Patrol
A story on a ferry.
I'm still half in doubt about it myself, but I'd say I ought to remember it... was it a ghost that I encountered after all?
We had just finished a live in Tomakomai in Hokkaido, heading toward the harbour as we left the venue, then boarded a ferry going to Hachinohe in Aomori. The boat was crowded, and we were told we couldn't get one of the guest cabins around the perimeter. Then we negotiated for the side of the ship, and we were let into rooms that seemed to rival the driver's exclusive room, with bunk beds. There was a passage between the two parts of the room, and in one part of the room there were 10 pairs of beds provided. The inside was dark such that the drivers would get a restful sleep, and even the doors closed quietly.
I put my luggage on the bed and collapsed down on it, and in the midst of reading I fell asleep from tiredness of having done a live. It was around 2:00 in the morning when I woke up again. Feeling a thirst in my throat, I left my room and was about to buy coffee at a nearby vending machine but just as I was putting the coins in, a lone man passed behind me without a sound. And just like that, the man went into one side of the driver's room.
'There are people awake now~', I was thinking, and as I put my hand into the dispensing slot, I suddenly felt a gaze from the entrance for some reason. The man I just mentioned had come from the door in the front of the room he entered a little while ago.
'How'd he do something like that...' I instinctively stopped my hand and thought about it. As soon as he entered the room, he came out from the room directly opposite? No, impossible. I couldn't help but check all the entrances and exits, and I didn't see him moving from room to room. The strangest thing of all is that I have no idea where the man went after that... I'll write this manuscript on deck at dawn, while I think about it.
Suddenly looked at my watch and it's 4:44. I shivered...
I'm still half in doubt about it myself, but I'd say I ought to remember it... was it a ghost that I encountered after all?
We had just finished a live in Tomakomai in Hokkaido, heading toward the harbour as we left the venue, then boarded a ferry going to Hachinohe in Aomori. The boat was crowded, and we were told we couldn't get one of the guest cabins around the perimeter. Then we negotiated for the side of the ship, and we were let into rooms that seemed to rival the driver's exclusive room, with bunk beds. There was a passage between the two parts of the room, and in one part of the room there were 10 pairs of beds provided. The inside was dark such that the drivers would get a restful sleep, and even the doors closed quietly.
I put my luggage on the bed and collapsed down on it, and in the midst of reading I fell asleep from tiredness of having done a live. It was around 2:00 in the morning when I woke up again. Feeling a thirst in my throat, I left my room and was about to buy coffee at a nearby vending machine but just as I was putting the coins in, a lone man passed behind me without a sound. And just like that, the man went into one side of the driver's room.
'There are people awake now~', I was thinking, and as I put my hand into the dispensing slot, I suddenly felt a gaze from the entrance for some reason. The man I just mentioned had come from the door in the front of the room he entered a little while ago.
'How'd he do something like that...' I instinctively stopped my hand and thought about it. As soon as he entered the room, he came out from the room directly opposite? No, impossible. I couldn't help but check all the entrances and exits, and I didn't see him moving from room to room. The strangest thing of all is that I have no idea where the man went after that... I'll write this manuscript on deck at dawn, while I think about it.
Suddenly looked at my watch and it's 4:44. I shivered...
<Coach's Proposal>
Isshi、your writing style was always solid and hard to read so you amended it considerably. Besides, an explanation is an explanation. It's simple because you didn't present one. However... I did see good things, Isshi. You write things like "after all" but surely, you reasonably thought you saw it...? And what's more, in your own home. Which reminds me, Why is the title "Patrol"? Is "A Chance Encounter" no good? Because you like difficult kanji with a high stroke count. Oh, yes, when you shivered in response to the time at the end, it's abnormally scary to you who likes the numbers 1 and 4, isn't it?Translator notes:
I want to give some context to the story as well as Coach's comment. First of all, Isshi uses some difficult kanji in this, for no reason other than the simple fact that he likes them. Take 'coffee' for instance, usually it's just written with katakana but he wrote '珈琲'! So Kihara suggests that Isshi use the more complicated title 邂逅(kaikou) instead of the simple 巡回 (junkai), because he likes to make things difficult.
Also, the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan because one of its pronunciations is "shi" which is the same as the pronunciation for death. Isshi likes the number 4 because "shi" is also in his name, in a more positive form: will/aspiration.
I want to give some context to the story as well as Coach's comment. First of all, Isshi uses some difficult kanji in this, for no reason other than the simple fact that he likes them. Take 'coffee' for instance, usually it's just written with katakana but he wrote '珈琲'! So Kihara suggests that Isshi use the more complicated title 邂逅(kaikou) instead of the simple 巡回 (junkai), because he likes to make things difficult.
Also, the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan because one of its pronunciations is "shi" which is the same as the pronunciation for death. Isshi likes the number 4 because "shi" is also in his name, in a more positive form: will/aspiration.
~Sparrow