard a distant boom…pop…boom…pop mixed in with the wind. I realized it must have been the sound of test shots courtesy of the fireworks crew.
The echoes returned from the mountainside, and I turned my head in that direction only to see the slowly turning propellers of the wind turbines. For the first time since they’d been erected two years ago, I felt a strange sensation looking at them.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“The wind farm… Did the propellers always turn like that?”
“Huh? I don’t know.”
“Aren’t they supposed to go clockwise?”
“I just told you. I have no idea.”
“Oh…”
Neither of us seemed to know anything about anything. I didn’t know why I was doing this, and I didn’t know what to do going forward. But all of that somehow felt like minor details. It was all stuff that didn’t really matter right now.
What I was certain of was that I was on a bicycle with Nazuna, riding along the coast.
If only this could last forever…
The thought felt like something out of a cheap pop song, but it was soon pushed aside by Nazuna’s voice from behind.
“Hey… Head toward the station!”
At the Shrine
A train rolls by.
The crossing bars rise up, and Yusuke walks over the tracks, heading toward Junichi, Minoru, and Kazuhiro, who are sitting on the stairs leading up to the shrine building.
JUNICHI
Man, why are you so late?!
YUSUKE
Shut up!!
JUNICHI
Huh? Why are you all pissed off?
YUSUKE
I’m not pissed off, so just shut up!!!!
MINORU
Hey, where’s Norimichi?
YUSUKE
…Hell if I know!!
JUNICHI
Huh? Seriously, what’s got you all steamed?
The Moshimo Railway line was a single track running along the coast from the city to our small town. Moshimo Station was the last stop.
In the past, it had carried droves of tourists headed for swims at the beach or visits to the town’s iconic lighthouse, but since then, it had become run-down and lonely, hardly used by anyone other than local residents. There had been talk of shutting the line down within a few years. The story gained some credence when Moshimo Station had been converted to a self-pay, completely unstaffed stop two years ago.
When Nazuna and I arrived, we sat on the bench in the old wooden waiting room, doing nothing in particular. Our only companions were the station’s lonely machines, selling tickets and drinks. I glanced around the room, desperate to find some conversation piece I could use to break the awkward silence between us. My eyes fell on a poster advertising the day’s fireworks display.
That’s right… I completely forgot!
I wondered if Junichi and the others were already on their way to the lighthouse.
The hands of the clock had just passed five. I flitted my eyes from the clock to Nazuna. She was sitting just far enough away on the bench that another person could have fit between us.
Even though she was the one who asked to go to the station, she hadn’t made any motion to buy a ticket once we’d arrived. I had no idea what she intended to do there. Wasn’t our plan to go see the fireworks?
“…So by the way…”
“Huh?”
“Are we still planning to go see the fireworks display?”
“…Do you want to?”
“What do you mean? You were the one who said you wanted to go.”
“Did I say that?”
Nazuna giggled. I couldn’t tell whether she was faking it or if she’d really forgotten. Her yukata was slightly disheveled, probably from all the running and riding on my bicycle. The modest, grown-up design of her yukata seemed to suit her well, but I knew I’d never be able to summon up the courage to tell her that. I found I wasn’t even able to keep looking at her. My eyes wandered back down to my feet.
Beyond Nazuna’s sandals lay the little suitcase with its checkered pattern. It struck me that a yukata and a suitcase were an odd combination.
“That, um…”
“Huh?”
“That suitcase. What’s it for?”
“Oh, this?”
Nazuna pulled the suitcase closer to her and unlatched its metal clasps. The contents stuffed inside burst outward and littered the floor.
“Whoa!”
I was surprised to see T-shirts, a dress, socks, camisoles, a sweater…a stuffed animal, and a little pouch, like a…cosmetics bag? Was that the right word?
At any rate, none of it seemed like stuff you’d take to a fireworks display. What on earth was she planning?
“Ah, shoot. It fell open.”
Nazuna crouched on the ground and began to gather the things strewn about. When she picked up the stuffed animal, she turned to me with a mischievous grin.
“Aren’t you going to help?”
“Uh… Okay.”
I squatted down and, as instructed, started picking up shirts, socks, and assorted items nearest me.
I’d never touched women’s clothes, except for maybe my mom’s. Nazuna’s filled my nostrils with a faint, sweet smell—far unlike the plain detergent used to wash my own clothes. I’d caught traces of that fragrance when we were on the bicycle. It was Nazuna’s scent.
Nazuna stood once the bag had been repacked. She began examining the timetable posted on one wall. “So where to, then?”
She had murmured quietly. Her words seemed half directed toward me and half meant for no one in particular. But we were the only two people in the station, so I decided she must be talking to me.
“Um, are you planning to catch a train?”
“Isn’t that the point of coming to a station?”
“But I mean, the fireworks display—”
…was what you invited me to, I started to say, but Nazuna cut me off with an excited proposal.
“How about Tokyo? Or Osaka?”
“Huh?”
“Anywhere’s fine with me. But the farther away, the better.”
Tokyo? Osaka?
I had trouble processing the words themselves, since they were so far removed from what I was expecting to hear. I was starting to panic. Nazuna was smiling with what appeared to be her usual cheerful smile. However, something about it felt hollow to me. We were sitting right next to each other, but I was having trouble grasping how she truly felt.
I concentrated as hard as I could, both to keep from losing myself to frustration, and to try to work out the situation logically.
Maybe she’d never planned on going to the fireworks display in the first place. But what is this talk about Tokyo or Osaka…? Is she planning to…? No way…
“Are you running away?”
A part of me felt like I’d finally put two and two together: the contents of her suitcase and the places she was talking about.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You’re running away from home, aren’t you?”
My words were growing more and more confident, until Nazuna brushed them all aside.
“No, I’m not.”
“Then what are you doing?”
Nazuna was frowning, clearly serious. My own voice was getting more agitated with each question I asked. We were at a train station that only headed out of town—toward the city. Her bag was full of clothes, and she was talking about Tokyo or Osaka… If this wasn’t running away, then what was it? After a bit of silence, Nazuna mumbled a single word.
“…Eloping.”
Eloping…? My brain was reeling from yet another unexpected word. I was having trouble parsing what it even meant.
“…Eloping? Is that when two lovers…die together?”
“No! That’s a suicide pact!”
On a Country Road
The sun is sinking behind the mountains. Along the ridge, ten or so wind turbines stand, their propellers slowly revolving.
Yusuke and company are dragging their feet along the path.
The lighthouse feels much farther than anticipated, and the whole group’s mood has soured.
Yusuke is twirling a tree branch he picked up along the way.
KAZUHIRO
(Speaking of his backpack)
This is way too heavy… Hey, guys, let’s take a little break…
JUNICHI
Oh, come on! You were the one who said we should come out here.
KAZUHIRO
(Now taking off his pack)
I don’t think I can go on…
MINORU
What’s in there anyway?
Minoru walks closer and opens the backpack.
Inside is a tightly packed assortment of bananas, apples, snack foods, bottled drinks, and so on.
JUNICHI
(Also peering inside)
What’s all this for?
MINORU
You planning to set up shop or something?
Sounds of test shots come from the direction of the fireworks display.
YUSUKE
Hey! Get off your butts, or we’ll miss it!!
The other three boys recoil a bit at Yusuke’s harsh tone.
JUNICHI
Why is he so riled up?
The restrooms on the train platform were set off by a series of thin, wooden walls. Nazuna’s voice sounded through one of them.
“Girls can find work no matter where they are, you know.”
I stood with my back to the wall, as if on guard duty. But my brain was focused entirely on the other side of that wall. Nazuna’s voice, her breaths, and the rustle of her changing all resonated clearly on the otherwise empty platform. I heard the shuffling of fabric. One end of her obi sash was flung over the wall and dangled there.
“All I have to do is lie about my age and say I’m eighteen.”
“You don’t look eighteen.”
“You don’t think so?”
Next, the yukata flopped over the side.
Does this mean…she’s in her underwear right now?
For a moment, my mind attempted to paint the picture. I stopped in panic, fearing my silence would betray my thoughts, and searched for something to say.
“But, uh…where would you find work anyway?”
“Probably in the nightlife, I guess… At a hostess club? Or a bar?”
“I don’t think it’s that easy…”
I was having trouble containing myself. I glanced down at the gap between the wooden wall and the platform floor. I could see Nazuna’s bare feet trading her wooden sandals for a pair of bright-red leather…pumps? Is that what they’re called? Even the clumsy, obviously callow way she moved her feet struck me as alluring, and I found myself struggling even more to concentrate on the conversation.
I estimated we couldn’t be more than a foot and a half apart at that moment, despite the wall that separated us. A foot and a half away, Nazuna was taking off her yukata… I couldn’t stand it any longer and walked across the platform toward the tracks.
I heard the click-clack of the train approaching from afar. I raised my voice to make sure Nazuna could hear me beyond the wall.
“Hey, the train’s coming!”
“I know. I just finished…”
I turned to find Nazuna slowly emerging from behind the wall.
She was in a black cocktail dress. The neck dipped down far enough to reveal a slight amount of cleavage. On her feet were the red pumps I’d caught a glimpse of earlier. She’d undone her braids, and now her wavy hair hung around her shoulders, rustling softly in the wind.
She hadn’t only changed her outfit. Her lips were red, evidence of the makeup she must have applied in the little restroom. She was a completely different person from the Nazuna I’d walked into the station with moments earlier.
Nazuna seemed to know it, too. Her face carried a trace of embarrassment. She mumbled a question without looking in my direction.
“So? Do I look eighteen?”
I had no idea whether she could pass for eighteen or not, but in that moment, on the platform of the station enveloped in fading daylight, with her dress and her hair fluttering in a slight breeze, she was…beautiful.
I felt like I’d finally grasped the true meaning of the word. Beautiful.
“I do, right? I look like I’m eighteen?”
“Uh…well…um…”
I racked my brain but wasn’t coming up with any real words. Even if I’d been able to, I was scared I’d say something inane if I opened my mouth. I simply stood there, trying to burn that image of Nazuna into my mind.
Nazuna, still looking away, pulled something out of her pocket.
“Look at this.”
“Huh?”
Nazuna held out the mysterious orb from before. It seemed to appear a bit different than it had in the afternoon, but it might have been due to the dimness of approaching night.
“…Yeah, you showed me earlier at the pool…”
“I found it in the ocean this morning.”
The scene I’d witnessed from my bicycle that morning floated to mind: Nazuna, standing at the water’s edge.
“For some reason…when I found this, my mind was set. I decided to leave.”
“…”
“No, wait… That’s not quite right… It was when you won the race, Shimada. That’s when I decided to leave.”
“Huh?”
Too many things had happened to me in the span of one day. The events of just hours ago felt like distant memories. That morning I’d seen Nazuna, and later in the classroom, in the middle of my friends’ silly argument, our eyes had met. She’d shown me the orb at the side of the pool. Then, I’d smashed my foot during the race, causing me to lose to Yusuke…
No, wait. I won the race. But… Huh? What’s this weird feeling?
I’d felt like this earlier in the day, too. After school, when Yusuke and I were going home, there had been a momentary pain in my right ankle, even though I was sure I hadn’t injured it. It was the same odd sensation.
But I was sure I won against Yusuke. Then, Nazuna had asked me to go to the fireworks display with her…
And what happened after that…?
We’d returned to the classroom, and Junichi, Kazuhiro, and Minoru were talking about whether fireworks were round or flat… When I’d gone home, Yusuke was already there, waiting for me… After that, I went to the clinic, and they took a look at my…
No. I didn’t get hurt, so why would I go to the clinic…?
We’d been at my house, and Nazuna had shown up… Then, at the fork in the road, Nazuna’s mother came and took her away…
Huh? Then why is Nazuna here with me right now?
Whoo-whoo! The lonely, one-car Moshimo Railway train blew its whistle and drew near.
“Come with me.”
Nazuna looked me right in the eyes.
I looked back. I knew those pleading eyes.
“…”
I wasn’t able to reply, though. My thoughts were still all tangled up.
I seemed to be holding a mix of two days’ worth of memories. It was as if I’d lived two separate lives, one down the right fork of a road and the other down the left.
Where had it started? Where had things diverged into right and left?
The click-clack of the train was now accompanied by the screech of its brakes. The train slid slowly into position alongside the platform.
Soon it would be completely stopped, and the doors would open.
When that happened, what was I going to do?
Would I get on with Nazuna?
If I did, where would we go?
Nazuna stared intently at me, waiting for a response that hadn’t yet come to me. I thought I sensed tears welling up. I felt like someone had taken an egg beater to the insides of my head, but I desperately wanted to answer her. I opened my mouth to speak.
Just then, a shrill voice emanated from the direction of the ticket gate, ripping apart our shared moment.
“Nazuna!!”
That voice… It’s so familiar…
I turned to find Nazuna’s mother, and behind her was a middle-aged man I’d never seen before.
They ran past the unmanned ticket gate and headed toward us. The anger on the woman’s face was as plain as day. That expression…the sight of her running toward me…my body stiffening… They were all familiar.
Whump!
I’d been standing dazed, overwhelmed by the bizarre impression that I was reliving the same moment over again, until a dull impact woke me. Nazuna’s suitcase had slammed into me as she carried it down the platform. She was running, headed toward a small fence at the far end.
“Nazuna! Get back here!!”
The woman continued shouting as she and the man passed in front of me…
Who is that guy anyway?
The heavy suitcase and unfamiliar shoes seemed to slow Nazuna down. Before she could even reach the fence, her mother and the man had caught her easily.
My body felt frozen in place. I could do nothing but watch.
“Nazuna! What were you thinking?!!”
Nazuna struggled with all her might, desperate to break her mother’s hold.
“Stop it! Let me go!! Stop it!!”
“Honestly, get ahold of yourself! Why are you always so difficult?!”
“Shut up! Let me go! Get your hands off me!!”
Finally, Nazuna seemed to have either drained all her strength or accepted her fate. Her mother and the man each gripped one upper arm and began pulling her in my direction.
“Norimichi! Help me!!”
“!!”
I jolted at Nazuna’s imploring use of my first name—and again at the subsequent glare I received from her mother. Every muscle in me went stiff.
Nazuna kept screaming as the two adults continued to drag her toward the ticket gate.
“No! I won’t go! I don’t want to go!!”
This scene, these voices… I’ve been through this before.
The only differences were the place and…the first time, the man hadn’t been around. It had been just Nazuna and her mother…
Wait… The first time? When was that?
My mind was getting even more mixed up. The only thing I was sure of was that I had definitely seen this happen before.
“Don’t touch me! Let me go!!”
Nazuna tried to shake the man off her right arm as she screamed. The orb she’d been holding in that hand sailed into the air.
“Norimichi! Help!! Norimichi!!”
Nazuna’s tear-streaked face had turned toward me. The orb was falling to the ground in slow motion. The instant it hit the rough, graveled surface of the platform, I burst into a run.
I won’t let them take her!!
The first time—whenever that was—I hadn’t been able to do anything. I’d stood and watched as Nazuna was taken away.
But this time…I won’t let them! I have to get her back!!
I caught up with them just as they reached the ticket gate. Without thinking, I seized the man’s arm.
“What do you think you’re doing, kid?!”
“Let her go!”
I pulled as hard as I could, but his firm, muscled limb wouldn’t budge. The man jerked his arm, trying to shake me off. His elbow slammed into my cheek.
“Ow!”
Stunned by the blow, I released my grip and crumpled to the ground.
“Geez, kid.”
The man stared down at me. I thought I detected the flicker of a smile at the corners of his mouth.
“Norimichi!! Norimichi!!”
Nazuna and her voice faded away beyond the ticket gate. Once again, I’d failed to save her…
Once again?
…Yeah, that was right. It seemed to make sense now.
I fell to the ground last time, too. Just like this…
No, wait… Yusuke was the one on the ground… And I wasn’t the one who was hit in the face… I punched Yusuke. But when did that happen? I looked at my right hand—the one that supposedly punched Yusuke. Just beyond my fingers lay the orb.
When I scooped it up, it was cold, like any ordinary hunk of rock. Even so, I felt the tangled threads of my two memories loosen just a bit.
When we’d had the fifty-meter race at the pool, I had lost. I’d injured my foot and run into Nazuna at the hospital. Then, at the fork in the road, Nazuna had been taken away…
And this orb… That’s right. After that, I threw this orb.
“Back there… If… If only I’d…”
How had it gone? I’d taken the orb and thrown it while thinking of something, hadn’t I? Then, after I threw it…the strangest thing had happened… I’d started living the same day over again, but slightly differently…
Whoosh!
The train at the platform closed its doors. I was tugged back into reality.
Slowly resuming its same old click-clack rhythm, the worn-out, one-car train departed.
I watched it gradually recede into the distance. Nazuna’s words again floated to mind.
“How about Tokyo? Or Osaka? Anywhere’s fine with me. But the farther away, the better.”
If… If only…Nazuna’s mother had arrived at the station just a little later… Then Nazuna and I would have been on that train, right?
A crow circling high above called out, as if pitying my lonesome figure on the Moshimo Station platform.
My check ached where the man’s elbow had connected.
There was no reason for me to be at the station anymore, and I’d begun pushing my bicycle along an unpaved country road. The sun was setting, and the sky along the ridgeline was dyed a deep ochre.
The orb was in my pocket. It didn’t seem right to just throw it away, so I’d decided to hang on to it for now.
When I approached an intersection, I heard a troublingly familiar voice come from the crossing farm road.
“The display’s gonna start soon, you know.”
“We’re still not even close yet.”
“Just shut up and walk!”
Kazuhiro, carrying a huge backpack on his shoulders, was shouting at Junichi and Minoru behind him.
Oh yeah… The farm road’s the quickest way from the shrine to the lighthouse…
Junichi noticed my figure and began jogging closer.
“Huh? Hey, it’s Norimichi!”
“H-hey, guys…”
“Yo! Norimichi! Where’ve you been?!”
Kazuhiro and Minoru also closed in on me. Beyond them, Yusuke was standing still, staring at me with hollow eyes.
“Why the crap didn’t you come to the shrine?” Junichi said as he lightly kicked my bike.
“Um, well… Something came up…”
I glanced at Yusuke. He was still staring at me. It seemed he hadn’t said anything to the others about Nazuna and me…
“So you took care of it and then caught up with us?”
“Huh? Um, yeah, that’s right…”
I’d really just run into them accidentally, but when Junichi gave me an opening, I aligned my story to what he’d said.
“Well then, let’s keep going. To the lighthouse!”
“Um, yeah…”
“But seriously, I don’t even care anymore whether fireworks are round or flat…,” Minoru said, munching on some ramen snack mix. He jumped onto the back of my bike.
“Me, neither.” Junichi peeled my fingers off the handlebars, hopped on the bike, and started pedaling ahead with Minoru still on the back.
Kazuhiro chased after him, shouting anew.
“Oh, don’t even start! Why did we even come all the way out here, then?! Keep walking!!”
Beyond them, up on the mountain, I could see Moshimo Lighthouse and its rotating ray of light. After everything else that had happened, it seemed I’d be heading to the lighthouse with my friends, after all. Just as I’d resigned myself to that fact and begun to follow, a voice came from behind.
“…Where’s Nazuna?”
“Huh?”
I turned around in surprise. Yusuke had sneaked up behind me at some point. Up close, I saw a trace of anger in those same empty eyes he’d been watching me with since our paths crossed.
“Oh… She’s gone now…”
I considered explaining what had happened at the station but stopped myself. It would just complicate matters further.
“So tell me, why did Nazuna show up at your house in the first place?”
Yusuke seemed to have grown even more irritated, thanks to my ambiguous response. His latest question carried an edge. Part of me wanted to resolve the misunderstanding, but I was still struggling to separate the two sets of memories I seemed to have. I wasn’t sure which of those timelines applied to “now.”
“Um, well…that’s because…at the pool…”
“Spit it out.”
“Um, I can’t really explain it very well…”
“Are you two dating?”
I felt like I’d been blindsided. Agitated, I found myself suddenly shouting.
“What?! No, we’re not dating! What gave you that idea?!!”
“Then, what’s going on?!”
The problem was, I had no idea myself. If I honestly laid out everything that had happened, I was pretty sure it would just make him angrier. After racking my brain, the only words I managed to summon came across like a lame attempt to dodge the question.
“Um…well…”
“…God, just shut up, Norimichi.”
He spit out his last remark, then started walking after Junichi and the others. Yusuke and I had been friends for a long time, but I was pretty sure this was the first time he’d ever snapped at me like that.
“Whew! Looks like we just barely made it!”
“Whoa! Look how many people there are!!”
Junichi and Minoru jumped off the bike and started running.
We’d arrived at the seaside hill where Moshimo Lighthouse stood. Only a few minutes remained before the fireworks display was set to begin at seven PM.
We could see Moshimo Beach below. It was bustling with crowds of people and strings of lights formed by the long corridors of vendors’ stalls. We could see the dim silhouette of Moshimo Island poking out right in the middle of the bay. The dark outlines of several people were swarming about the island like ants. They must have been the fireworks crew.
Just as Kazuhiro had asserted in the classroom, the hill we were on appeared to be perfectly to the side of where the fireworks would be launched.
“So which are they?! Round?! Flat?!” Minoru’s voice was a mixture of excitement and exhaustion.
“They haven’t even started yet. And they’re gonna be round anyway,” Kazuhiro shot back, full of confidence.
Junichi’s reply came equally fast. “If they’re flat, though, we’re serious about the homework. All of it… Hey, and since we’re here anyway, how ’bout we watch from up there?”
“You mean up on the lighthouse?”
Junichi was pointing a finger toward the slowly rotating beam of Moshimo Lighthouse.
“Yeah! That sounds awesome!”
Minoru approached the base of the lighthouse and tugged on the handle of a small door, which was only about three feet tall. It opened easily but with a drawn-out metallic screech.
“Whoa! Cool! There’s a staircase!! Come check it out, guys!”
Minoru, still staring inside, waved us closer with a hand stretched out behind his back.
“Oh, sweet! Think we can go in? Kinda scary in there.”
Despite any hesitation he might have been feeling, Junichi’s voice was also full of excitement.
I peered through the door from behind Junichi. A spiral staircase wound through the dim light of the interior. I’d been to the lighthouse several times—my first visit was on a field trip all the way back in kindergarten—but this was the first time I’d ever seen the inside.
“Are you sure it’s okay? It says NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.” Kazuhiro was looking at a metal sign attached to the side of the door.
“It’s fine! And anyway, it’s not like anybody’s unauthorized us! Come on, let’s go!”
Junichi’s logic was questionable—it was clearly a matter of needing to be authorized, not the other way around. But before anyone had a chance to call him out on it, we were already starting to file inside the door.
The spiral staircase was punctuated at regular intervals by bluish-white emergency lamps. It was narrow enough that we would have to ascend in single file.
“Hey, Kazuhiro! You be in front!”
“Why?!”
“’Cause you’ve got the flashlight!”
Even though Junichi had been the first to walk inside, he was already chickening out. He pushed Kazuhiro forward, and we began a gradual ascent with Kazuhiro in front, then Junichi, Minoru, me, and Yusuke in back.
Kazuhiro’s flashlight revealed a stairway full of cobwebs. Everything looked eerie, straight out of a horror movie.
“This is seriously giving me the creeps,” Kazuhiro whimpered as he brushed away the sticky threads with his hand.
While it was true we had a lighthouse in Moshimo, it wasn’t spectacular enough to draw attention on a national scale. It was about fifty feet from bottom to top, and climbing it shouldn’t have taken more than a minute.
But Kazuhiro’s feet weren’t moving forward at all.
“Come on, just go! The fireworks are gonna start!”
Junichi was becoming irritated. He pushed at Kazuhiro’s back.
“I know they—!!”
Fyuuu… Boom! Boom-boom!!
The tail end of Kazuhiro’s reply was drowned out by a sudden cacophony from outside.
“Oh no!”
“They’ve started!!”
“Go! Go!!”
With Junichi still pushing him from behind, Kazuhiro seemed to break through his uncertainty. He started charging up the staircase, flailing his light and screaming out a war cry: “Ahhhhhh!” Cobwebs clung all over his body as he made his way to the top.
“Yeah!”
“Here we go!!”
Junichi and Minoru dashed up just behind him.
“Are they round?! Flat?!”
“I keep telling you, they’re gonna be round!!”
“You don’t know that!!”
Yusuke and I seemed to have missed the cue; we found ourselves alone near the bottom of the staircase. Yusuke refused to look in my direction anymore, and he’d been staying out of any conversations among the other three.
“Let’s go…,” I said without turning around.
There was no response. I brushed it off and started climbing.
“…Hey!”
I was two or three steps up when Yusuke’s voice rang out from behind.
I turned. He glared into my eyes, causing me to flinch.
“…Yeah?”
For whatever reason, I felt like if he saw my fear, he’d win at some unspoken competition we were having. I tried to respond as confidently as I could, but Yusuke’s follow-up was even louder.
“…As soon as summer’s over, I’m gonna ask her out!”
“Huh?”
“When second term starts, I’m gonna tell Nazuna that I like her!”
As Yusuke made his declaration, he shoved past me and began running up the spiral staircase.
What’s his deal…?
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just followed him up the stairs.
At the cramped landing at the top, Junichi and the others had encountered an obstacle.
“It won’t open! What gives?!”
“You gotta push harder!”
The door leading outside was rusted shut. We could hear the explosions of the fireworks on the other side. The sounds were coming closer and closer together.
“Hurry up and open it! The show’s gonna be over!” Kazuhiro was frantic.
“Oh, come on. It just started! …Okay, let’s all push at the same time.”
Junichi shoved his sleeves up to his shoulders.
“On three! Ready? …Come on, get over here!”
“R-ready…”
Caught up in his enthusiasm, we all crammed ourselves in front of the door.
“Here we go… One…two…three!!”
At Junichi’s signal, all five of us threw our weight against the door.
Slam!!
After all the fuss we’d made, it swung open fairly easily—leaving us all collapsed in a big heap under the doorframe.
“Ow…”
“Hey! Get off!”
“Which one of you is on top of me?!!”
Amid our shouts, Junichi was the first to pull himself free and stand. He ran to the railing, leaned over the side, and exclaimed, “Which is it?!”
Minoru and Kazuhiro were next. They lined up beside Junichi at the railing.
Fyuuu…
I heard the sound of another shot fired and looked intently at the night sky.
“Round or flat?!”
As if in response to Minoru’s question, the firework burst open.
Boom! Boom-boom!!
The first firework I’d ever seen from the side…was flat.
“…No way…”
I stared dumbfounded. The dark sky filled with more bursts of color, but every single one was a thin, flat oblong… It was a pathetic imitation of the fireworks I was used to seeing.
“See! They’re totally flat!!”
Junichi grinned and gave Minoru a high five. Kazuhiro, on the other hand, was mute with shock.
Junichi and Minoru clung to each other and cheered, “Whoo! No homework for us!”
But to me, their cheers seemed to be coming from some other, faraway place.
It wasn’t supposed to matter whether fireworks were round or flat. But for some reason, I just couldn’t accept what I was seeing.
Weird. This is weird. Something isn’t right.
As I continued to stare, I heard Kazuhiro mumbling to himself.
“This makes no sense! There’s no way they should be flat!”
He was right. What we were seeing couldn’t possibly be correct. Fireworks…were supposed to be round. A world where fireworks were flat wasn’t supposed to exist. Yet, the ones right before my eyes were most certainly flat.
How could this be?
And why had I thought fireworks were round?
“…Impossible. This can’t be happening…,” Kazuhiro said.
“Impossible. There isn’t a world where that can happen.”
Kazuhiro’s words echoed something I’d heard Yusuke say before.
The two tangled threads of memory I was carrying around jerked themselves free, and finally everything became clear.
“Back there… If only…I’d won…”
That was the thought I’d held in my mind as I hurled the mysterious orb with all my might.
The fork in the road—the fork in my memory—had started there.
Everything that had happened must have been caused by that orb Nazuna picked up. And when I’d made my desperate wish…that had been the beginning of the repeated day.
“Yusuke,” I started.
I didn’t wait for him to respond.
“…I’m gonna get Nazuna back.”
Atop the Lighthouse
There’s a flash.
Norimichi is throwing the wishing orb at the fork in the road.
The area around him is bathed in light, and then it begins to bend and distort into some kind of dimensional void.
Norimichi’s and Nazuna’s eyes meet in the pool.
Norimichi is in his bedroom, talking with Yusuke.
YUSUKE
Seriously, though. Of course fireworks are round.
NORIMICHI
Huh? Really?
YUSUKE
Yeah! Wait a second, you don’t really think…?
NORIMICHI
(Embarrassed)
No! I mean, I guess so…
YUSUKE
Are you stupid? In what kind of world do they have flat fireworks? Think about it. There’s a bunch of powder inside, and it explodes outward. Of course they’re gonna look round, no matter what direction you see them from!
NORIMICHI
Yeah, but… What’re you gonna do if we find out they’re flat?
YUSUKE
Impossible. There isn’t a world where that can happen.
Time jumps forward.
Norimichi removes the orb from his pocket, pulls his arm back as far as he can, then hurls the orb forward, aiming toward the flat fireworks adorning the night sky!
NORIMICHI
If only I’d—!!
The orb glows as it flies through the sky. Its colors are now strange, unearthly. The area around it begins to bend and distort into some kind of dimensional void.
Norimichi, Yusuke, Junichi, and the others are bathed in light.
ALL
???!!!
“If only I’d gotten on that train with Nazuna!!”