Chapter 1: Eina (7) |
The station was filled with people, possibly because it was Saturday. The place was clean and tidy since it had been refitted two years ago, and was perfect for watching for people.
I arrived at the ticket barrier ten minutes before we’d agreed to meet.
Shuu: I got here a bit early. I’m in front of the pillar. I’m wearing a black coat and jeans, I’m in my teens.
Eina: Me too. The pillar…? Ummm, where?
Shuu: In front of the ticket gates. Just on your right on the way out.
Eina: The right… can you put your hand up?
I put my hand up like she asked.
Shuu: It’s up.
Eina: Huh, where are you?
Eina: I’ve got a light knitted shirt, a pair of culottes, and sandals. My hair’s straight and I’m in my teens.
I looked around. I saw plenty of girls in their teens, but no one looking around.
Shuu: That’s weird. Not the private station, right?
Eina: Nope~
Shuu: Guessed so. Then go to the ticket machine, I’ll go too.
Eina: Right, I’m here.
She wasn’t there.
Eina: It’s hard to find people when it’s being renovated.
I frowned.
Shuu: Renovated? That already finished right?
Eina: Eh? They said it would take three more years, didn’t they?
Shuu: …
Eina: …
She was probably messing with me, or was somewhere else with the same name.
There was only one station called C Station in Chiba though.
Then I remembered the timestamp on her file, xx/09/2013. It was 2018 now so it was exactly five years ago.
The renovations had finished two years ago, so the time matched with Eina saying it would take ‘three more years’.
Shuu: Could you send a picture of the front of the station.
Eina: Got it.
My phone chimed as it arrived. It was covered in building barriers, so right in the middle of being renovated.
I’m being tricked.
You could fake this kind of thing easily. For instance, if you took the initial messages to me as ‘a girl living in 2013’ it would be simple to follow on from that.
But for some reason, I couldn’t doubt Eina. Was she really someone who would tell such a lie?
So—
Shuu: Eina, what year is it?
Eina: Eh? Why?
She responded with the obvious question.
Shuu: I’ll explain later, tell me?
Eina: It’s 2013…
I read ‘2013’ over and over again. There was no mistake.
Maybe it’s a lie.
But I wanted to believe her, so… I spoke honestly.
Shuu: Don’t be too surprised, it’s 2018 for me.
There was no response for a while.
Eina: That’s… I can’t believe it.
Shuu: Nor can I.
8
I went to a nearby park, sat on a bench, and called Eina. It was getting annoying talking via text.
《Hello, it’s Eina.》
She answered right away.
“It’s Shuu. Is it really 2013 for you? You’re not tricking me, right?”
I asked bluntly.
《What good does tricking you do me?》
She sounded upset. I could imagine a high schooler pouting at me.
“Maybe you’re a classmate and you had to prank me for some kind of punishment game.”
《You’re thinking too much. Besides, I’d have already shouted ‘pranked’ and the others would have appeared by now, right? I wouldn’t need to carry on, would I?》 That was true. 《I thought you might be tricking me too, but I couldn’t think of any reason for you to, so I thought I should accept it as the truth.》
“Is it possible to talk to someone five years in the past though?”
《Whether it’s possible or not, we at least can’t meet and talk.》
I took out the book from my bag and looked down at it.
I wouldn’t be able to give this to Eina then.
That was a shame… I could make it into a PDF and send it? It might not be like having the real thing, but it was better than nothing.
As those thoughts went through my head, I realised something.
“No, we can meet.”
《Eh, but we’re living at different times?》
“I can meet you from five years later. Of course, you have to wait for that, sorry.”
It wasn’t a hundred or two hundred years, but just five. Of course, in five years a high schooler like me would be an adult, so it was a long time, but not so long that we had to give up on meeting. Or so it shouldn’t have been, but for some reason, Eina was silent.
“Eina?”
After a while, Eina spoke quietly.
《…If I tell you to stop, will you hate me?》
“Eh, of course not…”
《Sorry, I’m being selfish.》
She seemed to slump over the phone.
I panicked at the change from her usual bright attitude.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, I’m sorry for bringing it up.”
《No, I’m in the wrong. I really do want to meet you.》
My heart sped up as she said that.
《But I’m scared. Scared to know my future. I mean…》
Eina’s voice dropped, and she whispered.
《What if I’m dead after five years?》
It felt like I’d been stabbed at her quiet words.
Eina… dying?
“Are you… ill?”
《Eh? No, I’m not. I’m just talking hypothetically. If I died, that’s fine. I might have met with some horrible fate. There are lots of things worse than death.》
She said it hypothetically.
She wasn’t wrong, anyone’s life could change drastically every day. But most people lived with a vague sense they would still be here the next day, the day after that… and even five or ten years later.
People could live a normal life because they didn’t doubt that. But Eina had said she might die.
Why?
What would make her say that…?
《I’m sure that if something terrible had happened to me in the future, you’d hide it. But I might be able to tell from your voice, and I’m scared of that. I’m sorry.》
But I didn’t ask what her situation was, or why she was so pessimistic.
She was actually thinking about suicide when we first talked.
It probably wasn’t unrelated.
But I couldn’t ask, there was still too much distance between us. I didn’t know if I could ask such a probing question to someone I’d never even seen before.
“Okay, then let’s keep talking, Eina.”
《Yes! Let’s!》
I spoke as brightly as I could, and possibly because of that, Eina’s voice was energetic again.
I let out a sigh.
9
While I was lying around in my room that night, a message came from Eina.
Eina: Can I call you now?
Shuu: Sure.
The call soon came through.
“Hello.”
《Hello, Shuu-san? It’s Eina, I’m sorry to call so late.》
She wasn’t just saying it by rote, it seemed just like her.
“Don’t worry about it. Tomorrow is a holiday. So, what’s up?”
《I was thinking. We should have some rules since I am from five years in the past.》
“Rules?”
I frowned.
《Yes, rules to avoid influencing the past. I think not changing the past as much as possible is for the best. It comes up a lot in Sci-Fi, right?》
“That’s true. So wouldn’t talking to me like this count?”
《That’s what I mean by as much as possible. A small impact should be alright, but a big change might make the universe explode or something.》
I had heard that kind of thing before.
《First of all, as much as you can, don’t tell me anything about the future.》
Well, that’s pretty basic.
Hmm? Wait a minute.
“If I tell you what companies did well, you can get rich, right? Then you can split it with me later…”
《Shuu-san! That’s the worst thing you could say!》
“I’m joking.”
《Mgh!》
I laughed, but it seemed like she was pouting on the other end of the phone.
“I’m sorry.”
《It’s not a laughing matter. We have to be careful with things that can make money. I’d prefer it if you didn’t even tell me what products are popular in five years.》
“Roger that.”
《Also… we shouldn’t talk too much about me.》
“Why?”
《If you know things about me, you might change the future me somehow, right?》
“That’s true. I won’t ask as much as possible.”
《Now that I think about it, it’s mostly me telling you to be careful, I’m sorry.》
“There’s no avoiding it, I’m the one in the future.”
《I should be able to tell you about the past, so if there’s anything you want to know, let me know.》
“Like what?”
《Umm, like what Chiba was like five years ago?》
“I doubt it will have changed that much in five years.”
《That’s true.》
She seemed somewhat disheartened.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m in the future, so you can’t change it.”
《You’re kind, thank y-》
Beeeep.
Suddenly, the call cut off.
“Eina?”
I called back, but it didn’t connect.
After ten minutes, a call came from her.
《I’m sorry, Shuu-san.》
“It’s okay, what happened?”
《My phone doesn’t seem to be doing well…》
She put it awkwardly, if there wasn’t a problem with the transmission, it should be the phone, but Eina didn’t seem to want to elaborate, so I closed my mouth.
《I’ll leave it there for tonight then.》
“Yeah, night.”
The call cut off abruptly again.
What happened?
As I thought about it, I noticed something.
I didn’t want to know about the past.
The past didn’t matter.
I wanted to know more about Eina.
Intermission 1 — Eina's Room
My cousin opened the door and shouted at me.
“Shut up!”
I hung up on Shuu-san and hid my phone under the futon.
“I was reading a book out loud, it’s homework.”
“Then do it more quietly. Who do you think you are? You freeloader! You’ll make Mama angry!”
She slammed the door shut with an almighty crash. I let out a breath and took my phone back out, praising myself for hiding it right away, she just thought I was making noise on my own. I didn’t want to make her angry, but I was happy I could keep my secret.
If she found out I just picked up the smartphone she had thrown away, she’d be really angry and take it away.
I lay back on the futon as I cradled my phone, having a staring contest with the low ceiling.
This was the cupboard under the stairs and, more or less, my room.
There wasn’t room for a freeloader like me, so I was assigned this space instead. It was surprisingly comfortable, given its looks. It wasn’t really in the sun so it wasn’t hot in the summer, and it was small so stayed fairly warm in the winter too.
There was an extension lead from the next room for power, so that was fine.
Above all, for me, it was my castle. A place where no one was in my way, a world just for me.
Here I read books, wrote a novel, and talked with Shuu-san.
I wore hand-me-downs from my cousin. I studied with second-hand textbooks and read books that I borrowed from the school library. I wanted to borrow books from the city library too, but you couldn’t get a library card without your guardian, so that was difficult.
Well, it’d take a while to read all the books at school so that wasn’t a problem. I could use my phone to read books on the internet too.
Of course, the phone didn’t have a contract, but I had Wi-Fi at home so I could use it fine and there were still free Wi-Fi networks around outside, so I could still use it then.
Or I could use my cousin’s portable hotspot so that was fine too. That’s how I’d used my phone when I went to meet Shuu-san.
I’d be happy if I could get a contract, but if I said that then I wouldn’t even be allowed into the house for a while.
It’s so depressing to think of the situation I’m in.
I’d have to think of something fun.
Like books.
Or Shuu-san.
That’s right, I have to call him. I hung up suddenly, so I’m sure he’s suspicious.