Wishing World 2
I heard the click-clack of the train approaching from afar. I raised my voice so I was sure Nazuna could hear me from beyond the bathroom wall.
“Hey, the train’s coming!”
“I know. I just finished…”
I turned with my eyes toward the ground, and a pair of bright-red pumps suddenly entered my view. When I looked up, Nazuna was standing before me—a trace of embarrassment on her face.
She was in a black cocktail dress. The neck dipped down far enough to reveal a slight amount of cleavage. Her wavy hair hung around her shoulders, and her lips were faintly red, indicating a trace of makeup.
She was a different person from the Nazuna I’d walked into the station with moments earlier. But at the same time, I felt like I had seen her that way before.
“So? Do I look eighteen? …I do, right?” As if disconcerted by my stare, Nazuna kept looking away as she mumbled her question.
“Uh…well…um…”
I racked my brain but wasn’t coming up with any real words. I had no idea what to do. I merely stood there, whipping through my own thoughts like I was beating an egg in a mixing bowl.
Nazuna, still refusing to look at me, pulled something out of her pocket.
“Look at this.”
“Huh?”
Nazuna held out the mysterious orb from before.
“…Yeah, you showed me earlier at the pool…”
“I found it in the ocean this morning. For some reason…when I found this, my mind was set. I decided to leave.”
“…”
Nazuna peered at the orb in her hand as she continued.
“No, wait… That’s not quite right…”
“It was when I won the race. Right?”
Nazuna lifted her face, clearly startled at how I’d just finished her thought.
But I’d surprised myself even more. The moment I’d seen her in that dress, something had felt strange. At first, I’d thought I was just bewitched by her appearance. But there was something more.
What was strange was that I’d seen it all before.
I’d stood on this lonely platform at Moshimo Station, under this same mix of orange, yellow, and still-just-barely-indigo sky, and I’d seen Nazuna before me, with the orb in her hand. I remembered this scenery. I remembered having these sensations.
It was that feeling of reliving the same moment over again…déjà…
No, it’s not that…
I was pretty sure… No, I was certain that I’d stood in that exact spot before. And something was about to happen… Something really bad…
Whoo-whoo!
We heard the sound of the train’s whistle.
“Come with me,” Nazuna said, gazing right into my eyes.
I looked back. I knew those pleading, tear-filled eyes.
“…”
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.
What was I supposed to do? If I boarded the train with Nazuna, how far away would we go?
I thought as hard as I could, but no answer was forthcoming. I only knew one thing: A premonition so strong it bordered on total conviction was warning me that if we stayed as we were, something bad was going to happen.
“Hey, does this seem familiar to…?”
“Nazuna!!”
A shrill voice emanated from the direction of the ticket gate, ripping apart our shared moment.
That was it. That voice. That was the voice that heralded all the bad things that would happen.
When I turned around, I saw exactly what I thought I would: Nazuna’s mother and a middle-aged man running past the ticket gate. They were heading toward us with anger written all over their faces.
Though their expressions surprised me, I wasn’t scared. Nazuna dashed for the fence at the end of the platform, slamming into me as she went by.
“Nazuna! Get back here!!”
The woman continued shouting as she and the man passed in front of me. I watched them, trying to figure out what I should do. Next, Nazuna would be…
“Nazuna! What were you thinking?!!”
Before Nazuna could clear the fence, she was caught by her mother.
“Stop it! Let me go!! Stop it!!”
The girl struggled desperately, but it was to no avail. Nazuna was pulled back toward the ticket gate, her mother and the man each gripping one upper arm.
I’d seen this entire scene play out before. But even though I realized exactly what was going on, I still found myself unable to move.
“Norimichi! Help me!!”
I heard her voice. I’d heard it however many times before. Last time, I’d remained frozen. But even this time, I still had no idea how to act.
My mind was getting even more mixed up. The only thing I knew was that I had definitely seen this happen before.
“No! I won’t go! I don’t want to go!!”
Nazuna’s voice began to fade as she was dragged away. I had to save her…but my feet wouldn’t move, as if they were glued to the ground.
“Don’t touch me! Let me go!!”
The voice was getting farther and farther away.
What should I do? I…
“Norimichi! Help!! Norimichi!!”
Nazuna’s voice resonated around me, and my head shot up. She tried to shake the man off her right arm, and the sudden movement caused the orb to sail into the air from her hand.
The instant I saw it hit the surface of the platform, I felt as if my body had been released. I burst into a run.
I won’t let them take her!!
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… That’s it…! Next, the elbow’s going to hit me in the face!
I instinctively drew my head back, and the man’s elbow sliced through thin air.
When the miss threw him off-balance, I launched myself forward and tackled him. I felt my right shoulder dig into his side.
“Oof!”
The man let out a short yelp, and our tangled bodies both tumbled to the ground. The rough gravel of the platform bit into my left palm. It stung, but I kept pushing firmly against the ground and raised myself back up.
“Nazuna!”
I’d never shouted her first name like that before. But we had no time for delicacy. Nazuna’s mother had released her grip in shock after witnessing my scuffle with the man. I saw our chance and reached out my right hand toward Nazuna.
The door of the train began to close.
“Let’s go!”
I grabbed her wrist and yanked her to me with all my might. The two of us fell into the train just as the door finished sliding shut.
“Nazuna! Get back here!!”
We could hear her mother’s voice from outside, but the train rocked gently and began slowly rumbling out of the station.
By the time we pulled ourselves up from the floor of the railcar, we’d already left the platform. Through the window, we saw the shouting figures of Nazuna’s mother and the man slowly shrink into the distance. As they grew smaller, the vast sky filled our view instead. The shade was a bit bluer than when we’d seen it at the station. It would grow dark soon.
I was reminded that it was the night of the fireworks display. Soon I’d be watching the show with Junichi and the others…
No, I’ll be watching it with Nazuna… Wait… Huh?
Which was it? Who had I made plans with?
When I tried to pull the events of that day from my memory, my eyes unconsciously shifted downward and landed on the mysterious orb clutched in my left hand.
Huh…? When did I…?
I was sure I’d seen the orb fall onto the platform at the station… Why was it in my hand?
Suddenly, Nazuna’s voice cut through the haze of questions clouding my mind.
“That was amazing! Norimichi, I had no idea you knew how to fight like that!”
When I looked over, I found that Nazuna had sat down on one of the car’s benches.
“Oh, um, I think it was really just momentum… Hey, who was that guy anyway?”
“Hmm? He’s my mom’s new fiancé.”
“Huh?”
She’d said it casually, but from the way she averted her gaze as she spoke, I suspected that her feelings toward the man were complicated.
“Oh, I see…” Was I supposed to ask more about the man? Was I supposed to change the subject? I’d inadvertently unearthed another small question that was now squirming around in my mind.
“Anyway, come have a seat. We’ve got the whole place to ourselves.” Nazuna patted an adjacent space on the red-upholstered seats.
I looked around the narrow railcar. We were the only two there.
I felt a little embarrassed to just sit down at her invitation, but a moment later, the train happened to go into a short tunnel. I took advantage of the momentary darkness and sat next to Nazuna—or more precisely, on the same bench about two feet away.
“My mom says she’s going to get remarried.”
When we came back out of the tunnel, I was surprised to find her closer to me than I’d expected. She faced forward as she spoke. I started to lift myself up, intending to scoot a little farther away, but just then Nazuna scooted in toward me.
“Can you believe it?! It’ll be her third time!”
I dropped my weight back down in the seat, searching for something to say but unable to come up with anything worthwhile.
“…Huh. I had no idea…”
In truth, I did know that Nazuna’s mother had been remarried. Nazuna’s dad had been the second husband—before his death.
“The first time my mom was married, she started having an affair. That was with my dad. But when she got pregnant with me, the two of them decided to elope. It sounds like something out of a soap opera or a movie. That means I’m the daughter of a forbidden romance. Pretty cool, huh?”
It felt like Nazuna was intentionally trying to sound lighthearted as she talked about that cheerless episode. I tried to play along, keeping my responses casual. Inside, however, I felt dejected.
Right after Nazuna had moved to Moshimo, I’d overheard my mom and dad talking about Nazuna’s mother. My mom had said something with a disapproving look on her face: “She’s fickle, that woman.” For whatever reason, those words had stuck with me ever since.
I didn’t understand what fickle was supposed to mean at the time, and honestly, I still didn’t have a good grasp of what my mom had wanted to say.
But after Nazuna’s dad passed away, her mother started working at a bar. I’d heard people say she was popular among the men around town, and I figured her being “fickle” probably had something to do with it.
“But then my dad died.” Nazuna’s next words came a little heavier.
Her father had died in the summer of last year.
A while after the tsunami, the surfers who had stopped coming to Moshimo Beach had started to trickle back in small numbers. Business had picked up again at the surf shop Nazuna’s dad ran.
Around that time, one inexperienced surfer vacationing from Tokyo had been swept out to sea. Nazuna’s father had swum out to rescue him but got caught in the surf himself. Both drowned. The tidal currents around the Moshimo coast were strong. Two days later, in the morning, the body of Nazuna’s father washed up on the shore.
I remembered that day, too. My own mom and dad had been in a harried state all morning. Finally, my dad had run out of the house, heading toward the beach. I’d followed.
A huge crowd had assembled there. On the sand was a blue tarp with a small lump in the center. Nazuna and her mother had clung to the tarp, both sobbing.
Nazuna had knelt facing her father’s remains as she wailed, oblivious to the soaking waves rolling up around her. She was clutching the tarp so tightly that her hands had gone completely white. Even from where I was standing, I could see those hands clearly.
“It hasn’t even been a year since then, and already she’s with a new man… It’s unbelievable…”
Nazuna’s hands were clenched tight, just like that day.
Her head was down, so I couldn’t see her expression. But the exchange put to rest a number of the questions writhing in my brain. It seemed Nazuna wasn’t happy with the new fiancé and didn’t want him living in her home, and that was why she wanted to leave.
“…So that’s why you decided to run away?”
I turned to face her, but her head remained down, and no reply came.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” I said.
At that, Nazuna popped out of her seat. She stared down at me as she said, “Could you stop calling it that? ‘Running away’ sounds so kiddish.”
Her sudden movement had caught me off guard, but I tried to hide my surprise with a casual response.
“Then what is it?”
Nazuna leaned in toward me and brought her index finger right in front of my nose.
“E-lo-ping.”
“Huh?!”
“You and me. We’re eloping. My mom’s a slut, and that makes me one, too. I’ve got her blood.”
“…”
I felt my cheeks burn in the face of her overpowering smile. Realizing how I must have looked, and not wanting her to notice, I tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.
“…Yeah, and what’re we gonna do now?”
Huh?
My choice of words startled me. Had I come off sounding like I was on board with Nazuna’s “e-lope-ing” plan?!
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don’t want to elope. I’m still in seventh grade! It’s summer vacation! I still have homework to do, and…
My brain was spinning, but Nazuna was still there, her piercing eyes staring straight into mine.
“Just like I said. We’ll go to Tokyo, and we’ll start a life there together.”
“Huh?”
“If I can’t find a place at a nightclub, maybe I’ll try being a singer.”
“Are you serious?”
I let out a laugh. Nazuna, as usual, didn’t give the slightest hint as to whether she was joking or not. Her lips formed her usual subtle, mysterious smile.
“You don’t think so? I bet I’ve got what it takes.”
Nazuna suddenly straightened her back, closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath.
“Every night must come to dawn; the sun will surely rise,”
Wistfully, you sighed to me back then
Huh? Now she was singing?
It was a song I’d never heard before. Her sudden performance made me anxious. Even though I knew we were all alone on the train, I began furtively glancing around the interior of the car.
Nazuna kept on singing, unaware of and unconcerned by my embarrassment.
The lighthouse stood behind us as we watched the bay
Our eyes filled with the endless dark of the sea
Her eyes slowly reopened and again stared at me. Flustered by her gaze, I tried to break her off before she began singing the next lines.
“Hey! Um… What… What was that?”
“My mom always sings this at karaoke. It’s by some lady named Seiko Matsuda. I’ve heard it so many times since I was little that I know it all by heart.”
Though she’d briefly gone back to normal and humored my question, as soon as she’d answered it, she resumed singing.
Troubled times, they come and go
And some days hope feels thin
But I know that all is not so bleak
Always your hand reaches out and comforts me
Lends me strength
To carry on
I had a whole slew of other questions I wanted to fire off at her. Why’d she suddenly start singing? Why this song? But as Nazuna’s voice rose with each line, I found myself entranced by the melody and lyrics.
The sunlight shining through the windows of the train car had weakened, but it seemed to provide a spotlight especially for Nazuna. Our worn-out little train had been transformed into a stage for this girl and her audience of one.
When the morning sun breaks from the horizon
Rays of light will streak across the sky
Far in the distance, the evening sun was sinking into the sea beyond Moshimo. It wasn’t the dawn, but its rays truly did appear to streak across the water and the sky.
Together, we will see once more around us
Our shining, lapis-colored earth
Having sung that much, Nazuna seemed satisfied and sat back down beside me.
I didn’t know exactly what kind of color lapis was, but when I looked outside, the sky was slowly growing bluer and bluer in contrast to the orange of the setting sun. It occurred to me that the color she’d been singing about might be the color I was seeing in the sky.
Lighthouse, sea, rays of light, together… The words from her song seemed to symbolize all the things that had happened around me that day.
There was the lighthouse I’d said I’d go to with Junichi and the others, the sea where Nazuna had stood, the rays of light that had shot out from the mysterious orb, and the extra chances I’d been given to be together with Nazuna…the wishing worlds we’d been able to visit.
Vague though the realization was, I understood now.
Twice in the past, I’d fervently wished that some event could have gone differently. As I’d done so, I’d thrown the mysterious orb that was currently in my left hand. And after each throw, I’d been transported to the point in time I’d wished to change. In other words, this orb—this wishing orb—seemed to have created each new world. It seemed to be the source of the strange phenomenon occurring around me.
But if that was so, what exactly was this strange wishing orb that Nazuna had picked up from the sea? I’d never been a fan of sci-fi stuff. I didn’t read those kinds of novels or watch those kinds of movies or cartoons. I didn’t care for plots featuring time travel or males and females swapping bodies. But I felt like the things I was experiencing might be akin to those kinds of stories.
But this isn’t a story… This is real…
Or was I even certain of that? What if this was all just a long, drawn-out dream? At some point I might wake up and head to the bathroom like I always did in the morning. Then my mom would snap at me, Hurry up and eat your breakfast! And I’d do that. Then I’d ride my worn-out bike down the slope, racing to school with Yusuke, Junichi, and Minoru. And when we got to the boardwalk…I’d catch sight of Nazuna standing at the water’s edge…
That’s right. Maybe what started this whole, strange day was the moment Nazuna picked up the wishing orb on the beach.
First, Nazuna had picked it up, and then it had rolled to my hand during the encounter at the fork in the road. I’d used it, beginning the first wishing world, and the orb had gone back to Nazuna. The next time, when Nazuna had been caught by her mother and the man, the orb again came to me. That led to the second wishing world… But even though the orb had gone back to Nazuna…later it had shown up in my left hand.
And anyway, why had Nazuna been walking out by the water in the first place?
“I know we can’t really do it. Elope, I mean…,” Nazuna murmured, pulling me back to the moment.
Since we’d boarded the train, her mood had risen and fallen dramatically, to the point of bursting into song. I felt like I was hearing her normal voice for the first time in a while.
“But before I move away… Before summer vacation is over…”
Huh? Move away…?
I felt a big thump in my chest, as if my heart had caused my entire body to jolt.
Even before we’d boarded the train, people’s moods had been fluctuating up and down around me all day, filling me with surprise and confusion. But the words move away coming from Nazuna hit me with a whole different kind of impact. It made my heart jump into my throat.
My entire day—from morning until now—had been nothing but surreal experiences. I didn’t know whether they were real or not. But at least I’d been able to see them all with my own two eyes.
Nazuna moving away, on the other hand, felt intangible. It seemed like an impossible future.
I mean, if she moved away, she wouldn’t be in Moshimo any longer…
The girl sitting right next to me now… I won’t be able to see her anymore…
So that was the significance behind her mother’s remarrying: The newlywed couple was planning to move out of town and take Nazuna with them. The logic was simple enough, but until then, the thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I’d never lived anywhere other than Moshimo during my entire life. Where else was there to be? I’d assumed that even if Nazuna’s mother did remarry, or even if the new fiancé was someone Nazuna didn’t like, Nazuna herself would obviously always be here in Moshimo.
“Huh? Move away…?” I managed to squeeze the words out. They were so soft and hoarse, I wasn’t even sure she had heard them.
Her head was slumped forward, but she bobbed it slightly up and down.
“That’s why…before I do, and while it’s still summer…just for today…I thought the two of us could…”
The train was approaching a crossing, and the clanging sound of the crossing bells drowned out Nazuna’s last few words.
Huh? If the two of us could what…?
I didn’t feel like I could ask her to repeat herself. Instead, I clenched down on the wishing orb, still in my left hand.
I’d come to that wishing world in order to get Nazuna back. That’s why we’d caught the train. But none of it mattered, because even in that world, Nazuna would ultimately be taken somewhere far away.
My downcast eyes were treated to a view of my old, beat-up sneakers and Nazuna’s red pumps…
The bright color burned itself into my eyes.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The unsympathetic noise drew closer. The irritation bubbling up in me had no outlet.
Why?! Why did she have to go…?
If her mother wanted to get remarried, she was free to make that choice. But shouldn’t she be thinking a little more about how it would affect her daughter…? How cruel, making her leave Moshimo…
No, Nazuna had probably already spoken her mind. She’d probably fought with her mother, saying she didn’t want to move. But her mother had ignored it…prompting Nazuna to run away…
But even Nazuna herself had just admitted that a couple of junior high school students like us couldn’t really run away or elope… So what choice did we have…? How could we keep Nazuna from having to leave Moshimo?
If… If only… Yes, if only…
When the thought entered my mind, I sensed a curious warmth in my left hand. The orb I’d been clutching was emitting a faint heat. No, it wasn’t just heat. Until then, the orb had been black like cast iron. But unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, it seemed to be glowing red as it warmed.
That was the answer…
If… If only…Nazuna’s mother didn’t get remarried…
No… The thing troubling Nazuna had to be further back. What was it?
…If… If only… That’s it…! If only Nazuna’s father hadn’t d…
“It was at my dad’s spot. The place I picked that up.”
“Huh?!”
When Nazuna suddenly started talking about her dad, I worried for a moment that she’d seen right into my mind. But her faint, soft smile reassured me that wasn’t the case.
“Your dad’s spot?”
“The place where my dad…washed up…”
“…Oh.”
My mind momentarily flashed back to the scene of Nazuna that morning. I’d thought it strange for her to be out on the beach before school. But her words filled in the blanks, and a distant memory I had about that place returned to mind.
One year ago, I’d seen her clutching at that tarp covering her father’s body. It occurred to me that the place where that tarp had been was the same spot on the beach where I’d seen Nazuna crouch down in the morning. That was indeed the place her father’s body had washed ashore. To Nazuna, it was the last place she’d been able to be with her dad.
My hand naturally tightened, and I felt a growing warmth again. I didn’t know if it was the heat of my own body being transmitted to the orb, or if the orb was generating its own heat. But I did know what I was supposed to do.
I’d throw the orb one more time. Our next wishing world would be a reality where Nazuna’s father hadn’t died.
The two worlds I’d relived already had been jumps back of just a few hours—or thirty or forty minutes. When I threw the orb this time, I’d be going back a whole year.
A world where a person who was supposed to die survives…
I wasn’t sure if it was an acceptable thing to do. And I still didn’t know exactly what kind of world Nazuna and I were currently in—what things might have changed.
But I didn’t care anymore about things like fireworks. I didn’t care whether they were round or flat. I knew what I was supposed to do. For Nazuna, I’d…
I moved the orb from my left hand to my right.
Going back a year meant giving up the three inches I’d grown in height since then. But I’d grow it back.
I clenched my right hand.
Here we go…
“If only…”
I lifted myself out of my seat and began to raise my arm. Just then, Nazuna seemed to notice something outside the window.
“Huh? Yusuke?”
“What?”
Her words caused me to freeze in a farcical, half-finished pose. I stumbled out of it awkwardly, like some kind of slapstick comedian, and then whirled around to face the window. I leaned in close to the glass, thumping a hand against it.
As the train neared the crossing, I saw Yusuke…along with Junichi, Minoru, and Kazuhiro.
On a train anywhere else in Japan, it would have been a fleeting moment. The train would have sped through the crossing, and we’d have been long gone before anyone had time to react. But on the slowly rumbling Moshimo Railway train, we could watch Yusuke draw near in such clarity that it was as if we were moving in slow motion.
“Crap!”
The moment the train entered the crossing, I tried to sink down below the windows, but the last thing I saw was Yusuke and the others looking up at the windows of the train. Every face was contorted in disbelief.
At the Crossing
The train passes by, the crossing bells fall silent, and the crossing bar lifts up.
Yusuke and the others watch the train slowly roll away.
YUSUKE
…
JUNICHI
Huh? Was that Norimichi just now?
KAZUHIRO
And that was Nazuna with him, right?
JUNICHI
Huh? Yusuke, what’s going on? Why’s Norimichi on a train? And why are the two of them together?
MINORU
They’re probably dating!
JUNICHI
You think so?!
Junichi and Minoru jokingly embrace each other.
Yusuke is frozen, watching the train recede into the distance.
Then, suddenly…
YUSUKE
…Dammit!
Yusuke starts sprinting along the tracks, chasing after the train.
JUNICHI
Whoa! What are you doing?!!
Junichi, Minoru, and Kazuhiro chase after Yusuke.
I sat on the floor of the train with my back against the seat bottom.
Nazuna laughed at my pitiful figure. “Huh? What’s wrong? Why are you making that face?”
My eyes and mouth were both wide open. It was apparently comical to Nazuna, as she began giggling even harder.
For a moment, that laughter made my heart leap. It was good to see her back to her happy, smiling self. But my joy didn’t last long.
“Oh, crap, they saw us… They saw me with you…”
“What are you talking about? Does it matter if they saw us?”
“Yeah. Oh man, this is bad…”
“Why?”
“’Cause I told those guys I was gonna watch the fireworks with them today… Well, it’s more than that. Yusuke thinks you’re…”
“Thinks I’m what? What’re you saying?”
“Um…well, I mean…”
Even I was unimpressed at how lame I was acting after my earlier heroics. But I really panicked when I heard Yusuke’s voice outside the train.
“Norimichi! You better get back here!!”
I hurried to the window at the back of the train car. Outside, Yusuke and the others were running along the tracks after the train. It looked like they were about one hundred feet away…
No matter how slow the rumbling old train was, the legs of a bunch of junior high students were still no match. But when we neared the next station, and the train started to slow…
And why was Yusuke so pissed off anyway?
It’s true I’m on a train with Nazuna, but…
I recalled what happened in front of my house. I was supposed to go to Moshimo Shrine with Yusuke, but instead I’d ridden away on my bike with Nazuna sitting on the back… To Yusuke, it must have looked like I was stealing the girl he liked… And now there we were, on a train together. It seemed like a good reason to be pissed off. But on the other hand, it also seemed kind of silly…
This isn’t the time! I’ve gotta figure out what to do!
“Huh? Why are they chasing after us?! This is really creepy!” Nazuna had followed me to the window. She watched Yusuke running after us with murder on his face. She seemed both scared and repulsed.
“Like I was saying…you’re someone Yusuke l—”
I started to tell her, but Nazuna looked in another direction and shrieked.
“Huh?! Mom?!”
“What?!”
I followed her gaze. On an inland road running parallel to the train tracks, we saw a small car speeding along.
I could make out Nazuna’s mother sitting on the passenger side and the man in the driver’s seat. The woman was saying something while pointing at the train. I didn’t know how to read lips, but I could imagine her words: “There they are! Drive faster!!”
“What do we do, Norimichi?!”
Nazuna clasped the sleeve of my T-shirt.
Yusuke was chasing us from behind. The car was alongside us, now driving faster than the train. I tried to think.
Pretty soon, we’d stop at the next station. Yusuke would probably climb up from the tracks onto the platform. The car would get to the station before us, and Nazuna’s mother and the man would come in from the ticket gate…
At this rate, we’ll be surrounded.
I noticed that the interval between each click-clack made by the train was growing larger. We had begun to slow.
“Let’s get off…”
“Huh?”
“At the next station. We’re getting off the train!!”
Unlike the moment where we’d jumped aboard at Moshimo Station, this time my resolve came quickly. I took Nazuna’s hand and felt its warmth bleed into mine.
No matter what happens next, there’s no way I’m letting go of this hand!!
I squeezed more tightly, as if to seal my decision.
Back along the tracks, Yusuke and the others had almost reached the edge of the platform. I saw the small car already parked near the little roundabout at the station entrance. Nazuna’s mother and the man were climbing out.
Scree-ee-eeech!
The train slid into Moshimo Lighthouse Station with an earsplitting whine of its brakes. I knew that the doors wouldn’t open until the train had stopped completely. Nonetheless, we waited in front of them anxiously.
Whoosh! The door began to open with a great sigh. Nazuna and I glanced at each other.
“Here we go!”
I jumped through the doorway with Nazuna, her hand still firmly in mine. A shrill cry rang out across the platform: “Nazuna!!”
Nazuna’s mother waved off the station attendant, who had tried to stop her at the ticket gate. She was heading toward us with fire in her eyes.
Then, from the direction we’d just come, Yusuke barked as he hoisted himself up on the platform. “Norimichi! You better have a good explanation for this!!”
We were trapped: Nazuna’s mother on one side, Yusuke on the other. I could feel Nazuna’s hand trembling.
“This way!”
I pulled her along, running straight forward from the doorway. A hedge extended out from the sides of the station building, but it was largely withered, too weak now to fill its role as a fence. We weaved through a gap in the branches and found ourselves on the outside of the station.
“Run!”
I pulled harder on her hand, leaning forward as we dashed toward the sloping road on the far side of the roundabout.
“Okay!” Nazuna’s short reply came from behind. It felt like she was agreeing to more than just our flight. I felt a rush of confidence, like I’d become a little bit more of a man.
More shouts came from behind.
“Nazuna! Get back here!!”
“Stop! Norimichi!”
A twinge of unease tarnished my newfound confidence. I pushed myself to run faster.
For one brief moment, I looked back. Nazuna’s mother, the fiancé, Yusuke, Junichi, Minoru, and Kazuhiro had tried to follow us through the hedge. But they’d been stopped and now seemed to be arguing with the station attendant.
“Hold it right there! Just what on earth do you think you’re doing?!”
“That’s my daughter! She’s…”
“Our friend just ran off that way!”
“And what were you kids doing on the track?!”
“What? Oh, come on, that was…”
“I’m going to have to call the police!”
This is our chance! I thought. They’d undoubtedly be after us again soon, but the argument would buy us some distance. My heart silently thanked the unknown station attendant as we passed a sign reading MOSHIMO LIGHTHOUSE, 0.3 MILES and began to climb the gently ascending road.
I noticed that the wind whipping through the air now held a slight chill. The orange in the sky had retreated almost completely behind the horizon—all but conquered by the deep indigo.
Soon the fireworks display would begin.
“Hey!”
“What?!”
“Where are we going?!”
“I dunno!”
“Huh?”
“I just told you! I don’t know!”
“What kind of answer is that?”
As we continued to run, I caught the faint sound of her laughing softly behind me. We’d had an exchange like this when I rode off with her in front of my house. I hadn’t known where I was going then, either.
The sign that had flashed by my eyes earlier popped into mind. If we kept going up this slope, it should take us to Moshimo Lighthouse. It seemed funny. Just as I’d agreed to with Junichi and the others, I was going to the lighthouse, after all. I hadn’t meant to come. It was just a peculiar coincidence.
“But, you know…” I spoke up, still facing forward.
“Huh?”
“I… If… Even if you’re really going away, you know…I still want to be with you right now!!”
“…”
“…”
It was a once-in-a-lifetime declaration, but I was met with piercing silence. Nazuna didn’t say a word. It suddenly felt like an inane, embarrassing thing to have said. And even though I’d scraped up all my courage to say it straight, now she was just letting my words awkwardly hang… How lame could I get?
Crap. I shouldn’t have said anything af—
But just then, I felt something different in my left hand. It was still clinging to Nazuna’s right. She had released my hand for a moment, then clasped it again—this time with our fingers interlocked.
She squeezed tight. I squeezed back.
It would take more than just petty problems to pull us apart now.
On a Road Heading Toward the Sea
Nazuna’s mother, the man, Yusuke, Junichi, Minoru, and Kazuhiro have lost Norimichi and Nazuna. They crane their necks to look in all directions as they run.
Far away, the wind turbines stand along the ridge of the mountains. Their propellers are at rest.
The sound of fireworks being launched drifts in from the direction of the coast and mingles with the lights and chatter of the festival.
JUNICHI
Aww! They’ve started!
MINORU
Are they round or flat?
KAZUHIRO
There’s no way we can tell from here!
NAZUNA’S MOTHER
(To Junichi)
Do you know where those two might have gone?!
JUNICHI
No idea.
Out of the crowd appear Mr. Mitsuishi and Ms. Miura. The two are walking arm in arm. Ms. Miura is wearing a yukata.
MR. MITSUISHI
Huh?
MS. MIURA
What? Oh, shoot!
Junichi and the others notice the pair.
JUNICHI
Ms. Miura?!
Ms. Miura quickly shifts a few steps away from Mr. Mitsuishi.
JUNICHI
Oh man. They really are dating!
MS. MIURA
No, we’re not!!
(Trying to change the subject)
What are you all doing, running around like that?!
MINORU
What do you mean? We’re going to the fireworks sh… Hey! Don’t you guys still wanna go to the lighthouse?
MS. MIURA
L-lighthouse?
JUNICHI
That’s right! We have to go find out!
Yusuke, silent up until that point, reacts to Minoru’s mention of the word lighthouse.
YUSUKE
...!!
Yusuke begins to run back in the direction they’ve come from.
KAZUHIRO
Hey! Where are you going?!
YUSUKE
(While running)
The lighthouse! That’s where they went. I’m sure of it!!
JUNICHI
Seriously?!
NAZUNA’S MOTHER
You’re sure?
The group takes off after Yusuke. Mr. Mitsuishi and Ms. Miura are left in silence.
MS. MIURA
What on earth? Honestly, those boys…
MR. MITSUISHI
…Huh? Um, Haruko? Was your chest always that small?
MS. MIURA
What?!
MR. MITSUISHI
Uh, by small, I mean, like, were they always kind of…flat like that?
Mr. Mitsuishi reaches out to check Ms. Miura’s chest.
MS. MIURA
What do you think you’re doing, you pervert?!
Ms. Miura slaps Mr. Mitsuishi.
When we reached the top of the slope, the view suddenly expanded before us. The whole beach was visible from the seaside hill where the lighthouse stood. We could see the lights of the vendor stalls set up on the beach for the show and the silhouettes of people passing between them.
Moshimo Island poked out from the inky water. Faint lights on the island illuminated the dark figures of what must have been the fireworks crew.
It seemed they hadn’t started shooting them off yet.
We’d run the whole way from the station and were both out of breath, but we appeared to have shaken off Nazuna’s mother, Yusuke, and the rest of our pursuers. Our ragged breathing was the only sound across the dim hill.
We could have let go of each other’s hands at that point, but neither Nazuna nor I made any motion to do so. I, at least, didn’t want to.
Nazuna’s breathing slowly steadied, and she raised her head.
“Looks like we came, after all.”
“Huh?”
“To see the fireworks display. We’re a little far away, but still…”
“Oh… Yeah, I guess that’s right.”
I’d been preoccupied with my relief that no one else was around, and after everything I’d gone through that day, the fireworks date was the furthest thing from my mind. Nazuna seemed to have forgotten about it until then, too. We looked at each other and chuckled.
“Well, since we’re here, wanna see it from the top?”
“The top?”
I pointed to the lighthouse.
“Huh? The lighthouse? There’s a way to get up there?”
“Yeah.”
I neared the base of the lighthouse, still guiding Nazuna by the hand.
I put my other hand against the small door there and pushed. It opened easily but with a drawn-out metallic screech.
Nazuna hesitantly peered inside.
“Oh, there’s a staircase!”
“It’s a little dark, but it’ll take us all the way to the top.”
“How do you know all this? Have you been inside before?”
“Yeah, I think I have.”
“Do you think it’s okay? The sign says NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I mean, it’s not like we’re unauthorized.”
“What kind of answer is that? That doesn’t even make any sense!” Nazuna laughed as she responded.
Our hands still clasped, we went through the doorway. 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. Nazuna stayed close behind me and matched my pace.
Each time she exhaled, her breath ran across the back of my neck. It was a rush, and it gave me the chills.
From outside the walls, we heard a whistling…then: Boom! Boom-boom!!
“That’s…”
“The show’s started.”
“Sounds like it.”
“Hey, Norimichi…”
“Yeah?”
“Are fireworks round? Or are they flat?”
“Huh?”
“Today, you guys were talking about it in the classroom. Remember?”
“Oh yeah. I guess we were…”
Only four or five hours had passed since then, but it felt like much longer to me—probably because I’d been going back and forth between the same set of hours over and over.
“Well…of course they’re gonna be round.”
“Really?”
Looking back, I had no idea why any of them had been so worked up over an argument about something so obvious. Just like Kazuhiro had said, it was a bunch of powder that exploded outward. It’d look round no matter which direction you saw it from.
A while ago… Well, my mind was so mixed up by that point, I didn’t know exactly when it had happened anymore…but I’d been here with Yusuke and all of them at the top of the lighthouse, and the fireworks we’d seen were flat. But that hadn’t been right. There wasn’t a world where that could happen. That’s why I’d returned to get Nazuna back.
This world was the right one, where Nazuna and I were together, hand in hand. And that meant the fireworks…
“I’m sure of it. They’re definitely round.”
We arrived at the cramped landing at the top of the spiral staircase. We could hear the explosions of the fireworks on the other side of the door leading outside. The sounds were coming closer and closer together. I recalled that last time, the door had been rusted shut.
I didn’t want to let go of Nazuna’s hand, feeling like doing so would somehow imply our separation. But I’d need both hands to get the door open. I untangled my fingers from hers, took a firm grip on the handle, and threw all my weight against the door.
It swung wide-open and sent me sprawling outward.
“Whoa!”
I stumbled forward uncontrollably but instinctively grabbed hold of the railing in front of me. The reaction enabled me to steady myself.
“Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m good.”
Another whistle came from the direction of the beach. We simultaneously turned our attention to the sky. The small trail of a firework streaked straight upward.
A few seconds later, we’d hear it explode and see the big, round shape bloom in the sky. I was sure of it…
Full of confidence, I lifted myself up on the railing. Nazuna was standing to my side. Out of nowhere, I suddenly felt a surge of desire to see what kind of expression she wore as she saw a firework explode. I furtively glanced toward her.
She stood with her eyes transfixed on the sky in front of us. It seemed that even the darkness of night couldn’t hide her radiance. I felt captivated anew by that resilient beauty.
I was also overcome with anxiety. How much time did I have left with her…? The hopes and fears in my mind wrestled endlessly.
Boom! Boom-boom!!
The firework exploded. I saw it reflect across her eye: a beautiful flower bursting forth in her dark irises… Except…something was wrong.
“What…?”
Nazuna was the first to murmur in response.
“Huh?”
I hastily flicked my eyes away from her face and back to the sky… The firework spreading out before us was a shape I’d never seen before: a formless mass worming out in every direction…
What in the world is this…?
There were sparks of all sizes, moving around at different speeds and in different directions through the night sky. They squirmed and wriggled as if the firework had a mind of its own…like a living organism writhing across the sky.
It was neither round nor flat. It was a weird, grotesque shape.
“What…? What is this?”
“It’s really…yucky…”
Nazuna was right. The fireworks weren’t pretty. They weren’t beautiful. The only thing they made me feel was a sickening sensation.
Is it some newly developed kind? Do modern shows use grotesque-looking, writhing fireworks like this…?
I tried to rationalize what I was seeing, but the explosions continued one after another. Every firework was the same: not round, not flat…but like some gross amoeba under a microscope.
“Nazuna…”
“Huh?”
“It’s not right… This world we’re in. It isn’t the right one…”
The first time I’d thrown the mysterious orb, I’d come with Yusuke to the lighthouse, and the fireworks we’d seen had been…
Fireworks in that world had been flat. I’d seen them and sensed that wasn’t the way things were supposed to be. So I’d thrown the orb again. The fireworks I was seeing now with Nazuna were supposed to be round… They had to be round.
We were supposed to be back in the normal world. The right world. The world where fireworks were round.
“Fireworks aren’t supposed to look like this…”
It was all I could manage to say as we continued to stare at the grotesque shapes spreading across the sky.
I’d been able to get Nazuna back, like I’d wished for in the previous world. But these weird fireworks seemed to be mocking me, telling me I hadn’t really accomplished my goal.
Did this mean that the actions I’d taken were wrong? Was this moment shared with Nazuna not meant to be?
I felt something brush against the fingers of my left hand. I looked down and saw both of Nazuna’s hands reaching for mine. My hand had been hanging limply at my side. Nazuna softly enclosed it.
“I don’t care…”
“Huh?”
“If they’re round, or flat, or weird like this.”
“…”
Nazuna had been looking down at my hand as she held it. She raised her eyes, and reflected in them was my frustrated expression.
She fixed her eyes firmly on mine and whispered, “If it means I can be together with you, then I don’t care how they look…”
There was no trace of hesitation in those eyes.
I felt like I should say something and searched for the right words, but I failed to come up with anything. It felt like Nazuna’s eyes would draw me in and sweep me away to another place.
The corners of Nazuna’s lips rose slightly.
I felt the muscles of my own face relax, too. We continued staring at each other, smiles on our faces.
Nazuna might not have felt like the world we were in was strange. Maybe I was the only one who was aware of its peculiarity. But her words told me it didn’t matter anymore.
As long as I can be with her, even this strange world is—
Just as the thought occurred to me, we heard a shout.
“They’re here!”
A voice I’d heard before ripped through the moment we shared.
I leaned out over the railing and peered below. A line of people was heading toward us. Junichi was at its head, with the rest of my friends, Nazuna’s mother, and the man trailing behind. They had reached the top of the slope and were now running across the hill toward the lighthouse.
Immediately behind Junichi was Yusuke, who was glaring in our direction.
“What are you two doing?!”
“Nazuna!!”
Kazuhiro’s shout and Nazuna’s mother’s shrill cry came in chorus.
“Nazuna! What on earth are you doing?! Get down from there!!” the woman continued.
I’d heard that voice over and over during the day, but it seemed to have reached a new, frantic peak.
“Hey! Norimichi!!”
“What are you doing up there?!!”
“Nazuna!!”
“Get down here! It’s not safe up there!!”
“How’d you guys even get up there?!!”
“Guys, look! The door over here’s open!”
A flurry of voices intertwined. I wasn’t sure who was saying what, but I knew the last voice had been Minoru’s. He was at the base of the lighthouse, pulling on the door we’d left half-ajar. He peered inside.
“Hey! There’s a staircase!”
Yusuke’s reaction to Minoru’s discovery was immediate.
He’d been watching Nazuna and me as he stood slightly apart from Junichi and the others. He turned toward the door and broke into a run. Nazuna’s mother wasn’t far behind. I saw the two disappear into the lighthouse.
“Yusuke, wait up!!”
Junichi, the rest of the boys, and the man all began running toward the door, too. The cacophony of angry shouts ended, but it was quickly replaced with the sounds of footsteps racing up the spiral staircase—and growing closer.
“What do we do…? Norimichi, what are we going to do…?” Nazuna’s unease spilled out.
“…”
Dammit. So even in this world, things end the same.
It didn’t matter whether the fireworks were round, flat, or just plain weird. In none of the worlds were Nazuna and I able to be together. It was obvious to me we’d never be able to run away or elope. At most, we could have this one day together… Eventually, I’d have to go home, and Nazuna would have to…
Can’t we at least be together until the end of the fireworks display…?!
If only my eyes hadn’t met Yusuke’s when the train rolled through the crossing… If only Nazuna’s mother hadn’t been chasing us in her car… If only, if only things hadn’t been like that…!!
“Nazuna… Let’s go to a world where we can be alone.”
As I spoke, I pulled the wishing orb from my pocket.
“Here I go.”
“Huh?”
My right hand clenched the orb hard. My left clasped Nazuna’s fingers.
This time, I’d take us to a world where it’d just be the two of us.
“If… If only…”
Another grotesque firework bloomed in the night sky. I aimed straight for it, pulling my right arm back behind my head.
“If only! If only Yusuke and Nazuna’s mo—”
Slam!
Just as the wishing orb flew from my hand, the door behind us swung wide open.
“Norimichi!!”
Yusuke jumped through and slammed into the two of us full force.
“!!!”
The shock of Yusuke’s body sent Nazuna and me flailing forward. I reached my right hand out, trying to grab on to the railing, but the momentum carried us too far forward. My hand closed around nothing but air.
“Oh no…”
The world spun around me. In the next moment, I was in a free fall.
Nazuna and I were still linked, clinging to each other’s hands. We were headed straight for the stretch of ocean just below the lighthouse…
Ahhhhh!! Are we gonna die?! Are we going to fall into the ocean and die?!
The jet-black ocean rushed closer at blinding speed.
I pulled my face upward, resisting the inevitable. My eyes caught sight of the orb—it was still flying straight toward the firework.
I remembered that I’d begun my wish, and I shouted out with every ounce of air in my lungs.
“If only! If only Nazuna and I could be together!!”