Chapter 3: The Chimes of Midnight (1) |
《Sorry to call so late,》 the call from Eina came on the Friday night, the night before my birthday, 《I wanted to talk about tomorrow.》
“Sure.”
《First are the things you need to take…》
“I need to take things? Don’t I just need my phone?”
《A spade is just as important.》
“Why?”
《Fufufu, it’s a secret. And as far as when goes, would the afternoon be okay?》
“That’s fine, let’s go after we’ve both eaten.”
《Eating while we were on the phone would be a little rude,》 we laughed together, 《So for the place… would in front of C Station be okay? That’s not too far from you, is it?》
《I already told you that it’s a secret.》
“That just makes me more curious.”
《You’ll understand tomorr… Ah, happy birthday!》
“Eh?” I looked at the clock and saw that the hand had ticked past midnight, “Thank you.”
It was the first time I’d been speaking with someone when my birthday arrived. When the date changed, I was normally lying dreaming in my room.
My chest feels kind of warm.
And thus, I turned seventeen.
＊
As I stood in front of C Station the next day, my phone buzzed in my grip.
“Hello,” I said into the headset microphone.
《Hello, Shuu-san.》
My heart began to race as I heard her voice from the earphones. I was already used to her voice, but hearing it directly in my ear made it seem like we were huddled together.
“…Hey,” I calmed myself so it wouldn’t show in my voice and gave a simple greeting.
We set off about the town. We went to a bookstore first, we’d chosen a famous place, on the top floor of a big department store.
“You read fairy tales, right, Eina?”
《I do, I love them!》
“Do you have any recommendations?”
《Let’s see, one that I can think of that would still be sold in five years is…》 she recited the name of a famous fairy tale picture book, 《but you’ve already read it, right?》
“I might have read it when I was small. Well, since I’m here, I’ll buy it.”
《Then do you have any recommendations?》
“Maybe The Door into Summer?” I suggested.
《Ah, I haven’t read that! I haven’t heard of it either,》 that was unexpected, 《I wonder if it’s in the library…》
“It’s famous, so they should have it?”
I wondered why she wasn’t buying it.
《Ah, I do know that buying it is better, but, um, I don’t have much money I can use freely…》
“Ah, that’s fine, right?”
Everyone had their own circumstances, so I didn’t ask any more than that.
We carried on and were going to go and look at clothes.
《Let’s go to Proca then!》
Proca was a chain of fashion boutiques that were spreading throughout the country.
But…
“Eh, Proca…?”
I tilted my head, questioning if there was a Proca around here and then immediately realised that there was in Eina’s time, but not in mine.
“Ahh, it’s a bit hard to say, but there’s no Proca here.”
《There’s not? Eh!? They closed down!?》
“Yeah.”
《No way… I dreamed of going to Proca to buy things with my friends…》
“Sorry.”
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for crushing her hopes.
《No, it’s okay, I can go to a different town to go to a Proca. But… what a shame… I really wanted to go to Proca with you and look at the clothes, have some tea in their cafe and do a lot…》
“That’s a shame… let’s go for some tea for now.”
I was slightly uneasy that the cafe would have gone as well.
We went into a suitable cafe chain. We went to the same place, but the name had changed. I bought a coffee to go and sat on a bench in a nearby plaza.
“A lot changes in five years, huh?”
《Everything changing makes me feel a bit lonely.》
“There are things that haven’t changed.”
《Like what?》
“Hmm, C Station’s name?”
《That changing wouldn’t really matter.》
“True.”
《Ah, that’s right. Speaking of things that don’t change… Shuu-san, why was Cinderella’s glass slipper left behind?》 I didn’t really know what she was asking, so I was slow to reply, so Eina explained, 《It was because the spell would break with the chimes of midnight, right? Cinderella was always wearing tatty clothes, so wouldn’t her glass slipper have turned back into a normal one?》
That’s right actually.
“I’d never thought about it.”
《I’ve always been curious about it. I’ve got a feeling that it wasn’t by chance.》
“Maybe the prince’s feelings kept the magic?” That was my first, simplest thought, “From the point of view of the prince, Cinderella suddenly disappearing would have been a tragedy. Right? The person he thought was the only one for him vanished, so his feelings of wanting to meet her again might have reached the glass slipper?”
However, when I finished, I began to think that that might have really been the case. I mean, if I was the prince… Eina would have been my Cinderella then.
I’m sure it was painful. If I couldn’t message and talk to Eina, I’m not sure I’d recover.
《You’re surprisingly romantic, aren’t you?》
“Disappointed?”
《No, it’s wonderful. Hmm, the prince’s feelings huh? Cinderella would be happy to meet someone that loved her so much.》
We wandered around the town for a while. Walking around and talking to Eina was fun, but I ended up thinking about what would happen if we really met…
We’d meet in front of the station, I’d say ‘Hey,’ and she’d reply with ‘Hello’. Then we’d walk off together, we’d walk around town for a while and go to a cafe. Eina likes sweet things, so she might ask for a parfait or something. It might be nice to go to karaoke after that. What kind of songs would she sing?
I want to go around bookstores and talk about popular books with her. Not over the phone, but with the girl in front of me.
All of that is far away from us though.
《Shuu-san? What’s wrong, you went quiet.》
Eina’s voice brought me back to myself. We’d come to a high spot and were looking over the view.
“Ah, sorry, I was just thinking.”
《Jeez, don’t go off on your own, it makes me lonely,》 she was pretending to be angry, but it wasn’t scary at all, 《if you do that, I won’t give you your present.》
“…Present?”
《Curious?》
“Yeah… Wait, how?”
《Fufufu, dig under that tree, by the base of the biggest one.》
I followed her instructions and used the spade to dig.
The spade hit something with a dull thunk.
I moved the dirt aside and found something that looked like a sweet tin. I picked it up and opened it to see a phone strap inside, with a little, stuffed figure on the end.
The stuffed figure was the demon I had played.
“Did you make this yourself?”
《I did. I’m clumsy, so I’m sorry it’s not very good, but…》
She spoke like she was ducking her head. It was a little misshapen and the stitching was rough. But I could tell this was a gift from the heart.
“Nah, I’m really happy with it. Thank you, I’ll look after it.”
《Ehehe.》
There were five years between us. But even so, we lived on the same planet.