Translation by Emi (emichansribon@yahoo.com)
 
Published: April 2001 Ribon
 
Words in () are descriptions
Words in [] are actions
Narration is by Shouko unless otherwise noted.
 
Kaihou Meiro
by Kitazawa Kaoru
 
---
 
(In a forest)
Narration: Now that I think of it, that was a
maze I wasn't supposed to set foot in.
Voice: Haven't seen you around before.
(Shouko is sitting by a shady tree folding paper
aeroplanes)
[Shouko looks up]
Voice: Can I fly these?
[A guy, the owner of the voice, picks them up]
Shouko: Hey...
(Paper aeroplane flies off)
Guy: Flies pretty well... [grins] These "worksheets".
Narration: My first impression was that he was
"annoying".
Shouko: [frowns] Sarcasm, huh?
 
[At home, Shouko is soaking her feet in a bucket of
water.]
Shouko: It's cold...
Narration: I can hear the cicadas. In this countryside
with neverending skies, that is where I met him.
Shouko's mum: Shouko-chan, where have you been? I was
so worried.
(Shouko doesn't reply)
Shouko's mum: [sighs] Just because summer school's
finished, doesn't mean you can spend your time lazying
about. You understand, don't you?
Shouko: ... Ye-s.
Shouko's mum: It's okay to relax since this is your
first visit to your grandmother's house, but make sure
you do what you have to do.
[Shouko looks at her reflection in the mirror]
Shouko: I know.
Narration: It was the first time I had experienced
exams and the study involved. I had my parent's
expectations on me. What I knew was that I was cramming
all this knowledge in for the freedom of next year.
I knew that it was all that this was about.
 
[Shouko is walking through the forest and meets the guy
from before]
Shouko: What are you doing?
Guy: Can't you see? I'm fishing.
(He has a bucket full of crayfish)
Shouko: They look like crayfish.
Guy: It's still called fishing. Fishing is great, it's
the best way to kill time.
Shouko: (small print) How lonesome.
Guy: Well, not like there's anything else to do in this
vast place full of paddocks.
Shouko: ... Hey, you sound normal. You sounded more
sarcastic before.
Guy: Yeah well, when you see someone from the city making
paper aeroplanes in an empty place, you kinda want to
say something.
(Shouko and the guy fall silent)
Shouko: (closing eyes) .... It's a nice place, isn't it?
Guy: Yeah, it might be just right for someone like you
with a face that looks dead. What's your name?
(Shouko stares at him)
Shouko: ... Oh.. Shouko. You write it like "glass" but
read it as "Shouko".
Guy: I see. I'm Michinari.
Michinari: Come over if you're bored. I'll be someone
you can talk to.
Shouko: Okay..
Narration: I nodded automatically. From that day on,
I spent every day with Michinari.
 
(Shouko's grandmother's house)
Shouko: I'm going!
[Shouko's mum opens her room door]
Shouko's mum: Shouko-chan, how's your study going?
[Sees empty room]
Shouko's mum: Shouko-chan...?
(Shouko is meeting up with Michinari)
 
(Shouko and Michinari are sitting in the forest)
Michinari: Is it fun, in the city?
Shouko: Hmmmm... It's fun but not fun...
Michinari: Which one is it?
(Flashback of a bad test paper)
Narration: Sometimes, the concrete buildingd look like
a forest. It crowds in on you and it's cold. The
difference is in the way it doesn't feel like it's
healing you. You feel suffocated.
Michinari: ... Oi, don't go trippy on me. You look like
a moron when you're staring vacantly like that.
Shouko: [annoyed] Hey! That is so rude.
Shouko: So I'm not a pretty face like you. My skin's not
smooth or anything.
Michinari: Probably 'cos I don't sleep late. If you don't
like it, why don't you quit exams and live here?
Shouko: Don't say impossible things.
Michinari: [looking slightly dissappointed] ... Just as
I thought. So it is impossible.
[Shouko stares]
Shouko: Michinari... If I went back to Tokyo, would you
miss me?
Michinari: [Jokingly] Whaat? Nah, not really. I mean,
you are a kid afterall.
(Author's note: Michinari is 18 and Shouko is 15)
Michinari: [smiles] ... Just kidding. That's a lie.
Shouko: [crying] Okay.
Narration: I wonder what my tears meant when I cried
that time. And then, as if it were neverending, the
Summer days passed. It was a time I could forget everything.
[Shouko & Michinari spend time in the forest]
 
Narration: I wished the end would never come. I probably
wasn't being selfish, thinking that.
Michinari: Shouko. When are you leaving?
Shouko: Tomorrow.
Michinari: Okay.
[They look at each other silently]
Narration: I could feel that our hands were hot and
the sweat on our palms.
[Michinari & Shouko hold hands]
 
[Shouko is sitting outside staring at the fireflies]
Shouko's mum: So it's the final night. It was fairly
short, wasn't it. Were you able to relax?
Shouko: ... Yeah.
[Shouko's mum puts a mosquito repelling incense coil out]
Shouko's mum: I was worried about what you were doing,
but it seems to have been a good thing that I brought
you here. When you pass your exams, we can come back.
Shouko: [cries] Okay.
Narration: This feeling is probably love. But I could
just be wanting to run away. But....
 
(In the middle of the night)
Shouko: [thinks] I can't sleep.
[Gets up and stretches]
[She walks to the forest]
Shouko: [thinks] As if anyone is going to be here at
this time...
[She stares]
[Michinari is fishing]
Shouko: Hey... What are you doing?
[Notices a pack of dried squid]
Shouko: Dried squid! You're thinking of crayfishing
again, aren't you?
Michinari: Yeah, but you can't catch a thing at night.
[Shouko's heart beats faster]
Shouko: ... You look pretty, Michinari. You look twice
as pretty as during the day.
Michinari: ... I don't appreciate that comment. But,
you look decent too, Shouko.
Shouko: [thinks] That's not much of a compliment.
Michinari: Well, you look like a girl at least. When
you go back to your place, don't forget about me. You can
brag to all your friends about a guy as beautiful as
the moonlight.
Shouko: [laughs] Don't talk so highly of yourself.
[Michinari smiles as he sees Shouko smiling]
Michinari: You're able to smile now. When I first saw
you, I wondered why you had such a depressed look. I was
thinking whether something had happened and then when I
realised, I think I was always thinking about you. Maybe
I liked you.
[Shouko stares at him]
Narration: He said it with that same sad face as before.
Shouko: ... Yeah.
[Shouko's mum is calling her]
Michinari: You're mum's calling you.
Shouko: Oh, damn, I must have been found out.
[They start to part]
[Shouko begins to cry]
Shouko: Michinari... Give me something to remember you
by.
Narration: Now that I think of it, that was my last
resort. I had to say it. It was the only way I knew
to bring our feelings together...
[Michinari kisses Shouko]
Narration: Until the day we meet again.
 
(The day Shouko is leaving)
Shouko's mum: Shouko-chan! Are you ready?
Shouko: Ye-s!
[Shouko looks out and smiles]
Shouko: Farewell! My countryside!
Shouko's mum: (small print) Hurry up, love!
Shouko: (small print) Sorry!
[Shouko sees Michinari]
Narration: It was late summer. I could hear the cicadas.
In this countryside with neverending skies, maybe once
again...
[Shouko squeezes his hand as she walks by him]
[Michinari smiles to himself]
[Shouko smiles as she walks away]
Shouko: Mu-m! I'm going to try my very best for my exams,
okay?
 
THE END