A Bus To Paradise
H was mumbling about other people's problems as he gazed at the scenery he could see from the shop window.
"As for her crying, she's so warmhearted..."
On an early summer dusk, me and H were seated opposite each other in chairs of a coffee shop on the city outskirts, talking about such things as current circumstances and memories of our time as students.
At that time, it wasn't that the two of us had a particularly good relationship, but we thus had a reason to sit face to face and chat. I was employed at a humble magazine editing company, for which our most recent boom that came this summer was ghost stories. As we were putting together what we call the "Scary Talk" feature, all of the staff tried contacting our friends and acquaintances to gather story material. Surprisingly, I didn't come across any of those kinds of experiences no matter where I went and which people I met. A younger female friend told me that when she was sorting through stories, there was just one that seemed to have been categorized as an urban legend, though she couldn't guarantee that it was a real personal experience with credibility. Troubled, I had pulled a high school photo album that was covered in dust from the bookshelf in my own room, and despite being bothersome, I systematically called everyone in it. Since H had told me he had a recent strange experience, we therefore set up a time for which I could collect information from him.
To get to the point, H left a light impression on me. From what I remember his nickname was "Mecha", and as per that name he had a gloomy atmosphere with meagre facial expressions. The pubescent boy was always in the corner of the classroom, engrossed in reading books with titles that were difficult to understand, and I couldn't even remember hearing the sound of his voice. Hearing H on the other end of the phone line he sounded awfully energetic and happy, so I was pretty taken aback. But now that sunny smile of his was very pleasant. The story that H told me is as follows. I think I want to tell only the readers here...
H lost his mother when he was in grade school, he graduated high school and moved to Tokyo since then, and was living with his father until he could find employment. His father, since he was working to support H, was very busy and tended to be absent from home, so naturally it was because H had nobody to talk to that he became withdrawn. He was often facing his computer or meaningless games, and from early on had his sights set on a career down that road. However, after he entered middle school, H had a bad experience with bullying which was a dark shadow burdening him, and he became even more of an introverted character. He had the wrong impression that his reason for being this way was the fault of his parents, and even now he bears resentment to his father and even his mother who is hazy in his memories. Because of his desire to get away from that place soon, when H completed middle school and wanted to go to a high school in Tokyo he told his father about it, but his wish was simply rejected. He entered a high school in his hometown instead, and while he acquired Computing Informations knowledge by self-tutoring he also had a full-time job. H was saving money to go to Tokyo on his own, and for some time he was trying to find employment with a certain famous internet enterprise that he had aspired for.
But no matter how much knowledge he had to be able to do his job, that was a workplace which was organized by humans. H wasn't very good at having discussions and associating with other people, so as you'd expect he didn't even fit in at his workplace and spent his days in low spirits. Nevertheless, he worked earnestly for a period of ten years while he was keeping the balance of his own mind, but he made some trivial mistakes and the people around him poured forth their blame at critical moments. In the end, the fact is that he resigned from the company. After that, he didn't have the mood to search for the next job opening.
And then H, who spent every day shut up in his own room, received a phonecall from a hospital in his hometown. It seemed that his father was hospitalized for some reason and they wouldn't tell H the details of his condition, but they wanted him to come at once. It was his father who he neglected for 10 years after he ran from home of his own accord, so he couldn't be very enthusiastic because of his guilty conscience, but since he had no relatives other than his father, he'd have to return home for now.
H took a train for 2 hours, and took a bus 30 minutes from there to get to his hometown.
He thought vaguely about what would happen afterward while he was rocked by the train, and two hours passed in the blink of an eye. He left the station and immediately walked to the bus stop in front of him. The bus stop location hadn't changed at all since ten years ago, and the same schedule that was almost too rusted to see was stuck there. He checked the time for a bus to the hospital, and still had a considerable amount of time to wait.
As H reluctantly sat on a bench, a voice raised beside him. "Weather's nice, isn't it?"
He looked, and there was a woman in a straw hat sitting alone and holding a handkerchief. He couldn't see her face because of the hat, but she seemed to be a little older than himself, judging by the tone of her voice. H ignored her, thinking that she was talking to herself. Then that woman opened her mouth and began a monologue.
"The day that child was born was a sunny day like this too, you know. Yes, the child cried often, and even now when he doesn't cry, I worry and worry. No matter what, I can't part from here... I think I'll leave here many times, but as you'd expect I come back here and worry..."
Perhaps she had divorced or something and had left behind a child?　Whatever circumstances there were, now it seemed like she couldn't spend time with that child. H understood that she was talking to herself, but didn't know whether it was okay to respond.
Then that woman turned to H and started to talk once again.
"I am bad... I left that child behind when he was still young... Fortunately that child has grown into an adult after having worked hard, but you know, from now on I won't bother that child, it could harm the adult's health and besides, I have no other relatives... I depend on that boy you know..."
Having heard that much, H lifted his head, recalling some kind of noisy feeling in his chest. He turned to face that woman, saying "Um..."
But at the same time, he saw the woman's face as she lifted the visor of her straw hat, and her right hand froze along with the words she said to him.
"Now... you're okay, right? I'm glad you've become handsome... I have a wish for the person you are, okay? Support me from now on. I won't go anymore..." Saying that, the woman stood up and put her foot onto the step of the bus that had just arrived. She turned back one more time, and this time faced H and spoke to him clearly. "Welcome home."
As she said that with a smile, her face was unmistakeably that of the mother whom H had lost when he was in grade school. The bus was going further away, and H couldn't understand the situation that had happened just now. When he unintentionally dropped his gaze, the ground was getting wet. H touched his cheek, and felt that the ice accumulated in his heart over many years was finally melting...
H said that even now he doesn't understand what that incident was, as he concluded the story with a very relieved smile. It seemed that on weekends he would pack his bags and return to his parents' place, doing a job on the Internet while taking care of his father.
Of course I would have put this story in our magazine after I had worried, but even the editor-in-chief was silent. After all, I couldn't complete it for the deadline so I received a huge scolding, but I thought that was fine. Because somehow or other, I was keeping to myself in my heart.
Without taking notice of H after this point, I think I can obtain that which I had been losing sight of.
Well, summer's coming!
"As for her crying, she's so warmhearted..."
On an early summer dusk, me and H were seated opposite each other in chairs of a coffee shop on the city outskirts, talking about such things as current circumstances and memories of our time as students.
At that time, it wasn't that the two of us had a particularly good relationship, but we thus had a reason to sit face to face and chat. I was employed at a humble magazine editing company, for which our most recent boom that came this summer was ghost stories. As we were putting together what we call the "Scary Talk" feature, all of the staff tried contacting our friends and acquaintances to gather story material. Surprisingly, I didn't come across any of those kinds of experiences no matter where I went and which people I met. A younger female friend told me that when she was sorting through stories, there was just one that seemed to have been categorized as an urban legend, though she couldn't guarantee that it was a real personal experience with credibility. Troubled, I had pulled a high school photo album that was covered in dust from the bookshelf in my own room, and despite being bothersome, I systematically called everyone in it. Since H had told me he had a recent strange experience, we therefore set up a time for which I could collect information from him.
To get to the point, H left a light impression on me. From what I remember his nickname was "Mecha", and as per that name he had a gloomy atmosphere with meagre facial expressions. The pubescent boy was always in the corner of the classroom, engrossed in reading books with titles that were difficult to understand, and I couldn't even remember hearing the sound of his voice. Hearing H on the other end of the phone line he sounded awfully energetic and happy, so I was pretty taken aback. But now that sunny smile of his was very pleasant. The story that H told me is as follows. I think I want to tell only the readers here...
H lost his mother when he was in grade school, he graduated high school and moved to Tokyo since then, and was living with his father until he could find employment. His father, since he was working to support H, was very busy and tended to be absent from home, so naturally it was because H had nobody to talk to that he became withdrawn. He was often facing his computer or meaningless games, and from early on had his sights set on a career down that road. However, after he entered middle school, H had a bad experience with bullying which was a dark shadow burdening him, and he became even more of an introverted character. He had the wrong impression that his reason for being this way was the fault of his parents, and even now he bears resentment to his father and even his mother who is hazy in his memories. Because of his desire to get away from that place soon, when H completed middle school and wanted to go to a high school in Tokyo he told his father about it, but his wish was simply rejected. He entered a high school in his hometown instead, and while he acquired Computing Informations knowledge by self-tutoring he also had a full-time job. H was saving money to go to Tokyo on his own, and for some time he was trying to find employment with a certain famous internet enterprise that he had aspired for.
But no matter how much knowledge he had to be able to do his job, that was a workplace which was organized by humans. H wasn't very good at having discussions and associating with other people, so as you'd expect he didn't even fit in at his workplace and spent his days in low spirits. Nevertheless, he worked earnestly for a period of ten years while he was keeping the balance of his own mind, but he made some trivial mistakes and the people around him poured forth their blame at critical moments. In the end, the fact is that he resigned from the company. After that, he didn't have the mood to search for the next job opening.
And then H, who spent every day shut up in his own room, received a phonecall from a hospital in his hometown. It seemed that his father was hospitalized for some reason and they wouldn't tell H the details of his condition, but they wanted him to come at once. It was his father who he neglected for 10 years after he ran from home of his own accord, so he couldn't be very enthusiastic because of his guilty conscience, but since he had no relatives other than his father, he'd have to return home for now.
H took a train for 2 hours, and took a bus 30 minutes from there to get to his hometown.
He thought vaguely about what would happen afterward while he was rocked by the train, and two hours passed in the blink of an eye. He left the station and immediately walked to the bus stop in front of him. The bus stop location hadn't changed at all since ten years ago, and the same schedule that was almost too rusted to see was stuck there. He checked the time for a bus to the hospital, and still had a considerable amount of time to wait.
As H reluctantly sat on a bench, a voice raised beside him. "Weather's nice, isn't it?"
He looked, and there was a woman in a straw hat sitting alone and holding a handkerchief. He couldn't see her face because of the hat, but she seemed to be a little older than himself, judging by the tone of her voice. H ignored her, thinking that she was talking to herself. Then that woman opened her mouth and began a monologue.
"The day that child was born was a sunny day like this too, you know. Yes, the child cried often, and even now when he doesn't cry, I worry and worry. No matter what, I can't part from here... I think I'll leave here many times, but as you'd expect I come back here and worry..."
Perhaps she had divorced or something and had left behind a child?　Whatever circumstances there were, now it seemed like she couldn't spend time with that child. H understood that she was talking to herself, but didn't know whether it was okay to respond.
Then that woman turned to H and started to talk once again.
"I am bad... I left that child behind when he was still young... Fortunately that child has grown into an adult after having worked hard, but you know, from now on I won't bother that child, it could harm the adult's health and besides, I have no other relatives... I depend on that boy you know..."
Having heard that much, H lifted his head, recalling some kind of noisy feeling in his chest. He turned to face that woman, saying "Um..."
But at the same time, he saw the woman's face as she lifted the visor of her straw hat, and her right hand froze along with the words she said to him.
"Now... you're okay, right? I'm glad you've become handsome... I have a wish for the person you are, okay? Support me from now on. I won't go anymore..." Saying that, the woman stood up and put her foot onto the step of the bus that had just arrived. She turned back one more time, and this time faced H and spoke to him clearly. "Welcome home."
As she said that with a smile, her face was unmistakeably that of the mother whom H had lost when he was in grade school. The bus was going further away, and H couldn't understand the situation that had happened just now. When he unintentionally dropped his gaze, the ground was getting wet. H touched his cheek, and felt that the ice accumulated in his heart over many years was finally melting...
H said that even now he doesn't understand what that incident was, as he concluded the story with a very relieved smile. It seemed that on weekends he would pack his bags and return to his parents' place, doing a job on the Internet while taking care of his father.
Of course I would have put this story in our magazine after I had worried, but even the editor-in-chief was silent. After all, I couldn't complete it for the deadline so I received a huge scolding, but I thought that was fine. Because somehow or other, I was keeping to myself in my heart.
Without taking notice of H after this point, I think I can obtain that which I had been losing sight of.
Well, summer's coming!