;mode800 *define spi "jpgplgin.dll|jpg" caption "Narcissu [Web Edition]" versionstr "ナルキッソス","ステージななvol.24" ;From left to right, the variables are: effect number, pack-in effect index, ;effect runtime (in milliseconds), pattern image filename. ;However, if you are using a pack-in effect, you may omit the last two variables. ;Thus 2 = 6= left-sided curtain, 500= delay effect 2,6,500 ;3 = Pixelwise crossfade, 600 effect 3,10,600 ;4 = Upwards scroll, 3000 effect 4,13,3000 ;5 = Pixelwise crossfade, 800 effect 5,10,800 ;6 = left-sided curtain, 500 effect 6,6,500 windoweffect 10,200 ;This function forces a click wait state when the interpreter encounters the characters in the designated string. ;However, if there happens to be a click wait command directly after that character, or if that character is prefaced by a 1-byte underscore (_), then this forced click wait state will not occur. ;The second parameter decides whether this will be a simple wait state, or the text page will be line-fed. If the forced click wait string happens to be shorter than (max line length - number), then the line feed will happen. ;This is a function for your convenience, but watch out -- you can easily cause the next line to overflow if you're not careful. ;In such situations, please decide whether you'll allow for default line breaks, or whether you'll manually insert line breaks in the appropriate places. ;The character string must be in 2-byte characters. clickstr "",2 savenumber 20 ;Creates a menu dialog window. ;This window is one that displays above all other items in the screen when it is active. ;From left to right, the arguments are: character font size x, character font size y, kerning x, kerning y, boldface (1 - yes; 0 - no), drop shadow (1 - yes; 0 - no); the final #rrggbb parameter is the window color menusetwindow 15,18,2,2,0,1,#808080 ;checks the nsa file which compiles all the necessary files nsa ;sets the game mode to "auto-read" almost. No clicking, basically. mode_ext ;sets the speed of slow, medium, and fast readings defaultspeed 65,20,1 ;sets the line for which the drawings are established ;underline 395 ;killmenu 4 killmenu 7 ;CD-DA消去 killmenu 2 ;unlocking sound plugin spi "nbzplgin.dll|nbz"soundpressplgin "nbzplgin.dll|nbz" rmenu "選択肢まで進む",skip,"回想",lookback,"セーブ",save,"ロード",load,"ウィンドウを消す",windowerase,"最初に戻る",reset ;selects mouse over and mouse out colors. selectcolor #EEFCFD,#99CCFB ;designates fadeout time for background track cdfadeout 1000 ;allows the player to skip kidokuskip ;allows songs to play during the skip-to-next mode mode_wave_demo ;turns on the use of global variables. Doesn't allow for playing off write-protected media. globalon defvoicevol 90 defsevol 50 defmp3vol 50 ;============================================================ ;システム側設定開始 ;============================================================ windowback ;unknown textgosub *text_lb ;テキストクリック待ちラベル ;unknown usewheel ;sets the data to a number ;enum numalias MD_SAVE,1 numalias MD_LOAD,2 ;数字変数 numalias sys_mode,103 numalias sys_auto,104 numalias sys_time,105 numalias sys_trapflg,106 numalias sys_ispage,107 numalias x,108 numalias y,109 numalias sys_cselnum,110 numalias csel_x,111 numalias csel_y,112 numalias save_month,113 numalias save_day,114 numalias save_hour,115 numalias save_minute,116 numalias save_num,117 numalias save_x,118 numalias save_y,119 numalias temp_num,120 numalias sys_auto_time,121 numalias sys_savingnum,122 numalias sys_ya,123 numalias sys_return,124 numalias sys_playing,125 ;sets the highest and lowest number. If it goes over or under, it will be taken to either intlimit sys_auto_time,0,2000 intlimit sys_ya,0,100 ;数字グローバル ;シナリオ読んだフラグ ;ボイス有り無し共通 numalias flg_pro,301 numalias flg_cha2,302 numalias flg_cha3,303 numalias flg_cha4,304 numalias flg_cha5,305 numalias flg_cha6,306 numalias flg_cha7,307 numalias flg_cha8,308 numalias flg_cha9,309 ;直前に読んだシナリオ numalias flg_bplay,310 ;中身は1〜9で、1はプロローグ ;文字変数 ;numalias シナリオ内小見出し,100 numalias save_str,101 numalias temp_str,102 numalias sys_midasi,103 ;numalias セーブ小見出し,501〜 ;============================================================ ;システム側設定終了 ;============================================================ game *start ;if %666<>99 menu_full mov %666,99 *title ;sets a variable with new data mov %sys_auto_time,1000 mov %10,0 ;sets cursor data ;setcursor 0,":l/4,160,0;cursor0.bmp",0,0 ;setcursor 1,":l/4,160,0;cursor0.bmp",0,2 ;sets an image. lsph 0,":l/4,160,0;cursor0.bmp",0,0 ;sets the visibilty of the text window. 1 is hidden. erasetextwindow 1 ;plays a wave file. Should be used for sfx/voices dwaveloop 1,"se\umi13.wav" ;plays mp3 for free! ;mp3loop "bgm\l02.mp3" ;loads a background image. IN this case, a file. ;The second number is the effect. In this case, a side wipe bg "e\title_off2.jpg",3 bg "tui2\title_off.bmp",3 ;※※まだ上の効果考慮してない ;click ;goto *tc1 ;============================================================ ;#ffffff ;setwindow 65,460,28,4,25,25,0,10,25,1,1,":a;sys\waku6.jpg",34,420 ;!sd ;erasetextwindow 0 ~ btndef "tui2\title_on.bmp" ;ボタン画像ファイルをメモリ上に呼び出しておく btn 1,433,396,153,14,433,396 btn 2,594,396,149,14,594,396 btn 3,433,426,310,14,433,426 btn 4,433,467,310,14,433,467 btn 5,433,507,310,14,433,507 btn 6,433,547,310,14,433,547 ;ボタン位置指定 btnwait %11 ;btnwait if %11<1 jumpb ;ボタン押して無い if %11==1 && %flg_pro == 0 goto *image_voice if %11==1 && %flg_pro == 1 goto *mini_title_voice ;スタート：ボイスあり if %11==2 && %flg_pro == 0 goto *image if %11==2 && %flg_pro == 1 goto *mini_title ;スタート：ボイス無し if %11==3 mov %102,1:mov %sys_mode,MD_LOAD:goto *saveload ;ロード if %11==4 mov %102,1:goto *tc1 ;プロダクト if %11==5 goto *soundmode ;サウンドモード if %11==6 goto *game_end ;終了する ;ラベルは仮 jumpb *mini_title lsp 191,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter00.bmp",285,224 if %flg_pro == 1 lsp 192,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter01_h.bmp",285,248 if %flg_cha2 == 1 lsp 193,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter02_h.bmp",285,272 if %flg_cha3 == 1 lsp 194,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter03_h.bmp",285,296 if %flg_cha4 == 1 lsp 195,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter04.bmp",285,320 if %flg_cha5 == 1 lsp 196,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter05_h.bmp",535,248 if %flg_cha6 == 1 lsp 197,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter06.bmp",535,272 if %flg_cha7 == 1 lsp 198,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter07_h.bmp",535,296 if %flg_cha8 == 1 lsp 199,":a/2,0,3;yobi\system\chapter08.bmp",535,320 lsp 200,":a/2,0,3;sys\modoru.bmp",644,549 ;次のシナリオマーキング if %flg_bplay == 1 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",273,252 if %flg_bplay == 2 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",273,276 if %flg_bplay == 3 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",273,300 if %flg_bplay == 4 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",273,324 if %flg_bplay == 5 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",523,252 if %flg_bplay == 6 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",523,276 if %flg_bplay == 7 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",523,300 if %flg_bplay == 8 lsp 201,":a/10,250,0;tui\cur2.bmp",523,324 bg "sys\mini_title.bmp",5 ~ btndef clear cellcheckspbtn 191,1 cellcheckspbtn 192,2 cellcheckspbtn 193,3 cellcheckspbtn 194,4 cellcheckspbtn 195,5 cellcheckspbtn 196,6 cellcheckspbtn 197,7 cellcheckspbtn 198,8 cellcheckspbtn 199,9 cellcheckspbtn 200,10 btnwait %11 if %11==-1 gosub *mini_title_clear:goto *title ;右クリック：戻る if %11==10 gosub *mini_title_clear:goto *title ;前の画面に戻る if %11<=0 jumpb ;ボタン押してない場合 ;以下はボタンを押した場合なのでまず画像クリア gosub *mini_title_clear if %11==1 goto *image if %11==2 goto *honpen2 if %11==3 goto *honpen3 if %11==4 goto *honpen4 if %11==5 goto *honpen5 if %11==6 goto *honpen6 if %11==7 goto *honpen7 if %11==8 goto *honpen8 if %11==9 goto *honpen9 ;ラベルは仮 jumpb *mini_title_clear csp 191 csp 192 csp 193 csp 194 csp 195 csp 196 csp 197 csp 198 csp 199 csp 200 csp 201 return ;※※今回はクリック待ちカーソルがスプライト0番に常に読み込まれているので、 ;　　csp -1は禁止です。もしくは、それをやったらすぐクリック待ちカーソルを読み込むこと。 ;=========================================================== *game_end mesbox "ゲームを終了します","さよなな" end ;■プロダクト説明 *tc1 mp3fadeout 1500 stop bg "tui\na01.bmp",3 bg "tui\na02.bmp",5 mp3loop "bgm\e01.mp3" setwindow 70,90,35,20,20,20,0,4,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 dwavestop 1 ;この度は、ステージなな　ＶＯＬ２４ ;「Ｎａｒｃｉｓｓｕ」を手に取って頂き、 ;ありがとうございます。\ `Thank you for downloading stage-nana `production Volume 24, "Narcissu".\ *tc12 ;csel "　■　制作時のコンセプト",*ns01, ;"　■　そして制作後（後記となります）",*ns02, ;"　■　内容について",*ns03, ;"　■　制作多謝について",*ns04, ;"　■　タイトルへ戻る",*ns05 csel "`　■　Production Concepts",*ns01, "`　■　And After/Words ...",*ns02, "`　■　About The Subject Matter",*ns03, "`　■　Acknowledgements",*ns04, "`　■　Translator's Note (voiced)",*nsgp, "`　■　Translator's Note (unvoiced)",*nsha, "`　■　Return To Title",*ns05 *ns01 ;★制作時　コンセプトとか。@ `★ Production Concepts Et Cetera@ 　 ;元々、今回のコンセプトとしては…@ `Given the decision between "voices" and "no voices" ...@ 　 ;…ボイス「有り」と「無し」…どっちが上なのか？@ `... if I had to choose one and only one ... which one would be better?@ 　 ;上という概念が微妙ですが ;「無し」が上だと思っていました。@ `The concept of one thing being "better" than another is at best a difficult proposition, but ... nevertheless, I felt that "no voices" would definitely be better.@ 　 ;その理由はボイスが無いと、脳内イメージ力によって、 ;プレイされる方が「無限の理想形」 ;を、想像できる可能性があるからだと考えたからです。\ `The reason, you ask? This is because I was hoping that in the absence of voices, the power of the reader's imagination would take over, and that the resultant experience would be far more powerful and complete -- and I daresay more *perfect* -- than anything we could hope to provide.\ ;ならば、同じ原理で…@ `And by the same token ...@ 　 ;「絵」に関しても、可能な限り無い方が良いのか？ とか、 ;（ほとんどが黒・白画面だけみたいな感じで）@ `What about the visuals? Would it be better to leave those more in the demesne of the individual reader's imagination as well (by utilizing simple, black-and-white stylings and the like)?@ 　 ;もっと突き詰めると、 ;シナリオに関しても無しの方が良いのか？　とか。@ `And if we take that thought to its logical conclusion, what if the scenario were completely in absentia as well?@ 　 ;　※シナリオについての、アリ・無しの概念とは…@ ;アリ＝状況や心情を、全てｏｒ必要以上に書く「小説タイプ」 ;無し＝最低限度の文字だけで表現する「脚本・詩タイプ」@ ;　こんな↑感じだとお考え下さいませ。\ `(Well, in the case of the scenario, when we talk about it being ` 'present' or 'absent' ... ` - 'present' might stand for a very descriptive, ` real/heightened-reality narrative ` - 'absent' might stand for a much more minimal written style, ` i.e. screenplay- or poem-type ` ... or something like that)\ ;以上のことをずっと以前から考えていたので、 ;今回、試しにやってみようってのがキッカケでした。\ `I had been thinking about these kinds of things for the longest time, and I came to no definite conclusion. Now, I'd like to present this piece to you as an ... experiment, an empiric trial. 　 `After all, perhaps the decision was yours all along, and not mine.\ goto *tc12 *ns02 ;★そして　制作後の感想です\ `★ Thoughts After The Words\ ;☆絵について@ `☆ About The Visuals@ 　 ;思った以上に、絵を使ってしまいました。@ `I ended up utilizing far more pictures than I ever thought I would.@ 　 ;当初の予定では、 ;もっと黒と白だけのつもりだったのですけど…@ `At the onset, I had intended to go with simple images clad in black and white alone ...@ 　 ;純粋な小説家タイプの書き手さんなら、 ;そうなったのかも知れませんが、 `And if I were someone who had the right to call himself a real writer, it might actually have worked that way, but ... 　 ;自分の場合は、絵もテキストの一部って感覚が、 ;身に染み付いているようです。\ `In my mind and in my heart, it seems that art and text will be forever intertwined.\ ;☆ボイスについて@ `☆ About The Voices@ 　 ;最終的にボイスも用意することにしました。@ `In the end, I decided to utilize voices after all.@ 　 ;あくまでも、無しと比較する為に用意したって意味なので、 ;色んな意味で「違和感」を感じて頂けると幸いです。@ `After all, to the last they were recorded so they could be compared to the unvoiced version, so I was pleasantly relieved to find that they do introduce a question all of their own.@ 　 ;先にボイス無しでプレイしてから、ボイスアリをやった人と、 ;先にボイスアリやってから、無しをやった人との差とか。@ `And that is: what is the difference between those who play unvoiced first, voiced second and those who play voiced first, unvoiced second?@ 　 ;その両者の、違和感の格差を知りたかったのも、 ;今回、無しの為にボイスを用意した理由の一つでした。\ `I wanted to know what that difference was, and that is yet another reason why I ended up putting the voices in.\ ;☆まとめ@ `☆ Conclusion@ 　 ;そんな訳で、元々のコンセプトであった、 `Now that all is said and done ... 　 ;可能な限り情報（主にボイス・絵・文）を削り、 ;読み手の方の、無限のイメージに期待するって方法。@ `... one must wonder whether the original concept -- of deliberately shifting the burden of imagination (primarily by minimizing voice, visual, and written media) to the reader in hopes of planting therein the seeds of a feeling without end -- had merit.@ 　 ;「原理」としては正しかったと思っています。@ `I think that the "principle" of it is in the right.@ 　 ;でも、この理想形を追求する為には、 ;自分では、ちょっと無理があるように思いました。\ `But in the end, I feel as if I might not have been the best choice for the application of the principle.\ 　 ;ストーリーとかエンタメ性とかって以前に、 ;根本の問題として、脚本家・詩タイプのライターではなく、@ `Leaving questions of style and genre specifics aside, at the very onset my main question was this:@ 　 ;小説家タイプの書き方をする方のほうが適任かと思いました。@ `Whether novel-type writing -- not script- or poem-type -- would be better for this kind of project.@ 　 ;絵が無いならば、文字情報は、たくさん必要。 `But if there were to be no pictures, then one would have to spend a lot of words on character descriptions. 　 ;逆に言えば、文字情報が少ないならば、やはり絵は必要。@ `Conversely, if character descriptions were sparse, then pictures would be necessary after all.@ 　 ;当たり前のことですが、やはりそうなんだと思います。 `Is that obvious? Certainly. But it really does bear saying. 　 ;ものすごーく、時間をかけて、 ;練り込みに練り込みを重ねたら、分かりませんけど…\ `Oh, it might be true that things might be different if one were to work at it and work at it intensely over a long, long time, but ...\ 　 ;自分の場合も、そのへんの理由から、 ;やっぱり、絵がないと辛いって感じで ;当初の予定より、絵を多めに ;使用してしまうことになってしまいました。 ;（ホントはもっと白・黒だけのつもりだったんですが…）@ `For my part, I ended up using many more pictures than I had originally planned because I realized -- because of the aforementioned dilemma -- that it would be difficult to tell the story without them (so much for my original plan for simple black-and-whites ...).@ 　 ;あと、映画を意識した作りから、 ;１画面中に表示できる文字が、たった２行ってことも、 ;今回のコンセプトからは逆行してたみたいです。\ `And on top of that, since the in-game user interface mimics a movie, only two lines of text can be displayed at once -- yet another betrayal of the original concept, I think.\ 　 ;それで、自分は当分、 ;この可能性に挑戦できそうにないですが…@ `Therefore, I don't think that at present, I myself can reach high enough in pursuit of that ideal ...@ 　 ;もしも、今、これを読んでいるサークルや作家さんで、 ;挑戦してみたいって方がいらっしゃいましたら、 ;是非とも頑張って欲しいです。特に小説家タイプの方は。@ `But if you who have read this piece -- circle members, writers, it doesn't matter -- feel like reaching for it yourselves, I beg you to try where I have failed. Particularly you novel-style writers out there.@ 　 ;きっと原理としては正しい筈だと信じています。@ `Because I cannot help but believe that the guiding principle is just.@ 　 ;一見、古臭いファミコンちっくな、ビジュアルノベルこそが、 ;実は究極の仮想現実なのかも…\ `And because it may well be that small limited visual novels, written by small limited hands and running on small limited systems are the last and best virtual reality that we have ...\ goto *tc12 *ns03 ;★内容について…@ `★ About The Subject Matter ...@ 　 ;プラットについては上記の通り、 ;色んな試し要素を含んでおりました。@ `As mentioned above, I ended up putting many different experimental elements in the plot.@ 　 ;でも、その内容（ストーリー等）については、 ;あくまでも個人としての、商品じゃなく、作品として、 ;心の赴くまま、好きなようにさせて頂きました。@ `But in those elements (storyline and the like), I allowed myself to the last to put all my heart into writing the way my heart desired, for this was not a commercial piece, nor was it work.@ 　 ;面白いとか、ドキドキするとか、泣かせるとか、 ;そういうものも一切意識してませんでした。@ `I didn't particularly care about whether it was interesting, or whether it was arousing, or whether it was tear-jerking, or anything like that.@ 　 ;あ、別に犯罪行為とか、今の医療制度とか、 ;そのへんに異議とか意見がある訳でもありませんので…\ `Oh, to be sure, it wasn't as if I was protesting against the criminal legal system or the current health care system, or anything like that either ...\ 　 ;…プレイして頂いた方が、@ `... In the end, if those of you who played through it ...@ 　 ;つまらんかった、面白かった、メッセージを感じた、 ;なんかよく分からん、嫌悪感を抱いた、ハッピーじゃない、とか、@ `... felt that it was boring, or interesting, or that there was a message, or that you really didn't get it, or that you felt disgusted, or that you didn't feel happy, or anything else ...@ 　 ;とにかく、どんな感じ方であれ、@ `... no matter what it is that you felt, as long as you felt *something* ...@ 　 ;そう感じたならば、それがその人にとっての、 ;この作品の全てなのだと思います。@ `Then that which you felt is, for your part, the *all* of this piece.@ 　 ;制作者である自分にとっては、@ `As for myself? For me, personally, I feel that ...@ 　 ;”眩しかった日のこと、そんな冬の日のこと” `"... on a blindingly bright day ... ` ... on that very day of winter ..." 　 ;が全てだと思っています。\ `... is all.\ goto *tc12 *ns04 ;★制作多謝について…@ `★ Acknowledgements And Final Words ...@ 　 ;以前からお付き合いのあった方に、 ;全て個人としてご助力頂きました。@ `First of all, I would like to thank all the friends and acquaintances who have supported me in this endeavor -- and there have been so many of them.@ 　 ;音系は、オリジナルからの楽曲と、 ;自分のイメージに合う曲を、二次創作（アレンジ） ;してもらいました。@ `I'd also like to thank the musicians who wrote original pieces and, in some cases, arranged pieces that fit with my concept for me.@ 　 ;只、元々の作曲者本人にアレンジを頼んでは、 ;「二次創作」の枠を越えてしまうと判断したので、 ;違う方にお願いする方向でさせて頂きました。\ `However, I should note that because I felt that it would be too impertinent -- and step beyond the bounds of "arrangement" -- to ask the original composers to work with me, I asked different people to do so instead.\ ;キャラ絵の方は、ぴんさいずさんにお願いしてましたが、 ;ラストの絵だけ、頼む時間が無かったので、 ;司ゆうき君に描いてもらいました。\ `As for the character art, I'd originally asked Pinsize to do it, who did a wonderful job but couldn't find the time to do the last few. For those, Mr. Yuuji Tsukasa graciously agreed to step in.\ ;他にもテストプレイして下さった方や、 ;Ｗｅｂアップにご協力して下さった方々、 ;ボイスをあててくれた、綾川りのさん、@ `To all the people who beta-tested this piece, to those who agreed to mirror the Web Edition, and to Ms. Rino Ayukawa, who provided the voice work for Setsumi,@ 　 ;お忙しい中、 ;たくさんの方のご協力ありがとうございました。@ `Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time from your busy schedules to participate in this piece.@ 　 ;ＰＳ、直接、今回のに関係ありませんが、 ;　　　日赤渋谷病院と、東淀川キリスト教病院にも多謝です。@ `P.S. While they didn't have a direct hand in the creation of this ` piece, I would like to thank the staff of Nissekichou Shibuya ` Hospital and Higashiyodogawa Christ Hospital for their time and ` patience.@ 　 ;それでは、また何かのご機会がありましたら… `I hope that we will have the chance to meet each other again on different pages at a different time ... 　 ;２００５年７月２９日　ステージなな　片岡とも\ `29 July 2005 `stage-nana `Tomo Kataoka\ goto *tc12 *nsgp `★ Translator's Note (voiced)@ 　 　 `You are reading through what is probably the single most unique `localization effort ever attempted in the English-speaking `(ero-)game localization community. For one thing, two translators `worked nearly independently of each other on this piece. For `another, whether you choose to go with the voiced or the unvoiced `version makes a huge difference. For you see, Tomo Kataoka `originally wrote this piece with the intention of introducing `dilemmas that are generally not explored -- although the powerful `potential has probably always existed -- in this particular genre `of (slightly-)interactive entertainment.@ ` ` `We feel relatively justified in our choice to make it such that `the voiced version should have one translator, and the unvoiced `version should have another. The results are divergent in more `than one way: at the trivial level, Peter's British, and I'm `trained in American English.\ `But beyond that, I find that our two versions read quite `differently -- in some ways, radically so. At the same time, `I feel that there is no incongruity in my saying that both `versions are equally faithful to the text. So do as Tomo `Kataoka suggests -- read the voiced version and then the unvoiced `version (or vice versa, as per your preference) -- and see if `you don't come away with a more complete understanding of the `piece than you would have been afforded otherwise.@ ` ` `For all the budding translators out there: it may be instructive `to depack 0.txt from nscript.dat and see for yourself some of `the different ways that two different translators might tackle `the same sentence. Both of us have merely commented out the `original Japanese lines, and have placed our English translations `below them, so you'll be able to follow along. I also challenge `you: outdo us if you can. A piece like this can't have too many `different translations.\ `I would like to thank: `- Peter Jolly for agreeing to collaborate with me on this ` translation and for his excellent localization standard@ ` `- Edward Keyes for his moral, graphical, and editorial ` support (and for gruel wars / radish addictions)@ ` `- ogapee for his GPL implementation of NScripter@ ` `- Jeff Chang, Chris St. Louis, and Irene Ying for their ` continuing efforts as translators@ ` `- The insani QC strike team for their relentless pursuit of ` nitpicking detail@ ` `- All the people at the Haeleth boards who were convinced that ` I wasn't doing this project because they failed to read the ` declaration I wrote carefully@ ` `- You, the reader@ ` ` ` 14 August 2005 ` insani.org ` Seung Park\ goto *tc12 *nsha `★ Translator's Note (unvoiced)@ 　 　 `If the concept behind this work was the question of whether a `writer should choose to include or reject voices, then these `translations are the embodiment of that concept. Both Seung and I `have been forced to make that choice. As luck would have it, no `compromise was necessary, for we chose differently.@ ` ` `I have seen many western fans judge unvoiced games negatively. For `example, I know several people who are refusing to play Clannad `till a voiced version is released. I have a certain amount of `sympathy for that view, particularly when the game's text uses the `least foreigner-friendly script in the world. Yet there are `downsides to voicing; however good the actors, they will not match `every reader's impression of the characters, and where only some `characters are voiced -- or even just one, as here -- the voicing `can disrupt the balance of a work. 'Narcissu' voiced is about `Setsumi, period. Unvoiced, it gains in breadth what it loses in `depth.\ `Some of you will inevitably try to judge our translations against `each other. Your efforts are doomed. Not only are we translating `subtly different works, into subtly different languages: our `backgrounds, our styles, and even our very approaches to the act `of translation itself differ more. In translation there are no `right answers, for all answers are equally wrong. Read both our `versions, therefore, not looking for a winner, but rather in the `hope that through combining our translations you may see more `glimpses of the original than either of us was able to retain.@ ` ` `You may yet wonder why we chose this and not any other work for `this experiment. It is, after all, not famous, nor patently `important; an unkind critic might even write for many pages on `its flaws. The answer is simply that it moved us. We were both `compelled to respond to it. So we both did.\ `In a collaborative endeavour such as this more than any other, `much gratitude is due to those without whose efforts the project `would have come to nothing. To Tomo Kataoka and the other members `of the original Japanese team, without whom there would have been `no 'Narcissu' to translate; to Seung Park, who in addition to his `excellent alternative translation provided the impetus without `which my own might never have been completed, and Ed Keyes, who `did not even blink when he discovered he would have to do all the `graphical work twice to satisfy us both; to the team of testers `who ensured we did not release anything embarrassingly broken: `my sincerest thanks.@ ` ` `Peter Jolly (Haeleth) `August 2005\ goto *tc12 *ns05 goto *title ;dwave 1,"se\kaze3.wav" ;bg "e\umi_001.jpg",5 ;bg "e\b.jpg",5 goto *start ;stop ;mp3fadeout 2500 ;＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ *introduction ;サウンドモード・スペック bg "sys\spec_sample_bg2.bmp",3 wait 500 ~ bg "sys\spec_sample_bg.bmp",5 btndef "sys\spec_sample_on.bmp" ;ボタン画像ファイルをメモリ上に呼び出しておく btn 1,285,192,424,24,285,192 btn 2,285,233,424,24,285,233 btn 3,285,274,424,24,285,274 btn 4,285,314,424,24,285,314 btn 5,685,561,100,22,685,561 ;ボタン位置指定 btnwait %11 ;btnwait if %11<1 jumpb ; if %11==1 bgm "bgm\nar_inst.mp3" ; if %11==2 bgm "bgm\n01.mp3" ; if %11==3 bgm "bgm\koko.mp3" ; if %11==4 bgm "bgm\n04.mp3" ; if %11==5 bgmstop : goto *start ; jumpb *image ;mov $sys_midasi,"プロローグ" mov $sys_midasi,"`Prologue" bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop dwavestop 1 mp3fadeout 1500 dwavestop 0 bg "e\c001a.jpg",1 bg "e\c001b.jpg",3 bg "e\c001.jpg",3 bg "e\c002.jpg",3 bg "e\c003.jpg",3 wait 700 bg "e\c004.jpg",5 wait 800 dwavestop 1 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",3 bg "e\c02.jpg",3 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 ;　■　１９９６年　春　セツミ　■\ `- Spring 1996 : Setsumi -\ mp3loop "bgm\n04.mp3" bg "e\sora_ame01.jpg",3 ;『…確かに、幼い頃から丈夫な方じゃなかった…』\ `"My health was never particularly good, sure..."\ dwavestop 0 ;それでも小学校は普通に通えたし、 ;夏休みには真っ黒に日焼けするほど遊んだこともあった。\ `But I was able to attend primary school like anyone else. `In the summer holidays I was able to play till the sun burnt me black.\ bg "e\byoin_heya_yu2.jpg",5 ;６月。中学に入ってすぐの頃。@ ;来月から始まる、水泳用の水着を注文した翌日。\ `It was June, just after I entered middle school.@ ` `It was just before the midterm tests.\ ;その時、初めて入院ってのを経験した。\ `It was the day after I ordered a swimming costume for the summer. `That was the first day I was admitted to hospital.\ ;一学期の中間テストの少し前、 ;降り始めた雨が、やけに冷たい日だった。\ `It was a cold, unpleasant, drizzly day.\ dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",5 ;真っ白な梅雨空の中。\ `Shrouded by the rainy sky, murky, white, and damp.\ ;そりゃあ、最初の頃は、 ;クラスの皆んなも毎日のように見舞いに来てくれた。\ `At first my classmates came to see me every day.\ ;退院した頃には、 ;週末の度に、家にも遊びに来てくれた。\ `When I was out of hospital, they'd come over to play at the weekend.\ ;…でも、そんなのは最初だけ。\ `But that was only at first.\ dwavestop 1 bg "e\sora_ame01.jpg",3 ;秋を迎え、冬を越し、 ;入院、退院、通院…そしてまた入院を繰り返し…\ `Autumn came, and passed into winter. `I was admitted, and discharged; went in for tests, and was readmitted...\ ;かつて、友達と呼んでいたクラスメイト。\ `There were people in my class that I'd called my friends.\ ;いつしか、知り合いへと変わった。\ `Before I'd really realised what was happening, they were merely acquaintances.\ ;そして、他人へと変わった。\ `Then strangers.\ ;季節を重ねる毎に、 ;彼等の記憶からわたしは消えたようだった。\ `With each change of the seasons, I faded from more memories.\ bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",5 ;「…どうやら、”良い気がしない”らしい」\ `"I suppose they... don't like seeing me."\ dwavestop 0 wait 300 ;「普通に生きている人にとって、わたしの存在ってのは」\ `"If you've got a normal life, you don't want someone like me in it..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",3 !s80 ;「だから…消されたようだった…」\ `"So they blank me out..."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\w.jpg",3 bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",5 !sd ;「幾つもの季節を、白い梅雨空を… ;　誰とも言葉を交わす必要もなく過ごした…」\ `"I've passed all these seasons, under that white overcast sky, without needing to speak to anyone..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わたしの英語の教科書は、 ;　１年生の中間テスト以降、まっさらな状態だった」\ `"My English textbook is untouched from the first-year midterms onwards..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_0012.jpg",5 ;「…そこで…@わたしの時間も止まったらしい」\ `"As though...@ ` even time stopped for me there..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_0013b.jpg",3 bg "e\c005.jpg",5 bg "e\c0052.jpg",3 !w800 dwave 1,"se\z42r.wav" bg "e\w.jpg",1 bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 bg "e\c00.jpg",5 ;　■　８年後…２００４年　主人公　初夏　■\ `Eight years later `- Early Summer 2004 : Protagonist -\ bg "e\sora01.jpg",3 ;夏。流れる汗。\ `It was summer. The sweaty season.\ ;運転免許試験場に設置された、大きな電光掲示板。\ ;一斉に点灯を始めたライト。 ;俺も他の皆んなと同じように、自分のナンバーを目で追う。\ `We were all staring intently at the display board.\ `This test centre was pretty up-to-date; the display was computerised.\ `The lights on it, the indicators of success, were beginning to come on. `We were all watching for our own numbers.\ ;「２３７、２３７…」\ `"237... 237..."\ dwavestop 0 ;チカチカと約８割ほどのライトが点灯する中、 ;無事に自分の受験番号が光ったことを確認した。\ `About 80% of the lights flickered on. My number was among them.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\faan1_b.wav" ;ガタンゴトン、\ ;ちょうど昼過ぎの為か、よく空いていた車内。\ ;そんなガラ空きの車内を、 ;俺は試験場からの帰路についていた。\ `I took the train home.\ `It was a quiet time of day; the rattling, swaying carriage was practically empty.\ ;左手には貰ったばかりの交通教本、 ;胸ポケットには真新しい免許証。\ `In my left hand, the copy of the Highway Code they gave me. `In my breast pocket, a brand-new driving licence.\ ;「これで俺も、普免持ちか…」\ `"So now I'm a driver too..."\ dwavestop 0 ;しみじみ呟くが、特に感慨はなかった。\ `I tried to whisper it as though it were a profound thing, but it didn't actually excite me all that much.\ ;別に、車に乗りたかった訳じゃない。 ;他に何かの目的があった訳でもない。\ ;只、まわりの連中も教習所に通っていたし、 ;車の免許くらい取っておけと勧められただけだった。\ `I hadn't particularly wanted to be able to drive.\ `It wasn't that I'd had any other motive for taking the test... I was just doing what all my friends were doing.\ bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;その夜。\ `That night.\ ;親に免許が取れたことを報告すると、 ;『そうか』と、短く返された。\ `I told my parents I'd got a licence. `All they said was, "well done".\ ;試しに、車を貸してくれと言ってみたら、 ;同じように短く、@駄目だ。とだけ返された。\ `I tried asking to borrow the car, just to see what would happen. `All they said was,@ ` "not now".\ ;別に車に乗りたかった訳じゃないけど、 ;その返答はあまりに予想通りだった。そんな親だった。\ `I hadn't been expecting anything else. It was an entirely predictable response. `That's just the kind of parents I have.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;翌日。 ;寝覚めから胸が苦しかったので病院へと向かった。\ `The next day I woke up with an excruciating pain in my chest. `Bad enough that I took it straight to hospital.\ ;普段から俺は、病気なんてもんに縁がなかった。 ;だから、初診受付の待ち時間は、ひどく退屈に感じた。\ `I wasn't particularly well acquainted with the place at that time. `There was a long wait to be seen. Long and tedious.\ bg "e\byoin_rouka.jpg",3 ;やっと診察が終わったと思うと、 ;今度はレントゲンと血液検査にも行った。行かされた。\ `When at last they straightened up, I thought the examination was over. `Then it turned out I was going... being taken... for X-rays and blood tests.\ ;更に、長い長い時間を、ぼ〜っと待たされ…\ `Then there was another long, long wait...\ ;思わず、待合室にあったジャンプを３冊も読み、 ;４冊目に手を伸ばした時、\ `I read three whole issues of "Jump" in the waiting room that day. `Then, as I reached out for the fourth...\ ;そのまま入院の手続きをさせられた。\ `...they came and took me away.\ ;胸ポケットに入れたままになっていた、真新しい免許証。\ `My brand new driving licence was still in my breast pocket. ;その出番は遠のいたようだった。\ `Apparently I wasn't going to have a chance to use that quite yet...\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 mp3fadeout 2000 stop bg "e\sora07.jpg",5 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 dwavestop 1 bg "e\c03.jpg",3 ;　■　主人公　２００４年　秋　■\ `- Autumn 2004 -\ mp3loop "tui2\e01.mp3" bg "e\sora07.jpg",3 ;あんなにうるさかった蝉が鳴き止む頃。\ `It was about the time of year when the cicadas finally start to shut up.\ ;相変わらず俺は病院に居た。\ `I was in hospital, as usual.\ ;もちろん、ずっと入院していた訳じゃない。 ;出たり入ったりの繰り返しだった。\ `Oh, I hadn't been in there all summer. `I'd been in and out, back and forth, on and off.\ ;先月には、初めて手術ってのも経験した。 ;退院後は、原チャで５分の距離を通院もした。\ `I'd had my first operation the previous month. They'd discharged me afterwards, but I still had to go back in a lot.\ `Thankfully it was only five minutes by moped.\ ;それからも、入院、退院、通院、入院を小刻みに繰り返して…\ `And so the cycle continued: admission, discharge, tests, readmission, and on, and on, and on...\ ;ＰＥＴだかイレッサだか知らないけど、 ;気づけば、その繰り返しで数ヶ月が経とうとしていた。\ `Whether it was for PET scans or for Iressa treatment, I don't know, but before I knew it, the cycle had been going on for months.\ ;食欲が減った代わりに、貰う薬の量と種類が増えた。 ;自分でも、目に見えて体力が落ちてきたと実感できる。\ `My appetite shrank, while the number of medicines I was expected to swallow just kept on increasing. `I felt like I could literally see myself getting weaker.\ ;足が細くなった気がするけど、\ `Even my legs seemed to be withering.\ ;”それは気のせいじゃない” ;と、体重計の針は教えてくれた。\ `It wasn't my imagination. `I would weigh myself, and the needle of the scales would confirm it.\ ;なのに俺は…@どこか客観的に自分を見ていた。\ `And yet...@ ` somehow it didn't really seem all that personal.\ ;まるで他人事か、 ;テレビの１シーンでも眺めているようだった。\ `It was like I was watching it happen to somebody else. `Like it was just a scene from some TV drama.\ ;突然、身に起こったことに、頭がついて行けなかった。 ;リアルとして起こった実感が沸かなかった。\ `I was unable to understand what was happening to my body all of a sudden. `I hadn't even grasped that the changes were real.\ ;だから、自分自身のことの筈なのに、 ;どこか遠い場所から冷めた目でしか見れなかった。\ `So though it was as personal as anything could be, still I could only observe it as though from a far and disinterested position.\ bg "e\c033.jpg",5 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;冬の日。 ;街頭からクリスマスツリーが姿を消す頃、\ `A winter's day. `It was the time of year when municipal Christmas decorations are dismantled.\ ;年末ということもあってか、自宅に帰してくれた。\ `They let me go home for New Year.\ ;あくまでも一時的なものらしい。 ;それでも少しは嬉しかった。\ `It was only a temporary thing, but it was a welcome change.\ bg "e\amazora02.jpg",5 ;みぞれ混じりの雨の中、 ;久しぶりに帰ってきた俺の家。\ `I arrived home amidst sleet and driving rain.\ ;何故か、家族が全員揃っていた。\ `For some reason the whole family was there to greet me.\ ;普段からそれほど話すことも無かった親なのに、 ;どこかギクシャクとしながらも、笑顔で迎えてくれた。\ `My parents had always been quiet and aloof. `Today they greeted me with smiles and laughter, though it seemed forced.\ ;いつも口喧嘩ばかりしていた妹が、 ;俺の好きなクリームシチューとエビフライを作って待っていた。\ `My sister had never had anything for me but a sharp tongue. `Today she had made me my favourite cream stew with fried prawns.\ ;こたつに並んで座った。みかんをむいてくれた。 ;やけに優しかった。それが印象的だった。\ `We sat around the kotatsu. She peeled me a satsuma. `I was touched to be treated with such unusual kindness.\ ;この時点で…@俺は少しだけ察した。\ `It was then that I began to realise.\ ;ポケットに入れたままになった、例の真新しい免許証。\ `That unused driving licence, still in my pocket...\ ;この免許証は、その価値を生かすことなく ;終わるのかも知れないと思った。\ `I began to realise that I was probably not going to get much use out of it.\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 ;ギクシャクとした不自然な笑顔に迎えられて…\ `That's what I thought, as the forced smiles and false cheer washed over me.\ ;冷静に、曖昧に、ひたすら薄っぺらく、 ;他人事のように俺はそう思った。\ `That's all I thought, in the same calm, vague, detached way I'd been thinking about this whole affair.\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 bg "e\c032.jpg",5 ;　■　主人公　２００５年　１月　■\ `- January 2005 -\ bg "e\byoin_rouka.jpg",5 ;年が明けて、また帰って来た病院。\ `I returned to hospital in the new year.\ ;何故かその日は、いつもの４階ではなく、 ;談話室のような部屋に行った。行かされた。\ `For once I didn't return straight to the fourth floor. `Instead I went... was taken... to a different room, a discussion room.\ ;そして、オヤジと医者の先生、 ;それに俺も交えた三人で色んな話しを聞いた。聞かされた。\ `My father was with me, and there was a doctor as well. `They talked to me, or rather at me. I listened. Was made to listen.\ ;いわゆる、告知というやつなんだろう。\ `It turned out that this was what they call "disclosure".\ ;すごく遠回しな言い方だったが、 ;そう解釈した。死ぬらしい俺は。\ `The doctor took a long time to explain everything, and used a lot of long words in the process, as doctors do. `But all it came down to was, it looked like I was going to die.\ ;「そうですか…」\ `"Oh..."\ dwavestop 0 ;だから、それだけを返した。他に言葉は見つからなかった。 ;入室してから出るまでに、口にしたのはこれだけだった。\ `I couldn't think of anything else to say. `That was the only sound I uttered from the moment I entered the room till the moment I left it.\ ;俺の返事を受け、 ;手に持ったボールペンを走らせる先生。\ `Apparently that was a good enough response. `The doctor produced a biro and began scribbling.\ ;恐らくはホスピスへの手続きだろう。 ;あくまでも事務的な態度だった。オヤジも似たようなもんだった。\ `The formalities this time revolved around admitting me into the hospice ward. `The doctor had switched into business mode. My father did the same.\ ;…こんな簡単なモンなんだ…\ ;それが俺の率直な感想だった。\ `As for me, all I could do was sit and be amazed at the efficiency of the proceedings.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;そして、その日を境に４階から７階へと、 ;６人部屋から個室へと変わった。\ `They moved me from the fourth floor to the seventh, and from a six-bed ward to a private room.\ bg "e\byoin7_rouka.jpg",5 ;それと、この７階自体は他の階と少し違っていた。\ `The seventh floor differed from the others in a number of respects.\ ;まず、床がピカピカになっていた。 ;天井も今までより、ずっと高く広々としていた。\ `The floors gleamed. The ceiling was higher, the rooms more spacious than before.\ ;病室の中もすごく綺麗で、大きな窓からは、 ;明るく日光を採り入れる仕組みなっているようだった。\ `The bedrooms were pleasant and clean, with large windows designed to maximise the natural lighting.\ ;…だけど、窓は少ししか開かなかった。\ `But these windows were not designed to open.\ ;試しに計ってみると、 ;ちょうど頭がギリギリ通らない幅だった。\ `When pushed to their fullest extent, the gap was still so narrow that I couldn't even get my head quite through it.\ ;他にも、認識用の腕輪の色が変わった。\ `One other thing was different: the colour of the patients' identification wristbands.\ ;入院した日から、ずっと手首に巻かれていたビニール製の腕輪。 ;俺の名前や血液型が記載されていた。\ `I'd been wearing one of these ever since I was first admitted to the hospital. `They were just plastic bands with the patient's name and blood group on them.\ ;その色が、青から白に変わった。\ `My old one had been blue. This one was white.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;…高い天井、白いビニールの腕輪、１５ｃｍしか開かない窓。\ ;そんな７階に移ったのは、 ;まだ、新春のつまらない番組が流れている頃だった。\ ;あの子と初めて出会ったのも、そんな年を明けてまもない頃だった…\ `That was my introduction to the seventh floor: high ceilings, white wristbands, and windows that only opened about 15 centimetres.\ `It was still the time of year when all you can get on TV is boring festive programmes.\ `That, in a way, is how I came to meet her...\ mp3fadeout 2500 stop bg "e\w.jpg",3 bg "e\nar01.jpg",5 bg "e\nar01.jpg",5 bg "e\nar01c.jpg",1 bg "e\nar01d.jpg",3 bg "e\w.jpg",3 mov %flg_pro,1 mov %flg_bplay,1 goto *honpen2 *honpen2 dwavestop 1 ;mov $sys_midasi,"７階" mov $sys_midasi,"`The Seventh Floor" stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\c04_h.jpg",3 click mp3loop "bgm\n04.mp3" bg "e\byoin7_rouka.jpg",3 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 ;廊下の横、ナースステーションの向かいにある、 ;談話室のような場所。\ `If you go down the corridor past the nurse's station, you'll come to a lounge area off to one side.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",5 ;人気のないその場所に設置された、 ;いくつかのソファーやパイプ椅子、それと大きめのテレビ。\ `The place was usually empty apart from the furniture, which when I was there consisted of a number of sofas and pipe chairs, and one TV.\ ;その２８型のブラウン管からは、 ;どうでもいい新春特番が今日も流れていた。\ `It wasn't a particularly impressive one (only a 28" CRT), and at that time of year all it was showing was boring festive specials.\ ;そんなつまらないテレビを、 ;さも、つまらなさそうに見ている、どこかの女の子。\ `She was watching it without the slightest sign of interest.\ ;小柄な身体に、ピンクのパジャマ。 ;手首には俺と同じ、白の腕輪。\ `Her build was slight, her pyjamas pink, and there was a white band like mine round her wrist.\ ;腰に届くほどの長い髪が印象的だった。\ `What really stood out about her was her hair, which reached nearly to her waist.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;「なあ、お前…それ面白いか？」\ `"You aren't... enjoying that, are you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;深い意味はない。 ;ひと気がないので、何となくその横顔に話し掛けた。\ `I didn't really mean anything by the question. `I just felt it was my duty to say something. As the sole other member of the human race present.\ ;「別に…」\ `"Not really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;只、それだけを返す女の子。 ;声を掛けた俺に振り向きもしなかった。\ `She replied curtly, without so much as a glance in my direction.\ ;俺のことは一切気にしていないのか、 ;ずっとつまらなそうにテレビを見続けたままだった。\ `Perhaps she hadn't really registered my presence. `Her eyes remained fixed on the screen in front of her.\ ;…だったら、見なきゃいいのに…\ `Don't watch it, then, I said... nearly.\ ;そう思いながらも、 ;同じようにパイプ椅子に腰を掛ける俺。\ `Discretion overruled me, and I lowered myself into a chair instead.\ ;そして、並ぶようにしてテレビを眺めた。 ;他にすることもなかった。出来ることもなかった。\ `And sat there beside her watching the tedious programme. `There wasn't anything else for me to do. There wasn't anything else I could do.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;…黙ってテレビを眺め続ける俺達…\ `We watched on in silence.\ ;ブラウン管の中からは、正月にありがちな新春番組。 ;くだらないモノマネだか隠し芸だかがやっていた。\ `The screen was filled with the usual January twaddle. `A tedious variety show, all conjurers and impersonators.\ ;時折響く、司会者のバカみたいにカン高い笑い声。 ;真っ白くて日当たりの良いこの部屋に、乾き、響いていた。\ `From time to time the speakers would rattle with the compere's shrill and foolish laughter. `It echoed emptily in the sunlit room.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",5 !s100 ;「ねえ…あなた…」\ `"...so..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;突然、話し掛けてきた女の子。 ;相変わらずテレビを見つめたままだった。\ `It took me a moment to realise that she'd spoken. `Her eyes still hadn't left the TV screen for one moment.\ !s90 ;「…あなた、何回目？」\ `"Which time are you on...?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「…何回目って、どういう意味だ？」\ `"I'm... not sure what you mean."\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「ここに…７階に来たの」\ `"I mean, how many times have you been up here?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「悪い、質問の意味がわからない」\ `"Sorry... I still don't understand."\ dwavestop 0 ;「………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「そう…初めてなんだね」\ `"It must be your first, then."\ dwavestop 0 ;何を言ってるのか理解できない俺に、 ;彼女は勝手に納得したようだった。\ `My incomprehension was evidently a sufficient answer for her.\ ;「じゃあ、他に誰も居ないし…わたしの役目だから…」\ `"In that case, I suppose it's up to me... since there's nobody else here now..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…役目？」\ `"It's up to you...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「そういうルールなの…」\ `"That's the rule..."\ dwavestop 0 ;頷きながら、初めてここ（７階）に来た人には、 ;誰かが教えてあげるルールなんだと付け足した。\ `The rule, she added, was that newcomers to this seventh floor were to be told certain things.\ ;いまいち何のことか分からない俺。\ `I had no idea what she was talking about.\ ;そんな俺を、無視するかのように、 ;彼女はゆっくりと話し始めた。\ `She began to explain, still without so much as a glance in my direction.\ ;「それじゃあ、よく聞いてね…」\ `"Listen carefully, then..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;…………\ `............\ ;ぽつりぽつりと語る彼女の言葉。\ `She spoke haltingly.\ ;それは、ここに来るまでに聞いた、 ;医者の先生の弁とは少し違っていた。\ `What she had to tell me differed in certain regards from the speech I'd received prior to my transfer up here.\ ;あの事務的な医者の話しでは、ここは医療の進歩を待つ場所であると言った。\ ;心を癒す場所でもあると言った。 `According to the doctors, this was where one would come to wait for advances in treatments; in the meantime, being here might heal one's heart.\ ;恐らく、一般的にはそれで正しいのだろう。\ `He was probably sincere. He may even have been telling the truth.\ ;でも、彼女の言によるとそれは建前だそうだ。\ `According to what the girl told me, however, that's merely the official line.\ ;この７階ってのは、病院内にあって、唯一治療をする場所じゃないらしい。\ `This was not, in fact, the part of the hospital where unique treatments are tried.\ ;只、命が尽きるのを待つ場所。\ `It was where you wait for your life to run out.\ ;そう彼女は言った。 ;俺もそう思えた。同じ認識だと思った。\ `That's what she told me. I believed it. I'd pretty much come to the same conclusion myself.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",3 ;「わたし、２回目だから…」\ `"So this is my second time..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「２回目ってなにが？」\ `"Your second time for what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…ここに来るの」\ `"...that I've ended up here."\ dwavestop 0 ;そして、彼女は教えてくれた。\ `Finally she got round to explaining the whole "times" business.\ ;この７階って場所は、 ;最初の入院でそのまま死ぬまで居ることは、まず無いらしい。\ `Firstly, that this isn't usually just a place where you come and stay until you die.\ ;治ることは有りえなくても、 ;体調がマシになると１度は家に帰してくれる。\ `Even if there's no chance of recovery, they let you go home temporarily if your condition improves.\ ;でも、暫くして悪くなると、またここへ帰ってくる。\ `Then after a while you decline again, and they bring you back.\ ;…その繰り返しで、いつか死ぬ。\ `You go back and forth, and eventually it ends.\ ;尽きる場所が、家か７階かの違いだけで、 ;確実にどちらかで死ぬ。避けた奴はいないそうだ。\ `The only uncertainty is whether you'll be at home, or here on the seventh floor, when the time comes. `You'll die, here or there. It's happened to everyone.\ ;そういう意味での、 ;彼女はここに来たのは２回目という意味だった。\ `And that's the sense in which she was referring to this as the second time she'd ended up here.\ ;「じゃあ、１度しか言わないから…」\ `"Now, I'm only going to say this once..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ここからは、よく聞いて…」\ `"So you've got to listen carefully from now on."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;…乾いた画面を見つめたまま、更に言葉を続ける彼女。\ `She continued, her pose unchanged, her eyes still on the screen.\ ;その内容は、消灯時間が何時かって、 ;普通の入院患者が交わす内容ではなかった。\ `The subject changed, but not to everyday trivia like lights-out times.\ ;全然違ったことを教えてくれた。\ `There was something rather different she had to tell me.\ ;『３回目に仮退院させてくれたら、覚悟しろ。 ;　４回目はまずない。もう家には帰れない』\ `"When you reach your third temporary discharge, prepare yourself. There's hardly ever a fourth time. You won't be going home again."\ ;『もしも逃げたい時は、Ａ駅ではなくＢ駅に行くこと』\ `"If you want to run away, don't try to use M--- station; go to K----- station instead."\ ;『何も食べるな。それが一番の近道。 ;　家族にとっても一番負担が小さくて済む』\ `"Don't eat anything. That's the best way out. You'll put the least burden on your family that way."\ ;…そんな、身に詰まるような内容ばかりだった。\ ;恐らく、ここに来た人間だけの…\ ;死ぬゆく当事者達だけで、伝え続けてきたことなんだと思う。\ `These, I realised, were the maxims of the seventh floor.\ `The received wisdom distilled from the experiences of those who had faced death here.\ `Our lore, passed down orally from one ephemeral generation to the next.\ `Our 'ars moriendi'.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",3 ;「もしかして、さっきの役目ってのは、これのことか？」\ `"Was telling me that the thing you said was up to you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ええ、そうよ…」\ `"That's right..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「いつかあなたも、初めて来た人には伝えてね…」\ `"It'll be up to you to pass it on to the next newcomer."\ dwavestop 0 ;その言葉を最後に、ゆっくりと立ち上がる彼女。 ;ふわりと長い髪が揺れ、俺の鼻先をかすめた。\ `That concluded the lecture. `As she rose and turned, her hair swept round; a lock brushed against my cheek.\ ;「じゃあ、検温の時間だから…」\ `"Time for my temperature reading..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;そして、そのまま背を向けると、 ;廊下へ向かって歩き始めてしまった。\ `She turned her back on me and walked off, out into the corridor.\ ;一人残されたこの場所には、 ;ブラウン管からの笑い声と、窓辺に飾られた白い花。\ `I was left alone in the room, alone with the shrilly laughing TV and the white flowers by the window.\ ;結局彼女は、一度として俺の方を見ようともしなかった。\ `She had not looked at me once.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 mp3fadeout 2000 stop bg "e\c042_h.jpg",5 bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 ;それから何日か過ぎた頃。\ `Some days passed.\ mp3loop "tui2\e01.mp3" ;やっと新春特番が終わり、 ;そろそろ中学や高校では、三学期が始まろうとする頃。\ `It was the time of year when TV schedules return to normal, the start of the so-called spring term.\ ;今日もこの談話室では、 ;テレビをぼ〜っと眺める俺と彼女の姿があった。\ `We were in the lounge again, staring at the TV as usual.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",5 ;「つまらねえな…」\ `"This is crap."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そうね…」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言葉ではそう返すが、 ;お互いに画面を見つめ続けたままの会話だった。\ `And yet we carried on watching as we talked.\ ;「なあ、ここっていつもこんななのか？」\ `"Is it always like this up here?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…質問の意味がわからない」\ `"I'm not sure what you're getting at."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、ひと気がないって意味さ」\ `"I mean, is it always this quiet?"\ dwavestop 0 ;看護婦や医者、それにヘルパーの人を除けば、 ;お互いの付き添い以外に、誰の姿も見ていなかった。\ `If you discount the doctors and nurses and their helpers - the people who look after us - then I haven't seen anyone up here but the two of us.\ ;「やっぱり、正月明けだからか？」\ `"Is it just because it's early in the year?"\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 ;「…その理由を知りたいの？」\ `"...do you want to know the reason?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、いや、別にそんな意味じゃ…」\ `"Uh, no, not that badly..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…じゃあ…言わない」\ `"...then I shan't tell you."\ dwavestop 0 ;そんな会話ともつかぬやり取りを、淡々と交わす俺達。\ `That sort of exchange was the closest we got to conversation.\ ;１５ｃｍしか開かない窓から入ってくる、僅かな風。\ `The windows were open to their fullest extent; the gap that afforded was meagre, but it let the air in.\ ;時折、彼女の長い髪を揺らし、 ;同じように揺れる、窓辺に飾られた白い花。\ `So there was a gentle breeze in the room, enough to stir the girl's hair. `Enough to bring life to the room's only decoration, the white flowers by the window.\ ;お互い、つまらないテレビを見つめたまま、 ;時間だけを消費する日々だった。\ `That was how we passed the time. `Sitting drearily in front of a dull television.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\hayaasi.wav" ;タッタッタ、\ `The sound of approaching footsteps.\ ;「あら、二人共こんなところに居たの？」\ `"So this is where you've been!"\ dwavestop 0 ;そう言って駆け寄ってきた、年配の看護婦さん。\ `This was our nurse, a woman advanced in years.\ ;たまにナースステーションを覗いた限りでは、 ;この人が７階のチーフのようだった。\ `From what I'd been able to gather from passing glances into the nurse's station, she was the one in charge of the seventh floor.\ ;「どう？　セツミさん、熱出てない？」\ `"How are you, Setsumi-san? Not running a fever, I hope?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…大丈夫、出てない…」\ `"No... I'm fine..."\ dwavestop 0 ;…セツミ。@ ;どうやらそれが彼女の名前のようだった。\ `Setsumi.@ ` `That was her name. That was how I learnt it.\ ;「もう勝手に外をうろついたりしちゃ駄目ですからね」\ `"Well, as long as you don't go wandering around outside by yourself again..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いいですか？　皆んな心配するんですからね」\ `"All right? You had us all horribly worried."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…別に、いいよ…」\ `"...oh, whatever..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「まあ、なんて言い草なんでしょ」\ `"Well, what a thing to say!"\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 ;「もう、ホントに最近の子はしょうがないわね」\ `"I don't know, young people today..."\ dwavestop 0 ;それから暫くの間、小言を続ける看護婦さん。\ `The nurse scolded on in the background.\ ;それを彼女…セツミと呼ばれたこの子は、 ;素知らぬ様子で聞き流していた。\ `The girl... Setsumi?... just sat there, apparently ignoring her, with an expression of utter disinterest.\ ;小うるさい看護婦を無視するように、 ;正面のつまらないテレビを見続けたままだった。\ `She stared all the more determinedly at the television, though the programme was as boring as usual.\ ;「じゃあ、また後で採血に行きますからね」\ `"...and don't forget, we've got to take you for another blood sample later."\ dwavestop 0 ;その言葉を最後に、 ;再びナースステーションへと帰って行く看護婦さん。\ `The scolding subsided at last, and the nurse departed for her station.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",3 ;「なあ、お前ってさ…」\ `"Um, are you..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや…セツミで、いいんだよな？」\ `"I mean... can I call you Setsumi?"\ dwavestop 0 ;彼女の手首に巻かれた、白いビニールの腕輪。 ;そこに書かれた血液型と名前を見ながら尋ねた。\ `As I asked, I squinted at her wristband, trying to read the name (and blood group) that I knew would be written on it.\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「どうかしたか？　セツミ？」\ `"Are you okay? Setsumi?"\ ;「…どうして呼び捨てなの？」\ `"...how dare you leave off the honorific?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「はあ？」\ `"...sorry?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「年下のくせに…」\ `"A kid like you..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「お、おい、なんで俺が、年下なんだよ？」\ `"You what? How do you make out I'm a kid?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…そう思っただけ」\ `"Aren't you? Compared to me, anyway."\ dwavestop 0 ;”年下”という言葉に腹を立てた訳じゃない。\ `My blood boiled. It wasn't exactly that I objected to being thought of as young.\ ;只、どう見ても俺の方が５〜６才は上に思える。\ `It was just that the girl had to be at least five years younger than me. Probably six.\ ;だから俺は、胸ポケットに入れていた、 ;例の免許証を彼女へと差し向けた。\ `That's why I reacted the way I did. Why I reached into my breast pocket, pulled out that licence, and thrusted it at her.\ ;「どうだ、こう見えても俺、２０才だぞ？」\ `"All right? I may look young, but I'm 20, see?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;免許証には一瞥をくれただけで、それだけを返す彼女。\ `Her eyes flickered momentarily towards the licence.\ ;「やっぱり年下よ…」\ `"Like I said. A kid."\ dwavestop 0 ;「おい、よく分からねえぞ」\ `"What's that meant to mean?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「どうでもいいじゃない…少し上なだけよ」\ `"Does it matter? I'm just a bit older than that, that's all."\ dwavestop 0 ;相変わらず無表情のまま彼女が呟く。\ `Her face was expressionless, as always.\ ;その目は、つまらないテレビを見たままにも、 ;どこか遠いところを見ているようにも思えた…\ `And her eyes remained fixed on the TV. `But it seemed to me they were focused not on the screen, but on some point in the far distance...\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 mp3fadeout 2000 stop bg "e\byoin7_rouka.jpg",3 mp3loop "tui\sen032.mp3" ;朝の検温が終わった頃。\ ;俺は看護婦に見つからないようにエレベータに乗り込む。\ `The next morning, after my temperature reading, I sneaked into the lift and took it down to the ground floor.\ bg "e\byoin_rouka.jpg",3 ;１階に着くと、わざと外来用の出入り口を通って、 ;そのまま病院の外へと歩き始める。\ `The outpatients' exit was unwatched. I crept out that way and headed for the exit from the hospital campus.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;目指す場所は、以前に教えられた、 ;近いＡ駅ではなく、遠いＢ駅。\ `My intended destination was the further of the two nearby stations. `I had learned the rules by heart. "Don't try to use M--- station; go to K----- station instead."\ ;別に、逃げ出すつもりじゃなかった。\ `I wasn't exactly trying to run away.\ ;…７階か自宅… ;そのどちらか以外で死んだ奴はいない…\ ;以前にそう聞いていた。\ `I knew that was no good. I would die on the seventh floor, or at home.\ `I knew there was no other option. If anyone had tried to run, they hadn't escaped.\ ;そして、あのセツミとかいう彼女も、 ;何度か行ったらしいＢ駅。\ `But the girl, Setsumi... I gathered she'd been as far as this station several times.\ ;だから、なんとなく一度は、 ;その場所を見てみたかっただけだった。\ `I just wanted to try it for myself. See it for myself.\ ;「別に、監視員が居る訳じゃないだろう…」\ `It wasn't like there were going to be guards on the lookout.\ ;そう思いつつも、俺達は７階の住人。 ;他の入院患者とは違う。\ `Nonetheless, we were the inhabitants of the seventh floor. `We weren't like the other patients.\ ;もしかしたら…とも考えながら、 ;まだ早朝の駅までの道を歩き続ける。\ `Still wondering, I pressed on towards the station.\ ;急ぎ足で進む、通勤や通学の人達を横目に、 ;ゆっくりとした足取りで進みつづけた。\ `It was still early, and those around me were on their way to work or school. `I slowed my pace, but continued to walk.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;暫く歩いた頃、２５分ほどかかって到着した駅前。 ;バス停に換算すると４つ分ほどの距離だった。\ `It turned out to be about 25 minutes' walk to the station. `In bus terms, it would be about four stops away.\ ;「…それなりに人が多いな」\ `It was pretty crowded for its size.\ ;それがＢ駅を見た第一印象だった。\ `That was my first impression of the place.\ ;俺の服装がパジャマの為に、少しは目立ってしまうけど…\ ;しかし、このまま電車の切符を買えば、何の問題もなく、どこにでも行けるようにも思えた。\ ;どうしてＡ駅ではなく、このＢ駅を勧めるのかは分からない。\ ;でも、本当に逃げ出すつもりなら簡単に思えた。\ `If I'd been trying to escape, it would have been stupidly easy. `I stood out rather, being dressed in pyjamas, but even so nobody challenged me.\ `Whether things would have been different at M--- station, I don't know, but here I could just have bought a ticket and jumped on a train to anywhere, no questions asked.\ ;確か彼女も何度か来た筈だけど、 ;どうして彼女は、今も７階に留まっているのだろうか…\ ;早朝の駅前。\ ;足早に通り過ぎる人達を眺めながら、 ;ふと、そんなことを思っていた。\ `There was something funny about this. `She'd been here. She'd come this far several times, if I understood correctly.\ `That's what puzzled me, as I stood there in the morning sunlight, watching the comings and goings of passers-by.\ `Why did she stop here? `Why was she still living on the seventh floor?\ bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;その夜。消灯時間も過ぎた頃。\ `Night fell. Lights-out time passed.\ ;マンガ本にも飽き、寝付けなかった俺は、 ;一人で病院内をぶらぶらとしていた。\ `Tired of reading, and unable to sleep, I ended up wandering around the hospital.\ ;通常、消灯後にうろつくと、こうるさく言われるが、 ;俺達７階の住人は比較的自由だった。\ `As an ordinary patient I wouldn't have dared risk the nurses' wrath in such a way. `But we of the seventh floor were given more freedom than most.\ ;そして、照明を落とされ、 ;真っ暗になったいつもの談話室。\ `My wandering feet led me down the dimly illuminated corridor and into the lounge area.\ ;そこで、あいつの姿を見つけた。\ `That's where she was, too.\ bg "e\danwa_yoru.jpg",3 ;「よう、今日は外、見てるのか？」\ `"Heh, you're looking outside for a change today?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"...yeah."\ dwavestop 0 ;暗い室内。返事はするが、 ;その顔は窓の外に向けたままの彼女。\ `She was standing by the window in the darkened room. `She acknowledged my presence, but her face did not turn from the glass.\ ;早速俺は、今日あったことを話し始める。\ `I began to tell her about my day.\ ;「そういえばさ…昼間、駅前まで行ってきたぞ」\ `"Hey, you know what? I went to the station today."\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「教えられた通り、Ｂ駅の方に行ってみた」\ `"To K----- station, of course, like you told me. Just to have a look."\ ;「そう…」\ `"Really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;でも、彼女の反応は普段と変わらなかった。\ `The usual response.\ ;以前に彼女も行った筈だから、 ;何らかの反応があると思ったのだけど…\ `I'd hoped that talking about a shared experience might cause her to open up a little.\ ;それを考えると、今も彼女がここに留まるのは、@ ;本当は、最初から抜け出すつもりもなかったのだろうか？\ `But maybe it wasn't really something she cared about.@ ` `Maybe she was still here because she wasn't interested in running.\ ;「…わたし、もうすぐ帰れるの…」\ `"I'll be... going home again soon..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ？」\ `"Eh?"\ ;突然、口を開いた彼女。\ `That took me by surprise. She'd never volunteered any personal information like that before.\ ;まるで、今の俺の心を、 ;見透かされたような言葉だった。\ `But I could see the connection. `I reckoned she could tell what I'd been thinking.\ ;「でも、次で３回目だから…@もう会えないかもね…」\ `"If I come back it'll be my third time. So...@ ` we might not meet again."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ん…ああ、そうだな…」\ `"Um... yeah, I suppose..."\ dwavestop 0 ;恐らくこいつが言うところの帰れるってのは、 ;仮退院のことを指しているのだろう。\ `By "going home", she had to be referring to a temporary discharge.\ ;この７階って場所では、 ;３回以上の入退院を繰り返すことは、まず無いらしい。\ `The lore was quite clear on this point: basically nobody was admitted to the seventh floor more than three times.\ ;特に高齢者と違い、病状の進行速度を考えると、 ;俺達のような若い年代なら尚更のことだった。\ `That applied to us above all. The condition progresses faster in our age group than among older people.\ ;そういう意味での、もう会えないという言葉だった。\ `She was quite right. It was entirely plausible that we might never meet again.\ !s80 ;「ねえ…あなたはどちらを選ぶの？」\ `"Tell me... which will you choose?"\ ;「…選ぶとは？」\ `"Which what?"\ ;「…どっちで、死ぬつもりってこと」\ `"...where will you decide to die?"\ ;「…………」\ `"............"\ !sd ;突然、『死』という単語を聞かされ、 ;俺は一瞬だけ言葉に詰まってしまう。\ `"Die". Such a sudden word, spoken so suddenly. `For a moment I'm at a loss for a reply.\ ;「さあな…まだ考えてない」\ `"I don't know... haven't really thought about it."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そう…まだ１回目だもんね」\ `"No... you're still on your first time..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そう呟いて寂しそうにする彼女。\ `Her response was muted, murmured. Disappointed.\ ;もちろん俺だって、 ;いつまでもここに居れる訳はない。\ `She was right. I would have to decide sooner or later. I couldn't stay here for ever.\ ;他の皆んなのように、 ;何回か入退院を繰り返して、徐々に弱って、いつかは…\ `I was going to go through the same process as everyone else before me. `Out. Back in, weaker. Back out. Back in, weaker still.\ ;結局最後には、この７階か、 ;薄っぺらい笑顔に囲まれた家かを選ぶことになるのだろう。\ `I would only have one decision to make: whether to die here on the seventh floor, or at home, smothered in false smiles.\ !s90 ;「わたしは…家は嫌…」\ `"I don't want to... die at home..."\ dwavestop 0 !w300 ;「だけど、ここも嫌…」\ `"...but I can't face it here either..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「…じゃあ、どうすんだ？」\ `"What will you do, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s90 ;「…別に…どうもしない…」\ `"...there's not a lot I can."\ dwavestop 0 !w200 !s80 ;「自力で歩ける内に、どこかに行くだけ…」\ `"Maybe I'll just... walk, for as long as I can..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「どこかって、お前…」\ `"Where to?"\ ;明らかに逃げる気になれば逃げれるのに、 ;今もこの７階に留まっている彼女。\ ;それを考えると…\ `So she was planning to run away.\ `But then why, why, was she still here?\ ;「…もしかして、他に行くあてがあるのか？」\ `"Do you, uh, have anywhere in mind?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s80 ;「あなた…わたしを引き止めたいの？」\ `"Are you going to try and stop me?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「えっ…」\ `"I, uh..."\ dwavestop 0 !s80 ;「それとも…一緒について来たいの？」\ `"Or... were you hoping to come with me?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「あ、いや、別にそんな意味じゃないけど…」\ `"No, that... that's not why, I was just, uh... you know... asking..."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 ;「…じゃあ…聞かないで…」\ `"Please... don't."\ dwavestop 0 ;窓の外を見つめたまま淡々と話す彼女。 ;相変わらず俺の方は見ようともしない会話だった。\ `She spoke disinterestedly, without lifting her gaze from the window for a moment. `She still had not once so much as looked at me.\ ;でも、その時だけは…\ ;いつもの無表情な横顔が哀しそうに見えた。\ `And though her face, such of it as I could see, was always expressionless, now I thought I saw a despair in it that had not been there before.\ bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;３回目の仮退院が最後だと教えられ、 ;初めてこの７階に来た俺。\ ;そして、間もなく２回目を迎える彼女。\ ;まだ俺には、リアルで起こった事として実感できないけど…\ `'The third admission is the last'. That's what the lore said. `And she was coming to the end of her second time.\ `There was no way that I, a first-timer, would understand what that meant. `I, who had still not fully grasped the certainty and imminence of my own mortality.\ ;いつかは俺も、 ;あんな顔をするようになるのだろうか…\ `I knew that would change. Soon I too would have cause to wear that face...\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\sora_ame01.jpg",3 ;未明から降り出した雨。\ `It was raining.\ ;時折、みぞれや雪に変わりながらも、 ;しとしとと降り続いていた。\ `From time to time the rain would soften to sleet or harden to snow, would sheet or drizzle, but it never stopped.\ mp3loop "bgm\n03.mp3" bg "e\danwa_ame.jpg",3 ;そんな中、いつもの場所でテレビを見ている俺。 ;相変わらず、この７階はひと気がなかった。\ `I was indoors, of course. `Sitting in my usual place, in front of the TV on the empty seventh floor.\ ;「…おもしろい？」\ `"Is there anything on?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いいや、つまらない…」\ `"The usual crap..."\ dwavestop 0 ;向こうからやってきた彼女。\ ;それだけの言葉を交わすと、 ;黙って隣のパイプ椅子へと腰掛ける。\ `She passed behind me and lowered herself into the next chair without another word.\ ;そして今日も、二人してつまらないテレビを眺め始めた。\ `Clearly we were going to have another thrilling day.\ ;…きっと彼女もそうなんだろう。\ `She was probably just as bored as I was.\ ;他にやることもなかった。やれることもなかった。\ `But we had nothing better to do. There was nothing else we could do.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;「あ……」\ `"...oh!..."\ dwavestop 0 ;珍しくテレビに反応した彼女。\ `A reaction? This was unprecedented.\ ;「どうかしたか？」\ `"What is it?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…別に」\ `"...nothing."\ dwavestop 0 ;言葉はいつも通りの『別に』だが、 ;普段とは違う彼女の反応。\ `Her reply was the same as ever. `But she wouldn't have gasped for nothing.\ ;それが気になった俺も画面に注目した。\ `Startled and intrigued, all at once I began to take in what the TV was showing.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 ;テレビの中にはどこかの自然風景。 ;綺麗な野山に、樹木や花が景色に溶け込んでいた。\ `It was some natural history programme. `The screen was filled with the countryside; trees and flowers mingled in the background.\ ;そして、そこに映し出されていた、たくさんの白い花。\ `The focus, however, was on the foreground. A host of white flowers.\ bg "e\tv_hana.jpg",5 ;…見覚えのある花だった。\ `Flowers I recognised.\ ;今もこの部屋の窓辺に飾られている、 ;目の前の白い花と似ていた。\ `They looked just like the ones that were still by the window, decorating the lounge.\ ;「もしかして、同じ花か？」\ `"Aren't those what we've got in here?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、これってそっくりじゃん」\ `"They look the same, don't they?"\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながら、ブラウン管と窓辺を交互に指差す俺。\ `I pointed at the screen, then at the vase by the window.\ ;「…ちがう」\ `"They aren't."\ dwavestop 0 ;「へえ、そうなんだ？」\ `"Are you sure? They look like it..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「種類は同じだけど…厳密に言えば違う…」\ `"Same species... different variety."\ dwavestop 0 ;窓辺の花には一瞥をくれただけで、また正面のテレビを見続けたまま答える彼女。\ `She had barely glanced at the flowers here before her eyes swung back to those on the screen.\ ;正直言って、違うと否定されても、俺にはその両者の区別が分からなかった。\ `To be perfectly frank, even knowing they were not the same thing, I was still unable to detect any way in which the two varieties differed.\ ;それに、俺にとっては花が同じであろうが、違っていようが、別にどうでも良いことだった。\ `It was all the same to me anyway. Botany was not a subject for which I had ever felt any particular passion.\ ;それよりも、普段なら決して話しに乗ってこない彼女。\ ;その彼女が珍しく言葉を続けていた。だから俺も、話しを合わせてみた。\ `I stuck with the subject not because it interested me, but because it appeared to interest her.\ `It was rare for her to allow a conversation to continue even this far.\ bg "e\danwa_ame.jpg",5 ;「お前ってさ、もしかして詳しいのか？　こーゆーのに」\ `"You seem to know an awful lot. Is this the kind of thing you're into?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…別に」\ `"Not really."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そうか？　でも俺には違いが分からねえよ」\ `"What, really? I'd thought you'd need to be, to be able to see the difference..."\ ;ブラウン管の向こうに咲く白い花。 ;それと彼女の横顔の向こうに在る花瓶の花。\ `Two sets of flowers. One alive but distant, the sea of white blooms within the screen. `The other so near, just beyond the girl... but dying in a vase.\ ;ぼんやりと、その両者を眺めながら、尚も言葉を続けた。\ `I made another attempt to revive the conversation.\ ;「なあなあ、これってさ、蘭とか百合ってのか？」\ `"What are they, anyway? Orchids, or lilies, or something?"\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、白っぽい色してるしさ」\ `"I can't think of anything else white..."\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;興味もないくせに、適当に言葉を続ける俺。\ ;だけど…@彼女は、すぐにいつもの調子で黙ってしまう。\ ;相変わらずの様子で、つまらないブラウン管を見つめるだけだった。\ ;そして、もう会話にはのってくれないのかと諦め、再び俺も、テレビに視線を戻そうとした時…\ `This was hard going. I did my best to feign interest, but it was all I could do to keep talking.\ `As for the girl, she'd already apparently lapsed back into her usual silent and detached state.\ `Either the subject didn't appeal to her after all, or she had realised it didn't appeal to me.\ `I was on the verge of giving up and switching off myself, when...\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 ;「…ナルキッソス…」\ `"Narcissi..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"What?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ナルキッソスよ…」\ `"They're narcissi."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_0013.jpg",5 bg "e\chara_001.jpg",5 ;答えながら…@初めて、俺に顔を向けた。\ `As she spoke...@ ` she looked at me for the first time.\ ;腰まである長い髪を揺らして… ;テレビの画面に映った花を指しながら、俺を見つめた。\ `Shaking her waist-length hair, and indicating the flowers on the screen with one slender finger, she turned to face me.\ ;画面に映った花と同じような、 ;手首に巻いた白いビニールの腕輪と、白い肌。\ `Her skin was paler than the flowers on the screen, but whiter still was the band round her wrist.\ ;初めて見つめられたその顔は…\ `And for the first time I got a proper view of her face.\ ;僅かだけ微笑んでくれたようにも思えた。\ `It almost seemed to betray a hint of a smile.\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 mov %flg_cha2,1 mov %flg_bplay,2 goto *mini_title *honpen3 dwavestop 1 ;mov $sys_midasi,"銀のクーペ" mov $sys_midasi,"`The Silver Coupe" setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 bg "tui2\c0432_h.bmp",5 bg "e\b.jpg",3 mp3loop "tui2\e01.mp3" ;数日が過ぎ、冬が更に本格的になった頃。\ `The days proceeded into the height of winter.\ ;世間では受験シーズンと呼ばれる中、相変わらず俺達は、今日もテレビを眺めていた。\ `While the world outside moved on into the examination season, she and I were left on the seventh floor, watching television.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",3 ;「つまらねえな…」\ `"I'm bored..."\ ;「…そうね」\ `"...me too."\ dwavestop 0 ;会話とも呼べないやり取り。\ `You couldn't call it conversation, but at least we were talking.\ ;お互い、無意味に時間だけを消費する日々だった。\ `At least it passed the time.\ ;「そういえばお前って…いつだっけ？」\ `"You'll be out pretty soon now, won't you?"\ ;「…今日よ」\ `"Today."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そうか、今日だったか…」\ `"Sooner than I thought..."\ ;ここで俺たちが言うところの、「今日」とは、 ;以前に話してくれた、彼女の仮退院のことを指していた。\ ;This space deliberately left blank. ;「もう…会えないかもね」\ `"We probably shan't meet again."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ん？　ああ、そうだな…」\ `"Yeah... probably..."\ ;仮に、彼女がこの７階に再び帰ってこれたとしても、 ;あと１回が限度だろう。\ `Even if she did end up coming back to the seventh floor one last time, it would be the last.\ ;その間、きっと俺も、家とこの場所を行き来している筈。\ ;そんな俺達が、再び出会えるような、タイミングがあるとは思えなかった。\ `There was no guarantee that that would happen, and if it did, I might well have been at home myself at the time.\ `If anything, the odds were against it.\ ;「…あなた、決まった？」\ `"...have you chosen yet?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「例の、どっちで死ぬかってのか？」\ `"Chosen what? Where to die?"\ ;「うん」\ `"Yeah."\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、まだだ…」\ `"No... not yet..."\ ;「…そう…」\ `"Fair enough..."\ dwavestop 0 ;少しだけ寂しそうに頷く彼女。 ;その表情は、２回目に仮退院する者、故なのだろう。\ ;まだ俺には実感が沸かないし、医者からは１回目の仮退院について触れられていない。\ `She nodded. She wasn't surprised. `Her eyes spoke of despair and isolation. Emotions I supposed to be inevitable for one on the verge of her second temporary discharge.\ `I could sympathise, but I didn't really know how she felt. I hadn't even been told when my first discharge would be yet.\ ;そういえば…\ ;結局彼女は、自分自身の答えは決まっているのだろうか…\ `Still, I wondered why she'd brought this subject up now.\ `Perhaps she'd made up her own mind...\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\hayaasi.wav" ;タッタッタ、\ ;「セツミ、仕度できたわよ」\ `Before I could ask her, however, footsteps approached and an outsider's voice cut in.\ `"Setsumi! Are you ready?"\ ;そう言ってやって来た、どこかのおばさん。\ ;恐らくは彼女の母親なのだろう。 `A woman entered. The girl's mother, I guessed; she looked about the right age.\ ;隣に座っていた俺にも、小さく頭を下げてくれた。\ `She acknowledged my presence with a nod.\ ;「じゃあ、そろそろ、行くけど用意はいい？」\ `"I've got everything ready now. Shall we be going?"\ ;「…うん」\ `"Right..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「それでは、失礼します」\ `"Do excuse us, then."\ ;もう一度、俺に小さくお辞儀をすると、その場を立ち去ろうとするおばさん。\ ;そして、娘である彼女へと手を伸ばすのだけど…\ `This last was to me, and accompanied by another bow.\ `Then she turned to take the girl, her daughter, offering her a hand.\ ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;でも…彼女はその場を離れようとしなかった。\ `But she made no move to take it.\ ;母親に手を引かれるようにしても、何故かパイプ椅子から立ち上がろうとしなかった。\ `Her mother took a step closer and reached down to take her by the hand. But the girl wouldn't stand.\ ;「どうかしたの、セツミ？」\ `"Are you all right?"\ ;「少し…苦しい…」\ `"...it... hurts..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ、苦しいって、どこが？　胸？お腹？」\ `"Where does it hurt?! Where is it, Setsumi? Is it your chest? Your stomach?"\ ;「…胸…」\ `"...my chest..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ちょ、ちょっと待ってなさい、すぐに先生呼んできますから」\ `"R, right, wait here, don't move, I'll call the doctor...!"\ dwave 1,"se\hayaasi.wav" ;タッタッタ、\ ;慌しく、来客用のスリッパを鳴らして、ナースステーションへと駆け出すおばさん。\ `The woman rushed off towards the nurse's station, her visitors' slippers flapping against the floor.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",3 ;残されたこの場所には、パイプ椅子に座って俯いたままの彼女と俺だけ。\ `Leaving the girl sitting there, alone once more but for me.\ ;その病状や進行等、俺には全く分からない。\ `I didn't know what was wrong with her, or how far her condition had progressed.\ ;俺が知っていることは、名前はセツミ、血液型Ｏ。 ;例の白い腕輪に書かれていることだけだった。\ `All I knew was that her name was Setsumi, and her blood group was O. `That's all that was written on her wristband.\ ;でも、俺達は７階の住人であり、少なくとも彼女は、俺以上なのだろう。\ `But I did know she'd been a seventh-floor case for longer than I had.\ ;「なあ、先生来るまで、そこで横になってるか？」\ `"Why don't you lie down there till the doctor gets here?"\ ;言いながら、長椅子を指差す。 ;以前からこの部屋の隅に備えてあった物だった。\ `I pointed to a couch.\ `It had been stuck in the corner of the room. We hadn't had any use for it.\ ;「ほら、背中支えてやるから」\ `"I could support your back, if you like."\ ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…もう平気よ」\ `"No need... I'm okay now."\ dwavestop 0 ;それだけを告げると、さっと、自分から立ち上がる彼女。\ `She stood up by herself, to prove it.\ ;「お、おい、お前…」\ ;無理すんなよ。\ `"Hey, don't..."\ `...overdo things.\ ;っと、続けるよりも早く、さっさと、廊下へと歩き出してしまった。\ `Is what I was going to say. `But she was already walking, and she was out of sight before I could finish.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 mp3fadeout 2000 stop bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;夜。消灯時間も過ぎた頃。\ `Night time. After lights-out.\ ;いつものように、マンガ本にも飽き、寝付けなかった俺は、病院内をぶらぶらとしていた。\ `Finding myself once more tired of reading and yet unable to sleep, I ended up leaving my room as usual. ;そして、照明を落とされ、 ;真っ暗になったいつもの談話室。\ `My wandering feet led me down the dimly illuminated corridor and into the lounge area.\ ;そこで、あいつの姿を見つけた。\ `That's where she was, too.\ mp3loop "tui\sen032.mp3" bg "e\danwa_yoru.jpg",3 ;「よう、またここに居たのか…」\ `"What, still here...?"\ ;「…うん」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「どうした？　また調子悪いのか？」\ `"What's up? Not feeling good?"\ ;「…別に」\ `"I'm fine."\ dwavestop 0 ;窓の外を見つめたまま、それだけを返す彼女。\ `She was standing in the dark again, staring out of the window.\ ;結局、彼女の仮退院は中止になったようだった。\ `Her discharge must have been cancelled, of course.\ ;これで、次の機会がいつになったのかは分からないが、恐らくは数日単位ではなく、週単位での延期なのだろう。\ `I didn't know whether it had been cancelled altogether, or merely postponed. `But if the latter, it would have been a question of weeks, not merely days.\ ;「なあ、もしかしてだけどさ…」\ `"You know, I'm beginning to wonder..."\ ;「今日のって…仮病か？」\ `"Was that real, earlier? Or were you faking it?"\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;いや、仮病って言い方も変かも知れない。 ;元々、俺達は普通の状態とは呼べない。\ `Maybe that was a bad way to put it. ;「要はお前…仮退院したくなかったからなのか？」\ `"I mean... was it because you didn't want to go home?"\ ;「…意味がわからないわよ」\ `"I'm not sure what you're getting at."\ dwavestop 0 ;「だってお前、もう後が無いだろ…」\ `"Wasn't that your last chance to leave?"\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;その問いには、黙ったまま何も返してくれなかった。\ `She had no answer. ;以前から彼女は、何度も、どちらで死ぬつもりと俺に問うてきた。\ `Several times over the last few weeks she'd put to me the question of where I intended to die.\ ;それに対して、まだ決めかねている俺と、家も７階も、どちらも嫌だと言っていた彼女。\ `I'd had no answer then, while she'd been quite emphatic that both options, both here and her home, appealed to her equally little.\ ;「やっぱりお前…」\ ;「他に、行くあてがある訳じゃないんだな…」\ `"You... don't have anywhere else to go, do you...?"\ !s90 ;「…だったら…@どうなのよ？」\ `"...well...@ ` what if I don't?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、別に…」\ `"Never mind..."\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 !sd ;真っ暗になったいつもの談話室。\ `The room fell silent.\ ;相変わらず、俺の方は見ようともせず、彼女は窓の外を見つめたままだった。\ `She just stood there, staring out of the window. `She didn't say another word. She didn't so much as look at me.\ bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;まだ１１時だというのに、大部分の照明が落とされた、この病院という場所。\ `It was only about eleven o'clock, but nonetheless most of the lights were dimmed or out.\ ;…ここは、日常と非日常の接点。\ `This was a hospital. A point of contact between the everyday and the extraordinary.\ ;更に俺達は、７階の住人。 ;もう、７階と家以外を選ぶことは出来ない。\ `It was all the more so for us, the seventh-floor cases. This was our world.\ `We couldn't even go home without special arrangements. `We couldn't go anywhere else at all.\ ;そんな真っ暗な７階の窓から、 ;彼女が見つめたままの外の世界。日常の世界。\ `The world she was staring out into now from this dark seventh-floor room was one such somewhere else: the everyday world.\ ;まだ、ビルや家の灯りが煌々と光り、 ;家路を急ぐ人の、足早に歩く姿で溢れていた。\ `There were streets out there filled with houses and blocks that were still ablaze with light; streets filled with people hurrying to and fro, out to parties and home to bed.\ ;俺自身、まだ自覚は薄いが…\ `I was still struggling to come to terms with what I was now.\ ;既に俺は７階の住人。非日常の住人。\ `A resident of the seventh floor. An inhabitant of an extraordinary world.\ ;もうあの世界へ、帰れることはないだろう…\ `There was no place left for me outside.\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\sora_ame02.jpg",5 !s80 ;『…時間の止まったわたし…』\ `"Time has stopped for me..."\ !sd ;幾つもの季節を、白い梅雨空を、 ;誰とも言葉を交わす必要もなく過ごした…\ `I've passed all these seasons, under that white overcast sky, without needing to speak to anyone...\ ;最初の内は、窓から元気に登校する子供や、 ;足早に歩く人達を眺めていた。\ `At first I used to look out of the window, watching kids running to school, watching the world hurry by.\ ;それに飽きた頃、いつもテレビを見ていた。 ;他にすることもなかった。やれることもなかった。\ `When I got tired of that, I started watching TV more. `I didn't have anything better to do. I didn't really have any other options.\ ;窓の外は雪でも、ブラウン管の中は昼。\ `It helped, in a way. It didn't matter what it was like outside, whether it was snowing or whatever, if it was springtime on TV.\ ;寒さも、暑さも、痛さも無い、目の前に広がる夢の世界。\ `There was a world for me there. No cold, no heat, no pain. Just dreams.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 !s80 ;…仮想に安楽を求め…\ `A kind of vicarious happy life...\ !sd ;膨大な知識だけを増やし…@ ;無意味な価値観だけを築いて、築いて、積み上げて…\ `I ended up collecting a fair body of knowledge...@ ` `But what I picked up was just facts and figures to me.\ ;いつしか、テレビに映るモノが現実感を失った。\ `I'd somehow lost any sense that the things I saw on that TV screen were actually connected with reality.\ ;次は本の中、ゲームの中、そして家族…\ `The books I read went the same way: they didn't seem to be about real things, just abstract concepts. Games were the same.\ ;やがて、わたし自身のことですら、 ;まるで他人のように眺め、リアルとして認識できなくなった。\ `Ultimately it happened to people too. I didn't seem real myself. My consciousness was just an observer; my body, and the family fussing around it, mere objects of observation.\ ;だから、この７階に来た時も驚きはしなかった。\ `So being transferred up here to the seventh floor didn't change much for me.\ ;目を閉じれば、いつでも世界は消える。 ;だから平気だと思った。思うことにした。\ `Everything vanished in just the same way when I closed my eyes. `That was all I needed, I thought. Decided to think.\ ;そして、間もなく２回目の退院。\ `It didn't seem all that long before the time came for my second temporary discharge.\ ;次に来る時には、一人では歩けないかも知れない。\ `The next time I came back here, I couldn't even be sure I'd be capable of walking unaided.\ ;それがわかっているのに、 ;抗えない自分を情けないと思った。\ `I thought it was pathetic, really, the way I couldn't even struggle against that.\ ;…行き先すら持たない自分を、滑稽だとも思った。\ `I thought it was ridiculous, really, the way I didn't even have a place to go to.\ bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",5 !s80 ;「時間を止め、心を止め、胸に大きな傷跡を作り…」\ `"Stopping my life, stopping my heart, carving a long scar into my breast..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",3 ;「それでも…@２２年も生きたのに哀れだと思った…」\ `"Even though I've lived 22 years...@ ` it still seems a shame..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 !sd stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "tui2\c044_h.bmp",3 click bg "e\sora03.jpg",5 ;それから更に数日後…\ `The days continued to pass.\ ;先日までの曇り空が消え、 ;どこまでも高い、高い、冬空が広がっていた。\ `The previous days' clouds tore and scattered, and the winter's sky spread out clear and high.\ bg "e\byoin7_rouka.jpg",3 ;珍しく見舞いに来た親父。 ;終始、辛そうな顔をしていた。\ `My father made one of his rare visits. `His face was pained and drawn.\ ;でも、俺の保険がどうとか言っていた。\ ;その時の目は哀しそうではなかった。\ `The only time he seemed to cheer up was when he was talking about life assurance. `On me.\ ;「じゃあ、先生と少し話しがあるから…」\ `"Now, I need to have a word with the doctor too, so..."\ ;そう告げると、廊下を去っていった親父。\ `He left at last.\ ;以前にも行った、 ;あの薄暗い談話室へ向かったようだった。\ `He was probably heading back downstairs, back to that gloomy discussion room.\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;また、一人となった病室。\ `So I was alone again.\ ;何もすることがない俺は、 ;売店で買ってきてくれた週刊誌へと手を伸ばす。\ `He'd brought me some magazines. I had nothing better to do, so I reached over for one.\ ;そこには、同じように ;見舞いとして持ってきてくれた果物とジュース。\ `They were on the table with the other stuff he'd brought. Fruit and juice and stuff.\ ;その果物を入れたバスケットの横。\ `But there was something else. Beside the basket of fruit.\ ;ちょうど、俺の嫌いなメロンの前…\ `Right in front of the melon (a fruit I detest).\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\key2.wav" stop mp3fadeout 2000 bg "e\carkey.jpg",5 ;目に入ったのは…@車のキーだった。\ `Keys.\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;銀色に輝くキー。\ `A set of silver sparkling car keys.\ ;親父自慢の、内装から手を加えたらしいクーペ。\ `My father's pride and joy was his coupe, with its custom interior and trim. `He'd never dreamed of letting me near the thing.\ ;以前にも何気なく貸してくれと言い、 ;あっけなく断られた、その車のキーだった。\ `That's what these were the keys to.\ ;そして、パジャマの胸ポケットには、例の免許証。\ `I still kept my driving licence in my breast pocket, even in these pyjamas.\ ;あの日、出番を失ってしまったにもかかわらず、 ;持ち続けていた…かつての日常の証しだった。\ `Even though I'd lost the chance to use it, I kept it there as a reminder that I'd had an ordinary life.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\key2.wav" ;カチャ、\ ;俺は黙って、キーを掴んだ。\ `I laid a hand on the keys.\ `My fingers closed around them.\ ;咄嗟にそうしてしまった。 ;自分でも、明確な理由はわからない。\ `I'd taken them. I didn't really know why.\ ;只、何となくそうしていた。 ;どこか、テレビの１シーンを眺めているようだった。\ `It's just what I ended up doing. It was as though I was watching someone else do it, in a TV drama or something.\ ;そして、貰っていた数日分の薬。 ;それだけをコンビニ袋に詰めると…\ `I had several days' worth of medicine in my room, too. Somehow they ended up in a carrier bag.\ ;廊下へと向かった。\ `While I ended up in the corridor.\ mp3loop "bgm\o02.mp3" bg "e\w.jpg",5 ;…ナースステーションの横をすり抜け…\ `There was nobody on duty at the nurse's station. Nobody to see me pass.\ ;足早にエレベーターに向かって歩き続ける。\ `I continued on past, towards the lifts.\ ;右手にコンビニ袋、左手には車のキー。 ;胸ポケットには、出番を失くした筈の免許証を忍ばせていた。\ `In my right hand, the carrier bag; in my left, the car keys. `Tucked away in my breast pocket, the driving licence I'd never thought I'd be able to use.\ bg "e\danwa.jpg",5 ;談話室の前。\ `I reached the lounge and glanced inside.\ ;次に目に入ったのが、 ;いつものように、テレビを見ていた彼女の姿だった。\ `She was in there.\ ;ちゃちいパイプ椅子に座って、 ;今日もつまらなさそうに画面を見ていた。\ `Plonked in her usual chair, staring listlessly at the TV screen.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;「なあお前…それ面白いか？」\ `"Are you having fun there?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そう見える？」\ `"Do I look like I am?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、全然…」\ `"Not really."\ dwavestop 0 ;相変わらずのやり取り。\ `The usual exchange.\ ;いつもの遠くを見るような目をしていた。\ `Her usual expression, detached and distant-eyed.\ !s85 ;「それじゃあ…@いっしょに行くか？」\ `"Then...@ ` why not come with me instead?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"Eh...?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;手に持った車のキーを見せながら、言葉を続けた。\ `I held up the keys for her to see, and continued.\ ;「俺も…家は嫌だ」\ `"I've decided... I don't want to die at home."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「わたしは…７階も嫌…」\ `"I... don't want it to be here, either..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「それじゃあ…@いっしょに行くか？」\ `"Then...@ ` why not come with me instead?"\ dwavestop 0 !s100 ;「…うん」\ `"...why not?"\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\w.jpg",5 !sd ;その言葉と共に、パイプ椅子から立ち上がる彼女。@ `And with that she stood up.\ ;ふわりと長い髪が揺れ、俺の鼻先をかすめた。\ `She shook her long hair, and a lock brushed against the tip of my nose.\ ;そして彼女も、 ;何日分かの薬をコンビニ袋に詰めると…\ `And she added her medicine to the bag...\ ;二人して７階を後にした。\ `Then we left the seventh floor together.\ ;俺はつまらないテレビを消した。 ;カン高い笑い声をあげていた司会者は沈黙した。\ `I switched the awful television off as we went. `The compere's shrill laughter was cut short, and silence reigned.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;お互い、パジャマのままエレベーターに乗り込む。 ;最上階である、この階から１階へと降りる。\ `Clad as we were in a pyjamas, for want of anything to change into, we rode the lift all the way down to the ground floor.\ ;１階に着いても、入退院や急患入り口ではなく、 ;わざと外来の出入口から駐車場へと向かった。\ `We left by the outpatients' exit, of course, not the main door by reception.\ `It was less conspicuous, and handier for the car park.\ bg "e\sora03.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\kaze3.wav" ;ビュウーー、\ ;屋外に出た途端に、冷たい木枯らしが顔を叩く。@ `The freezing wind struck us full in the face as we stepped outside.\ ;障害物の少ない駐車場は、尚更、風が強いように感じた。\ `The car park was wide open and clear of obstructions; that just made the blast all the stronger.\ ;二人して、キョロキョロと辺りに気を配りながら、 ;広い病院の駐車場を歩き回る。\ `We hurried together across the tarmac. I was looking out for the car. She was looking out for trouble.\ ;やがて… ;しばらく探して、やっと見つけた親父の車。\ `It didn't take long to find the car. It wasn't the sort that blends in.\ bg "e\byoin_chusyajo.jpg",5 ;銀のクーペ。@ ;内装にまで手を入れた親父自慢の車だった。\ `The silver coupe.@ ` `My father's pride and joy.\ ;早速俺は、キーをさし込むとドアを開ける。\ `I unlocked it.\ dwave 1,"se\kati.wav" ;カチャ、\ ;「ほら、乗っていいぞ」\ `"Get in."\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん、わかった…」\ `"Okay..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;バタン、\ ;深々とドライバーズシートに身を沈める俺。\ `I swung myself into the driver's seat.\ ;助手席の彼女は、 ;小柄の為か普通に座っても前が見え難い程だった。\ `She was already adjusting her side. At her size, she needed the seat fully upright if she was going to be able to see out.\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo.jpg",3 ;次に、手に持ったキーをイグニッションへと挿れ、 ;回しながら軽くアクセルを踏む。\ `Now it was just a case of putting the key in the ignition and turning it, while stepping lightly on the accelerator.\ ;全て、教習所で習った通りだった。\ `Just like they'd taught me at driving school.\ dwave 1,"se\engine_start.wav" ;キュルキュル、 ;ウォンブオン……\ ;たちまち、車内に響く軽いエンジン音。\ `The engine purred into life.\ ;後はサイドブレーキを外して、クラッチを離すだけ。\ `Next... just release the handbrake and let the clutch in gently.\ ;…これで、どこへでも行けた。行ける筈だった。\ `And we were free. We could go anywhere... or should be able to.\ ;「じゃあ、行くぞ…」\ `"Shall we go?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Okay."\ dwavestop 0 ;小さく頷く彼女。 ;俺は返事をする代わりにギアをセカンドに入れる。\ `She nodded. I shifted into second in reply.\ ;そして、静かに車を発進させた。\ `And we began to glide forwards.\ dwave 1,"se\car_start2.wav" bg "e\naname_machi2.jpg",5 ;慣れないクラッチに、 ;ガタガタと車体を揺らしながらも、ゆっくりと進む。\ `It was not the smoothest of starts; the clutch was unfamiliar, and changing gears was consequentially a rather bumpy experience.\ ;「…揺れるわね」\ `"Bit jerky..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、初めて乗る車だからな…」\ `"Yeah, I haven't driven this before..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ついでに言うと、免許取って初めての運転だ」\ `"Come to that, I haven't driven at all since I passed my test."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そう…」\ `"I see..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;やがて目の前に現れた、病院の駐車場出口。 ;そこに面して通っている大きめの道路。\ `It wasn't far to the car park exit, and that opened straight onto the main road.\ ;俺は、その信号のない交差点へと車を出した。\ `There were no traffic lights. I drove straight out without stopping.\ bg "e\shanai_inaka.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\c-1.wav" ;パァーン、パーン、\ ;クラクションを浴びせる後続の車。 ;いきなり車線に入ってきた俺に対してのものだった。\ `Our entry onto the road was greeted by a sennet of horns from the traffic behind us.\ ;慣れないクラッチに、ギアを変える度に、 ;ガツガツとつんのめりながらも走る銀のクーペ。\ `I accelerated to the speed of the flow, trying not to be flustered by the crunches and jerks that accompanied each inexpert change of gear.\ dwave 1,"se\c-2.wav" ;それが真後ろの車には余計に気に障るのか、 ;当分、クラクションは止みそうになかった。\ `This juddering acceleration appeared only to enrage the driver behind us all the more. He honked angrily away. Perhaps he'd taped the horn lever down.\ ;なのに、特に気にするでもなく走る俺。 ;どこかリアルとしての感覚が薄かった。\ `I managed to push him out of my mind and concentrate on driving. `I still wasn't really with it. The whole affair seemed vaguely unreal.\ !s85 ;「なあ、お前…」\ `"You okay there?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…なに？」\ `"How do you mean?"\ dwavestop 0 !w200 ;「…怖いか？」\ `"Are you scared?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ !w500 !s90 ;「…怖がった方がいい？」\ `"...would it help if I was?"\ dwavestop 0 !w300 ;「いや…別に…」\ `"Not quite what I meant..."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 dwave 2,"se\car1.wav" bg "e\sora03.jpg",5 !s75 ;まだ昼前。高い日。\ `It was still morning. The sun was high.\ ;フロントガラス越しに見た、一月の冬空。 ;何故か哀しいと思えるほど青く澄んでいた。\ `The January sky stretched out and up beyond the windscreen, still, blue, and empty.\ ;…別に行くあてなんて無かった。\ `We had no particular place to go.\ ;寒空、慣れないクラッチに、車体を揺らした日のこと。@ `It was a day for a cold sky, an unfamiliar clutch, a fast car with a shaking chassis.\ ;二人して、パジャマ姿のまま国道を目指した日のこと。\ `It was a day to hit the road together... in our pyjamas.\ !s85 ;…そんな冬の日のこと…\ `It was that kind of winter day...\ !sd bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 2000 bg "tui2\c0442.bmp",3 click ;あんなに高かった日が ;オレンジへと変わろうとする頃。\ `Then came the time of day when the sun began to sink and redden.\ bg "e\sora_yu.jpg",3 mp3loop "bgm\e02.mp3" ;走り続ける俺たち。 ;只、やみくもに車を走り続けていた。\ `I had simply driven all day, never once pausing, never once thinking about where we were going.\ ;そして、辺りが見覚えのない場所になった頃…\ `At length it came to my attention that I did not, in fact, have the faintest clue where we were.\ ;「…少し停めるぞ」\ `"Mind if we stop for a moment?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Okay..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chusha_michi2_yu.jpg",5 ;やっと、車を停車させた俺。\ `It was time to stop and think.\ ;市街地から外れた、どこかの道端。 ;寂しげでほとんど交通量も見えないところだった。\ `We were well away from the city now, of course, out in the middle of nowhere. `We'd barely seen so much as another car for the last few kilometres.\ ;そんな、名も知れぬ場所に車を寄せると、 ;とりあえず、車内の点検を始めた。\ `I drew up in a nameless layby and began to take stock of the situation.\ bg "yobi\car_byoin_chusyajo_yu.bmp",5 ;…少しでも役に立つものがあれば…\ `For example, what resources did we have...?\ ;何の用意もなく飛び出してきたが、 ;たちまちに困ってしまうことは目に見えていた。\ `Having departed rather hastily and without proper plans, we were likely to be faced with some difficulties.\ ;そんなことを思いながら、 ;まずは、目の前のダッシュボードを漁ってみる。\ `I began to check through the various pockets and compartments around the car.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;…………\ `............\ ;「ほんと、何もねえな…」\ `"This isn't much to live off..."\ dwavestop 0 ;高速のつり銭らしき小銭が数百円ほど。 `There were a few hundred yen in the ash tray, presumably change for highway tolls.\ ;他にはマンガ本が数冊と、使い捨てカメラがあるだけ。\ `Apart from that, just a couple of manga volumes and a disposable camera.\ ;別に目的地がある訳ではなかったけど、 ;車に装備されていたナビも壊れているようだった。\ `It was a good thing we didn't have any destination in mind, because the GPS navigation system seemed to be broken.\ ;そして、俺の今の所持金は８０００円ほど。@ ;出掛けに急いでポケットに詰めてきた全財産だった。\ `All I had to add to that was the little I'd brought with me when we left.\ ;これでは、目の前の小銭と足しても、９０００円ほどにしかならない。\ `My total assets, including the change in the ash tray, barely came to 9,000 yen.\ ;もちろん、車内に何かあるなんて、最初から期待してた訳じゃない。\ `I can't say I was particularly surprised to find so little had been left in the car.\ ;…でも、この所持金では、たちまちに困ってしまうだろう。 ;ちゃんとした所に宿泊するなんて絶対に無理だと思える。\ `But it was still a blow. With funds this limited, there was no chance we were going to be sleeping in hotel beds.\ bg "yobi\car_byoin_chusyajo_yu.bmp",3 ;といっても、こいつが金を持ってるとは思えないし…\ `I could guess that the girl wouldn't have any money on her. I'd seen what she put in the bag... just medicine.\ ;「…どうかした？」\ `"...what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、なんでもない…」\ `"Nothing..."\ dwavestop 0 ;…まあいい。 ;こんなことは最初から分かっていた筈だ。\ `Well, I'd been expecting it to turn out like this.\ ;元々、予定や計画なんてのを、 ;考えた上での行動だった訳じゃない。\ `We were actually pretty well off, given that we'd set out without any planning or preparation.\ ;それよりも今は動きたかった。じっとしていたくなかった。\ `In any case, there was no point sitting around. I wanted to be on the move, not stuck in a layby.\ dwave 2,"se\car1.wav" bg "e\naname_inaka_yu.jpg",5 ;暮れ始めた空の下、再び走り始めた銀のクーペ。\ `We pulled out into the road again, under the setting sun.\ ;「ところでお前、腹へってねえか？」\ `"How are you doing? Getting hungry yet?"\ dwavestop 0 ;走りながら、隣のこいつに声を掛ける。 ;考えてみれば朝から何も食べてなかった。\ `Come to think of it, we'd neither of us eaten since breakfast.\ ;「とりあえず、コンビニでも寄るか？」\ `"Next town we come to, shall we try and find a grocery and grab some food?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…嫌」\ `"No chance."\ dwavestop 0 ;「おいおい、贅沢言うなよ、それに７階の食事と比べれば絶対にマシだぞ」\ `"Don't get picky now. In any case, anything's going to be better than what they gave us back on the seventh floor."\ dwavestop 0 ;「………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;俺の言葉には、無言で返す彼女。\ `She looked down at herself silently.\ ;その、うつむいた視線の先は、自分の着ているピンクのパジャマがあった。\ `And I realised what the problem was. Those pink pyjamas.\ ;「ああ、そういえば、そうだったな…」\ `"Heh, good point..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながら俺も自分の服を見つめる。\ `I glanced down at my own outfit.\ ;確かに、このパジャマのままでは、どこに行くにしても目立ちすぎる。\ `I had to admit that we were going to stick out rather, if we didn't change into daytime clothes.\ ;車内なら問題無いって訳じゃないけど、とりあえず、この服装を何とかしないといけない。\ `Respectable attire would have to be a priority.\ ;そう判断した俺は、幹線道路から市街地へとハンドルを向けた。\ `So the next time we reached a turning for a town, I took it.\ bg "e\shanai_michi03_yu.jpg",5 ;しばらく走った頃。 ;到着したのは、名も知らぬどこかの通り。\ `I don't know what the town was called, nor the name of the street we ended up on.\ ;きっと駅前に近いのだろう。 ;それなりに人の姿も見える通りだった。\ `We were somewhere near a station. There were quite a few people around, for the time of day.\ ;「このへんなら、ありそうなもんだけど…」\ `"There's bound to be one somewhere round here..."\ dwavestop 0 ;辺りをキョロキョロと探りながら、車を進ませる俺。 ;シートから少し身体を乗り出すようにして運転していた。\ `I drove along slowly, sitting upright, looking in all directions.\ ;「あ…見つけた…」\ `"There we are..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;ほどなくして発見したコインランドリー。\ `An automatic laundrette.\ ;見ため的にもぼろくて、 ;小さな雑居ビルの１階にぽつんと入っていた。\ `It was on the ground floor of a rather dilapidated-looking block.\ ;…ここならちょうど良いかも知れない。\ `This looked as good a place as any.\ ;俺は、その入り口から、 ;少しだけ離れた場所へと車を路駐する。\ `I parked a little way up the street.\ ;「じゃあ、ちょっと待ってろよ…」\ `"I'll be back in a moment..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…？」\ `"...?"\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;バタン、\ ;不思議そうな顔をする彼女を車内に残し、 ;俺はコインランドリーへと足を向ける。\ `I shut the car door on her questioning look and strolled back to the laundrette.\ dwave 1,"se\autodoor.wav" bg "e\coin_tennai.jpg",5 ;自動ドアをくぐった途端、 ;鼻をつく漂白剤や洗剤の匂い。\ `The door slid open as I approached, letting out a puff of hot air that filled my nostrils with the scent of bleach.\ ;店内は、外見のぼろっちさと同じように、 ;古めかしい洗濯機や乾燥機で占められていた。\ `The walls were lined with antiquated washing machines and tumble driers. The place was as run-down inside as out.\ ;「…誰もいないな」\ `"Anybody here?"\ dwavestop 0 ;そんな呟きを落とした無人の店内。\ `There was nobody there.\ dwave 1,"se\coin2.wav" ;ゴ………\ ;そこには低い音を上げて回転する乾燥機が、 ;１台だけ使用中だった。\ `Only one machine was in use: a tumble drier in the far corner was emitting a deep hum.\ ;早速、その使用中の機械に近づくと、 ;タイマーのチェックを始める。\ `I strode over to it and peered at the timer.\ ;…………\ `............\ ;どうやら２００円投入の、３０分にセットしたようだった。 ;そして今は、５分しか経っていない状態。\ `It was barely five minutes into a 200 yen half-hour cycle.\ ;…きっと、頃合までどこかで時間を潰しているのだろう。\ `Whoever was using it must have had better things to do than wait for it to finish.\ ;以上を推測すると、もう一度、 ;出入り口から、それらしい人がいないかを見回す。\ ;そして、間違いなく人の姿がないことを確かめると、 `I peered back outside, just in case they were still in sight. There were no likely suspects to be seen.\ ;俺は回転中の乾燥機のドアを手にして…\ ;いきなり開けた。\ `So I went back over to the machine and yanked the door open.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\coin.wav" ;ガチャンっ、\ ;乾燥途中にドアを開けられ、強制的に一旦停止された乾燥機。\ `The failsafe kicked in, and the drum stopped spinning.\ ;むわっとした湿気と熱を無視して、 ;その中から半乾きの服の塊を引きずり出す。\ `I tugged the bundled laundry out, trying to ignore the heat and cloying steam.\ ;そして、そのまま両手で抱えると、 ;もう一度辺りを見回してから店を後にした。\ `Then, taking the lot in both arms, I took one last look around and stepped back outside.\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;カチャ、バタン\ `The car door slammed shut beside me.\ bg "e\shanai_michi03_yu.jpg",5 ;「あ……」\ `"Oh...!"\ ;両手一杯に抱えた洗濯物を見て、少しだけ驚いた声を上げる彼女。\ `Apparently she hadn't guessed what I was going to do. My armful of damp laundry provoked a gasp.\ ;でも俺は構わずに、後部座席へと放り投げる。\ `I dumped the lot on the back seat.\ ;「じゃあ、行くぞ…」\ `"Off we go..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\car_start.wav" ;キュルキュル、 ;ウォンブオン……\ `A perfect getaway.\ bg "e\soukou_yoru.jpg",3 ;ハンドルを片手に、 `I was steering more confidently now, with one hand on the wheel.\ ;先ほど放り込んだ洗濯物の山に目をやる。\ `The mound of laundry filled the rear-view mirror.\ ;ぱっと見、派手な感じのジーパンやスウェットばかりで、 ;どれもサイズは大きめのようだった。\ `From what I could see it was all menswear, flashy jeans and sweatshirts, and all in a pretty large size.\ ;まだ湿っているけど、車内ならば、エアコンの熱でじきに乾くだろう。\ `Mostly still wet, but we had the heater on pretty high, so it wasn't going to stay that way for long.\ bg "e\shanai_michi02_yoru.jpg",5 ;「後で好きなのに着替えろよ…」\ `"There must be something you can wear in that lot..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;その言葉にも、特に返事はなかった。 ;放り込んだままの洗濯物に目をやるだけだった。\ `She didn't reply. She just looked unenthusiastically at the heap.\ ;「しょうがねえだろ…」\ `"We're just going to have to make the best of it."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…わかってるわよ」\ `"Yes. I know."\ dwavestop 0 ;そりゃあ俺だって、こんなこと好きでやってる訳じゃない。\ `I'd be the first to admit that I wasn't happy with the choice of clothes, or the methods involved in acquiring them.\ ;それに、この所持金自体だって、別に何かの使い途を持ってる訳じゃないけど…\ `I was even willing to concede that we didn't have any specific plans for the money we had.\ ;しかし、現在の手持ちでは、新たに服を買うことは厳しいのが現状だった。\ `But in the circumstances, given how limited our resources are, there was still no way we could justify a shopping spree.\ bg "e\sora07.jpg",5 ;本格的に月が顔を出し、しばらく走った頃…\ `We drove on until the moon became clear in the sky.\ ;俺はどこかの公園のそばへと車を停める。\ `Then I set about finding a quiet well-lit street where we could stop.\ ;きっと、児童公園のような場所なのだろう。住宅街の中に、こじんまりと建っていた。\ `I ended up pulling up next to a kids' playground in the middle of some leafy suburb.\ ;そんな中、先程パクってきた服の物色を始める。\ `Then began the task of sorting through the heap and finding out exactly what I'd managed to liberate.\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",5 ;車内のエアコンもあってか、すっかり乾いていた洗濯物。\ `The heater had done the job. The clothes were quite dry by now.\ ;「やっぱり、男ものばかりだったな…」\ `"Thought so... it's all men's stuff..."\ dwavestop 0 ;さっきもちらっと見た通り、 ;派手な感じのジーパンやスウェットばかりだった。\ `There really wasn't much apart from the jeans and sweatshirts I'd glimpsed earlier.\ ;恐らくは俺と同じくらいの年頃なのだろう。サイズ的にも近いように感じた。\ `They were pretty close to my size, though. The previous owner must have been about my build.\ ;そして、運転席に座ったまま、 ;適当なジーンズとトレーナーを掴むと着替え始める俺。\ `I picked out a suitable pair of jeans, and a shirt I could bear to be seen in, and began to wriggle into them as best as I could in the confined space.\ ;「ほら、お前も適当なのに着替えろよ」\ `"Come on, get yourself into something."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…どれも、大き過ぎる…」\ `"...they're all too big..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあ、ずっとパジャマでいるのか？」\ `"Are you just going to stay in your pyjamas, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「わかった…」\ `"Oh, all right..."\ dwavestop 0 ;しぶしぶ答えると、適当なジーンズと服を手に持ってドアを開ける彼女。\ `Clearly reluctant, but recognising the need, she tugged some garments from the heap and opened her door.\ dwave 1,"se\open.wav" ;「おい、どこ行くんだ？」\ `"Where are you going?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…着替えてくる」\ `"To get changed."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;それだけを告げると、 ;目の前に見える公園のトイレへと歩き始めた。\ `Of course. She was heading for the public toilets next to the playground.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;…………\ ;カチャ、\ `............\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;「よう、早かったな」\ `"That was quick."\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",3 ;暫くして、帰ってきた彼女。\ ;先ほどまで着ていた、ピンクのパジャマを手にして、 ;新しくジーンズと白いトレーナーに着替えていた。\ `She was dressed now. Navy jeans and a white sweatshirt. Her pink pyjamas were in her hand.\ ;「まあ、なんとか着れて良かったな」\ `"Glad you could find something."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;返事はなかった。予想できたことだが、サイズ的に無理があって、かなりぶかぶかのようだった。\ `She didn't reply. I wasn't surprised. The fit was as awful as I'd feared; the clothes were practically hanging off her.\ ;ジーンズの丈も余りすぎる為、くるくると何回も折り返して、 ;上に着たトレーナーも同じように袖を幾重にも捲くっていた。\ `She'd had to turn up her trouser legs quite a way just to be able to walk in them. Her sleeves had had the same treatment.\ ;「…パジャマのままの方がよかった…」\ `"...I was better off in my pyjamas..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「まあ、そう言うなよ、少しはこっちの方が温かいし」\ `"Don't say that. At least you'll be warmer this way."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;俺の言葉に、少しだけ不服そうな顔を向ける。\ `She replied only with a slight pout.\ ;「やっぱあれか、もっと女の子っぽいのが良かったか？」\ `"I guess they were a bit more, um, feminine...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…」\ `"Whatever..."\ dwavestop 0 ;相変わらずの彼女の反応。\ `She was no more talkative than ever.\ ;ぶかぶかのトレーナーに不満そうだと思っても、 ;すぐに、いつもの無表情に戻ってしまった。\ `I had been expecting her at least to sulk a little over the clothes, but instead she just retreated back behind her usual expressionless mask.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 dwave 1,"se\rain01.wav" bg "e\amazora03.jpg",5 ;ざーーーっ\ ;いつのまにか降り出した雨。\ `It had started to rain.\ bg "e\chusha_michi_ame_yoru.jpg",5 mp3loop "bgm\n03.mp3" ;まるで止むことを忘れたように、 ;一月の冷たい空からこぼれ落ちていた。\ `It sheeted down from the cold January sky, as though it had forgotten how to stop.\ ;車内から見える、 ;フロントガラスに付いた無数の雨粒。\ `The windscreen was gradually obscured by the hammering raindrops.\ ;その一つ一つが、表面張力を超えるサイズになると ;幾つかが集まり、こぼれ、川へと変わる。\ `After a while, as the mass built up, they began to coalesce. The beads brimmed and overflowed, sending rivulets trickling down the glass.\ ;そして、流れ落ちる際には、 ;フロントガラスの下流の雨粒をも巻き込み、更に流していく。\ `As those streams met and gathered strength, and picked up further volume from the rain, the windscreen became a riverbed.\ ;そんな雨の様子を、俺は車内からぼーっと眺めていた。\ `For a while I just sat in the driver's seat, watching the rain.\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru_ame.jpg",5 ;どこかの駐車場。山の中の寂しい場所。\ `A lonely layby, somewhere up in the hills.\ ;コンビニで買い物を済ませた俺達は、 ;ここで夜を明かしていた。\ `We'd paused at a grocery to buy some food. This was where we stopped for the night.\ ;お互いにおにぎりを２つと、ポカリの５００ｍｌ、 ;それとポテトは半分ずつが夕食のメニューだった。\ `We hadn't bought much. Two onigiri each, two half-litre bottles of Pocari, and a potato between us.\ ;「こーゆーの、久しぶりだよな…」\ `"It's been a while since I've had stuff like this..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 ;片手にコンビニおにぎりを持ったまま、彼女が呟く。\ `She nodded agreement, picking up her first onigiri.\ ;普通で考えれば豪華な訳はないけど、７階の食事と比べれば十分に旨いと思える。\ `Onigiri. Not something that most people would consider particularly wonderful. `But compared to the food on the seventh floor, it seemed special enough.\ ;そして、二人してポテトに手を伸ばしていると、突然、彼女がその手を止めた。\ `Then as we each reached out for the potato, her hand suddenly stopped.\ ;「…どうかしたか？」\ `"Something wrong?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…」\ `"No..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そう答える視線の先、 ;真っ白に煙ったフロントガラスの向こう…\ `She whispered. She was staring out of the windscreen.\ ;その道端には幾つかの白い花が見えていた。\ `I followed her gaze. We had parked in front of a bank of flowers.\ bg "e\narcissu_yoru_ame.jpg",5 ;雨に濡れる白い花。\ `White flowers, dripping in the rain.\ ;誰かが植えた物か、野生の物かは分からないけど、 ;その花には見覚えがあった。\ `I couldn't guess whether they were wild or cultivated. But I did recognise the shape.\ ;「確か、ナルキ…ナルキスだっけ？」\ `"It's those narc... narcisses?"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「ナルキッソス…水仙のことよ」\ `"Narcissi... you probably know them better as daffodils."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「ああ、水仙のことだったのか…」\ `"Oh, are they the same thing?"\ dwavestop 0 ;特に草花に詳しい訳ではないけど、水仙ならば、名前くらい聞いたことがあった。\ `I'd be the first to admit that botany was never a strong point of mine, but even I had heard of daffodils.\ ;そして、普段なら滅多に言葉を出さない彼女なのに、 ;珍しく、話題にのってきたことを思い出していた。\ `And once again their appearance seemed to have coaxed some rare words out of the girl, who usually spoke only when necessary.\ ;だから俺も、こいつに合わせて話しを続けた。\ `For that reason alone I felt it worth pursuing the conversation.\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru_ame.jpg",5 ;「それで、やっぱあれか…ここのも違うのか？」\ `"Are these the same kind, then, or something different?"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「…うん、厳密には違う」\ `"Different."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「ふーん、結構珍しいものなんだな…」\ `"What, really? Those other ones must be pretty rare, then..."\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「別に…どこにでもあるわよ」\ `"Not really. They're all over the place."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「どこにでもって、どこ？」\ `"Anywhere in particular?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;俺としては、それほど深い意味があった訳じゃない。 `I didn't ask with any particular aim in mind.\ ;只、話しの流れからの自然な問いのつもりだった。\ `That was just where the conversation happened to lead.\ ;なのに、こいつは暫く考え込んでから…@ ;ゆっくりと口を開いた。\ `But she paused to think about it, before opening her mouth again.\ !s85 ;「…西……」\ `"West..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…西？」\ `"In the west?"\ dwavestop 0 !s90 ;「淡路島が…有名…」\ `"Particularly on Awajishima..."\ !sd dwavestop 0 ;「おいおい、淡路島ってお前…」\ `"Awajishima?! Hang on, do you..."\ dwavestop 0 ;…ここからどれだけ離れていると思ってんだ？\ `...have any idea how far away that is from here?\ ;まだ車に乗ったばかりの俺には、 ;大体の目安すらつかないほどだった。\ ;恐らく、軽く７００ｋｍくらいはあるだろうし、 ;高速を利用したって何時間かかるか見当もつかない。\ `It's an island out in Hyogo prefecture, south of Kobe.\ `Though I wasn't sure exactly where we were, I could say for a fact that she was talking about a place halfway across the country.\ `I couldn't imagine how long it would take to drive there. I'd never attempted a trip like that. I wasn't sure I could if I wanted to.\ ;…第一、所持金を考えると、とても足りるとは思えない。\ `I was pretty sure we did't have the money to cover that sort of journey, in any case.\ ;それに、仮に高速を使わずに下道で行ったしても、 ;そのガソリン代すら危ういように思える。\ `We probably wouldn't even be able to cover the fuel costs, not even if we stayed off the highways to save money.\ ;「お前さあ、無茶言うなよ… ;　そんなところまで行ける訳ねえだろ？」\ `"Don't be silly... you must know there's no way we could go that far!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「…誰が…行きたいなんて言ったの？」\ `"...who said anything about going there?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"Huh?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「問われたから答えただけ…」\ `"I was just answering your question..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;それだけを告げると、 ;またフロントガラス越しに例の花を見つめる彼女。\ `The conversation died there. She clammed up and just sat there, gazing at the flowers.\ ;冷たい雨に車内のガラスが真っ白に煙る。 ;その更に向こうへと視線を投げていた。\ `Even after the glass steamed up with our breath, thanks to the cold rain outside, she still didn't shift her gaze.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;…別に俺だって行きたかった訳じゃなかった。\ `I didn't particularly want to go to Awajishima either.\ ;でも、他に行きたい場所を持っている訳でもなかった…\ `But then I didn't particularly want to go anywhere in particular...\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 2500 mov %flg_cha3,1 mov %flg_bplay,3 goto *mini_title *honpen4 dwavestop 1 ;mov $sys_midasi,"地図" mov $sys_midasi,"Maps" bg "e\w.jpg",5 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 !s85 ;『…時間の止まったわたし…』\ `"Time has stopped for me..."\ dwavestop 0 mp3loop "bgm\n04.mp3" !sd ;知識だけを増やし、無意味な価値観だけを増やし、 ;ブラウン管からの情報だけを求めて…\ `I was just collecting knowledge, piling up meaningless facts and figures, draining information from the television screen...\ ;いつしかリアルを薄め、虚ろになってしまう。\ `The world had lost its reality for me. There was nothing solid out there.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 !s85 ;『…でも、地図を見るのは好きだった…』\ `"But I still enjoy looking at maps..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;車や列車、どこかへ運んでくれるモノも好きだった。\ `And I liked cars and trains. Things that could have taken me to all those other places.\ ;狭いベッドの上に地図を広げ…@ ;幾つもの幹線を乗り継いで、乗り継いで…\ `I'd spread the maps out on my narrow bed, and trace out journeys on them.\ ;セダン、クーペ、コンバーチブル、 ;様々な車種にも乗った。\ `Saloons, coupes, convertibles... I could drive anything, on a map.\ ;…どこまでも続く１号線。 ;その、ずっとずっと先まで走った。\ `Along Route 1, for example. Endless Route 1...\ dwave 1,"se\umi13.wav" bg "e\image01.jpg",5 ;インディゴブルーの空と、美しい海岸線。\ `Running along the beautiful coast, under an indigo sky...\ ;そんな、夢に描いた場所まで走った…\ `It ran all the way to places like that, places I could only dream of.\ ;ゆるやかに弧を描く岬を巡って… ;灼けた日射しの下、真っ白な砂浜を駆けてみる。\ `Hot beaches curving gracefully around the coast, baked white sand under my feet.\ ;…目を閉じさえすれば、どこへでも行けた。\ `I could go anywhere, when my eyes were closed.\ ;見たこともない景色を浮かべ、 ;決して行ける筈もない土地を思いながら…\ `I could see things I'd never be able to see. I could visit places I'd never be able to visit...\ bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",5 !s85 ;『…無意味に、只、知識だけを増やした…』\ `"I've achieved nothing... apart from filling my mind with trivia..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",3 ;『…虚しく、憧れだけを募らせた…』\ `"All I've done is to increase my longing for things I'll never have..."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 !sd bg "e\b.jpg",5 mp3fadeout 2500 stop bg "tui2\c045.bmp",3 ;雨上がりの空。\ `The rain had stopped by morning.\ bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 ;ものすごい速さで流れていく、高い、高いところの雲。\ `The sky was largely clear, with just a few clouds streaming across it, high, high above us.\ ;路面からは、まだ湿ったアスファルトが、シャーっという独特の音を立てていた。\ `The roads were still wet. Our tyres hissed against the tarmac.\ mp3loop "bgm\sen02.mp3" bg "e\joku_shigaichi.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" bg "e\soukou.jpg",5 ;そんな中、相変わらず走り続ける俺達。\ ;目的地も無く、只、なんとなく走り続けていた。\ `We drove. Without any goal or aim, we just drove on through the day.\ ;別に、昨夜の話しにあった淡路島を目指している訳じゃない。 ;第一、それ以前の問題としてガソ代すら足らないだろう。\ `Despite the previous night's conversation, I didn't make any attempt to strike out for Awajishima.\ `There was no point. We couldn't afford the petrol.\ ;そんなことを思いながらも、 ;知らない道を、真っ直ぐに進みつづける俺。\ `So I just carried on driving at random instead.\ bg "e\shanai_michi01.jpg",3 ;…でも、ここはどこだろう？\ ;ふと、そんなことも考えてしまう。\ `It didn't help that I was lost.\ ;元々、あまり地理に詳しい方じゃなかったが、見たこともないような地名ばかりだった。\ `I'd never been much good at geography. The roadsigns were no help; I couldn't even read half the names on them.\ ;それなりに走ったつもりだけど、ナビが動かないおかげで余計に分からない。\ `The navigator being broken was the last straw.\ ;思わず俺は、辺りの標識を、キョロキョロと見回しながら走っていた。\ `I found myself slowing down, straining to read the signs as we passed them.\ ;「うーん、よく分からないな…」\ `"Oh, I give up..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…なに？」\ `"What about?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ん、いや…ここってどこかなってな」\ `"Oh... just... trying to work out where we are, kind of thing."\ dwavestop 0 ;俺の様子に声を掛けた彼女。 ;軽く相槌を返した。\ `I tried to answer as unconcernedly as I could.\ ;まあ、恐らくこんなことを、こいつに聞いても分からないだろうが…\ `It wasn't like she'd be able to help at all.\ ;「入間よ…埼玉県の」\ `"We're in Iruma. Saitama prefecture."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"..what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「次の交差点を右に行けば１６号線…八王子へ出るわ」\ `"If you take the next right onto Route 16, we'll be heading for Hachiouji."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…お前、分かるのか？」\ `"...how do you know all this?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「もしかして、ここらに住んでたのか？」\ `"Did you use to live near here or something?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…そんなんじゃないわよ」\ `"Not really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;意外だった。\ `I was rather taken aback.\ ;いや、意外というよりは、どうしてこんなに詳しいのかが不思議だった。\ `Well, it would be more accurate to say that I was bewildered. I couldn't think how she could know all this.\ ;どう見てもこいつは、車に乗って動き回っているようには見えないのに…\ `It was hard to believe she'd ever had the opportunity to explore the countryside herself...\ ;「じゃあさ、もしかして…」\ `"But... in that case..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ここから例の場所…淡路島まで分かるか？」\ `"...do you know the roads in other places, too? Like, do you know the way to Awajishima?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…質問の意味がわからない」\ `"Why...? I don't understand..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、だからさ、高速乗らずに下道だけなら行けるかも知れないじゃん」\ `"I was just thinking... we might be able to make it, if we stayed off the toll roads. Don't you think?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、ガソ代くらいなら、金も足るかも知れないし」\ `"See, we've probably got just about enough cash for petrol..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あなた…@行きたいの？」\ `"Do you...@ ` want to go there?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「え、あ、いや…別にそういう訳じゃないけど…」\ `"Huh? I... no... I suppose that's not exactly why I, uh, I mean..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…じゃあ、聞かないで」\ `"...don't ask, then."\ dwavestop 0 ;その言葉を最後に、また黙ってしまった彼女。\ `She clammed up again.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;相変わらずの素っ気ない様子で、窓の外を向いたままだった。\ `Her face hardened again, and she turned back to staring through the windscreen.\ ;その視線は目の前の流れる景色ではなく、もっと遠い、どこか違う場所を見ているようにも思えた。\ `Nor did she seem to be looking at the scenery... her eyes seemed to be focused on something more distant, if they were focused on anything at all.\ ;…さっきの…「聞かないで」って言葉。\ `"Don't ask", she'd said.\ ;あれは一体どういう意味だったのだろうか？\ `Why not? What on earth did she mean by that?, I wondered.\ ;もしも俺が、行くつもりだと答えたら、彼女は何と答えたのだろう…\ `And how would she have responded if I'd said I had wanted to go there...?\ bg "e\sora01.jpg",3 ;…目的もなく、只、進む俺達。\ `We pressed on aimlessly.\ ;最初から計画とか予定があった訳じゃない。 ;只、７階も薄っぺらい家も嫌なだけだった。\ `That was inevitable. We hadn't had any plans when we set out, other than to go somewhere that was neither home nor the seventh floor.\ ;だけど俺は、少なくとも俺だけは…\ ;何でもいいから、示してくれるものが欲しかったのかも知れない。\ `And yet, it may just have been me, but still I couldn't help but feel that it might have been nice to have some goal in mind.\ `Any goal would do. Just something to aim for.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "tui2\c046.bmp",3 click bg "e\umibe_yoru.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\umi13.wav" ;ざざ…\ `The sea.\ mp3loop "bgm\3_12.mp3" ;「さむいな…」\ `"It's a bit chilly out..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そうね」\ `"Isn't it..."\ dwavestop 0 ;名も知らぬ、どこかの浜辺。 ;気づけば、海へと出ていた俺達。\ `We were standing on a nameless beach somewhere. Somehow we'd ended up by the sea.\ ;俺としては西へ向かったつもりだったが、いつのまにか南へと進んだようだった。\ `I'd thought I was heading west. Just because. `But presumably at some point we'd turned south instead.\ dwave 1,"se\kaze13.wav" ;ビュウウーーーっ\ ;真っ暗な空と、強くて冷たい風が吹く浜辺。 `The sky was pitch black, and a rough and freezing wind was scouring the beach.\ ;お互いに車から出て、暗い海を見つめていた。\ `We'd left the car on the road and walked down to look at the sea.\ ;相変わらずのうつむき加減で、遠くを見る彼女。 ;真っ黒な空と海が、水平線の境界を溶かす。\ `She was standing with her head down, staring into the distance as usual. `Her gaze was fixed on the horizon, where black waves and black sky melted together in the darkness.\ ;そして、暫く海を見つめていたかと思うと…\ `I thought we were just going to look at the sea for a bit.\ ;ゆっくりと、波打ち際に向かって歩き始めた。\ `But then she started walking slowly towards the breaking waves.\ ;「ねえ…どうなると思う？」\ `"How do you think it would be...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…お前だって質問の意味が分かんねえよ」\ `"Now you're the one asking incomprehensible questions."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…楽に死ねると思う？…@このまま海に入っていくと」\ `"Would this be a good way to die?@ ` ...I could just walk into the sea, just like this..."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\nami02b.wav" ;背を向けたまま…ゆっくりと波打ち際へと歩きながらの言葉だった。\ `She didn't stop as she spoke. She kept on walking towards the surf.\ ;…３回目が最後。４回目はもうない。\ `The third time is the last. There isn't a fourth time.\ ;７階か家かのどちらかを選ぶことになるだろう。 ;避けた奴はいないらしい。\ `You will choose whether to die on the seventh floor or at home. Nobody has escaped that choice.\ ;かつて彼女から伝え聞いた言葉だった。\ `That's what she told me before.\ ;そして彼女は２回目、家も７階もどちらも嫌だと言った。\ `But she had been coming up to that third time, and she hated both options.\ ;既に俺へと伝えた後だった。既に役目も終わっていた。\ `She'd passed the lore on to me. She'd fulfilled her duty.\ ;…だから、そういう意味なんだろうと思う…\ `Perhaps this was the third option...\ ;「さあな、俺は溺れたことねえから」\ `"Don't ask me. I've never tried drowning."\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあもしも…@今、わたしが海に入っていったなら…」\ `"What if I did...? @ `What if I walked into the sea now...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あなた…止める？」\ `"Would you... stop me?"\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながら、振り返ると俺の顔を見た。 `This time she turned and faced me as she spoke.\ ;真っ暗な空に浮かぶ月を背にしていた。\ `The moon was rising in the sky behind her.\ ;いつもは、遠いところを見ている視線を、真っ直ぐに俺に向けていた…\ `And those eyes of hers, that were usually lost in the distance, were focused right on me...\ ;「分からん…その時になってみないと」\ `"I don't know... I can't tell without it happening."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そうよね…」\ `"Thought so..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そして、俺に背を向けると ;また海へと向かって、ゆっくりと一歩を踏み出す。\ `She turned away from me again. `She started walking towards the sea again.\ ;「なあ、お前さ…」\ `"Hey..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…なに？」\ `"...what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…もしかして、止めて欲しいのか？」\ `"Do you actually want me to stop you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\nami02b.wav" ;俺の言葉に、寄せる波の数歩手前で止まった彼女。 `She stopped again, only a few paces away from the waves.\ ;強い風が波のしぶきを霧状にして足を叩いていた。\ `The gusty wind battered her ankles with spray.\ ;「止めて欲しいんだったら、止めるぞ」\ `"If you want me to stop you, I will."\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「別に…そんなんじゃないわよ」\ `"Not... not really..."\ !sd ;「じゃあ、止めなくていいんだな？」\ `"Shall I leave you to it, then?"\ !s85 ;「………………」\ `"............"\ !s75 ;その問いにも、返事はなかった。\ `She didn't answer.\ ;でも、止まった足はそれ以上進まなかった。\ `But she didn't do it, either.\ ;…だから、それが返事なんだと思う。\ `That was answer enough.\ dwavestop 1 !sd bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 dwave 1,"se\kaze13.wav" bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 ;冬特有の高い高い空。\ `The morning brought with it that crisp air characteristic of winter.\ mp3loop "bgm\o01.mp3" ;哀しいくらいに蒼く澄んで、 ;強い北風が高架線をびゅんびゅんと鳴らしていた。\ `The sky was, above the car, so blue, so calm; the overhead wires hummed, in the north wind, their plaintive chant.\ dwave 1,"se\car2.wav" bg "e\soukou.jpg",5 ;そんな蒼い空を、メタリックの車体に映して走る、銀のクーペ。\ `The silver coupe raced along, reflecting that sky in every panel of its bodywork.\ ;ステアリングを握る俺と、 ;助手席では相変わらずの様子の彼女もいた。\ `I was driving. She was sitting beside me as usual.\ bg "e\shanai_michi01.jpg",5 ;…ここが、どこだかは分からないけど…\ `Once again, I had no idea where we were, but that didn't bother me.\ ;現実問題として、間もなくガソリンが切れようとしていた。\ `The position of the needle on the fuel gauge was a different matter.\ ;元々、それほど金は持ってなかったが、コンビニでの購入もあって、更に残り少なくなった所持金。\ `We hadn't had that much money to begin with. And we'd been shopping several times since then.\ ;今は７０００円ほどしかなかった。\ `I reckoned we had about 7,000 yen left.\ ;もちろんこの車が、何リットル入るのかは知らないけど、恐らく１回は給油することは出来ると思う。\ `That would probably cover one tank of petrol. Probably. I couldn't be sure; I hadn't a clue how much this car could hold.\ ;別に目的がある訳じゃないけど、足を失ってしまっては身動きが取れなくなってしまう。\ `We weren't going anywhere in particular, but that wasn't the point... the point was that we were moving. When we ran out of petrol, that would be that.\ ;「ちょっと給油する…」\ `"Better fill up while we can..."\ ;「…そう」\ `"Right..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながら俺は、ハンドルを切ると、 ;目の前のガソリンスタンドへと向かった。\ `There was a petrol station just here; I swerved into it and pulled up beside a pump.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car_s.wav" bg "e\gs.jpg",2 ;「いらっしゃいませ、カードですか？　現金ですか？」\ `"Good morning, sir. How will you be paying, card or cash?"\ `A teenager greeted me. This was a full-service station.\ ;「じゃあ、現金で…」\ `"Um... cash?"\ ;「ガソリンはレギュラーでしょうか？それともハイオクでしょうか？」\ `"Regular or premium?"\ ;…レギュラー？　ハイオク？\ `Regular? Premium?\ ;よく分からなかった。 `It took me a moment even to work out that he was talking about types of petrol.\ ;もちろんこの車について、よく知らないってもある。\ `As for the right answer, I hadn't a clue.\ ;でも、そもそも俺は、免許取りたてで、そのへんの知識にも疎かった。\ `How was I supposed to know? I'd only just passed my test when I fell ill. I never had a chance to learn this kind of thing.\ ;「どちらにいたしましょうか？」\ `"Sir?"\ ;「あ、えーと…」\ `"Um... hang on..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いよどむ俺と、窓の向こうから俺の回答を待つバイトらしき店員。\ `I stalled, racking my brains for an answer. The teenager stood there waiting.\ ;そして、どちらでもいいから、適当に答えようとした時…\ `Eventually, figuring that it probably wouldn't blow anything up if I got it wrong, I was about to give some vague and random answer.\ ;助手席の彼女が口を開いた。\ `But the girl beside me spoke first.\ ;「…レギュラーよ」\ `"Regular."\ dwavestop 0 ;「え？　あ、ああ…それじゃあレギュラーで」\ `"Huh? Y, yeah... uh... regular, please..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「はい、それでは、レギュラー、現金、満タンでよろしいですか？」\ `"Certainly, sir. So that's regular, cash, full tank?"\ ;「あ、ええ、それでお願いします」\ `"Um, yes, that'll do nicely."\ dwavestop 0 ;「はい、かしこまりました」\ `"Won't be a moment, sir."\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo.jpg",3 dwavestop 0 ;明るい返事と共に、手際よくガソリンを入れ始めるスタンドの店員。\ `The teenager grinned in at us, then lifted the nozzle from the pump and thrust it into the car in one smooth motion.\ ;１０ｃｍほど開けた窓からは、何とも言えないガソリンの嫌な匂いが発ちこめた。\ `The stench of petrol came drifting in through my slightly-open window.\ ;「なあお前さ、これってレギュラーで良かったのか？」\ `"Hey, are you sure regular's okay for this car?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;その問いには無言の彼女。 ;只、黙ってスタンドにある料金表を指差した。\ `She didn't reply directly. She just pointed to the price list.\ ;…ああ、なるほど。こっちの方が安いってことか。\ `That answered my question quite nicely.\ ;俺も詳しくは分からないが、それほど大差ないとも思える。\ `It tied in with what I vaguely remembered, too, which was that the two aren't really all that different. Except in price.\ ;そして、目の前には給油したことを告げる、ガソリンスタンドのメーター。\ `Price might still be a problem. I watched the numbers tick past on the pump's meter.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;２５、２６、２７、２８…\ `25, 26, 27, 28...\ ;そのデジタルの表示が、勢いよく数を増やしていく。\ `The reading seemed to be rising awfully quickly.\ ;…もしかしてミスったか…\ `I began to have a nasty feeling in my stomach.\ ;その数字を見つめていると、俺は少しだけ不安になり始めていた。\ `I began to wonder what I'd do if we'd miscalculated...\ ;さっきは何気なく、満タンと言ってしまったが、 ;手持ちの金額はそれほど多くなかった。\ `I hadn't really registered it at the time, but I had just asked for a full tank.\ ;小銭と合わせて、ちょうど７０００円ほど。 ;もちろん、この車のタンクが何リットル入るのかは知らない。\ `We had about 7,000 yen all told. But without knowing the car's capacity, I couldn't begin to calculate whether that would cover the bill.\ ;…もしも、金が足らなかった時はどうなるのだろうか？\ `If it didn't... what then?\ ;表示されたリッター料金表によると、 ;６０リッター程なら金は足りると思えるけど…\ `By my reckoning we could afford about 60 litres...\ ;３８、３９、４０、４１…\ `...38, 39, 40, 41...\ ;尚も勢いを落とすことなく増えつづけるメーター\ `The meter ticked on.\ ;普段なら気にもとめない事なのに、 ;それを見続けていた俺は、ますます不安になっていた。\ `And the unpleasant feeling in my stomach got worse.\ ;「…くそう、まだかよ」\ `"God, is it never going to stop?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;思わず言葉が漏れてしまう。\ `I muttered involuntarily.\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo.jpg",3 ;「…大丈夫よ、もう止まるわ」\ `"Don't worry, it's nearly full."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ？」\ `"Ehh?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「これ、５０リッターだから…」\ `"This only takes 50 litres..."\ dwavestop 0 ;その言葉通り、ちょうどメーターは、 ;４７と４８の間くらいでピタっと止まった。\ `She was right. The meter stopped short about halfway between 47 and 48.\ ;続いてレシートをプリントする音が響き、 ;また先ほどのバイトらしき店員がやって来る。\ `There was a rattle of a printer, and the teenager reappeared at my window, holding a receipt.\ ;「お待たせしました、５２４０円となります」\ `"All right, sir, that'll be 5,240 yen, please."\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、ああ…はい」\ `"Oh... yeah... here..."\ dwavestop 0 ;俺はポケットから５千円札と、 ;くしゃくしゃになった千円札を手渡す。\ `I extracted a 5,000 yen note from my pocket, and a rather crumpled 1,000 yen note, and held them out.\ ;「ではこちら、お釣り７６０円とレシートとなります」\ `"And here's 760 yen change and your receipt."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;「どうもありがとうござましたー」\ `"Thank you very much!"\ dwavestop 0 ;店員の明るい声を背に、また俺は目の前の道へと車を走らせた。\ `I drove off immediately, leaving the attendant's cheerful farewell behind us.\ dwave 1,"se\car1.wav" bg "e\soukou.jpg",3 ;再び走り始めた銀のクーペ。\ `Now I could relax again... for a bit.\ ;これで当面はガス欠の恐れはなくなったと思える。\ `At least I wouldn't have to worry about running empty for a while.\ ;そして、残り所持金は、たった２０００円ほど。\ `And we still had some money left... if only 2,000 yen.\ ;そのことも気になるのだが、 ;俺には先ほどのことも気になっていた。\ `That was going to be a problem, but it could wait. I had other things on my mind just now.\ bg "e\naname_michi.jpg",5 ;「なあ、お前ってさあ…」\ `"Hey..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「もしかして、車にも詳しいのか？」\ `"You never told me you were an expert about cars."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…別に」\ `"I'm not..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「別にって、さっき５０リッターとか言ってたじゃん？」\ `"What you you mean? You even knew what fuel capacity this thing has!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;もちろん、これくらいのことは当てずっぽうで分かる、 ;一般的な認識程度のことかも知れない。\ `Maybe it had been a lucky guess. Or maybe that kind of thing was general knowledge, and I was just plain ignorant.\ ;だけど、以前にも彼女は道にも詳しかった。\ `But I didn't think so. She'd known all about those roads, too...\ ;そのことも引っ掛かっていた俺は、 ;ダッシュボードにあった車検証を取り出す。\ `There was only one way to find out. I pulled the car's MOT certificate out from under the dashboard.\ ;「お前さあ、もちろんこの車の、車名って知ってるよな？」\ `"You know what kind of car this is, right?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…それは質問？」\ `"...is that a question?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、なんだったらクイズでもいいぞ」\ `"Not exactly... think of it as a quiz, if you like."\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「インテグラ、タイプＲ、クーペ…」\ `"Honda Integra coupe. Type R."\ dwavestop 0 ;「正解だ…じゃあスペックは？」\ `"Thought so. What about the spec, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「９９年式、５速ミッション、最高出力２００馬力…」\ `"It's the '99 spec. 5-speed manual, 200 horsepower..."\ dwavestop 0 ;まさか本当に答えてくるとは思ってなかった。\ `I couldn't believe she knew.\ ;淡々と言葉を続ける彼女に、 ;思わず俺は、手元の車検証の文字を目で追う。\ `But she continued, figure after figure, and they all matched the specifications on the sheet I was holding.\ ;「…全長４３８０、全幅１６９５、総排気量１７９７ｃｃ…」\ `"...length, 4.38 metres... width, 1.695 metres... total displacement, 1797 cc..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…まだ言うの？」\ `"...can I stop yet?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、もういい、正解だ…」\ `"Y, yeah... that's enough. Full marks, by the way."\ dwavestop 0 ;答えながら車検証を元の場所へと戻す。\ `I put the MOT certificate back.\ ;信じられないことに、 ;全て記載されていたスペックの通りだった。\ `Unbelievably, she had got every last digit correct.\ ;とても、こんなもんが暗記できるとは思えないし、何故？と問われると俺には想像もつかない。\ `I couldn't imagine how she'd managed to memorise so many figures. `I couldn't imagine why, either.\ ;…だけど、現に彼女は目の前で答えてみせた。\ `She sure knew her stuff, though.\ ;それも、以前の道路や花のことを考えると、 ;広く色々なことを知っているようにも思えた。\ `Given her previously demonstrated expertise on roads and flowers, I couldn't help but admire her range of knowledge.\ ;「なあ…なんでお前ってそんな物知りなんだ？」\ `"How come you know all this stuff, anyway?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…@あなたより年上だからよ」\ `"No reason...@ ` probably just 'cos I'm older than you are."\ dwavestop 0 ;それだけを答えると、 ;またいつものように黙ってしまう彼女。\ `And she fell silent again, as always.\ ;窓の外を見つめたままで、もう俺が、 ;新たな問いを投げても答えてくれる気配はなかった。\ `Her face had swung back to the window, and her eyes were distant again. `I didn't get the feeling she was in the mood to answer any more questions.\ ;”年上”\ `"Older"...\ ;とてもそうは見えないけど、 ;これも以前に彼女が言った言葉だった。\ `She sure didn't look it. But I couldn't prove she wasn't.\ ;名前はセツミ、血液型Ｏ型、 ;白いビニールの腕輪に書かれた文字。\ `All I knew for sure about her was what was written on her wristband. `Setsumi. Blood group O.\ ;そして、年上らしいということが、俺にとって数少ない彼女の情報だった。\ `On matters like our relative ages, all I had to go by were whatever details she let slip, and those were few and far between.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "e\sora_yu.jpg",3 ;日がゆっくりと翳り出す頃。\ `We spent the rest of the day on the move.\ mp3loop "bgm\e02.mp3" bg "e\hiki_shigai_yu.jpg",3 ;走り続ける銀のクーペ。\ `Ahead of us the sun was setting.\ ;何の目的も、行くべき場所も持たずに、只、進んでいた。\ `Still we drove. We still had no goal; there was nowhere we needed to go.\ ;ガソリンの心配は当面大丈夫だが、残り所持金はほとんど無くなってしまっていた。\ `The fuel issue had been settled for the time being. The only other thing we needed was money.\ ;…小銭と合わせても２０００円ほど。\ `I was down to my last 2,000 yen.\ ;コンビニで食料を買うことを考えると、もって３〜４日分ほどか…\ `If we stuck to our current frugal diet, we could stretch that to cover maybe three or four days...\ bg "e\shanai_michi01_yu.jpg",3 ;「なあ、これからどうする？」\ `"What are we going to do, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…質問の意味がわからない」\ `"About what...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「もう、ほとんど金ないぞって意味だ」\ `"I'm nearly out of money."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…だから？」\ `"And?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「だからってお前…」\ `"Doesn't that bother you?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;相変わらずの様子の彼女。\ `She just looked at me blankly.\ ;さっきコンビニで買ってきた、おにぎりを口に運びながらの会話だった。\ `We were eating onigiri again. They were cheap enough.\ ;そして、こうやって走り続けているだけでも、確実にガソリンは減っていく。\ `But even on a diet of onigiri, we were going to run out of petrol again. And that cost money.\ ;本当は何もせずに、じっと止まっているのが良いのかも知れない。\ `Maybe we should just have stopped. Or even turned back.\ ;だけど…何もせずに、何も出来ずに、止まったままでいるのは辛かった。\ `But I couldn't face the thought of being helpless again like that.\ ;そんな思いから、ずっと走り続けていた俺。\ `That was why I kept on driving.\ ;先日からの感じでは、下道を走り続けた場合、ちょうど３日ほどでガソを使い切るようだった。\ `Based on our experiences so far, I reckoned we had about three days' petrol left, driving economically.\ ;残金２０００円の現状では、コンビニでの食料買い出しも同じように３〜４日分だろう。\ `Three days' petrol, and money for four days' food on starvation rations...\ ;明らかに、ジリ貧になるのは目に見えていた。\ `In short, we were running out of everything.\ ;「なあ、お前さ…」\ `"Tell me..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「例の…淡路島だっけ、行ってみたいか？」\ `"Do you actually want to go there... to Awajishima?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;返事はなかった。 ;いつもと変わらず窓の外を眺めているだけだった。\ `She said nothing. She just carried on staring out of the window.\ ;「俺は…少し行ってみたいかもな」\ `"I think I do, like, a bit."\ ;「…どうして？」\ `"...why?"\ ;「いや、それは…」\ `"Um, I..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;もちろん、最初から目的や計画があって、７階を飛び出した訳じゃない。\ ;だから、俺にとっては西でも東でも、どこでも良かった。\ ;きっと、なんでも良いから、目的や行き先が欲しかったんだと思う…\ `I actually didn't, not particularly. I couldn't care less whether we headed east or west.\ `But I'd been driving aimlessly ever since we first ran away, and I was getting tired of it.\ `I wanted some kind of goal, some kind of direction. Awajishima would be as good as anywhere.\ bg "e\sora06.jpg",3 ;日が完全に夜のものへと変わる頃。\ ;俺はどこかのパチンコ屋の駐車場にいた。\ `So, as the evening turned into night, I pulled up outside a pachinko parlour.\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",3 ;もちろんパチンコやスロットで儲ける計画じゃない。\ ;こんな２０００円ぽっちじゃ、勝負以前の問題なのも知っていた。\ `I wasn't planning to play. I wouldn't stand a chance with the pocket change I was carrying now.\ ;だけど、１〜２万円程度なら、上手くやれば簡単にパクれる筈。\ ;それが、よく以前からパチンコ屋に通っていた、俺の推測だった。\ `But I'd been to these places before. I knew a few things about them.\ `And I reckoned I could easily come out with a good ten or twenty thousand yen if everything went well.\ ;たったそれだけでもあれば、当面は大丈夫だし、なんだったら例の淡路島だって行けるかも知れない。\ `That would be more than enough. We could even get to Awajishima on that much.\ ;だから、俺なりに考えた作戦を彼女に話した。\ `I put my plan to her.\ ;「どうだ…やってみたいか？」\ `"What do you think? Want to come with me?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…嫌」\ `"No way."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そうか…わかった」\ `"Fair enough."\ dwavestop 0 ;予想できたことだが、あっさり拒否された。\ `I hadn't been expecting her to want to.\ ;最初から、彼女に何かを期待していた訳じゃない。\ `It didn't matter anyway; I wouldn't need her.\ ;別に協力を仰ぐつもりではなく、作戦を説明したのは、宣言のようなものだった。\ `I hadn't even really been asking for help. I just wanted to tell her what I was planning. For her information.\ ;「じゃあ、ちょっと待ってろよ」\ `"You wait here, then."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;車内にあいつを残して、俺は一人パチンコ屋へと向かった。\ `I shut her in the car and headed for the pachinko parlour alone.\ bg "e\pachi.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\pachinko1.wav" ;思ったよりも賑わっていた店内。\ `It was busier than I was expecting.\ ;それなりの台数と出玉、人の姿もほどよく多かった。 ;そこそこでドル箱を積んでいる姿もあった。\ `There were plenty of patrons hustling around between the game machines and ball dispensers.\ `And, more to the point, plenty of money boxes.\ ;…ちょうど良い感じかも知れない…\ `I was in with a chance here.\ ;そう判断した俺は、 ;狙いであるスロットのコーナーへと向かう。\ `I wove across the floor towards the slot-machine corner.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;…………\ `............\ ;しばらく、通路から様子を窺い…\ `I spent a little while working up and down the aisles, sizing the place up.\ ;辺りを観察した結果、１台に目をつけた。\ `My eyes were drawn to one particularly likely prospect.\ ;いかにもサラリーマンっぽい中年男性。 ;足元に箱を４つも積み、更に頭上にも２つ積んでいた。\ `A middle-aged businessman. Four cash boxes at his feet, two more on top of the machine he was at.\ ;しかも角台で、その隣は空き台。\ `It was on a corner, so there was a most convenient space right next to him.\ ;さっきから見ている限りでは、特に知り合いや友達と来ている風でもなかった。\ `Better still, he seemed to be here by himself. At least, if he had friends here, they certainly weren't feeling friendly.\ ;…条件が揃った…\ `I'd found my mark.\ ;恐らくこの状態なら、足元のを１箱くらいパクってもすぐには気づかないだろう。\ `I could probably have made off with one of the boxes by his feet right then, and he probably wouldn't have noticed a thing.\ ;等価らしいこの店なら２００００円にはなる筈だった。\ `If this place was anything like the others I'd known, there'd be twenty thousand yen in each of those.\ ;それだけあれば…\ `Twenty thousand I could really, really use...\ ;俺はそのサラリーマン風の人が、トイレに向かうのを、只、ひたすら待ち続けた。\ `I loitered, watching, waiting for him to take the inevitable loo break.\ bg "e\pachi.jpg",3 ;しばらく…といっても３０分ほど経った頃…\ `I didn't have to wait too long. Only about half an hour.\ ;やっと席を立ち上がったサラリーマンらしき人。\ ;すぐさま、後を追い、トイレへと向かったのを確認すると…\ `He stood up, stretched, and began to walk off. I watched him for long enough to be sure he was headed for the loos.\ ;今度はダッシュで、さっきのスロット台へと引き返す。\ `Then I rushed back to the slot machine he'd been playing.\ ;次に、辺りでスロットを打っている人や、店員の姿をチェックしながら、ゆっくりと台に近づく。\ `I approached warily, glancing round to see what the staff and other players were up to.\ ;そして…\ `Then...\ ;不審な行為と思われないように、ごく自然に、当たり前のことをしているように…\ `...acting casually, as though what I was doing was as obvious, natural, and reasonable an act as could be...\ ;…足元のドル箱を１つ持ちあげた…\ `...I bent down and picked up one of the cash boxes.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\coin_d.wav" ;ガシャーーン、\ ;その瞬間、物凄い音を上げて、床に散らばるスロットのコイン。\ `There was a mighty crash. Coins skittered across the floor.\ ;…持った…@つもりだった。\ `I had it...@ ` I thought.\ ;いや、確かに持ち上げた、一度はこの手で。\ `No, I really did have it, for a moment.\ ;だけど、その重さに耐え切れず、そのまま床へとドル箱ごと落としてしまった。\ `But it was far heavier than I'd expected. That's why it crashed to the ground.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;そして、あまりの物音に何事が起こったのかと、一斉にこちらに集まる視線。\ `Every eye in the vicinity turned to see what all the noise was. Every gaze fell on me.\ ;何か、誰かの声も聞こえたような気がした。 ;走ってくる人の気配も感じたような気がした。\ `I thought I could hear shouting. I thought I could sense people racing towards the place.\ ;…だけど、その声は背中で聞いた。\ `But that was all behind me.\ ;俺は既にその時、店の出口の２ｍ手前にまで駆け出していた。\ `I was already through the door and several metres away, running.\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;バタンっ、\ ;「はぁはぁ、」\ `I slammed the car door, panting hard.\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\engine_start.wav" ;大急ぎでエンジンをかけると、思いっきりアクセルを踏み込む。\ `Forced the key round, roared the engine, stamped on the accelerator.\ ;そして、ハンドルを切りつつ車を急発進させた…@その時、\ `Then as we squealed away, as I tugged the wheel round in a panic...\ bg "e\w.jpg",1 bg "e\naname_machi2_yoru.jpg",1 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;ガンっ、ガリガリガリ…\ `...there was an almighty crunch.\ ;「きゃっ」\ `"Kyaah!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ちっ」\ `"Fuck!"\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\naname_machi2_yoru.jpg",3 ;出際に縁石か何かに乗り上げたのか、その拍子にケツをぶつけてしまった。\ `I must have mounted the kerb or something. What was certain was that the rear end of the car had just smashed into something.\ ;ガリガリという、嫌なボディの擦る音。\ `I gritted my teeth and accelerated away, trying to ignore the hideous scraping that accompanied this.\ ;だが、それを気にする余裕もなく、目の前の道へと車を走らせた。\ `I had even more pressing concerns at that precise moment.\ dwave 1,"se\car2.wav" bg "e\shanai_michi02_yoru.jpg",5 ;「はぁはあ…ふう…」\ `"Oh god... oh god..."\ ;息切れしそうになる胸をなだめながら、すっかりと日が暮れた道を走る銀のクーペ。\ `I swallowed hard as we emerged onto the open road, trying to catch my breath and slow my heart.\ ;さっきぶつけた所も少し気になるが、とりあえず今は、この場を離れることが先決だった。\ `That scraping noise I'd heard was beginning to prey on my mind. But my immediate priority was to get well away.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;やがて…\ ;１０分ほども走り、完全にパチ屋から距離をおいた頃…\ `After driving for ten minutes, with no sign of pursuit, I decided we were probably safe.\ ;どこかの道端に車を停めると、先ほどぶつけたところの点検を始める。\ `The next thing was to pull in somewhere and find out how bad that scrape had been.\ bg "e\chusha_michi2_yoru.jpg",5 ;「…大丈夫？」\ `"Is it okay?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、大したことないだろう…」\ `"Yeah, I don't think it's anything serious..."\ dwavestop 0 ;助手席から少しだけ心配そうに声を掛ける彼女。 ;俺は、ぶつけた個所を点検しながら答える。\ `She sounded concerned. I couldn't blame her. But it really didn't look all that bad.\ ;見たところ、テールバンパーが僅かに凹んで、 ;マフラーの先が少し割れている程度だった。\ `The rear bumper was slightly dented, and it looked like I'd managed to crack the silencer casing.\ ;…これくらいなら、走る分には問題ないだろう。\ `But I didn't seem to have damaged anything essential.\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",3 ;「ふう〜…」\ ;安心したところで、ため息をひとつ落とす。\ `I sank back into the driver's seat, sighing with relief.\ ;…惜しかった。\ `I was pretty miffed with myself right then.\ ;早速、先ほどのパチンコ屋でのことを思い出していた。\ ;;↑こーゆーの、訳しなくてもいいじゃん。 ;もう少しのところで失敗してしまったが、上手くやれば、次には成功するようにも思えた。\ `It wasn't just that I'd been cheated of success by such a narrow margin.\ ;あのドル箱を持ちきれなかったのにしても、久しぶりに重いモノを持ったのが敗因だと思う。\ `It was the shock of having failed simply because I hadn't picked anything that heavy up for so long.\ ;最初から覚悟して持てば何とかなるだろうし…\ `I should have been prepared for that. I could have held on to it if I'd been expecting it to be a strain.\ ;「…勘違いしてるわね」\ `"You couldn't have done it, you know."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"...what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「今のあなたは、以前のあなたとは違う筈…」\ `"You're not who you used to be any more..."\ dwavestop 0 ;まるで、見透かされたような彼女の言葉だった。\ `It was like she could see right through me.\ ;「だけど、あれくらいの重さなら…」\ `"Even so... it wasn't that heavy..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…同じように考えない方がいい」\ `"Don't think that way. You're different now."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;恐らく、彼女の言は正しいのだろう。認めたくないが、今の俺は以前の俺とは違う。\ `I knew she was probably right. I didn't want to admit it, but I really had changed.\ ;確かにこんなに体力が落ちていては、とても成功するとは思えなかった。\ `I really wasn't anything like as strong as I thought I was... as I used to be. Maybe I had been doomed to failure.\ ;「じゃあ…どうすりゃいいんだよ？」\ `"But... what are we going to do, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;その問いには返事はなかった。\ `She didn't reply.\ ;黙ったまま窓の先にある、暗い夜空を見ているだけだった。\ `She just stared out of the window, out into the night.\ ;…それは、諦めろということなのだろうか…\ `Perhaps she was telling me to give up.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 mov %flg_cha4,1 mov %flg_bplay,4 goto *mini_title *honpen5 ;mov $sys_midasi,"エメラルドの海" mov $sys_midasi,"`The Emerald Sea" stop mp3fadeout 2500 dwavestop 1 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 bg "e\w.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 1000 bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",5 mp3loop "bgm\3_12.mp3" !s80 ;「時間を止め、心を止めて…」\ `"Stopping my life, stopping my heart..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「情報だけを積み重ねる日々…」\ `"I have nothing to do but collect trivia..."\ dwavestop 0 ;地図を眺め、目を閉じ、知らない町を旅する日々…\ `Nothing to do but look at maps, close my eyes, and travel that way to unknown places.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 !sd ;ある日。\ ;いつも買っていた月刊誌。 ;その表紙を飾っていた、グラビア写真が目に止まった。\ `I took some monthly magazines.\ `One time, as I was browsing them, my eye was caught by a cover photo.\ bg "e\image01.jpg",5 ;派手な水着を着たモデルの女の人。@波打ち際でそれっぽいポーズをとっていた。\ `It was a pinup shot.@ ` `A young model in a skimpy bikini, standing in the surf in a cheesy pose.\ ;いつもわたしが夢見ていた、エメラルドの海を背にして笑っていた。\ `The sea behind her was emerald green, the colour of the sea in my dreams.\ ;…きっと、同じ年頃なんだろう…\ `She even looked about my age... though the similarities ended there. I didn't have a figure like that.\ ;その抜群のスタイルで、嬉しそうに楽しそうに、わたしに笑顔を向けていた。\ `But she was smiling back at me.\ ;…別に、うらやましいと思った訳では無いと思う。\ `I wasn't exactly jealous.\ ;第一、水着だって持ってなかったし、持つ必要に迫られることすらなかった。\ `I didn't even need a bikini, let alone have one.\ ;…わたしには、パジャマがあれば十分だった。\ `Pyjamas were enough for me.\ dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\w.jpg",3 ;「幾つもの季節を、白い梅雨空を… ;　誰とも言葉を交わす必要もなく過ごした…」\ `"I've passed all these seasons, under that white overcast sky, without needing to speak to anyone..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",3 ;あの日。中一の６月。初めて入院した日…\ `I remembered that day... that June day when I was first admitted to hospital.\ ;わたしは水着を注文していたことを思い出した。 ;数年前の例の水着を思い出した。\ `I'd ordered a swimming costume the day before that. All those years ago.\ ;…あの日、出番を失ったままの水着を思い出した。\ `I remembered the thing itself, that costume that I'd never had a chance to wear.\ ;数年ぶりにタンスから出された、新品のままだったスクール水着。\ `I took it out of the drawer for the first time in years. Just a brand new school swimming costume. Navy blue. Never worn.\ ;いつものパジャマを脱ぐと、恐る恐る、その紺の水着を身につけてみる。\ `I slipped out of my pyjamas timidly, to try it on.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 !s75 ;…ぴったりだった。\ `It fitted perfectly.\ ;もう何年も前のなのに…\ ;まるで…今、あつらえたようにちょうどだった。\ `Though it was years old, it fitted as though I'd ordered it just today.\ ;そんなわたしに、月刊誌のモデルが笑顔を向けていた。 ;エメラルドの海を背にして笑っていた。\ `The model was still smiling at me from that cover. `Smiling in front of that emerald sea.\ ;その抜群のスタイルで、嬉しそうに楽しそうに、わたしに笑顔を向けていた。\ `Smiling straight back at me, flaunting her happy life and her perfect figure.\ ;…それが…@哀しかった。\ `I felt...@ ` sad.\ ;別にうらやましかった訳じゃないと思う。 ;でも、本当は憧れていたのかも知れない。\ `I wasn't exactly jealous. `But I suppose I wished I could try being her.\ ;そんなの無理だってわかってるから、 ;余計に憧れていたのかも知れない。\ `I knew it just wasn't going to happen. `But I suppose that just made me want it all the more.\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",3 !s85 ;「だけど…」\ `"But..."\ ;「…胸の大きな傷跡が、諦めろと諭した」\ `"The long scar on my breast told me... give up."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",3 ;「生涯の伴侶は…@目を閉じた世界にしろと諭した…」\ `"It told me...@ ` all you have in this world is what you see when you close your eyes..."\ !sd dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 ;mov $sys_midasi,"エメラルドの海２" mov $sys_midasi,"`The Emerald Sea, II" bg "tui2\c047.bmp",3 click bg "e\sora_yu.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" ;日がゆっくりと傾き、西の空がオレンジに染まる頃。@ `It was the time of day when the sinking sun sets the western sky ablaze with orange.\ ;俺達は相変わらず走り続けていた。\ `We were driving, of course.\ ;…これからどうしよう…\ `We were making the most of it.\ ;所持金にしてもほとんど余裕はなかった。\ `We were going to run out of money soon enough.\ mp3loop "bgm\n03.mp3" bg "e\shanai_michi01_yu.jpg",3 ;「…ねえ、あなた…」\ `"May I... ask you something...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;そんなことを思っていると、 ;珍しく彼女の方から声を掛けてきた。\ `It was incredibly rare for her to initiate a conversation like that. Lost for words, I nodded.\ ;「あなた、お風呂は入れるの…？」\ `"Are you allowed to have baths...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、今のところ、長湯以外は止められてない」\ `"Yeah... short ones."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そう…わたしも似たようなもんよ」\ `"Same here..."\ dwavestop 0 ;ここで言うところの、風呂に入れるってのは、 ;医者に止められているかって意味だった。\ `The people who might not have been allowing it were, of course, the doctors back at the hospital.\ ;特に腎臓や消化器系の場合はパイプ処理を施している為に、入浴は厳禁の場合が多かった。\ `It wasn't that rare to meet people who were forbidden to bathe normally. Particularly if their problem was to do with their kidneys or digestive system.\ ;それを考えると、少なくとも彼女は俺と同じく循環器系なのだろう。\ `If she had the same kind of restrictions as me, maybe she had the same thing as me too.\ ;「なんだ、もしかして風呂に入りたいのか？」\ `"Why? Did you want one?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…悪い？」\ `"...is that a problem?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、俺も入りたかったし」\ `"Not at all. I'd quite like one myself."\ dwavestop 0 ;といっても、どこかの宿やホテルに泊まるには、金銭的に無理だった。\ `Our range of potential baths was pretty limited, though.\ `A hotel or inn would have been the nicest option, but not many of those are interested in the kind of money we had to offer.\ ;「じゃあさ、どっか銭湯でも探すか？」\ `"Shall we look for a bathhouse, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…銭湯？」\ `"...what, a public one?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、それくらいなら、まだ金もあるし…」\ `"That's about all we can afford..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…やっぱりいい」\ `"...I'll do without."\ dwavestop 0 ;「なんだ、いいのかよ？」\ `"Are you sure?"\ dwavestop 0 ;あの日、７階を飛び出してから、既に３日が経とうとしていた。\ `It had been three days since we ran away.\ ;あそこでは週に２回の入浴もあったし、身体を拭く為の、１日２回の暖かいおしぼりもあった。\ `On the seventh floor there'd been baths twice a week, and hot towel wipes twice a day.\ ;まあ、この時分だから汗もかかないし、 ;ほとんど車内だから汚れるようなこともないけど…\ `It could have been worse. At this time of year we weren't going to be sweating much.\ `And as long as we stayed in the car, we were unlikely to get dirty. But even so...\ ;「もしかしてお前…銭湯とかって恥ずかしいから嫌なのか？」\ `"What's wrong with public baths? Are you too shy?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…そんな意味じゃないわよ」\ `"Not really... not the way you mean."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;すっかりと日が落ち、空には大きな月が顔を出す頃。\ `The sun fell from the sky altogether; the moon replaced it.\ ;あれから暫く走った後、俺はどこかの学校らしき場所を見つけた。\ `We'd driven on for a while, till I caught sight of a building that looked like a school.\ ;…ここなら、ちょうどいいか。\ `This would probably do.\ ;俺は入り口付近の路肩に車を停める。\ `I pulled over to the kerb a little way from the gate.\ bg "e\shanai_michi01_yoru.jpg",3 ;そして、後部座席に放りっぱなしにしていた、例の洗濯物の塊を漁り始めた。\ `Then I turned to the heap of laundry that still covered the rear seat, and began to fish through it.\ ;確か、タオルが２〜３枚はあった筈だ。\ `There had to be a couple of towels in here somewhere.\ ;そして、どうでもいいような服を除けて、いかにもって感じのタオルを手にする。\ `There were.\ ;白石工務店という文字が印刷された、 ;恐らく粗品用であろう、しょぼいタオルだった。\ `They were cheap, shabby things, with the legend 'Shiraishi Construction' emblazoned across them. Probably free gifts.\ ;「じゃあ、ちょっと待ってろよ」\ `"I won't be a moment."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…？」\ `"...?"\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwavestop 1 ;そのしょぼいタオルを２枚だけ持って、目の前の学校へと向かった。\ `I headed for the school, taking a couple of towels with me.\ ;既に閉められた校門をよじ登り、キョロキョロと辺りを見渡し、目的の場所を探す。\ `The gate was locked, but easily climbed.\ ;「あ、あった」\ `Once within, I found what I was looking for almost immediately.\ dwavestop 0 ;しばらくして、目指していた水道を見つけた。 ;恐らくは花壇用に設けられたものだろう。\ `A tap. Probably there for the gardeners' convenience.\ dwave 1,"se\water_x2.wav" ;キュッキュ、シャーーーっ\ ;蛇口をひねると、勢いよく流れ出る水。 ;まるで身を切るような冷たさだった。\ `It worked; one twist of the top, and it began to spurt out a stream of numbingly cold water.\ ;そして俺は、例のタオルを濡らすと固く絞る。\ `I held the towels under it till they were sopping, then wrung them till they stopped dripping.\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;バタン\ !w500 bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",3 dwavestop 1 ;「待たせたな、ほら」\ `"Here you go, then."\ dwavestop 0 ;手に持った濡れタオル。 ;２つある内の一つを彼女にも渡す。\ `I passed her a damp towel.\ ; (着) ;そして、上に来ていたトレーナーを脱ぐと、先になって自分の身体を拭き始めた。\ `I was already tugging my shirt off and setting to work on my own body.\ ;エアコンの効いた暖かい車内に、ひんやりとした濡れタオルの感触が気持ちよかった。\ `The coolness is a pleasant contrast to the warmth of the car; the dampness, an antidote to the drying effect of the air conditioning.\ ;「お前も遠慮せずに、身体拭けよ」\ `"Come on, it's better than nothing."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「冷たくて気持ちいいぞ？」\ `"It's pretty refreshing, really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わかった…」\ `"All right..."\ dwavestop 0 ;最初は遠慮気味にじっとしていた彼女だけど、その返事と共にゆっくりと服のボタンに手をかける。\ `She had been sitting there just staring at the thing, but now she slowly began to unbutton her clothes.\ ;ぶかぶかのＹシャツとジーンズ。\ `That baggy white shirt and rolled-up pair of jeans.\ ;俺とは違って服の中に手を入れて、身体を拭こうとしていた。\ `Unlike me, she didn't remove anything; she just opened them wide enough to get her towel inside.\ ;「ねえ…」\ `"Um..."\ ;手に濡れタオルを持って、服を脱ぎかけたまま彼女が呟く。\ `She stopped again, her clothes hanging loosly from her, and glared at me.\ dwavestop 0 ;「どうかしたか？」\ `"What?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…見ないでよ」\ `"...would you mind not looking?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、悪い…そうだったな」\ `"Oh, sorry! I wasn't thinking..."\ dwavestop 0 ;少しだけ困ったような、照れたような顔をしていた。 ;初めてみる彼女の表情だった。\ `That was an expression I'd never seen on her face before. `A mixture of frustration, confusion, and embarrassment.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;狭い車内、お互いに背中を向け合う俺達。\ `The interior of the car wasn't really large enough for this. We were basically sitting back to back now.\ ;「どうだ、気持ちいいだろ」\ `"Feels good, doesn't it?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Not bad..."\ dwavestop 0 ;真っ暗なあたりに、薄明るい車内。\ `It was completely dark outside now, and only dimly lit in here.\ ;目の前のガラスには、身体を拭く自分の姿が映っていた。\ `The windows were like mirrors. My body was reflected back to me with vivid clarity.\ ;その俺の姿の、更に向こうには、背中越しに居る彼女の姿をも映していた。\ `So was hers.\ ;俺と同じように上着を脱いで身体を拭く彼女。@ ;見るとはなしに見た、その姿…\ `She'd taken her top right off now, just like me.@ ` `I couldn't help but look.\ ;…胸には大きな傷跡が見えた。\ `Yes.@ ` She had a scar like mine.\ ;恐らくは、手術の跡なのだろう。 ;詳しくは分からないが、俺の傷跡より大きかった。\ `So she'd had operations as well. `I had no idea what or when. We didn't talk about that kind of thing. But I could see that her scar was larger than my own.\ bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;「ねえ、あなた…」\ `"Um..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ、あ、ああ…なんだ？」\ `"Eh?! Uh, y, yes...?"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「そんなに…@珍しい？」\ `"Is it... @ `that unusual?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;背中越し。 ;ガラスに映った俺に向かっての言葉だった。\ `She was talking to my reflection in the glass on her side of the car.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 ;mov $sys_midasi,"エメラルドの海３" mov $sys_midasi,"`The Emerald Sea, III" bg "tui2\c049.bmp",3 click bg "e\sora02.jpg",3 mp3loop "bgm\e02.mp3" ;曇り空の下、走る銀のクーペ。\ `The silver coupe purred along under a cloudy sky.\ bg "e\soukou.jpg",3 ;相変わらず、目指す場所も持たずに走り続け、気づけばあれから３日ほど経とうとしていた。\ `Three more days had passed. We'd driven on as before, without any fixed destination.\ ;その間、特に変わったことがあった訳でもない。\ `Nothing particularly exciting had happened in that time.\ ;強いて挙げれば、道中、無料同然の露天風呂を見つけて、\ ;ひと気が少なかったので、とりあえず風呂には入ることが出来たくらいだった。\ `About the most interesting moment was when we happened on an open-air bathing spot that was practically free to use.\ `There hadn't been many people around, so we'd taken the opportunity to have a proper soak.\ ;それ以外では、所持金が底を尽きかけ、再び、ガソリンも底を尽きかけていた。\ `Apart from that, we'd just been spending our dwindling money and burning our dwindling fuel.\ bg "e\shanai_michi01.jpg",3 ;「ちょっと飽きたか？」\ `"Are you tired of this stuff yet?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…」\ `"Not really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;お互い、コンビニのおにぎりを食べながら言葉を交わす。\ `This was in reference to the usual cheap onigiri we were eating.\ ;７階の食事と比べればマシかも知れないが、それでも、ここ数日こればっかりでは飽きそうだった。\ `However preferable it was to seventh-floor cuisine, it wasn't quite wonderful enough that one could eat it forever without tiring of it.\ ;だけど、こんな食事にしたって、残金を考えた場合、あと数回で終わりだろう。\ `And while it was the cheapest food we could live off, even then we weren't going to be able to afford many more.\ ;「…音がうるさい…」\ `"I'm tired of the noise..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「は？　どうした突然？」\ `"Huh? What noise?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「車の音、前より大きくなってる…」\ `"The car. It's getting noisy..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、そういえば確かに…」\ `"You're right, too..."\ dwavestop 0 ;きっと、数日前のパチンコ屋から逃げる時に、マフラーをぶつけたのが原因なんだろう。\ ;俺は気にならなかったが、確かにこの車の音は少し大きくなっていた。\ `I hadn't noticed till she mentioned it, but it was noticably louder than it had been.\ `It was almost certainly my fault, too, for cracking the silencer in the rush to get away from that pachinko parlour.\ ;…まあ、走る分には支障はないだろう。\ `It was a blessing that I hadn't damaged anything more fundamental.\ ;それよりも当面の問題はガソリンだった。\ `Right now, however, the petrol situation was a rather bigger problem.\ ;メーターがエンプティを示してから、既に５分ほど走っていた。\ `The gauge had been reading empty for about five minutes now.\ ;そして、今の所持金は９００円ほど。 ;これでは前回の時と違い、明らかに金が足らない。\ `Unfortunately, I only had 900 yen left. There was no chance that we could afford to fill up on that.\ ;…完全にガス欠になってからでは、もうどうにもならないだろう…\ `If we ran out of petrol, we'd be helpless.\ ;そう判断した俺はスタンドを…それも、無人のスタンドを探した。\ `I couldn't face that. So I was looking out for a petrol station. `A self-service one.\ bg "e\gs.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car_s.wav" ;ほどなくして見つけた無人スタンド。 ;何台か並んだ給油機の一番手前に車を停める。\ `As luck would have it, we came to one before the engine started dying. `I pulled up beside the pump nearest the exit.\ ;「給油に寄る…」\ `"I'm going to fill up..."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 ;「そう…」\ `"Right."\ dwavestop 0 ;「だけど、車からは降りるなよ」\ `"Stay in the car, okay?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;返事はなかった。だけどあいつも、どういう意味かは理解しているのだろう。\ `She didn't reply, but I was pretty sure she could guess what I meant.\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;車の給油口を開け、見よう見まねでガソリンを入れる俺。\ `I opened the filling cap and stuck the nozzle in, like I'd seen other people do. It seemed to do the trick.\ dwavestop 1 ;辺りには他の客が一台と、奥には自販機も備えた建物。店員らしき姿も見えた。\ `I looked round as I filled. There was only one other customer present at the moment. There were attendants, but right now they were both inside the kiosk.\ ;…恐らくはあそこで精算するのだろう。\ `That appeared to be where the business side of things took place.\ ;壁に貼ってある説明プレートによると、給油後にレシートを持ってあそこに行くらしい。\ `There was a users' guide stuck on the wall, which implied that the thing to do was to fill up first and then take one's receipt to the counter to pay.\ ;…今ならば、そのまま走り出せば逃げれる。\ `If we left out that last stage, we might well get away safely.\ ;閑散としたスタンドを見ながら、俺はそう感じていた。\ `I looked up at the pump.\ ;２３、２４、２５、２６…\ `23, 24, 25, 26...\ ;給油量を示すメーターの数字。以前とは逆に、とてもゆっくりに思えた。\ `Last time those digits had seemed to click past so fast. This time, the meter seemed to be counting unhelpfully slowly.\ ;早く満タンにならないかが、とてもじれったく感じた。\ `The effect was the same, though... I couldn't wait for it to finish pumping.\ ;そして、４０リッターを超え、間もなく満タンになろうとした時…\ `The numbers ticked on. They reached the 40 litre mark. We were nearly there. Then...\ bg "e\gs.jpg",3 ;「いらっしゃいませ」\ `"Afternoon, sir!"\ dwavestop 0 ;さっきまで建物の中にいたバイトらしき店員。 ;何故か、こちらに駆け寄って来た。\ `It was one of the attendants, damn him. I hadn't noticed him leave the kiosk.\ ;「灰皿、空気圧大丈夫ですか」\ `"Need your ashtray emptying? Tyre pressures all okay?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「え、あ…ええ、大丈夫です…」\ `"Uh, yeah, we're fine, thanks..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そうですか、寒いですから気をつけて下さいね」\ `"Good, good. Gotta be careful at this time of year, you know. Gets a bit dangerous with the cold."\ dwavestop 0 ;そして、サービスのつもりか窓まで拭き始めた。\ `Then, apparently thinking I'd appreciate the service, he actually started washing the car windows.\ ;そうこうする内に、給油機が満タンを告げ、事務的な音を鳴らしレシートが吐き出される。\ `With a beautiful sense of timing, the tank chose that moment to become full.\ `The hum of the pump cut out, and was replaced with the rattle of a receipt printing.\ ;「あ、清算は向こうでお願いしますね」\ `"Just take that to the till to settle up..."\ dwavestop 0 ;窓を拭く手を止め、さきほどの建物を指差す店員。\ `The attendant stopped scrubbing for long enough to point me towards the kiosk.\ ;俺は無言でレシートを手に持つが、思わずどうしていいのか分からず立ち尽くしてしまう。\ `I reached out dumbly and took the receipt in one hand, then, completely at a loss to know what to do, just stood there staring at it.\ ;「どうしました、お客さん？」\ `"Is something wrong, sir?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、いや、なんでもない…」\ `"No... no, it's fine..."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo.jpg",3 ;とりあえず、一旦車内に戻った俺。\ `Confounded, all I could think to do was clamber back into the car.\ dwave 1,"se\engin_s.wav" ;そして、エンジンだけは始動させた。\ `I started the engine reflexively.\ ;…どうすれば、いいのだろうか…\ `What should I do... what could I do...\ ;例の店員らしきバイトは、今度は後部ガラスまで拭き始めてくれていた。\ `The attendant was still fussing around. He appeared to have started washing the tail lights.\ ;…今ならば、このままアクセルを踏み込むだけで…\ `I could just make a run for it. This was a fast car. They'd never catch up.\ ;だが、間違いなくナンバーは控えられるだろう。\ `But they'd certainly make a note of the registration.\ ;検問でもあれば簡単に捕まってしまう。\ `We'd be arrested within hours.\ dwavestop 1 ;…だけど、今この場を逃げる為には…\ `Well, we were in trouble already. At least we could delay the inevitable.\ ;そう覚悟を決めた俺は、クラッチを強く踏み込む。\ `I shoved the clutch out, mentally cursing the overzealous attendant and all his works.\ ;そして、ニュートラルだったギアを、セコに入れようとした時…\ `Then, as I grabbed the gear stick and pushed it towards second...\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;「はい…」\ `"Here."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ？」\ `"Huh?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…使っていいわよ」\ `"Use this..."\ ;突然、彼女が封筒を取り出す。 ;そしてその中から１万円札を俺に向けた。\ `She was holding an envelope in one hand. `She was holding the other hand out to me. With a 10,000 yen note in it.\ ;「お、お前、金持ってたのか？」\ `"You... you had that... all along?"\ dwavestop 0 ;てっきり持ってないと思っていた。\ `I couldn't believe that all this time she'd let me think I was the only one with any money.\ ;それなら、何も今まで、こんなに苦労しなくて済んだのに…\ `I couldn't believe she'd just sat there and watched while I resorted to petty crime to try and keep us fed and mobile.\ ;「どうして、言ってくれなかったんだよ？」\ `"Why the hell didn't you tell me?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あなた…@聞いた？」\ `"...did you ask?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「え、あ、いや、それは…」\ `"I... um... I thought... you know..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「聞かれなかったからよ…」\ `"That's why."\ dwavestop 0 ;それだけを答えると、またいつものように窓の方を向いてしまった。\ `As always, she stopped there, and just started staring out of the window again.\ bg "e\soukou.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" ;また走り出した銀のクーペ。\ `We were on the move again.\ ;とりあえずガソリンは満タンにすることが出来た。 ;それに、お釣りとして受け取った５千円札もあった。\ `We had a full tank, which much to my relief I'd managed to pay for without any awkward questions. `And we had money. Over 5,000 yen now, with the change from the petrol.\ ;だけど俺には、さっきのことの方が気にかかっていた。\ `I was still bothered, of course, but this time it was the girl's fault.\ ;「なあ、お前さあ…」\ `"So, let me get this right..."\ bg "e\naname_michi.jpg",3 ;「はい、これで全部よ…」\ `"Here. Have the rest."\ ;「えっ？」\ `"What?"\ ;言い出すより前に、先程の封筒を、そのままを俺に差し出す彼女。\ `She cut in before I could finish putting my question together, and dropped the envelope in my lap.\ ;「これ、使っていいのか？」\ `"Is it okay to use this?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…いいわよ」\ `"That's what it's for."\ dwavestop 0 ;受け取った封筒の中を覗くと、まだ１万円札が４枚も入っていた。\ `I took a peek inside. There were four more of those 10,000 yen notes in there.\ ;これで当面は大丈夫だと思える。\ `That was more money than we were likely to need to see us through.\ ;しかし今度は、更に別のことが気にかかっていた。\ `Which was all well and good, but did lead me to certain other questions.\ ;…何故、彼女はこんなにお金を持っていたのだろうか？\ `Like, say, why on earth had she been carrying so much cash in the first place?\ ;少なくとも、俺が最初に持っていた数千円は、突発的に持っていただけのモノだった。\ `It wasn't something we really needed in day-to-day life in the hospital. That's why I'd only had a few thousand yen to bring with me.\ ;だけど、彼女の場合は、あらかじめ準備されていたように思えた。\ `It rather looked as though she really had been preparing to run...\ ;「なあ、お前ってさ…」\ `"Wait a minute..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「以前に７階は嫌だって言ってたよな？」\ `"You always said you didn't want it to be the seventh floor, right?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…家だって嫌よ」\ `"...and not at home either."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、俺だってそうだ…」\ `"Yeah. Me too..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあさ、どこへ行くつもりだったんだ？」\ `"So... you were planning to go somewhere else all along, weren't you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「これは、その為の金だったんじゃねえのか？」\ `"Is that why you had all this money?"\ dwavestop 0 ;そして俺は、以前の彼女の言葉を思い出していた。\ `And I remembered something else she'd said.\ ;自力で動ける内にどこかに行くと言っていた。 `She'd said she was going to walk, for as long as she could.\ ;引き止めたいのか、一緒に行きたいのか？とも尋ねられた。\ `And she'd asked whether I was going to try to stop her. Or whether I wanted to go with her instead...\ ;「やっぱり本当は、どこか行くあてがあったのか？」\ `"You had somewhere in mind, didn't you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に……」\ `"Not really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に、じゃ分からねえよ」\ `"Somewhere non-particular, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「…どこもないわよ…」\ `"...nowhere..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;それだけを…寂しそうに、哀しそうに呟いた。\ `She whispered, in a sad and lonely voice.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;ならば彼女は…\ ;行き先も持たずに、それでもいつの日かを描いて、一人でずっと準備だけをしていたのだろうか？\ `Then had she really just been keeping herself constantly prepared, ready to leave, even though she had nowhere to go?\ ;そんな虚しいことをって気にもなるけど…\ `It was hard to believe that anyone would choose such a futile path.\ ;彼女の寂しそうな横顔は、それを肯定しているようにも思えた。\ `But she was there beside me to answer, and the despair in her face was ample confirmation.\ ;「…じゃあ、あなたはどうなのよ？」\ `"...what about you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「俺だって…別に、だ…」\ `"I did... not really... have anywhere in mind either."\ dwavestop 0 !s80 ;「…真似しないでよ」\ `"...don't imitate me."\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に、真似じゃねえよ」\ `"I wasn't. Not really."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;…行き先も持たずに走り続ける俺達。\ `So there we were, driving along together.\ ;突発的に７階を飛び出した俺と、行くあても無いのに、虚しく準備だけを進めていた彼女。\ `I, who had had the initiative to leave, but done so without thought or plan. `And the girl, who had been continually prepared without ever acting.\ ;だけど…\ bg "e\naname_michi.jpg",3 ;「…今は、どこでもいいから行ってみたい…」\ `"I want to go somewhere... I don't really care where, I just want a goal."\ ;「えっ…」\ `"...huh?"\ dwavestop 0 ;少なくとも俺には、何でもいいから示すモノが欲しかった。\ dwavestop 0 ;「なあ、以前に話していた淡路島なんてどうだ？」\ `"Why don't we go to that Awajishima place?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「今の所持金なら、十分に行けるぞ」\ `"We can afford it now."\ dwavestop 0 ;きっと、どこでも良かったんだと思う。 ;７階でも、家で無くても、動き続けてさえいられれば。\ `Seriously, I didn't care where we went. As long as it wasn't the seventh floor, or home. As long as we could keep going.\ ;でも、無意味に彷徨うだけじゃなくて…\ `And as long as we weren't just wandering around pointlessly like now...\ ;何でもいいから目指すものが欲しかったんだと思う。\ `I didn't care where we went. Awajishima would be as good as anywhere.\ ;「…お前も行ってみたいと思わないか？」\ `"You want to go there too, don't you?"\ dwavestop 0 !s100 ;「……別に…」\ `"...not really..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;それだけを返すと、またいつもと同じように、窓の外に視線を向けてしまう彼女。\ `She gave her usual response, and stared out of the window as usual.\ ;…相変わらず、どこか遠くを見つめるような目。\ `And, as usual, her eyes became distant and unfocused.\ ;一体、彼女は何を見ているのだろうか…@ `I wondered what she was looking at.\ ;何を考え、何を期待して、ここに来たのだろうか…\ `I wondered what she had been thinking, and what she had been hoping for, in coming this far...\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 2500 mov %flg_cha5,1 mov %flg_bplay,5 goto *mini_title *honpen6 ;mov $sys_midasi,"一号線" mov $sys_midasi,"`Route One" dwavestop 1 bg "e\w.jpg",5 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 !s85 ;『…地図を見るのは好きだった…』\ `"I still enjoyed looking at maps..."\ dwavestop 0 mp3loop "bgm\o02.mp3" !sd ;どこまでも続く１号線、知らない場所。 ;どこまでも連れて行ってくれる車も好きだった。\ `There was Route 1, stretching forever across the country to places I'd never been...\ `I liked cars, too. They could take me anywhere, in my dreams.\ bg "e\image01.jpg",5 ;でも、いくら情報を積み重ねても…\ ;それは仮想。 ;リアルを、心を、どんどん脆くしていく。\ `But however much I looked, and however much I learnt, it was all academic.\ `It wasn't real. Reality, and my spirit itself, were growing increasingly fragile.\ ;水着もある、地図もある、でも未来がない。\ `I had a swimming costume. I had maps. What I didn't have was a future.\ ;窓の外には世界だってある。 ;でも、触れられる現実がない。\ `There was a world outside the window, but it wasn't one I could enter or touch.\ ;目を閉じれば、何も無い世界に行けるけど、この世界自体が消えてしまった訳ではない。\ `I could close my eyes. There was another world there, an empty world. But that wouldn't make the one outside go away.\ ;そんなことは分かってる。\ `I knew that.\ ;生涯の伴侶は、目を閉じた世界だと覚悟している。\ `I could accept that. I knew that the empty world was all I had, and the one outside was not for me.\ ;なのに、@「もし」ばかりを想像して、 ;もしかしたらと期待して夢見て、でも結局は…\ `And yet,@ ` I couldn't help but imagine. I couldn't help but hope. I couldn't help dreaming.\ ;憧れは憧れに過ぎず、ビキニの水着も、エメラルドの海も…\ `I couldn't help desiring them beyond desire... that bikini, that emerald sea...\ ;…胸の大きな傷跡が、あきらめろと諭した。\ `The long scar on my breast told me... give up.\ bg "e\setsumi_kaisou.jpg",5 ;「だけど…」\ `"But..."\ dwavestop 0 ;生涯のほとんどを病院で過ごし、目を閉じた世界だけで過ごして…\ `I'd spent half my life in hospital. My only other place had been the world I saw when I closed my eyes.\ ;７階か、家しか選べられないのが哀しかった。\ `I despaired that I could only choose between home and the seventh floor.\ ;選択する余地も与えられず…\ `I hadn't even been given any real freedom even there...\ ;かといって、その場所すら見つけられない自分を憐れだと思った。\ `I felt I was a truly wretched creature, unable even to find a place for itself.\ !s85 ;…それでも、２２年も生きたのに…\ `...even though I'd lived for 22 years...\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 !s85 ;「一つくらい…好きにさせてよ…」\ `"Just for once... let me have my way..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そう呟いた時、止めた筈の時間が揺らいだ気がした。\ `When I whispered that, I felt my time move... my stopped time moved.\ ;あの日、止めた筈の心が苦しかった…\ `That day I felt pain in my heart... my stopped heart hurt...\ !sd bg "e\w.jpg",3 ;mov $sys_midasi,"一号線２" mov $sys_midasi,"`Route One, II" bg "tui2\cat02_h.bmp",5 click dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" bg "e\b.jpg",3 bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 ;冬の澄んだ青空を、ボンネットに映して走る銀のクーペ。\ `The coupe was roaring along, the still winter sky reflected from its bonnet.\ ;相変わらず、目的もなく走り続けていたが、 ;当面はガソリンや買い物にも、困ることは無さそうだった。\ `We had still not made any plans. But at least I knew we had money. We would not go short of food or petrol.\ bg "e\shanai_michi04.jpg",3 ;間もなく、大きな交差点に差しかかろうとしていた。\ `We were approaching a major junction.\ ;昨夜、彼女の賛同を得られなかったが、俺は何となくでも西を目指すことにしていた。\ `While I hadn't managed to get a particularly favourable response last night, I was still thinking of heading west. Just because.\ ;只、地理的にも全くわからないし、高速道路を利用するのは所持金的にも辛いと思えた。\ `The problem with that was that I was hopeless with geography. And I was still reluctant to use the highways. We had money, but that wasn't infinite.\ ;そんなことを思いながら、目の前の迫った大きな交差点。\ `It was at that point in my musings that we began to see signs for this junction.\ ;何も考えずに直進しようとしていた俺に…\ `I didn't take much notice. I was just going to keep driving straight on.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 !s90 ;「そこ…@左折…」\ `"Left here..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ？」\ `"You what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「左に曲がって…」\ `"Go left here."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;突然、俺に指示を出した彼女。\ `An instruction from a most unexpected source. ;何のことかと思いながらも、指示通りに左折レーンに入り、大きな道へと出た。\ `I took the turning obediently, wondering what she was thinking, and we came out onto a major road.\ bg "e\naname_michi.jpg",3 ;「どうしたんだよ、一体？」\ `"Why did you want to go this way all of a sudden?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「これが１号線…当分は真っ直ぐよ…」\ `"This is Route 1. Stay on it for now..."\ dwavestop 0 !s75 ;「当分はって…」\ `"For now...?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;彼女の突然の指示に俺は驚いてしまう。\ `I was bewildered.\ ;今までにも行動を共にしてきて、何でも知っているようだが、\ ;自発的に俺に指示を出したことは初めてだった。\ `I knew she knew a lot about travel and geography. But she'd never volunteered directions before.\ ;「…もしかして、行く気になったのか？」\ `"Have you changed your mind?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、その、例の場所…淡路島までさ」\ `"Do you want to go there after all... to Awajishima?"\ dwavestop 0 !s90 ;「……悪い？」\ `"...can't we?"\ !sd dwavestop 0 ;「いや、そんな意味じゃねえけどさ…」\ `"I didn't say that..."\ dwavestop 0 ;何の目的も持たずに進む俺達。\ `We'd been travelling aimlessly for days now.\ ;何か目的が欲しくて彷徨っていた俺と、いつも遠くを見つめてばかりで、よく分からない彼女。\ `I'd been hoping that we'd find some kind of goal to aim for, but she'd just been staring into the distance.\ ;その彼女の口から、出たことが俺には意外だった。\ `To hear her express any form of desire was profoundly unexpected.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 !s85 ;「…期待してる訳じゃない…」\ `"It's not that I'm hoping for anything, particularly..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ？」\ `"You what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に水着が欲しい訳じゃ…」\ `"It's not that I want a bikini like..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「…お前、なに言ってるんだ？」\ `"What are you talking about?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…なんでもないわよ」\ `"...nothing..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\w.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "tui2\cat03_h.bmp",3 !w800 bg "e\sora03.jpg",5 mp3loop "bgm\a01.mp3" ;冬の澄んだ空の下、日射しを跳ねて進む銀のクーペ。\ `We drove on under the clear winter sky, the sun gleaming from the silver paintwork.\ ;強い上り坂や急なカーブが多かった箱根も越え、今はずいぶんと楽な道のりへと変わっていた。\ `The tough climbs and sudden curves of Hakone were far behind us; the going was easy now.\ ;「なあ、ここらってどこらへんだ？」\ `"Where are we now, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「愛知県よ、間もなく名古屋市街に入るわ…」\ `"Aichi prefecture... just outside Nagoya."\ dwavestop 0 ;残り金額を考え、高速は使わずに下道を走る俺達。\ `We were still staying off the highways to save money, so we were coming in on the old road.\ ;俺一人では、とうてい無理だろうけど、彼女の指示通りに進んでいた。\ `I could never have found the way by myself, but luckily I had her with me.\ ;ナビ以上に詳しい彼女の指示。\ `She was better than GPS.\ ;その理由はわからないけど、恐らくは正しいルートなのだと思えた。\ `How she knew, I had no idea, but she was issuing clear instructions at regular intervals. `And so far as I could tell they were accurate, too.\ ;「次の交差点…２２号線に入って」\ `"Take Route 22 at the next junction..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わかった」\ `"Will do."\ dwavestop 0 ;言われた通りに車線を変え、ハンドルを切る。\ `I made the necessary adjustments and turned off onto the indicated road.\ bg "e\soukou_machi.jpg",3 ;窓からの流れる景色。 ;初めて見る賑やかな市街地をどこまでも北上する。\ `The scenery flashed past outside. The unfamiliar suburbs stretched off ahead to the north.\ ;そして、いつしか周りの風景が、少しずつ落ち着いたものへと変わる頃…\ `Then, around the time of day when the streets around us began to grow quiet...\ ;「なあ、あそこでも寄ってくか？」\ `"Why don't we stop for a bite to eat?"\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\naname_machi.jpg",3 ;国道沿いに見える、どこかのファミレス。\ `I had spotted a big chain restaurant ahead.\ ;俺は走りながら、それを指差すと言葉を続けた。\ `As we approached, I pointed it out.\ ;「ほら、今までコンビニばっかだったろ？」\ `"We've been living off onigiri for ages..."\ dwavestop 0 ;もちろん好きでコンビニばかりだった訳じゃない。\ `I hadn't put up with it because I loved the stuff.\ ;所持金を考えてのことだし、そこまで心に余裕がなかったのも理由だった。\ `The advantage supermarket food had was twofold: first, it was cheap, and second, it required little thought or effort to acquire.\ ;でも今は、少しだけ金銭的にも余裕ができた。だからこその俺の提案だった。\ `But I had more money in my pocket now, and fewer preoccupations. That changed things rather.\ ;「な、たまにはファミレスもいいじゃん」\ `"Let's have a proper meal for once."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…わたしは、コンビニでいい…」\ `"I'm happy with onigiri..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そう言うと、少しだけ俯く彼女。 ;どうやら自分の服を見つめているようだった。\ `That's what she said. Her eyes told a different story: they were looking at her clothes.\ ;ああ…そういえばこいつって、 ;ぶかぶかの服を着たままだったな…\ `Of course. She wouldn't want to go out for a meal dressed like that...\ ;「わかった、じゃあ先にあっち寄るか？」\ `"Ahh... okay, how about we go there first, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…あっちって？」\ `"...'there'?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、手前の店、どこかのジーンズショップ」\ `"The clothes place next door."\ dwavestop 0 ;それは、国道沿いによく見られる、ジーンズやカジュアルを揃えた量販店のようだった。\ `It was a large two-storey building. One of those high-volume, low-margin warehouse-style outlets you tend to find along major roads.\ ;「きっとこの手の店なら、そんな高くないのあるだろうからさ」\ `"I'm sure we could find you something nicer to wear than that."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"..........."\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあ寄るぞ？　寄るからな」\ `"Come on. I'm getting hungry."\ dwavestop 0 ;「………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;返事はなかった。 ;でも、反対もされなかった。\ `She didn't reply. But she didn't resist, either.\ ;もしかしたら…\ ;こいつにとって反論しないってことは、肯定と考えて良いのかも知れない。\ `I was going to have to start taking her silence as tacit consent, or we'd never get anything done.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;店内に入った俺達。\ `I led her inside.\ ;２階建ての大きなフロアを、あいつが物珍しそうに、幾つものコーナーを見て回っていた。\ ;その様子は、相変わらずの無口だし、普段の姿と変わらないように見えるかも知れない。\ ;だけど、無機質に何も映していなかった、あのつまらないテレビを見ていた時とは少し違っていた。\ `She remained silent, reticent, expressionless. But she began to poke around and examine things.\ `In outward appearance she was unchanged. But her actions were subtly different.\ `Internally, I thought, she did not seem quite to be the same cold, impersonal girl she had been when all she had to look at was that stultifying TV.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;何度も何度も手にとって、値札を見ては考え込むようにしていた。\ `Again and again she took something from a rack, scrutinised the price tag, and furrowed her brow.\ ;そして、試着をする度に俺の方へと駆け寄って…\ `Again and again she disappeared to try something on, and each time she popped back out to solicit my opinion.\ ;「…どう？」\ `"...well?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「どうって、似合ってんじゃねえか？」\ `I'd shrug. `"Looks okay to me."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…変じゃない？」\ `"...it's not... funny?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、たぶんな」\ `"How would I tell?"\ dwavestop 0 ;こんな感じで何度も何度も、試着を繰り返しては見せにくる彼女。\ `And she'd think for a while, then go and try something else.\ ;決して笑ったり、表情に出したりはしないけど、その姿は、どこか嬉しそうにしているようにも思えた。\ `She didn't smile once, let alone laugh or skip around, but I reckoned it was the happiest I'd seen her.\ ;「どうだ、決まったか？」\ `"Come on, you must have found something by now..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん、これにする」\ `"Yeah... I'll take this."\ dwavestop 0 ;そう言って俺に、最後に試着した、可愛いシャツと短いスカートを見せる。\ `It was the last outfit she'd tried on. A pretty set comprising a wide-collared shirt and a short skirt.\ ;その選んだ服は、いかにも中学生か高校生あたりが、好んで着ていそうな服だった。\ `It was the sort of outfit you'd expect to see on a schoolgirl.\ ;確か以前に、俺よりも年上だと言っていたけど…\ ;どう見ても、そうは見えない彼女の容姿と相まって、逆にハマり過ぎてて微笑ましく見えてしまう。\ `That was actually an advantage. It suited the age she looked, rather than the age she claimed to be.\ `It wasn't what I'd have expected a twenty-something to choose, but I had to admit the effect was pretty sweet.\ ;「でもさ、そのスカートは、止めた方がいいんじゃねえか？」\ `"Are you sure? I'm really not convinced about the skirt..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"Ehh...?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、いや、似合ってないとか、そーゆーのじゃないから」\ `"Don't get me wrong! It looks good, really, it suits you."\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、寒いだろ？　今の時期ってその格好じゃ」\ `"It's just... are you sure you'll be warm enough in it?"\ ;「…べ、別に平気よ…わたし我慢するから」\ `"Course I shall... I don't mind the cold."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 bg "e\w.jpg",3 !s100 ;そう答えた時…\ `As she protested...\ !sd ;少しだけその白い顔が赤くなったように見えた。 `I thought I could detect a faint touch of pink in her pale cheeks.\ ;普段は絶対に感情を表さないこいつなのに…\ ;…もしかして、照れているのだろうか？\ `Could she really be blushing? This girl who normally never betrayed the first hint of emotion?\ ;初めて見る、こいつの表情だった。\ `That was something new.\ bg "e\sora03.jpg",3 ;尚も走り続ける俺達。\ `Later we set off again.\ ;冬の高い高い空の下、少し排気音のうるさい銀のクーペは走り続けていた。\ `The silver coupe carried us along no less eagerly than before, although the exhaust system was now getting noticably noisier.\ ;「次で２１号線に入って…」\ `"Next junction, come off and take Route 21."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わかった」\ `"Right you are."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\shanai_michi01.jpg",3 ;相変わらず彼女のナビに従って進む。 ;気づけば、既に岐阜県に入っていた。\ `She was a talking atlas. Without her I'd have been hopelessly lost. `As it was, I even knew that we'd entered Gifu prefecture when we crossed that river a couple of kilometres back.\ ;いつもなら必要な時以外は、窓の外をじっと眺めているだけの彼女。\ `When not actively navigating, she had been reverting to looking out of the window as usual.\ ;なのに今は、何度も何度も、サイドミラーに自分の姿を映しては嬉しそうにしていた。\ `Except that she didn't seem to be staring into the distance any more. She seemed to be looking at something in the wing mirror.\ ;まるで、俺の目を盗むようにミラーを覗き込んでいた。\ `She was doing so rather surreptitiously, so it was hard to be sure, but I could have sworn she was admiring herself.\ ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…なに？」\ `"...what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、さっきの服、気に入ったみたいだな」\ `"Nothing. Glad you like your new clothes so much."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「別に…そんなことないわよ」\ `"I don't really... well, they're okay..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そう言うとサイドミラーを見るのを止めてしまう。\ `She shoved herself back in her seat.\ ;でも、しばらくすると、また俺がよそ見している間にチェックを始める彼女。\ `For a matter of minutes. As soon as she thought I'd stopped looking, she was leaning towards the mirror again.\ ;…結構、かわいいところもあるんだな…\ `I guess she was a girl for all that.\ ;たったこれだけのことでも、普段が普段なだけに、俺には可愛いと思えた。\ `Given her habitual behaviour, I have to say that this glimpse of vanity really struck me as rather sweet.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 ;mov $sys_midasi,"一号線３" mov $sys_midasi,"`Route One, III" bg "e\sora07.jpg",3 mp3loop "bgm\n05.mp3" ;すっかりと日が暮れる頃。\ `Twilight.\ ;どこかの道端。 ;また今日もコンビニでの夕食を済ませた頃。\ `We were stationary at the roadside. We'd just finished our frugal supper.\ bg "e\chusha_michi2_yoru.jpg",3 ;「なあ、今頃どうなってっかな…」\ `"I wonder what they're doing now..."\ dwavestop 0 ;今も手首に巻かれたままになっている、ビニール製の白い腕輪。\ `I was looking at my wristband as I spoke.\ ;血液型と俺の名前が記載された、あの、病院のネームプレートを見ながら呟く。\ `We were still wearing them, those white plastic bands with our names and blood types on them.\ ;「やっぱ、大騒ぎしてると思うか？」\ `"Probably tearing their hair out, don't you think?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…たぶんね」\ `"Probably..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「だよな…」\ ; ;dwavestop 0 ;両親や、友達、それに病院の先生達…\ `Our parents and friends, not to mention the doctors, would be frantic.\ ;例えそれが上っ面だけだったとしても、心配してくれていると思うと、少し心苦しかった。\ `Even if their concern was probably more to do with insurance and liability than any particular attachment to us, I still felt a bit bad about causing them so much worry.\ ;悪いな…親父、皆んな…@ 自分勝手な、我侭やっちまって…\ `Sorry, dad. Sorry, everyone.@ ` We're being kind of selfish...\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",3 ;「ねえ、あなたって…」\ `"When you heard..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「ん？　どうかしたか？」\ `"Hmm? When I heard what?"\ ;「最初に…死ぬって聞かされた時…@…泣いた？」\ `"When you heard you were going to die...@ ` did you cry?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;突然の彼女の問いに、一瞬だけ驚いた。 ;そして、その問いの重さに暫く考えてしまった。\ `It was a rather sudden question. It took me a moment to collect my thoughts, and a moment more to think back and retrieve the answer.\ ;「…確か…泣かなかったと思う」\ `"No... I don't think I did."\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあ、どうして自分だけって…@運命を呪った？」\ `"Were you angry, then?@ ` ...did you curse your fate, did you wonder why it had to be you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「それは…よく覚えていない」\ `"I... don't really remember."\ dwavestop 0 ;始めは現実に起こった事として認識できなかった。 ;リアルとして考えられなかったように思う。\ `At first I hadn't really reacted at all. I hadn't been able to grasp what was happening. It hadn't seemed real to me at all.\ ;だけど…本当は少しはあったのかも知れない。\ `But... maybe I had been a bit angry.\ ;一緒に教習所に通った友達が、新車を買った。 ;３６回のローンが大変だとぼやいていた。\ `One of the friends I'd been going to driving school with had bought himself a car. `He'd been going round grumbling about how he'd had to take out several dozen loans to finance it.\ ;就職が決まった奴もいた。留年が確定した奴もいた。 ;子供が出来た奴もいた。また彼女にフラれたって奴もいた。\ `There'd been the guy who'd found a good job. The guy who was having to go back for retakes. `The guy who'd got his girlfriend pregnant. The guy who'd got dumped by his.\ ;でも俺は…@未来を断たれた。\ `They all had futures.@ ` I didn't.\ ;だから本当は…どうして自分だけがって気持ちはあったんだと思う。\ `I guess I probably did wonder why it had had to be me.\ ;これが運命だからって自分に言い聞かせても、 ;やっぱり、諦めきれない気持ちはあったんだと思う。\ `However much I told myself it was just my fate, it was still a tough fate to accept. I guess I probably was angry.\ ;「じゃあお前は…どうだったんだ？」\ `"What about you? How did you take it?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…わたし？」\ `"...me?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、哀しくて泣いて…運命を呪ったか？」\ `"Yeah... did you cry? ...did you curse your fate?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…わたしは、平気だった」\ `"...I didn't care."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…どうしてだ？」\ `"You what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…だって、最初から何も望んでなかったから…」\ `"...I hadn't been hoping for anything anyway..."\ dwavestop 0 !w500 !s90 ;「…わたしは…諦めていたから」\ `"...I'd... already given up..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そうか…」\ `"Oh..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 !sd ;最初から諦めていれば、落胆することもない。 ;後ろ向きでいれば楽しくもないけど、辛いこともない。\ `I suppose it probably would be easier to take if you gave up straight away. `If you turned your back on the world, you'd miss out on all the pleasures life had left... but you'd avoid the pain, too.\ ;だけど、その考え方は哀しすぎるような気がする。\ `But surely that would be the hardest, and saddest, choice of all?\ ;それとも、彼女の場合は…@ ;そうするより他に、方法がなかったのだろうか…\ `I couldn't imagine being able to do it.@ ` `She must really have felt she had no other option at all...\ bg "e\car_byoin_chusyajo_yoru.jpg",3 !s85 ;「…前に見た映画で言ってた…」\ `"I saw in this film..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…狼は３年しか生きないって」\ `"...they said how wolves only live like three years..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「は？　狼？」\ `"...wolves?"\ !sd ;突然、よく分からないことを話し始めた彼女。\ `I hadn't a clue what she was on about. I was clearly missing something.\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「でも…ロバは９年も生きるんだって」\ `"But donkeys live nine years."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「何のことだ？…狼が３年でロバが９年って？」\ `"Sorry, I'm probably being really thick here... but what are you on about?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「…ロバは…役に立つから長生きする」\ `"...the thing is... donkeys live longer because they're useful."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そういうことらしいの…」\ `"That's just the way it is..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;寂しそうに窓の外を見ながら、言葉をつむぎ出す彼女。\ `She was staring out of the window, speaking quietly and deliberately, in a voice tinged with regret.\ ;これが彼女にとっての…@ ;自分を納得させる為の、諦める為の言い訳なのだろうか…\ `So that was how she'd rationalised it. `How she'd managed to come to terms with her fate and give up on her life...\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" bg "e\yukizora.jpg",3 ;暮れかけた真冬の空。 ;２１号線をまっすぐに進む俺達。\ `We drove on along Route 21 in the winter dusk.\ ;その暮れかけた空に舞う、チラチラと白いもの。 ;次第に降りを強くしているようだった。\ `White flakes were beginning to flutter down. At first they were barely visible in the fading light, but gradually they began to fall more and more thickly.\ ;「…どうかしたの？」\ `"...snow?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、雪が降ってきた…」\ `"Looks like it..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そして、気づけば、道路の脇には白い積雪が姿を現すようになっていた。\ `It was. Already the verges were turning white.\ bg "e\naname_yuki.jpg",3 ;いつの間に積雪地帯に入ったのか分からないが、どこを見渡しても白い色に染められていた。\ `We were up in the mountains; maybe we'd crossed the snow line. Whatever the cause, the world around was white as far as I could see.\ ;…少しやばいかもな。\ `This wasn't good.\ ;さっき見た限りでは、このタイヤはスタッドレスじゃなかった。\ `I hadn't looked that closely, but I seriously doubted this car had snow tyres fitted.\ ;もしも、これから先が、更に雪が降るエリアでは厄介かも知れない。\ `If the weather got any worse ahead, we could be in trouble.\ ;「なあ、ここらって豪雪地帯なのか？」\ `"Does this area get a lot of snowfall?"\ ;「えっ…」\ `"Huh...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや、これ以上、雪が酷くなると辛いからさ」\ `"It's just that I'm not sure I'll be able to handle much more than this..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;仮に路面に積雪は無かったとしても、それだけの場所なら道路が凍結していても不思議ではない。\ `So far there wasn't actually snow on the road, but if this area was particularly prone to it, we might well run into it ahead.\ ;そう考えると、教習所の教本でしか習っていなかった、チェーンの装着ってのも必要になるのかも知れない。\ `I had only the vaguest memories of the section of the driving textbook that covered winter conditions. `Words like "snow chains" swam into my mind. I wondered if we had any.\ ;「どうだ、知ってるか？」\ `"Do you know?"\ dwavestop 0 !s90 ;「この先は…関が原」\ `"We're... coming up to Sekigahara..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「そりゃさっき聞いたって、俺が知りたいのは雪が酷い場所かってこと」\ `"Yes, you already said. What I want to know is, does this place get a lot of snow?"\ dwavestop 0 !w500 !s75 ;「それは…@わからない…」\ `"I...@ ` don't know..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;何故か寂しそうに答える彼女。@ `Her voice was heavy with failure.\ ;その様子に俺は少しだけ違和感を覚えた。\ `I felt slightly odd as well. It felt somehow wrong to hear her confess ignorance.\ ;これだけ道に詳しくて、以前にこの車のこともあんなに詳しかったのに…\ ;それと比較すると、十分に知ってそうなことだと思えた。\ `I'd expected her to know as much about prevailing weather as she seemed to know about other aspects of geography.\ ;「わかった、とにかく気をつけて走る」\ `"Fair enough. I guess we'll just have to take it carefully."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"...yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 2500 ;mov $sys_midasi,"一号線３" mov $sys_midasi,"`Route One, IV" mp3 "bgm\o012.mp3" dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" bg "e\yukizora.jpg",3 bg "e\yuki_kohan.jpg",5 ;波打ち際。 ;俺達は車を降りると、湖を眺めていた。\ `A beach. `We'd left the car up on the road and come down to have a look at the lake.\ ;強い風に煽られては、 ;所々、凍った湖面をも染めようとする白い雪。\ `A mighty wind was moving over its surface; the eddying snow caught therein was scattering across it and melting into the nigh-frozen water.\ ;そんな中、まるで海のような波打ち際へ向かって、ゆっくりと歩き始める彼女。\ `And she was slowly walking through all that towards the waterline.\ ;…以前にもあった光景だった。\ `It was a horribly familiar scene.\ ;「…ねえ、どう思う？」\ `"...how about now...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「このまま進むと、楽に死ねるか？ってのか」\ `"You mean, if you kept going, would that be a good way to die?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん、海より楽な気がする…」\ `"It'd be easier than in the sea..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「俺には、その解答の根拠がわからん…」\ `"How do you figure that out?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「だって、海水は塩辛いし身体も浮いちゃうでしょ…」\ `"Well, it's not as salty, is it? You won't float as much..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そりゃあ、名推理だな」\ `"You make a good case."\ dwavestop 0 ;冷たい北風と降る雪の中、お互いに本気とも冗談とも取れないことを言い合う。\ `I couldn't work out whether she was being serious or not. I'm not sure she really knew either.\ ;そして、一旦止まった足を、再び湖へと向けると歩き出す彼女。\ `She had paused while we spoke. Now she began to walk again towards the lake.\ ;「…やっぱり止めないの？」\ `"...aren't you going to try and stop me?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「だって今日は、死ぬつもりないだろ？」\ `"I don't need to, do I? You don't mean to die today."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 ;「…うん…@そうかもね」\ `"...no...@ ` I suppose I don't..."\ dwavestop 0 ;…例の場所、淡路島まで ;あと、どのくらいの距離なのだろうか…\ `It couldn't be that much further to Awajishima.\ ;別にその場所に行きたかった訳でも、何かのこだわりがあった訳でもない。\ `It wasn't a place I especially wanted to visit, nor would it be fair to say getting there was an obsession.\ ;だけど、何の目的も持たずに彷徨う俺達だったのに、今では目指す場所が生まれた。\ `But we seemed to have acquired that as a goal.\ ;俺が止めなくても、波打ち際の一歩手前で足を止めたままの彼女。\ `I didn't have to stop her. She just stood there, her hair whipping about her, without taking another step towards the water.\ ;…きっと、そういうことなんだと思う。\ `And I'm pretty sure that was the reason why.\ dwavestop 1 bg "tui2\cat05_h.bmp",5 !w600 bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" bg "e\hiki_kosoku2.jpg",3 ;「そこから、１号に戻って…」\ `"Keep going back onto Route 1..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わかった」\ `"Right."\ dwavestop 0 ;８号から再び１号へ。\ `We had been travelling south-west on Route 8. This now merged with Route 1.\ ;彼女のナビに従い、今度は草津へと向かっていた。\ `According to my human atlas, we were now heading towards Kusatsu.\ bg "e\shanai_michi01.jpg",5 ;「ねえ、今って、お金は大丈夫？」\ `"...are we still okay for money?"\ `She asked, unexpectedly.\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、まだ３万円ほどはある」\ `"Sure. We've still got about 30,000."\ dwavestop 0 ;以前に服は買ったけど、それ以外では、相変わらずコンビニで済ます程度だった。\ `Apart from her new clothes, we hadn't bought anything but food, and that mostly cheaply.\ ;「どうかしたのか？」\ `"Why?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…じゃあ、高速に乗る？」\ `"...shall we take the highway, then?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「高速？　全部下道じゃ行けないのか？」\ `"Must we? Can't we just stick with minor roads?"\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 ;「確かにギリギリまでなら行けるけど…」\ `"We could... most of the way..."\ dwavestop 0 !w500 ;「でも、最終的には、必ず有料道路に乗るから…」\ `"But we're going to have to take a toll road eventually..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そっか、淡路島だもんな」\ `"To get to the island, you mean?"\ dwavestop 0 ;俺も詳しくは知らないが、淡路島に行く為には、 ;瀬戸大橋だか何だかの橋を渡らないと行けなかった筈だ。\ `She was probably right. My memory for such matters was, of course, pretty flaky, but I knew there was a bridge to Awajishima... the Seto Bridge, or some such thing, wasn't it?... and that it wouldn't be free to cross.\ ;「じゃあ、草津からバイパスに入って」\ `"Okay, take the Keiji bypass at Kusatsu."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わかった」\ `"All right."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;彼女の指示に従い、瀬田ＩＣから、名神高速へと乗り継ぐ。\ `So we left Route 1 at Kusatsu, and picked up the Meishin Expressway a few kilometres south at the Seta interchange.\ dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" bg "e\joku_kosoku.jpg",3 ;今までの一般道と比べると、明らかに整備された道路。\ `This highway was in considerably better condition than the older roads we'd been driving on so far.\ ;信号もないし、見通しの良い道路は、初めて高速を走った俺にも運転しやすいと思えた。\ `There were no traffic lights, and no blind corners. For the first time I felt comfortable putting my foot down.\ ;只、右の高速車線にいると、後ろからスゴイ勢いでやってくる後続車が怖かった。\ `I wasn't the only one. The speeds of some of the cars shooting past in the fast lane were really rather unnerving.\ dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" ;最初は、パッシングや右ウインカーの意味も分からなかったが、慣れてくると高速道路の運転は楽しいと思えた。\ `So I stuck to the left lane, at least till I'd got the hang of overtaking and worked out what the conventions were for indicating.\ bg "e\shanai_michi01.jpg",3 ;「すげえな、あの車…」\ `"He must be mad..."\ dwavestop 0 ;物凄いスピードで追い抜いていく、どこかの車。 ;のんびり走る俺達は、思わず顔を見合わせてしまう。\ `That was with reference to a car that shot past us at a particularly breathtaking speed. We were merely cruising by comparison.\ ;そして、助手席に座ったこいつも、いつもとは少し様子が違っていた。\ `I unthinkingly took my eyes off the road for a moment, and they met the girl's. She was looking slightly perkier than usual.\ ;普段なら、遠い目で窓の外を眺めるだけなのに、今日は物珍しそうに回りの車を見ていた。\ `Rather than merely staring listlessly out of the window, she was looking all around with apparent curiosity.\ ;…そういえばこいつって何故か車にも詳しかったな。\ `Of course... she was into cars. Or knew a lot about them, at least.\ ;俺は猛スピードで追い抜いていった、さっきの車を指差す。\ `I nodded towards that other car, which was already a mere speck in the distance.\ ;「なあなあ、今のって何て車だ？」\ `"What was he driving, anyway?"\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、クイズのつもりで」\ `"Come on, it's a quiz."\ dwavestop 0 !s80 ;「…トヨタセリカ、オーバービュー」\ `"...Toyota Celica. GTS."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「じゃあ、今、抜いてったのは？」\ `"And that one that just overtook us?"\ dwavestop 0 !s80 ;「シトロエン、クサラ…」\ `"Citroen Xsara..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「へ〜、よく分かるな」\ `"Wow, you're good."\ dwavestop 0 ;正直なところ、俺にはそれが正解かどうかも分からない。\ `To be honest, I didn't actually know whether she was right or not.\ ;でも、自分からは滅多に口を開かないこいつが、次々と答える様子が楽しく思えて…\ `I was just pleased to see her apparently enjoying a conversation for once...\ ;だから俺は、休むことなく言葉を続けた。\ `That's why I was encouraging her.\ !s75 ;「青いのがユーノス、赤いのはアルファロメオ…」\ `"The blue one's a Eunos, the red one's an Alfa Romeo..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;同時に追い抜いていった２台までも答える。\ `She went on to identify the next two without prompting.\ ;「でもさ、あれは分からないだろう」\ `"Aha - I bet you can't tell me what that is, though."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながら今度は、普通車と違うトラックを指差す。\ `I was cheating. The vehicle I was pointing out this time was a lorry.\ ;あまり表情を出さない彼女の、困った顔も少しだけ見たくなっていた。\ `Her face was as difficult to read as ever, but I thought I detected just a touch of frustration in it.\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「やっぱ、さすがにトラックは分からないか」\ `"Hah, I thought you wouldn't know."\ ;「…日産…@アトラス１０」\ `"It's a Nissan...@ ` Atlas 10."\ dwavestop 0 ;「おいおい、すげえぞ、お前っ」\ `"I don't believe it! You're incredible."\ dwavestop 0 ;本当はいじわるしたつもりだったのに、まさかトラックまで分かるとは思わなかった。\ `So much for cheating. I really hadn't expected her to know about lorries too.\ ;「ここまでくればさ、自慢できるレベルじゃねえか？」\ `"And you're not even proud you know all this?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そう？」\ `"...should I be?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、胸張っていいと思うぞ」\ `"I would be. You know a hell of a lot."\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ ;俺の言葉に無言で返す彼女。 ;少しだけ照れくさそうにしているようだった。\ `She fell silent again, but I did think I saw that faint flush of pink return to her cheeks.\ ;きっと車とか好きなんだろうな…\ `I suppose she really did like cars...\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあさ、向こうに着いたら運転してみるか？」\ `"Do you want to have a go at driving when we get there?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"Ehh...?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「でもわたし…免許持ってない…」\ `"But... I don't have a licence..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「大丈夫だって、きっと、浜辺なんて運転すると楽しいぞ」\ `"You won't need one. Not if we take the car down onto the beach or something."\ dwavestop 0 ;恐らく淡路島まで行けば、ひと気のない場所はいくらでもあるだろう。\ `There would surely be plenty of remote enough places on an island like Awajishima.\ ;それにこの車はミッションだから、慣れると面白い筈だと思えた。\ `I reckoned she'd enjoy driving this car, too. Manuals are far more fun when you get the hang of the gears.\ ;「なんだったらさ、俺が教えてやるよ」\ `"I'll teach you to drive if we can find somewhere good."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、といっても俺も超初心者だけどさ」\ `"As best as I can, anyway. I'm not that good myself."\ dwavestop 0 !w400 !s90 ;「…うん…」\ `"...okay..."\ !sd dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 mov %flg_cha6,1 mov %flg_bplay,6 goto *mini_title *honpen7 ;mov $sys_midasi,"エコー" mov $sys_midasi,"`Echo" dwavestop 1 setwindow 100,358,35,16,16,16,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 bg "e\sora_yu.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" ;あんなに高かった日が、わずかだけ翳る頃。\ `It was around the time of day when the sun begins to fade.\ mp3loop "bgm\3_12.mp3" bg "e\joku_kosoku_yu.jpg",3 ;高速を走り続ける銀のクーペ。\ ;間もなく桂川パーキングエリア。 ;少し進んでは、小休憩というペースで走っていた。\ `We were still cruising down the Meishin Expressway, but at a rather more relaxed pace.\ `We were coming up to the Katsuragawa service station on the outskirts of Kyoto, and I was ready for a break.\ bg "e\shanai_michi01b.jpg",3 ;「なあ、次も休憩するか」\ `"Let's stop for a bit..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、う、うん…」\ `"Mm? ...yeah... okay..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…どうした？」\ `"...are you okay?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ちょっと疲れたみたい…」\ `"Bit tired, I guess..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そうか…」\ `"Not surprised..."\ dwavestop 0 ;無理もないことかも知れない。\ ;さっき、あれだけはしゃいでいたし、元々、俺達は普通の病人以上なんだから当然だろう。\ `It was only natural, given that she'd used so much energy earlier.\ `It was easy to forget that we were actually if anything less fit than most patients.\ ;「じゃあ、なんか買ってきてやるよ」\ `"We'd better grab a bite to eat as well, then."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Okay..."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 bg "yobi\car_byoin_chusyajo_yu.bmp",3 dwave 1,"se\open.wav" ;「じゃあ、すぐ買ってくるから」\ `"I'll be right back."\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;バタン、\ `I pushed the car door shut behind me.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;手ごろな売店へ急ぐと、普段コンビニで買うものと大差ない買い物をする。\ `The shop and snack bar were still open. The range wasn't anything special, but nor was it as pricy as I'd feared.\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "yobi\car_byoin_chusyajo_yu.bmp",3 ;「ほら、ポカリとおにぎり、それとポテトも」\ `"Here you are... Pocari, onigiri, and potato."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 ;「あ、うん…」\ `"...thanks..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言葉ではそう返事をするけど、受け取ったまま口をつけようとしない彼女。\ `She took them from me. But she didn't start eating.\ ;いつもならポテトは先になって手にしていたのに…\ `Normally she'd have fallen on that potato ravenously...\ ;「…大丈夫か？」\ `"...are you okay?"\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「もしかしてお前…具合悪くなってきたのか…」\ `"You aren't, are you? You're feeling worse... aren't you?"\ ;「………………」\ `"..............."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…薬が…@切れただけだから」\ `"I've just...@ ` run out of medication, that's all..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そうか…」\ `"Oh dear..."\ ;…薬が切れた。 ;恐れていたことだった。\ `This could be nasty.\ ;いや、こんなことは病院を飛び出した時から、十分に予想できることだった。\ `It shouldn't have a surprise. It had been inevitable from the moment we stepped out of the hospital.\ ;もちろん、故意に忘れていた訳じゃない。\ `I just hadn't been thinking along those lines.\ ;今まではそんなこと考えたことすらなくて… ;それ以前に、考えようとする意識すらなかった。\ `At first it had been a prospect I didn't want to think about. Then somehow I'd just stopped thinking about it.\ ;「いつからだ？　薬が切れたのは？」\ `"When? How long have you been off it?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…昨日の夜…」\ `"Since last night..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあ、もうすぐ丸一日だな…」\ `"It's been a whole day...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;俺の場合は、２日飲まずが限界だと医者から言われていた。 ;恐らく彼女の場合も似たようなもんだろう。\ `With the stuff I was on, I'd been told, two days without was the limit. She was probably in a similar situation.\ ;考えてみれば病院を出たあの日から、既に８日が経っていた。\ `We'd been on the road for eight days now. Given the circumstances of our departure, we'd actually been rather lucky to come away with as much as we did.\ ;手持ちとして、持ってきた薬の量では、遅かれ早かれこうなるのは目に見えていた。\ `But however much we'd brought, we'd have run into this problem sooner or later. I should have thought of that.\ ;…今、俺はどうするべきなんだろうか…\ `I should have thought what to do. Now it had happened, and I had no plan...\ !s85 ;「ねえ…」\ `"Don't worry..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…わたし、７階は嫌よ」\ `"...it was the seventh floor I couldn't bear."\ !sd dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、分かってる、家も嫌なんだろ」\ `"Right... there and home."\ dwavestop 0 !s90 ;「うん…」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car_start.wav" ;再び動き出した銀のクーペ。\ `I started up and rejoined the highway.\ ;結局俺は、次の降り口で高速を降りることにした。\ `But I came off again at the next exit.\ ;それでどうなる訳でもないが、こんな場所に居たのでは何も出来ない。\ `I didn't know exactly what I was going to do, but I did know I wasn't going to find a solution on the road.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwavestop 1 stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "e\soukou_machi_yu.jpg",3 mp3loop "bgm\e02.mp3" ;殺風景な高速降り口から、市街地へ向けて走り続ける。\ `From the dreary sliproad we emerged onto suburban roads. I turned towards the city centre.\ ;そして小さな町医者ではなく、大きな病院を探した。 ;正しくは大きな病院の近くにある、薬局を探した。\ `I was looking for a hospital: not a small health centre, but a full-scale regional institute.\ `Well... more precisely, I was looking for a pharmacy in the vicinity of one.\ ;本当は病院に行くのが一番良いのかも知れない。@ ;仮にこれが、普通の病状ならば迷わずそうしただろう。\ `We should probably have gone straight to a hospital as such.@ ` `If we'd been suffering from any ordinary disease, that's probably what we'd have done.\ ;…でも俺達は７階の住人。 ;手首に巻いたビニールの認識腕輪は白。\ `But we were seventh-floor cases. Our identification wristbands were white.\ ;そして、その７階をも飛び出したのが俺達だった。\ `And on top of that, we were runaways...\ ;そんなことを思いながら、辺りをきょろきょろとしながらハンドルを握る。\ `So I drove through the city, both hands on the wheel, my eyes alert.\ ;…きっと、大病院の近くの薬局なら、大抵のモノはある筈だ。\ `If I could only find a major pharmacy near a major hospital, they'd surely stock a wide range of medications.\ ;「見つけたっ」\ `"There we are!"\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;大きな通りに面した角に立つ、どこかの大学病院。 ;その手前に見える２〜３軒の薬局の看板。\ `There was the hospital: a major teaching institute, set back slightly from the road. `And, scattered around it, two or three chemists' signs.\ ;路駐できそうにないと判断すると、俺は空き地を見つけ、すぐさま車を停める。\ `The prospects didn't look good for parking, but just as I was about to give up, I spotted a space at the kerbside that I could squeeze into.\ dwave 1,"se\car_s3.wav" bg "yobi\car_byoin_chusyajo_yu.bmp",3 ;「おい、薬の袋、貸してくれ」\ `"Give me the packaging from your medicine."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 ;「あ、うん…」\ `"Y-yes... okay..."\ dwavestop 0 ;不思議そうな顔で、薬の入っていた袋を手渡す彼女。\ `She looked rather confused as to my motive, but fished it out for me nonetheless.\ ;俺はその病棟用の薬の袋を受け取ると、中に入っていた、薬の説明用紙だけを手にする。\ ;…こうやっておけば大丈夫だろう。\ `I extracted the information sheet. That should be all I'd need.\ ;「じゃあ、すぐ帰ってくるから」\ `"I'll be right back."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;車内にあいつだけを残し、 ;俺は少しだけ離れた薬局へと走った。\ `Leaving her sitting in the car, I sprinted over to the nearest chemist's.\ dwave 1,"se\autodoor.wav" ;ガー…\ `The automatic door slid open at my approach. It seemed to take an eternity to do so.\ bg "e\yakkyoku.jpg",3 ;やたらと開くのが遅い自動ドアを越え、やってきた店内。 ;俺は真っ直ぐにカウンターへと向かう。\ `I slipped through as soon as the gap was wide enough to admit me, and headed straight for the pharmacy counter.\ dwavestop 1 ;店の人「いらっしゃいませ」\ `"Good evening, sir."\ dwavestop 0 ;俺の姿に声を掛けてくれた中年風のおじさん。 ;白衣を着た、いかにもって感じの薬剤師のようだった。\ `The pharmacist was a quiet-looking man in a white coat and the advanced stages of middle age.\ ;「すみません、この薬お願いします」\ `"Um, I don't suppose you'd happen to stock this stuff, would you...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;店の人「え、ああ、ちょっと待って下さいね…」\ `"Hmm? Yes, I think we have that. One moment please..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そう言って俺の渡した薬の説明用紙を手に、奥へと引っ込んでいくおじさん。\ `He took the paper from my hand and disappeared through a door behind the counter.\ ;…恐らくここは、普通の薬局ってよりは、病院からの薬も出しているところだと思う。\ `I had guessed right. This place probably got a lot of custom from the hospital.\ ;外来の病院に行った時には、こんな感じのところで薬だけ貰ったのを覚えている。\ `I'd come to places like this for medication during the periods when I'd been an outpatient.\ ;明らかに大病院の近くに並んで建っているし、ここならば大体の薬は揃っていると思えた。\ `This one was next to a hospital of equivalent size. Obviously they'd need to stock a similar range.\ ;店の人「お待たせしました、こちらになりますね」\ `"Sorry about the wait. Here you are."\ ;しばらくして、帰ってきたおじさん。\ `The pharmacist returned.\ ;手には透明な袋に入ったカプセル状の薬。 ;その束のような塊を２つほど持っていた。\ `He placed couple of clear plastic bags on the counter. Each contained a little rolled-up strip of capsules.\ ;…これだけあれば当分は大丈夫だろう。 ;ざっと見ても１週間分ほどはありそうだった。\ `It looked to be about a week's worth. That would certainly be enough for now.\ ;そして俺が、ポケットから財布を取り出そうとすると…\ `I opened my wallet to pay.\ ;店の人「あ、それより薬箋も頂けますか」\ `"Do you have your prescription there?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…やくせん？」\ `"...my prescription?"\ dwavestop 0 ;店の人「ああ、処方箋のことですよ、これは臨床用ですからね」\ `"Of course. This isn't something we sell over the counter."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;店の人「お医者さんから貰ってますよね？」\ `"Surely your doctor told you...?"\ dwavestop 0 ;…予想していなかった。\ `This was not something I'd planned for.\ ;いや、冷静に考えれば市販品じゃないんだし、普通で買える訳がなかった。\ `I had no excuse. I should have guessed this kind of medicine wouldn't be something you could just walk in and buy.\ ;店の人「…どうしました？」\ `"...are you all right, sir?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、いや、その…」\ `"Oh... I... um..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いよどむ俺に、段々と怪訝な目を向ける白衣のおじさん。\ `I couldn't think what to say. And I could see the suspicion growing in the man's eyes.\ ;店の人「て、あれ…それは…？」\ `"Wait a minute... that's...!"\ ;そして、俺の手首に巻かれた白い腕輪に気づくと、そこに書かれていた文字を…\ `He'd spotted my wristband. He'd seen what was written on it.\ ;俺の名前を、血液型を…\ `My name. My blood group.\ ;…そして、病院の名前を読もうとしていた。\ `And the name of the hospital I'd come from.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 ;だっ、\ ;店の人「あっ」\ ;ガラスのカウンターの上に置かれた薬。 ;俺は反射的に、その束ごと一気に掴んだ。\ `I snapped.\ `I just snatched the stuff from the counter and ran.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;店の人「こら、待ちなさいっ」\ `"Hey! What do you think you're playing at!"\ ;カウンター越しに大声を張り上げる店の人。 ;その声を俺は背中で聞いた。既に駆け出していた。\ `There was a commotion behind me. I didn't look to see what the guy was doing.\ ;店の出口までのたった５ｍ。\ `It was only five metres to the door.\ ;足のふんばりが利かなくて、よろけそうになりながら、それでも俺は無我夢中で走った。\ `I was out of shape; I was staggering; my mind wasn't functioning. But I managed to run it.\ dwavestop 1 dwave 1,"se\autodoor.wav" ;そして、やたらと開くのが遅い自動ドアから、店外へと出ようとした…\ `The door slid open as slowly as before. Far, far too slowly.\ ;その時、\ `As before, I made my exit as soon as the gap looked wide enough. This time, unfortunately...\ dwave 1,"se\g_crash2.wav" bg "e\w.jpg",1 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;ガン、ガシャーン、\ ;...I misjudged.\ ;「痛っ、くそ…」\ `"Fuck!"\ dwavestop 1 ;思わず、意識が一瞬白くなった。\ `For a moment my mind went blank.\ ;自動ドアの角に頭をぶつけて、その勢いでガラスまで叩き割ったようだった。\ `I'd caught the door with my head. The blow had been sufficient to crack the glass.\ ;ふらつく頭を、ぶんぶん振ると、開きかけで止まった自動ドアを手で押し開ける。\ `Instinct took over completely. The door had stopped: I shoved it a bit further open, squeezed myself out, and ran.\ ;そして、店の外へ出るとまた走り始めた。手に持った薬の袋は放さなかった。\ `By some miracle, I'd managed not to drop the medicine...\ bg "e\sora06.jpg",3 ;「はぁはぁ、ふうっ」\ `"Oh fuck... oh god..."\ ;思わず息を切らして、あごが上がってしまう。車までの数十メートルが、やけに長く感じた。\ `I made the mistake of looking up. The car was several dozen metres away. It looked much further.\ ;誰も追っては来ていないようだけど、それを振り返って確認する余裕すらなかった。\ `I couldn't hear any sounds of pursuit, but I was hardly in a position to look back and check.\ ;…もし、俺が捕まったら…\ ;あいつはどうなってしまうのだろうか…\ `What would she do if they caught me now?\ ;車の中で一人、いつまでもじっと俺の帰りを待っているのだろうか…\ `She'd be helpless. She'd be stuck in the car, waiting for me, for the rest of her life... quite literally.\ ;何故かそんなことを思いながら、懸命に走った。\ `Spurred on by these thoughts, I forced myself to run, panting, staggering.\ ;よろめきながら、息切れを起こして、これで全力かと思うと我ながら哀しかった。\ `I felt so weak. I was like a man that had no strength...\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\close.wav" ;バタン、\ `"...made it... oh god..."\ dwave 1,"se\car_s4.wav" ;「はぁはぁ、ふう…」\ ;倒れこむようにシートに座ると、急発進させる俺。\ `I sank into the driver's seat, and managed somehow to start up the car and get going.\ bg "e\soukou_machi_yoru.jpg",3 ;明らかに先日のパチンコ屋の時よりも、体力が落ちてきているのが自覚できた。\ `I couldn't believe I'd grown so much weaker since the last getaway, from that pachinko parlour the other night.\ ;そして、ルームミラーで確認すると、やはりガラスで切ったのか、額から少しだけ血が流れていた。\ `There was a gash on my head; I could see blood in the mirror. I must have cut it on the broken door.\ ;…恐らくこれくらいなら、すぐに止まるだろう。 ;俺は運転しながら、ポケットティッシュで軽く押さえる。\ `It wasn't bleeding too hard. I dabbed at it with a tissue as I drove, hoping it would stop soon.\ dwavestop 1 bg "e\naname_michi_yoru.jpg",3 ;「…大丈夫？」\ `"...are you okay?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、平気だ」\ `"Yeah, I'm fine."\ dwavestop 0 ;「でも、血が出てるし…」\ `"You're bleeding..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…気にするな、何でもないから」\ `"It's not serious."\ dwavestop 0 ;不安そうな顔を向ける彼女に、俺は、心配いらないと手を振ってみせる。\ `She looked unconvinced. `I tried grinning, in the hopes that this would reassure her. She looked unconvinced.\ ;そして、左手に握り締めたままだった、薬の束を手渡した。\ `So I changed the subject instead by handing her the medicine I'd gone through all that to get.\ ;「ほら、飲んでおけよ」\ `"Here, take it... and then take it."\ dwavestop 0 ;「あ、うん…」\ `"Oh... thanks..."\ dwavestop 0 ;これで当分は大丈夫だと思えた。 ;少なくとも１週間くらいなら保つだろう。\ `We would be all right for a while now... for about a week, if my estimate was right.\ ;だけど…\ ;もしこれが無くなった時はどうなるのだろうか？\ `But what if we lost it? What then?\ ;たまたま今日は成功したから良かったけど、俺自身の体力も日毎に落ちてきているのは明らかだった。\ `I'd been lucky today; I'd got away with only minor injuries. But I was clearly not getting any stronger with the passage of time.\ ;…元々、何の目的も行き場所も無かった俺達。@ ;求めるものがないなら、失う恐れ自体もなかった。\ `In a sense, we'd been better off when we were just drifting around without any destination in mind.\ `With nothing to gain, we'd had nothing to lose.\ ;でも今は、少しだけ違った。\ `That no longer applied.\ ;目的が生まれ、失う怖さも生まれていた…\ `We had a goal: but with that came the threat, and the fear, of failure.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "tui2\cat06.bmp",5 wait 800 bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\car3.wav" bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 ;よく晴れ上がった日。 ;冬特有の高い、高い澄んだ空が広がっていた。\ `It was a clear day. The sky spread above us in wintry splendour.\ mp3loop "bgm\sen02.mp3" bg "e\joku_kosoku.jpg",3 ;再び高速に乗った俺達。\ `We were back on the highway.\ ;今は吹田ＪＣＴから中国自動車道を走っていた。\ `We'd left the Meishin at Suita Junction, just north of Osaka, and were now proceeding along the Chugoku Expressway.\ ;「なあ、次はどっちだ？」\ `"What's next?"\ ;「神戸ＪＣＴから…」\ `"At Kobe Junction..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わかった、山陽自動車道だな」\ `"...take the Sanyo Expressway, right?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん」\ `"Right."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\car_michi01.jpg",5 ;彼女の指示に従い、走る銀のクーペ。\ `We sped on under her expert guidance.\ ;ここまで来ると、道すがらの標識には、「淡路島」という文字も、時折見えるようになっていた。\ `We were getting close. Already the name "Awajishima" was beginning to appear on road signs.\ ;あの日、７階を飛び出してから、既に９００ｋｍを超えた走行メーター。\ `The odometer had already registered more than 900 kilometres since we first set foot in this vehicle.\ ;とても行けるとは思わなかったけど…@ ;そう思っていた目的地は、もう僅かの距離だった。\ `When the trip had first been mooted I'd thought it impossible. `But now here we were, mere minutes away from the goal.\ ;やがて、目の前に現れたのは大きな橋。\ `Within sight of it, even. I could see the bridge now.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;「これが、明石海峡大橋ってのか…すげえ橋だな？」\ `"So that's the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge... not bad."\ ;「…うん」\ `"Yeah..."\ ;思わず二人で感心してみる。まるで海の上をどこまでも走っているようだった。\ `It was really rather impressive; it seemed to leap across the strait, suggesting boundless possibility towards the future.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;そして、しばらく走った頃。\ ;橋の途中には、ちらほらと車を停めている人の姿があった。\ `From time to time, as we crossed the bridge, we passed cars parked by the railing.\ ;恐らくは観光客なんだろうけど、車から降りて記念写真を撮る人達。\ `Tourists, pausing to admire the view and photograph each other in front of it.\ ;俺もその人達と同じように、路肩へと車を停車させた。\ `It did seem likely to be a rather good view. I pulled over too.\ bg "e\car_naname_michi01.jpg",3 ;「…ここ駐停車禁止よ」\ `"We can't park here..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「まあ、少しくらいなら大丈夫だろ」\ `"Should be okay if we don't stay too long."\ dwavestop 0 ;それに見た限りでも、数台の車も同じように車を停めていた。\ `It wasn't like there weren't other people doing exactly the same as far as the eye could see.\ ;「なあなあ、ちょっと外に出てみようぜ」\ `"Come on, let's stretch our legs."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「きっと、すげえ眺めいいからさ」\ `"Should be worth it just for the view."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 0 ;「わかった…」\ `"All right..."\ dwavestop 0 ;まだちょっと渋々なんだけど、俺に合わせるように車を降りる彼女。\ `She was reluctant, but she got out of the car with me nonetheless.\ dwave 1,"se\close.wav" bg "e\hashigeta.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\kaze3_2.wav" ;ビュウーー、\ ;強くて冷たい風が吹く橋の上。\ `There was a stiff wind blowing down the Akashi Strait.\ ;「思ったより、ここ寒いな…」\ `"It's colder than I was expecting..."\ ;「…うん」\ `"...yeah..."\ ;普段から車外にも出ない俺達では、余計にそう感じてしまう。\ `It seemed all the colder for the long hours we'd spent in that well-heated car.\ ;そんな俺達とは対照的に、向こうの方ではどこかのカップルらしき二人。\ `There was another car parked a little way along, though unlike us, the pair who'd got out of that appeared to be a couple.\ ;どうやら記念写真を撮っているのだろう。 ;それらしい声が楽しげにここまで聞こえていた。\ `They were stopping to take a photo. I could hear them laughing about it from here.\ ;よく見るとその二人以外にも、同じように写真を撮る家族連れや団体客達。\ `In fact, so far as I could see just about all the travellers who'd stopped, from families to package tourists, were taking pictures.\ ;…記念写真か。 ;確かにこんな場所では必須だよな。\ `I could see why. This was a good place for it.\ ;「そういえば…」\ `"In fact..."\ ;「…どうかした？」\ `"...what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、ちょっと待ってろよ」\ `"Hang on a second."\ ;「あ、うん…」\ `"Huh?"\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 bg "e\car_naname_michi01.jpg",3 ;確かカメラがあった筈だった。\ `I was sure I'd seen a camera in here somewhere.\ ;以前、一番最初に車の中を点検した時に、安っぽい使い捨てを見つけたのを思い出していた。\ `Ages ago. When we'd first taken the car and first stopped to investigate its contents. I'd seen one then.\ ;あの時、ちらっと見た限りでは、まだ数枚は残っていたと思うけど…\ `Not that I'd taken any notice of it at the time...\ ;引っ張り出したカメラを手に、俺はフィルムを確認する。\ `There it was. I pulled it out and peered at the film indicator.\ ;「よかった、まだ２枚は残っているな…」\ `There were two exposures left.\ bg "e\hashigeta.jpg",3 ;「お待たせ、ほら、撮ってやるよ」\ `"Look!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"Ehh...?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「写真だよ、写真、せっかくだしさ」\ `"Photo time! We've come all this way, we may as well make the most of it."\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ !s90 ;「……嫌よ」\ `"...forget it."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「まあまあ、そう言わずに。なんかこうポーズでもとってくれよ」\ `"Oh come on, just one... I'm taking one anyway, so you'd better not sulk."\ ;言いながら俺は、彼女に向かってカメラを構えてみせる。\ `I began to take aim.\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、ちょっとは嬉しそうな顔してみろよ」\ `"Go on, say cheese!"\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;だけど、照れくさいのか、やっとこちらを向いても、不機嫌そうな顔しか向けてくれなかった。\ `It didn't work. Perhaps she was just shy, but although she did turn to face me, the expression she adopted was more peeved than happy.\ ;…でも、もしかしたら…\ ;これでも彼女にとっては、頑張って笑顔を作ろうとしてくれているのかも知れない。\ `I didn't like to query it, though. I had a horrible suspicion she might actually be doing her best to smile.\ ;そんなことを思いながら、俺が写真に収めようしていると、\ `Before I could actually lift the viewfinder to my face, however, I was interrupted.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;彼氏「すみません、シャッターお願いできますか？」\ `"Say, d'you figure you could take one for us?"\ ;「え、ああ、いいですよ…」\ `"Sorry? Um, yeah, sure..."\ ;どこかのカップルらしき二人。 ;カメラを片手に俺達の元へと来ていた。\ `The couple I'd noticed earlier had wandered up to us, and the male half was waving a camera at me.\ ;「じゃあ、撮りますよ」\ `"Get ready, then."\ ;二人「はい、おねがいします」\ ;楽しそうに肩を組んで、笑顔を見せる二人。\ `They backed up to the rail, thanking me profusely as they went, and grabbed each other by the shoulder.\ ;俺はそんな二人を、ファインダーに収めるとシャッターを切った。\ `I lined them up in the viewfinder...\ dwave 1,"se\camera.wav" ;カシャ、\ `...and released the shutter.\ bg "e\w.jpg",1 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;彼氏「どうも、ありがとうございます」\ `They bounced back to retrieve it.\ bg "e\hashigeta.jpg",3 ;彼女「じゃあ、代わりにお二人も撮りますよ」\ `"Thanks, pal!" `"Say, why don't you take one for them now?"\ dwavestop 1 ;「え、あ、いや、俺達は…」\ `"Um, thanks, but we're..."\ ;彼氏「カメラはこちらで良いんですね？」\ `"D'you want it on this camera?"\ ;その返事をするよりも早く、俺のカメラを受け取ろうと…@ ;と、いうか、まるで引ったくるように手にする彼氏。\ `He'd taken it before I could reply.@ ` Snatched it, even.\ ;きっと気を利かせてくれているのだろう。 ;躊躇する俺達を無視して、さっさとカメラを構えてしまう。\ `He probably thought he was being helpful. Ignoring our panicked looks, he was already framing the shot.\ ;彼氏「ほら、二人とも、もっと寄って」\ `"Go on, close up a little there."\ dwavestop 0 ;その言葉に俺は、少しだけ彼女へと身体を寄せる。\ `I inched slightly closer to her.\ ;相変わらずの表情を浮かべたままだけど、隣の彼女も、申し訳程度に寄ってくれた。\ `Somewhat to my surprise, she also moved to close the gap. `Somewhat apologetically, it seemed to me, though her face was, as usual, expressionless.\ ;彼氏「あのう、もうちょっとポーズとか取れませんか？」\ `"Can't you, uh, try and pose some?"\ ;お節介にも、尚も注文をつけるどこかの彼氏。 ;見るとその彼の彼女も、あきれた顔でこちらを見ていた。\ `Great. He was one of those guys who can't get behind a camera without thinking he's some famous director.\ `His girlfriend was watching the proceedings with an air of resignation; her expression was apologetic.\ ;しょうがなく思った俺は、こいつの背中から肩へと…\ `There was clearly only one way out. I gritted my teeth, stretched out an arm...\ ;ゆっくりと手をまわした。\ `...and draped it round the shoulders beside me.\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",3 !s80 ;「…あ……」\ `She gasped slightly.\ ;…初めて触れた、こいつの身体。\ `It was the first time I'd touched her.\ !sd ;先日買った子供っぽい服に、腰まである長い髪の感触が手に広がる。\ `My hand rested lightly on her shoulder, on that childish shirt we'd bought the other day.\ `Her hip-long hair flowed around my arm.\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ ;正面のカメラを見つめる俺に、その彼女の表情までは見えないけど…\ ;でも、もしかしたら…\ ;たまにしか見せてくれない、あの照れたような、拗ねたような顔をしてくれているのかも知れない…\ `Being behind her, and looking at the camera, naturally I couldn't see her face...\ `...but I didn't need to, to imagine it.\ `She would be looking cross: not with me, for touching her, but with herself, for blushing.\ ;彼氏「それじゃあ、撮りますよ」\ `"Smile!"\ dwave 1,"se\camera.wav" ;カシャっ、\ `A click, a flash.\ bg "e\w.jpg",1 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;無事に撮り終わって納得したのか、自分の車へと帰っていくカップルの二人。\ `That ended the encounter; the couple headed back towards their car.\ ;俺達も自分の車へと足を向ける。\ `We returned to our own.\ dwave 1,"se\open.wav" bg "e\car_naname_michi01.jpg",3 ;「彼女さん…か」\ `"They thought we..."\ ;「なんか、勘違いされたみたいだな？」\ `"Yeah, I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding there..."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「もしかしてさ、俺達ってそんな風に見えるのかな？」\ `"...hey, don't you think that's how we look?"\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;少しだけ、おどけた俺の物言い。\ ;何故か楽しく感じてしまい、ついつい、そんな口調で続けてしまう。\ `I was teasing now. Maybe it wasn't very nice of me, but it was too fun to resist.\ ;「なあってば、お前…あ、いや…」\ ;「なあ？　どう思うセツミ？」\ `"Don't you think so, Setsumi?"\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s80 ;「…なによ…@年下のくせに…」\ `"Don't be cheeky...@ ` kid..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;そんな俺の言葉にも、いつもと同じように、窓に顔を向けたままの彼女。\ ;その表情は相変わらずで、俺の方は見ようともしなかった。\ `That was about as good a reaction as I'd ever got.\ `She kept looking out of the window, of course. She didn't actually look at me; she never did, if she could help it.\ ;でもそれは…\ ;いつもの遠いところを見る目じゃなくて、照れくさいから、顔を背けているようにも思えた。\ `But this time at least she didn't seem just to be staring into space.\ `I rather thought she was looking away because she wanted to conceal her blushing.\ bg "tui2\cat07.bmp",5 !w700 bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 2,"se\car1.wav" bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 ;見上げれば高い日。 ;冬特有の澄んだ空がどこまでも続いていた。\ ;Can't... take... any... more... cliches... ;あれから僅かに進んだだけで到着した洲本インター。 ;再び俺たちは一般道へと降りる。\ `We left the highway at Sumoto Interchange, near the centre of Awajishima.\ ;「とうとう着いたな…」\ `"Well, here we are..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 ;あの日、７階を飛び出してから、９００ｋｍもの距離を示した、車のメーター。\ `It had been ten days, and 900 kilometres, since we came down from the seventh floor; it had taken us the best part of a week to pick a destination.\ ;何気ないことから、本当にここまでたどり着いた。\ `Yet from that first casual mention of the name, on that rainy night in that Ibaraki layby, it had in a sense been inevitable that we'd end up here.\ ;「じゃあ、ここからはどう行けば良いんだ？」\ `"Which way now?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…南に…」\ `"South..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「南か…わかった」\ `"South it is."\ dwavestop 0 ;彼女の指示通りに進路をとる。\ `I let her guide me down across the island.\ ;本当は、ここまで来れば俺にだって場所は分かっていた。 ;目の前には観光案内らしい看板がいくつも見えている。\ `To be perfectly honest, now we'd come this far, I could have navigated the rest by myself.\ `There were plenty of tourist signposts, and not many roads.\ ;だけど、彼女のナビに従う。\ `But I let her guide me nonetheless.\ ;そうしないと、いけないように思えた。 ;何故だかそうしてやりたかった…\ `I felt I had to. If nothing else, she seemed to enjoy it...\ dwavestop 1 dwavestop 2 bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 2500 mov %flg_cha7,1 mov %flg_bplay,7 goto *mini_title *honpen8 ;mov $sys_midasi,"ナルキッソス" mov $sys_midasi,"`Narcissus" dwavestop 1 bg "e\sora_yu.jpg",5 dwavestop 1 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" ;ゆっくりと日がオレンジに染まる頃…\ ;誰もいない冬の砂浜。 ;冷たくて強い風が松原を揺らしていた。\ `We found an empty beach as the sun began to set, an expanse of sand stretching down to the sea from a fringe of rustling pines.\ ;そんな砂浜に車を乗り入れると、俺は彼女にドライバーズシートを譲る。\ `I took the car down onto it, and we swapped seats.\ mp3loop "bgm\o02.mp3" bg "e\chusha_hamabe_yu.jpg",5 ;「ほら、クラッチに足、届くか？」\ `"Is the seat far enough forward? Can you reach the clutch?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「大丈夫…」\ `"I'm fine..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「よし、じゃあ次はギアをニュートラルからセカンドに」\ `"Okay. First, change into second."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…知ってるわよ」 `"I know that much..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「はいはい、じゃあ好きなようにやってみろよ」\ `"Sorry, didn't mean to fuss..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん、わかった…」\ `"Just let me think."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 ;小柄な身体で精一杯、足を伸ばす彼女。 ;真剣な顔つきをしてハンドルを握っていた。\ `She stretched out her feet to the pedals, and shifted her hands on the wheel.\ ;助手席から身を乗り出すように声を掛ける俺。\ `I was leaning over slightly to watch.\ ;「いいぞ…後はゆっくりとクラッチを離して」\ `"Good, good. Now let the clutch in slowly."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"...right..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そして、明らかに緊張している様子で…\ `She began nervously to do just that.\ dwave 1,"se\knocking.wav" ;「わっ」\ `"...wah!"\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 ;予想通り、ノッキングが凄いことになってしまう。\ `The result is, predictably, really rather noisy and uncomfortable.\ ;「ほら、もっと静かにクラッチ切らないと」\ `"Try and relax. You need to let the clutch in gently, and try and keep the revs even."\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん」\ `"I know..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言葉ではそう返事をするけど、やはりすぐには上手くいかない。\ `She probably did. But there's a big difference between knowing the theory and actually doing a thing.\ ;少し唇まで噛むようにして、一生懸命な彼女の顔。\ `Her usually-expressionless face was wrinkling with concentration. She was even biting her lip.\ ;普段なら表情を出さない彼女だからこそ、そんな姿にも俺は微笑ましく思えてしまう。\ `I couldn't help but think that was really rather cute.\ ;「おいおい、なんか悪酔いしそうだぞ」\ `"Hey, relax a little. Tensing up isn't going to help."\ dwavestop 0 ;「わ…わかってるわよ」\ `"I know...!"\ dwavestop 0 dwave 2,"se\car1.wav" bg "e\sora_yu.jpg",3 ;マフラーが少し割れて、うるさくなった銀のクーペ。\ `Things didn't get much quieter as the evening progressed, but that was mostly the fault of the cracked silencer.\ ;誰もいないこの砂浜に、まるで哭き声のように響いていた…\ `The engine's pained roaring reverberated across the bay. It was a good thing there was nobody else around. For their sakes.\ bg "e\sora07.jpg",10,1500 ;夕焼けがゆっくりと夜空へ変わる頃。 ;止みかけだった海風が、完全に陸風へと変わる頃…\ `Now it was about the time when the sunset shifts into night: about the time when the failing sea breeze dies, and the land breeze picks up in its stead...\ ;いつしか空には大きな月が顔を出していた。\ `The moon had risen. It was starting to wane.\ ;「だいぶ、慣れてきたみたいだな」\ `"I reckon you've pretty much got the hang of it."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 ;その返事と共に、ギアを３速にまで上げる。\ `She shifted smoothly up into third. She had the knack now.\ ;すっかりとクラッチにも慣れ、この狭い砂浜を自由に走り回っていた。\ `It was just a shame that her brief experience of self-determination had to be confined to this narrow beach.\ ;「これだったらさ…」\ ;「お前、教習所行かなくても免許取れんじゃねえか？」\ `"You know what? I reckon you wouldn't need lessons. You could pass your test right now."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そうなの？」\ `"...do you think so?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「まあ、信憑性薄いけどな。免許取り立ての俺の言葉だから…」\ `"Well... I don't know if I'm much of a judge. Seeing as how I only just passed mine. But still."\ dwavestop 0 ;今更、俺達が免許なんて取ったって意味はない。 ;そんなことはお互いに分かっている。\ `It was a futile thought, and we both knew it. She was never going to have a licence, and mine wasn't going to be seeing much more use.\ ;地図もある、薬もある、マフラーが壊れてうるさいけど、銀色のクーペだってある。\ `We had maps. We had medicine. We had a really rather fine car, if slightly noisy at the moment.\ !s85 ;…でも時間が無い。未来がない。\ `But we had no time, and no futures.\ !sd ;分かっているからこそ、俺には余計に切なく思えた。\ `In a way, knowing what we were missing out on only made things worse.\ ;「じゃあさ…@代わりに俺のやるよ」\ `"Tell you what...@ ` I'll give you mine instead."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながら俺は、ポケットから自分の免許証を取り出す。\ `I reached into my pocket for it.\ ;それは…本来ならば出番を失くしていた筈の免許証、@既に失った筈の、俺にとっての日常世界の証し…\ `The licence I thought I'd never get a chance to use.@ ` The memento of the normal life I'd already lost.\ ;「ほら、卒業証書の代わりだ」\ `"Here... well done. Have a licence."\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「…貰っても…使う時間なさそうよ…」\ `"Even if I had one... I don't have time to use it..."\ dwavestop 0 !s70 ;「まあ遠慮すんなって…俺も似たようなもんだし」\ `"And I do? Go on, take it."\ dwavestop 0 ;決して避けた奴はいない７階。 ;高い天井、１５ｃｍしか開かない窓、白いビニールの腕輪。\ `Our wristbands were white ones from the seventh floor, that place of high ceilings, narrow windows, and inexorable fate.\ ;…３回が最後で、彼女は２回目、俺は１回目…\ `Your third time there was the end, and she'd been on her second, and I on my first...\ ;「じゃあ、はい…卒業おめでとう」\ `"Just take it. Congratulations, you passed."\ ;「うん…@ありがと…」\ `"...thanks."\ dwavestop 0 ;小さく頷くと、俺の免許証を受け取る彼女。\ `She relented, bowing her head slightly, and accepted it.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;…これで彼女も普免持ちだ。\ `Now we could say that she, too, was a full licence holder.\ ;クーペだけじゃない、セダンでも、コンバーチブルでも…何でも好きな車に乗ることだって出来る筈だ。\ `That she could drive anything she liked: not just this coupe, but saloons, convertibles, hatchbacks...\ !s85 ;きっと、どこへでも好きな場所へ行ける筈だ…\ `That she could go anywhere, anywhere she liked...\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 dwavestop 1 dwavestop 2 bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;あれから一通り走った後。\ `From there we hardly had to travel any distance at all.\ !sd ;俺達は目的地である水仙の見える場所へと到着した。\ `We arrived at our final destination: a place where we could find the daffodils we'd come all this way to see.\ bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 mp3loop "bgm\n05.mp3" ;一応、観光地の筈なのだが…\ `It was supposedly a tourist spot.\ ;ここが外れの為か、 ;それとも夜の為か、人の姿は見えなかった。\ `But for some reason... whether it was the remoteness of the spot, or the lateness of the hour... for some reason we were the only people here.\ ;静まり返ったような夜の闇の中、俺達は夜明けを待って、暗い車内でじっとしていた。\ `We sat side by side in the still night, waiting for dawn.\ bg "tui\naname_inaka_yoru2.bmp",5 ;「ねえ、灯りつけないの？」\ `"Can't we even have the light on?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、バッテリーが上がりそうだからな」\ `"Sorry... the battery's a bit low..."\ ;「うん、そうだね…」\ `"Fair enough."\ dwavestop 0 ;エンジンも切った真っ暗な車内。\ ;パネルの鈍い光だけが、淡く横顔を映し出していた。\ `With the engine off, the only illumination was a dull phosporescent glow from the dashboard. It revealed silhouettes, nothing more.\ ;そんな音と灯りの消えたこの狭い車内で、ほとんど言葉も交わさずに夜明けを待つ。\ `We sat in the silence, in the darkness, in the cramped interior, barely speaking.\ ;そして、後部座席に投げっ放しにしていた、洗濯物のかたまり。 ;厚手のジーパンやトレーナー、それっぽいタオル。\ ;その内の何枚かを掴むと、 ;俺達は毛布代わりに身体へと巻きつけていた。\ `It was chilly, even though we'd improvised blankets with the thicker items of laundry off the back seat.\ ;「…寒いだろう」\ `"Are you cold?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"A bit."\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあ、もっとくっついていいぞ？」\ `"Why not come closer? We could keep each other warm."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"...ehh?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、遠慮せずにこっちこいよ」\ `"Come on, don't be silly."\ dwavestop 0 ;助手席で寒そうに身体を震わす彼女に、俺は自分の膝の上を指し示す。\ `I spread my arms encouragingly. She was plainly shivering, after all.\ ;「きっと、その方が温かいしさ」\ `"It's freezing in here, right?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…別に…わたしは平気よ」\ `"...not really... I'll be fine..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながら身体を震わせる彼女。 ;車内でも白く息が煙り、明らかに強がっていた。\ `She was bluffing. I could see the white mist of her breath. I could see her silhouette trembling with cold.\ !s75 ;「…それとも、あなたが寒いから来て欲しいの？」\ `"...or is it you that wants someone to keep you warm?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ん…まあ、それでもいいぞ」\ `"Hah! ...well, it would be nice..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「じゃあ、わかった…」\ `"Oh, all right then..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 !sd ;そして、のそのそと俺の方へやってくると、遠慮がちに膝の上で丸くなる。\ `Reluctantly she crawled across the car and curled up on top of me.\ ;「な？　少しは温かいだろ？」\ `"See? I told you it would be warmer."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"...mmm..."\ dwavestop 0 ;外気の寒さに真っ白に煙ったフロントガラス。 ;その白さと夜の暗さで、今は何も見えなかった。\ `It was certainly cold out. The windscreen had steamed up completely with our breath.\ `With that and the blackness of the night, I could see nothing outside.\ ;でも、まもなく夜明け。\ `It couldn't be long till dawn, though.\ ;きっとその頃には、白い花が一面に広がるのだろう…\ `Hopefully it would be worth the wait..."\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;段々と明けてきた夜。@ ;昇る日が、闇を濃い紫から薄白へと塗り替えていく。\ `Dawn came early; her rosy fingers tore the deep purple of the night to reveal a sky of milky white.\ ; The prose is also purple. (That's bad.) ;そして、夜明けと共に目の前に広がる白い花…\ `Then as the light spread above us, so before us spread a host of whiter flowers...\ bg "e\imege03.jpg",3 bg "e\imege04.jpg",3 bg "e\imege05.jpg",1 bg "e\imege06.jpg",5 bg "e\imege07.jpg",3 ;今まで黒しかなかった場所に現れた、白と黄色。\ `The blackness that had filled the place until this moment had been replaced with a sea of white and gold.\ ;思わず二人して車を出ると、その景色を見つめた。\ `We instinctively clambered out of the car to get a better look.\ ;「すげえな…」\ `"Not bad..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…うん」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 ;目の前に広がる、数え切れないほどの水仙。\ ;夜露が朝日に跳ね、更に白さを際立たせる花の群生。 ;まるで海に続く絨毯のようにも思えた。\ `Unnumbered daffodils lay before us, their petals growing brighter as the morning sun dried away the dew.\ `They covered the slopes on every side, a carpet that appeared to continue to the very edge of the sea.\ ;そんな中、言葉を交わす俺達。 ;吐く息も同じように白く煙っていた。\ `It was amidst this scene that we spoke, our words floating away in puffs of mist every bit as white as the flowers at our feet.\ ;…あの日、つまらないテレビに映った花からここまで来た。 ;何の目的もなかった俺達なのに、ここまで来ることが出来た。\ `This was the sight we'd travelled so far to see, in a journey that had, in a sense, begun long before we left, on that dreary day when we'd seen these flowers trapped on that television screen.\ bg "e\narcissu_b.jpg",5 !s75 ;「…これは同じもので、いいんだよな？」\ `"...are these the right kind?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん…厳密に言っても同じ」\ `"Yes... these are exactly the same."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そっか、よかったな…」\ `"Good... I'm glad we found them..."\ !sd ;種類の違いは俺にはわからないけど… `I was no botanist.\ ;あの日、テレビに映った、美しく隙のない映像。\ ;それと比べれば、目の前の花は大きさや咲き方もバラバラだった。\ `To my eye, these looked completely different. In size, and in the forms of their heads, they looked completely different from the dense and uniform field on which that screen had focused.\ ;…でも、確かにここに在った。\ `But they were there.\ ;「きれい…」\ `"They're so pretty..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…そうだな」\ `"...yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;曖昧で、退屈で、平凡で…\ ;だけど、誰に対しても冷静で容赦ない現実。\ ;目に見えないものばかりが溢れる世界で、手を伸ばしても触れられないものばかりの世界で…\ ;今、確かに触れることが出来るモノが目の前に在った。\ `They were there.\ `In this world overflowing with things the eye could not see - with tedium, with ambiguity, with mundanity, with harsh and implacable reality - they were there. `In this world filled with things unobtainable - intangible, unreachable - they were there, right then, physically and before our eyes.\ ;その見えない何かのカケラが散らばっていた…\ `But shards of those other, invisible things lay scattered all around...\ stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "tui2\cat072_h.bmp",5 !w300 dwave 1,"se\rain01.wav" bg "e\sora_ame01.jpg",5 ;降り続ける雨。 ;１月の真っ白な空からこぼれ落ちていた。\ `It rained incessantly, pouring drearily down from the white January sky.\ mp3loop "tui\sen032.mp3" bg "e\naname_inaka_ame2.jpg",3 ;あれから２日ほど経ったが、相変わらずこの場所に居た。行けなかった。\ `Though two days had passed, we were in the same place. We couldn't leave.\ ;「けほっ」\ `She was coughing now.\ dwavestop 0 ;「おい、大丈夫かっ」\ `"Oy, are you all right?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん…たぶん」\ `"Yeah... maybe..."\ dwavestop 0 ;こいつの体調が悪くなっていた。\ `She was fading.\ ;シートを倒して身体を伸ばせるようにして、ほとんど車も動かさずにここに停めたままだった。\ `The way she was lying, I couldn't move the car without disturbing her.\ ;例の薬は飲んだけどあまり効果がないのか、体調の悪さは一向に変わらなかった。\ `She was still taking that medicine. But either it had stopped working, or she was beyond what it could help.\ ;…だけど、俺達は７階の人間。\ ;元々の状態からも、２回目の彼女ならいつそうなってもおかしくなかった。\ `But that was only natural. We were people of the seventh floor. However healthy we had been at first, decline was certain and inevitable.\ !s75 ;「なあお前…帰りたいか？」\ `"We could go back... I could take you back..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…あなた、帰りたいの？」\ `"...do you want to?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ああ、少しだけな…」\ `"I almost do..."\ dwavestop 0 !w300 !s100 ;「７階…それとも家？」\ `"To the seventh floor? ...or to your family?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「そ、それは…」\ `"I..."\ dwavestop 0 ;……わからない…\ `...didn't know.\ !sd ;分かっていたのは、遅かれ早かれこうなること。 ;もちろん俺自身だって大差はない。\ `All I knew was that this was inevitable. I knew I would come to the same point myself, sooner or later.\ ;だけど、隣で眺めていることしか出来ないのが辛かった。\ `That didn't make it any easier to watch it happening.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 bg "tui2\cat073_h.bmp",5 !w300 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\sora_ame01b.jpg",5 ;止みそうにない雨。 ;暗い夜の空から降り続いていた。\ `Still it rained, pouring on down out of the darkness.\ ;停めた車の窓からは、滴を受けてぼんやり白く輝く水仙の花。\ `The flowers outside were dimly visible, their every petal dripping.\ bg "e\naname_inaka_ame2.jpg",5 dwavestop 1 dwaveloop 2,"se\rain_12.wav" dwaveloop 1,"se\amadare.wav" ;「なあ、これってさ…」\ `"Those things..."\ dwavestop 0 ;言いながらフロントガラスの向こうに見える白い花を指差す。\ `I pointed out through the windscreen at them.\ ;「確か、ナルキッソスだっけ？…水仙のこと」\ `"Those daffodils... it was narcissi you called them, wasn't it?"\ dwavestop 0 !s75 ;「…うん、ナルシスが語源よ」\ `"Yeah. After Narcissus..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…ナルシス？」\ `"Narcissus?"\ !sd ;その言葉には聞き覚えがあった。 ;今までは馴染みのない単語だと思っていたけど…\ `I thought I recognised the name, though I couldn't say I was exactly familiar with it.\ ;「それって、ナルシストのナルシスのことか？」\ `"Is that like in narcissism?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん、元々が神話だから、色んな説があるんだけどね…」\ `"Yeah. They're both named after the same myth..."\ dwavestop 0 ;そして感心したような顔をする俺に、彼女はゆっくりと説明してくれた。\ `I could only vaguely remember it. She obviously realised, because she went on to explain.\ dwavestop 2 dwavestop 1 bg "e\b.jpg",5 mp3loop "tui2\e01.mp3" !s75 ;「誰からも愛されるナルシス…」\ ;「妖精のエコーも、そんな彼が好きな一人だったの」\ ;「でもエコーは、相手と同じ言葉しか話せない…」\ `"There was a man called Narcissus... he was so handsome that everyone who saw him fell in love with him. The one who loved him most was a nymph called Echo. But she couldn't tell him..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…同じ言葉しか？」\ `"Why not?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「そう。だからナルシスに…」\ ;「先に彼の口から『愛してる』って言ってもらわないと…」\ ;「エコーは、自分の気持ちを伝えることが出来ないの…」\ `"She couldn't say anything herself, she could only repeat what other people said. But Narcissus didn't love anyone, so he never said 'I love you'. So Echo couldn't say it either..."\ dwavestop 0 ;寂しげに、哀しそうな声で彼女が話し続けていた。\ ;その視線の先は、以前のように、どこかずっと遠いところを見ているようにも思えた。\ `She had reverted to her usual manner... the sad, despairing voice, the distant eyes. But this time she kept talking.\ ;「でも…そんなこと絶対にありえない」\ ;「どんなに夢見て、憧れても、決して叶うことのないエコーの願い…」\ ;「最後には、ナルシスに呪いをかけてしまうの」\ `"She got desperate. However much she longed for him, her dream was never ever going to come true. So in the end she cursed him..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…それが有名な、泉に映った自分の姿に惚れるってのか」\ `"Oh, I remember now... didn't he fall in love with his own reflection or something?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「うん、そして自分の姿を見続けたナルシスは…」\ ;「いつしか、綺麗な花へと姿を変えてしまうの」\ `"Yes, in a pool... he just stared at himself till he died, and then he turned into a flower."\ ;「それがこの花…ナルキッソスの語源よ」\ `"That's why they're called narcissi."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\naname_inaka_ame2.jpg",5 !sd ;一通り話し終えると、軽く息を整える彼女。 ;聞いていて俺も寂しい気持ちになっていた。\ `Her story over, she fell quiet; the only sound now was her shallow breathing.\ `To me that made the tale all the more saddening.\ ;…決して届かない憧れを持ったエコー ;まるで今の俺達のようにも思えた。\ `I saw ourselves in that nymph... longing hopelessly for something that we would never have.\ ;「それで、エコーの方はどうなったんだ？」\ `"What about Echo? What happened to her?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いないわ…呪いをかける時に消えちゃったから」\ `"She was already gone... she disappeared when she set her curse on him."\ dwavestop 0 ;…消えた？@ ;それでは意味がないのではないだろうか…\ `She disappeared?@ ` `Then what was the point of it?\ ;呪いまでかけたのに何も成さずに、 ;結局ナルシスも不幸にしただけだし…\ `Her curse had gained her nothing. All it had done was to make Narcissus share her misfortune...\ ;「…どうかした？」\ `"...are you okay?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「いや…でもさ、お前は違うんだったな」\ `"Yeah. ...but... you're different, aren't you?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"...what?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、以前に、俺にも尋ねたろう？」\ ;「どうにもならない、自分の運命を呪うかって…」\ `"Don't you remember? That time you asked me whether I cursed my fate. You said you hadn't..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !s75 ;「うん…わたしは諦めているから」\ `"No...@ ` because I'd already given up..."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 !sd stop mp3fadeout 2500 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\w.jpg",5 !s75 ;『…時間の止まったわたし…』\ `"Time had stopped for me..."\ !sd mp3loop "bgm\n04.mp3" ;幾つもの季節を、梅雨空を、 ;誰とも言葉を交わす必要もなく過ごした…\ `I'd passed all those seasons, under that overcast sky, without needing to speak to anyone...\ ;「…いつからわたしは、一人なのだろうか…」\ `"I wonder how long I've been alone..."\ bg "e\chara_0012.jpg",5 ;「目を閉じても世界は消えない…」\ `"Though I close my eyes, the world remains..."\ dwavestop 0 ;耳を塞いでも雨音は止まない。 ;そんなことは分かっている。\ `Nor would plugging my ears stop the pounding of the rain. `I knew that.\ ;ビキニの水着も、エメラルドの海も、嬉しそうに笑いかけてくれるグラビアの表紙も…\ ;…別にうらやましくなんて思わない。\ `I wasn't jealous of that cover, for all its happy smiles, its emerald sea, its pretty bikini.\ ;閉じた目の世界でなら、地図も車もなくったって、どこへでも行ける。\ `I could close my eyes and go to a world where I could have them too... where I could go anywhere, without a map or a car...\ ;例え、胸の大きな傷跡に諭されなくても、この現実がナルシスで、わたしがエコーだったとしても…\ `Though the scar on my breast told me otherwise, though I was Echo to the Narcissus of reality...\ bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",5 !s85 ;「…決して憧れない…呪わない」\ `"...I won't desire it... I won't curse it..."\ ;そう決めた筈なのに…\ `Even though I was determined to let go of the world...\ ;今のわたしは心が揺れていた。@ ;止めた筈の時間が動こうとしていた。\ `...my heart moved,@ ` and my time moved, though they should both have been still.\ !s65 ;今更、そんなことしても、まもなく終わろうとしているのに…\ `Even though now, more than ever, it would soon be over whatever I did.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 !s100 ;……傷は……\ `I knew about wounds...\ bg "e\chara_k02.jpg",5 !s70 ;「深ければ、深いほど、それに比例して治るのも時間がかかるらしい…」\ `"The deeper they are, the longer they take to heal..."\ ;「それならば、長い時間をかけてゆっくり離れてしまうと、もう取り返しがつかないのだろうか？」\ `"So if you withdraw slowly over a long period of time, doesn't that mean it's too late to undo the past?"\ bg "e\narcissu_yoru_ame.jpg",5 !s85 ;「じゃあ…」\ `"So..."\ ;「…２２年も生きたわたしはどうなるのだろう…」\ `"...what will become of me, after these 22 years of my life...?"\ dwavestop 1 !sd bg "e\sora07.jpg",5 ;「けほけほっ」\ `She was coughing now.\ dwavestop 0 ;「おい、大丈夫かっ」\ `"Oy, are you all right?!"\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\naname_inaka_yoru.jpg",5 ;夜明け前。 ;助手席に手を伸ばし、背中をさすってやる。\ `In the faint pre-dawn light, I reached across to the passenger's seat and gently laid a hand on her back.\ ;あれから更に２日ほど経ち、効き目の薄かった、あの薬も尽きていた。\ `We'd been here another two days already. And her medicine was running out.\ ;…だけど、何もないよりはましだ。\ `It had been having less and less effect anyway. But it was still better than nothing, I thought.\ ;そう思うと俺は、薬局に向かおうと車のキーに手を伸ばす。\ `We had to find another pharmacy.\ ;そして、イグニッションをオンにしようとすると…\ `But as I reached out to turn the keys in the ignition...\ !s75 ;「…いいから…」\ `"...don't..."\ dwavestop 0 ;弱々しい声で、俺を止めた。\ `She stopped me.\ dwavestop 0 ;「だけどお前、このままじゃ…」\ `"We've got to... I can't just let you..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…どうせ、もう効かない」\ `"...it's not doing anything now..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「そ、そりゃあそうかも知れないけど…」\ `"Even so! ...maybe it's all that's..."\ ;確かに彼女の言う通りだった。 ;恐らくは同じ薬では効果はないと思えた。\ `No, she was right. The drugs didn't work, not any more.\ ;でも、だからといって、何もせずにじっとしているのは俺には辛かった。\ `But that only made it harder to sit and watch.\ ;「じゃ、じゃあさ、どっか別の場所に行こうぜ」\ `"Then... then... why don't we go somewhere else, while we can?"\ dwavestop 0 !s80 ;「…別の場所？」\ `"...somewhere else?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「ああ、こんな寂しいところじゃなくてさ」\ ;「な？　次の目的地を決めようぜ」\ `"Sure! There must be loads of other places to see round here. What do you think? Shall we?"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「ほら、どこでもいいからさ、またナビしてくれよ」\ `"I don't mind where... why don't you just choose somewhere and guide us there?"\ dwavestop 0 ;自分でも可笑しいくらいに明るい声で話していた。\ `I was trying to speak cheerfully. It sounded stupid and forced, even to me.\ ;遠くを見つめる横顔に向かって、一人楽しげに、楽しげに話し続けていた…\ ;…こんなこと無駄だってことも分かっている。\ `I knew it wasn't going to help. But still I couldn't help but try to cheer her up... to focus her eyes back on this world, on happiness.\ ;どうせ、２日で尽きることが、３日に変わる程度。 ;その程度だってのは分かってる。\ `If she only had two more days of medicine, then she only had three more days altogether. I didn't want to think about that, but I knew it was a fact.\ ;「なあ、言ってくれよ、どっかあるだろ？」\ `"Go on... tell me... there must be somewhere? Right?"\ dwavestop 0 !w500 !s100 ;「…別に…」\ `"...not really..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「そ、そうだ、お前って車とか好きじゃん、もっかい高速乗ってみたくないか？」\ `"Oh... then... then you liked driving, didn't you? Don't you want another go, somewhere you can go faster?"\ !s80 ;「…別に…」\ `"...not really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ !sd ;「じゃ、じゃあさ、新しい服、買いに行こうぜ、お前も欲しいだろっ」\ `"Then, okay then, let's go and buy some new clothes, you'd like that... wouldn't you...?"\ !s100 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「………@別に…」\ `"...no...@ ` not really..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「…別にって…お前…」\ `"Really, not really?"\ !sd ;その言葉を最後に、また窓の外を見つめる彼女。\ `She was staring out of the window again.\ ;目の前に広がる水仙の花を見ているのではなく、以前のように、どこか遠くを見つめたままだった。\ `Not at the narcissi in front of us, but into the distance again, almost into infinity, like she'd used to before.\ ;あの、たまに見せてくれた、拗ねたような、照れくさそうな顔。\ ;もう、あんな顔は向けてくれなかった…\ `Her face was expressionless again... not that sweet confused mixture of blush and pout that she'd shown me from time to time.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 !s85 ;「…な、なんでそうなんだよ…」\ ;「いつもいつも、別にばっかりで…」\ `"Why not? Why don't you ever 'really' want anything?"\ ;「………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「す、少しは前向きになっても、いいじゃねえかよっ」\ `"Why don't you try looking at things positively for once?!"\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\w.jpg",3 ;思わず声を上げてしまった。\ `I was shouting.\ ;何故だか…@哀しかった。@ ;リアルを実感できなかった俺の筈なのに、心が苦しかった。\ `And for some reason...@ ` I was sad.@ ` I couldn't understand it.\ `I'd thought I was dispassionate. I'd thought I could avoid seeing reality. But I could see it now, and it hurt.\ bg "e\naname_inaka_yoru.jpg",5 ;…静まり返った車内。\ `Silence returned to the car.\ ;窓の外には１月の花、水仙、ナルキッソス…@ ;夜明け前の闇の中でぼんやりと白く揺らいでいた。\ `Outside, in the darkness, the pre-dawn breeze ruffled through the flowers.@ ` The January flowers, daffodils, narcissi...\ ;その白い花よりも、もっともっと遠くの、何かを見つめたままのあいつ。\ `The flowered slopes continued into the distance, but if her eyes were focused on anything, it was further still.\ ;僅かに聞こえる潮騒だけが、この場を支配していた…\ `And the only sound was the distant roar of the waves.\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\b.jpg",5 !s85 ;「…前向きになんて…なれる訳ないじゃないの…」\ `"...because... I can't..."\ dwavestop 0 ;「えっ…」\ `"...eh?"\ ;暗い車内。 ;突然、あいつが口を開いた。\ `Suddenly, unexpectedly, she was replying.\ !s80 ;「憧れて、懸命になって、頑張って、いつか報われるのなら良いけど…」\ ;「…でも、叶わなかった時にはどうすればいいの？」\ ;「その時に、無理だったねって、笑って言えるほど、強くないわよ…」\ `"It's all very well wanting things, and looking forward to them, and trying to get them, if you manage..."\ `"But what do you do when you don't get them? Just laugh it off, like, oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to happen?"\ `"I can't do that, I'm not brave enough..."\ dwavestop 0 ;いつも遠い目をしていたあいつが、助手席から真っ直ぐに俺を見ていた。\ `Her eyes, which were usually so distant, were now focused directly on me.\ ;「わ、わたしに出来ることは、最初から諦めて、何も望まずにいて…」\ ;「や、やっぱり無理だったと、冷めた目で、自分を見ることしか出来ないのよ…」\ `"I... I had to give up straight away... I couldn't dare to hope for anything..."\ `"Because if I didn't get it, I wouldn't be able to look at myself and say... and say... oh well at least I tried..."\ !s80 ;「…お前……？」\ `"Hey... are you...?!"\ ;「うぅ、ぐすっ」\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 ;…初めて彼女が泣いた。\ `Yes. She was. For the first time.\ !s75 ;ほとんど表情を出さなかったこいつなのに…\ ;小さく肩を震わせて、涙を流していた。\ `She was crying.\ `First her shoulders had trembled, then her face had creased... and then she wasn't able to hold the tears in any longer.\ ;「あ、あの時、頑張っていたら…もしかしたらって…」\ ;「自分にとっての、最後の言い訳を取っておくしかないのよ…」\ ;!s85 ;「さ、最初から、無理だと分かっているんだから…」\ ;!s100 ;「そ、それくらい…良いじゃないの…」\ `"...because... I, I knew all along, it was hopeless..."\ `"I could have hoped... I could have tried... but then it would have been my fault when I failed...!"\ `"And I had to hold onto that... I had to keep that... as an excuse..."\ `"...didn't I? ...wasn't that enough?!"\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\sora07.jpg",10,1500 !s70 ;フロントガラス越しに見た夜空。@ ;夜明け前の空には月さえ顔を見せていた。\ `It was still night.@ ` The sky outside was empty but for the moon.\ dwavestop 0 ;時折聞こえてくる潮騒と、彼女の嗚咽の声だけが聞こえていた。\ `All I could hear was the distant sound of the sea, and, from time to time, her sobs... echoing it.\ ;…こいつにとってはエコーと同じなのかも知れない。\ `She really was an Echo, wasn't she, I thought.\ ;同じ言葉しか返せない。自分からは何も言えない、何も望まない、何も見ない…\ `All she could do was come back to the same words. She couldn't speak for herself, or hope, or see...\ !s85 ;…諦めることしかできない。\ `All she could do was give up.\ ;その彼女にとって、７階か家かを拒否したのは…\ ;…最初で最後の、抵抗だったのかも知れない…\ `Almost certainly, her rejection of both her home and the seventh floor had been the first time she had taken up arms to resist. And, very nearly, the last.\ !sd bg "e\b.jpg",5 stop mp3fadeout 2500 mov %flg_cha8,1 mov %flg_bplay,8 goto *mini_title *honpen9 ;mov $sys_midasi,"白石工務店" mov $sys_midasi,"`Shiraishi Construction" dwavestop 1 bg "e\w.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" dwave 2,"se\umitori.wav" setwindow 100,358,35,16,16,16,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 ;１月の澄んだ海。 ;肌を刺す冷たい風。\ `The still winter sea. `The piercing wintry wind.\ mp3loop "bgm\o02.mp3" ;時折、強く吹いては松原を揺らし、 ;潮騒の音が静かに響いていた。\ `Sometimes stronger gusts sent the pine grove rustling, and raised the gentle soughing of the sea.\ ;「なあ、こんなもんしか無いぞ」\ `"I'm afraid this is the best I can find..."\ dwavestop 0 ;白石工務店と印刷されたタオルを手渡す。 ;以前にも身体を拭くのに使ったものだった。\ `I handed her the towel: one of the promotional ones we'd used before, printed with the name Shiraishi Construction.\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「こら、そんな変な顔すんなよ」\ `"Don't look like that!"\ !s80 ;「…わかった…」\ `"...sorry..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;少し不満そうにタオルを受け取る彼女。\ `She took it with a bad grace.\ ;突然、水着が欲しいと言われても困ってしまう。\ `I couldn't imagine what else she'd been expecting me to do.\ ;この時期に、この場所で、しかもビキニが欲しいと言った。\ `We were in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of winter, and she'd decided she wanted - of all things! - a bikini.\ ;しょうがなく、何かないかと車を漁って出てきたのが、例の洗濯物の塊にあった白いタオルだった。\ `Obviously improvisation had been the only option; I'd plunged back into that tangled heap of laundry, and the towel had been what I found.\ ;そして暫く待った頃…\ `She disappeared briefly.\ ;お気に入りだったあのスカートに、先ほどのタオルを胸に巻いて彼女が現れた。\ `When she returned, she was still wearing her skirt, but above it, just the towel bound round her breasts.\ !s100 ;「…どう？」\ `"...well?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「いや、どうって言われてもな…」\ `"What do you want me to say...?"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「変じゃ…ない？」\ `"Does it look... silly?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ん…まあ、たぶんな」\ `"A bit..."\ ;「………………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「あ、全然大丈夫だって、全然、変じゃないから」\ `"...uh, what I meant to say was, no, not at all, you look great."\ !s90 ;「うん、わかった…」\ `"Okay then..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;そして、波打ち際をゆっくりと歩き始める彼女。\ `She began to walk down towards the water.\ dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" ;寄せては返す波。 ;冷たい海風になびく長い髪。\ `The waves broke before her feet. The cold sea breeze whipped her hair around her.\ ;空からは、まるで追い討ちをかけるように、いつしか雪もちらちらと降り出していた。\ `To crown it all, it had started to snow.\ ;そんな中、両手に脱いだ靴を持った彼女が…\ ;嬉しそうに、まるで跳ねるようにして、素足で水際を歩いてみせる。\ `She splashed into the sea, barefoot and seemingly happy, amid the wind and the snow, holding her shoes.\ !s75 ;「ねえ…@それっぽく見える？」\ `"Well? @ `...convincing?"\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「うーん、まあまあかな…」\ `"Not bad... I guess."\ dwavestop 0 ;真冬の寒さに、お互いの吐息が真っ白に弾む。\ `It didn't help that it was midwinter. Most pinups don't have white misty hazes around their mouths.\ ;そして俺は、先ほど車から持ってきたカメラを取り出した。\ `I pulled the camera out anyway. I'd fetched it while she was changing.\ ;…例の安っぽい使い捨てのカメラ。１枚だけのフィルムだった。\ `It was that disposable we'd used before. There was one shot left on it.\ !s75 ;「じゃあ、撮ってやるよ」\ `"Say cheese!"\ ;「えっ…」\ `"Ehh...?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「きっと…もっとそれっぽくなるからさ」\ `"You need a photographer, don't you? ...to get it right?"\ ;言いながら俺は、カメラを構えて見せる。\ `I took aim.\ ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「ほら、遠慮すんなって、な？」\ `"Right?"\ !s100 ;「…うん…」\ `"...okay..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;波打ち際。@ ;ファインダー越しに見た彼女。\ `She stood there in the surf, framed by the viewfinder.\ ;少し緊張しているのか、それとも照れくさいのか… ;いつも以上に複雑な顔をしていた。\ `She was wearing a more complex expression than usual. That touch of a blush was there again, but this time the face it tinged was nervous.\ ;「だからさ、もっとこうポーズつけてくれねえか？」\ `"Come on, smile then. And try to pose a little, won't you?"\ dwavestop 0 !s100 ;「…でも…」\ `"But..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;「でもじゃないって、ほら、そんな棒立ちしたグラビアアイドルいないぞ」\ `"Don't but me. You're supposed to be being a model - don't just stand there trembling like that!"\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「…わかった…」\ `"...all right..."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" dwave 2,"se\umitori.wav" !sd ;少し照れながらでも…それでも彼女なりに精一杯で…\ `She was clearly embarrassed, but made an effort nonetheless.\ ;恥ずかしそうに腰に手をあてると、もう片方の手を大きく掲げてみせる。\ `One hand clasped her hip; the other spread wide and reached out.\ !s80 ;…その、澄んだ冬空へ向かって伸ばされた手…\ ;…まるで、何かを掴むように…@掴もうとするように…\ `As she reached out into the winter sky, it almost looked as though she was grasping at something...@ ` or groping for it.\ ;真っ直ぐに空へと伸ばされていた。@ ;エメラルドグリーンの海を背にしていた…\ `Her arm stretched straight out into the sky.@ ` `Behind her churned the sea. It was green enough.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 !s85 ;「じゃあ、最後にもうひとつ…」\ `"You've forgotten something..."\ ;「…うん？」\ `"...what?"\ dwavestop 0 !s120 ;「……笑って……」\ `"Smile."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 1 ;「えっ…」\ `"Eh?!"\ dwavestop 0 ;「…笑ってくれよ、@セツミ…」\ `"Smile...@ ` Setsumi."\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 !w500 bg "e\w.jpg",3 !s120 ;「…なによ…@…年下のくせに…」 `"...don't be cheeky...@ ` kid..."\ !w400 textclear dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\camera.wav" bg "e\imege93.jpg",3 bg "e\imege92.jpg",5 bg "e\imege09.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" ;…そう言って…@初めて笑ってくれた。\ `As she said that...@ ` for the first time, she smiled.\ !s80 ;お気に入りのスカートと、白いビキニに身を包んだ彼女が…\ `She smiled, in her pretty skirt and ridiculous 'bikini' top.\ !s75 ;使い捨てカメラの最後の一枚で笑ってくれた。 ;エメラルドグリーンの海を背に笑ってくれた。\ `She smiled on the final exposure of that disposable camera. `She laughed in front of that green-enough sea.\ ;…まるで、グラビアアイドルのような笑顔を向けてくれた…\ `She smiled into the camera, every bit a model for that one moment...\ !sd bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;「よし、じゃあ次は、もっとこう動きのあるポーズやってみるか」\ `"Great! Okay, let's have a more dynamic pose next."\ dwavestop 0 ;「うんっ」\ `"Sure!"\ dwavestop 0 ;嬉しそうに、楽しそうに、水辺を跳ねる彼女。\ `She leapt out of the water, laughing.\ ;既にフィルムの尽きてしまったカメラだけど、俺はその姿を撮り続けた。\ `The film was finished, of course, but I pretended to take a photo anyway.\ ;「お、なんかお前、調子乗ってきたな」\ `"Hey, you're getting the hang of this."\ dwavestop 0 ;「そ、そんなことないわよ…」\ `"D-don't be silly...!"\ ;明るく話す俺達と、追い討ちをかけるように更に強さを増す降る雪。\ `The snow grew in volume, as though it were trying to bury our cheerful voices.\ ;そんな中、フィルムの切れたカメラの、ファインダー越しに嬉しそうな顔を向ける彼女。\ `We ignored it; I continued to hold that camera, full though it was, to my eye, following her every move.\ ;小さな身体を風に煽られながらも、覚えたての笑顔を向けてくれた…\ `As she fought to control her slender, frail body in the rising wind; as she smiled her newly-rediscovered smile.\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 dwavestop 1 mp3fadeout 2500 stop bg "e\imege072.jpg",5 dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" dwave 2,"se\umitori.wav" ;ざざ……\ !s85 ;「…それじゃあ…」\ `"...so..."\ dwavestop 0 !s75 ;「ん…ああ、もうそんな頃合か…」\ `"...you're ready now?" !s100 ;「…うん…」\ `"Yeah..."\ dwavestop 0 !sd ;その返事と共に、以前のように海に向かって歩き始める彼女。\ `She turned back to the sea.\ !s80 ;「あ、そういえば免許証…」\ `"Hang on... I've still got your licence..."\ dwavestop 0 !s70 ;「いいよ、記念に貰っといてくれよ」\ `"Keep it. As a memento."\ dwavestop 0 !s85 ;「うん、わかった…」\ `"All right..."\ dwavestop 0 dwavestop 2 !sd ;頷きながら、ポケットに収める彼女。\ `She nodded, and thrust it back in her shirt pocket.\ ;それはかつて彼女に譲った免許証だった。 ;本来ならば、既に出番を失った筈のものだった。\ `I'd already given it to her once. And it wasn't like I was going to need it myself.\ ;そして彼女も、自分の手首に巻かれた、あのビニールの白い腕輪を外すと…\ `Now she was fumbling with something herself, with her wrist, and turning to me.\ !s90 ;…俺へと差し出してくれた。\ `She had taken off her white band. She was holding it out.\ dwave 2,"se\umitori.wav" !sd ;「もしかして…くれるのか？」\ `"...for me?"\ dwavestop 0 !s90 ;「うん、あげる…」\ `"Yes... take it..."\ dwavestop 0 !s75 ;「そっか…じゃあ俺も、記念に貰っといてやるよ」\ `"Thank you... I'll keep it to remember you by."\ dwavestop 0 ;同じように受け取った腕輪。 ;俺も自分のポケットへと収める。\ `So I took it, and stuck it in my pocket in my licence's place.\ ;そして、再び海へと歩き始める彼女の…\ `She was turning back to the sea again...\ ;その後ろ姿に向かって、俺は最後の言葉をかけた。\ `I called after her.\ ;「なあ…最後にもう一つだけ質問していいか？」\ `"Can I... ask you one last question?"\ dwavestop 0 !s90 ;「うん」\ `"What?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「お前、今…@引きとめてほしいか？」\ `"Do you...@ ` want me to stop you, this time?"\ dwavestop 0 ;「……………」\ `"............"\ dwavestop 0 ;「それとも…背中を押して欲しいか？」\ `"Or... do you want me to give you a push off?"\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\nami3.wav" dwave 2,"se\umitori.wav" !s75 ;寄せる波を足に受けながら、その場に立ち止まった彼女。 ;問いを投げる俺に背中を向けたままだった。\ `She stopped with her back to me. The waves lapped around her toes.\ ;強い風が波頭を飛沫に変え、そんな彼女を冷たく叩いていた。\ `She stood on the border of land and sea, battered by the spray.\ ;やがて、俺の方を振り返ってくれると…\ `At length she looked back...\ !s120 ;「…さあ…どっちだろうね」\ ;「あはは、よくわからないね」\ `"Heh, good question...@ ` ` I dunno, what do you think?"\ dwavestop 0 !s75 ;そう言って、最後にもう一度だけ笑ってくれた。\ `And she smiled one last time.\ ;冷たい波の飛沫を受けながら、涙を浮かべながらでも笑顔を向けてくれた。\ `As the spray hissed around her, she looked back at me and smiled through her tears.\ ;以前は、波打ち際で止まっていた、その足…\ `We'd been here before; she'd walked out into the surf before, before stopping.\ ;でも今は止まることはなかった。\ `This time she didn't stop.\ !s100 ;…だから、それが答えなんだと思う…\ `That was answer enough.\ dwavestop 1 dwavestop 2 bg "e\w.jpg",5 !w500 !s130 ;「…それじゃあ…@さよなら…」\ `"So...@ ` good-bye, then..."\ mp3loop "bgm\sen02_20.mp3" bg "e\st00.jpg",1 !s75 ;…こうして、俺達の９６０ｋｍの旅が終わった…\ `Thus our journey ended, after just shy of a thousand kilometres.\ !s80 ;俺にとっては１５日間、 ;彼女にとっては２２年間の旅も終わった。\ `I had only been a part of it for fifteen days, but she had been travelling this road all her life.\ ;７階でも家でもない、自らの意志で避けた彼女。@ `She had crossed the finishing line by her own will, neither at home nor on the seventh floor.\ ;２００５年度、推定自殺者数３万５千人の中の一人。\ `She was just one of an estimated 35,000 Japanese to take their lives in 2005.\ ;血液型Ｏ、名前はセツミ、２２才、女性… ;ビニールの認識腕輪は白。\ `Setsumi, 22, female, blood type O... a white-wristband patient.\ ;これが彼女の全てだった。\ `That was the sum total of her existence.\ bg "e\w.jpg",3 ;…でも、俺は知っている。\ `But she was more than that for me.\ bg "yobi\cat09_h.bmp",5 !s75 ;本当は、ビキニの水着が好きで、ナビ以上に道に詳しくて、車が好きで、普免だって持っている。\ `I knew she liked clothes, and she liked cars. She was better than a computer for navigating. She even had a licence... sort of.\ ;いつもは無表情で、滅多に向けてくれないけど、\ ;でもたまには、照れくさそうな、拗ねたような顔だってしてくれる…\ `I knew that though she rarely displayed any emotion, when she did look at you, it would be with that sweet mixture of blush and pout.\ !s80 ;エメラルドの海を背に…\ ;跳ねるように、嬉しそうに、まるで、グラビアアイドルのように笑ってくれる…\ `I'd seen her in the emerald sea, laughing and posing like a swimsuit model.\ ;なのに…\ ;この安っぽい使い捨てカメラに、たった一枚しか残せなかった彼女の笑顔。\ `I had a photo of it. The last exposure on that cheap disposable camera had captured her smile.\ bg "e\imege94_h.jpg",5 !s90 ;…それでも…たった一枚だけでも…\ `It was only one photograph.\ !s120 ;　……残せた俺達の証し……\ `But it was all the proof I needed.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st01.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st02.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st03.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st04.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st05.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st06.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st07.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st08.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\b.jpg",5 bg "e\st09.jpg",5 !w1700 !s85 bg "e\w.jpg",3 bg "e\nar01d.jpg",3 bg "e\nar01c.jpg",1 bg "e\nar01.jpg",5 !w1700 bg "e\imege95_h.jpg",5 bg "e\imege96_h.jpg",10,1000 !w1500 bg "e\imege97_h.jpg",5 click click !sd bg "tui\imege98.bmp",5 dwavestop 1 mov %flg_cha9,1 mov %flg_bplay,9 goto *title *image_voice mov $sys_midasi,"`Prologue (voiced)" dwavestop 1 bg "e\b.jpg",3 stop mp3fadeout 1500 dwavestop 0 dwave 0,"w\n001.ogg" setwindow 255,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 `... on a blindingly bright day ... `... on that very day of winter ... bg "e\c001a.jpg",1 bg "e\c001b.jpg",3 bg "e\c001.jpg",3 bg "e\c002.jpg",3 bg "e\c003.jpg",3 wait 700 bg "e\c004.jpg",5 wait 1000 erasetextwindow 1 bg "e\b.jpg",5 wait 200 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",3 bg "e\c02.jpg",3 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 ;　■　１９９６年　春　セツミ　■\ `　■　 Spring 1996: Setsumi 　■\ mp3loop "bgm\n04.mp3" bg "e\sora_ame01.jpg",3 dwave 0,"w\n002.ogg" ;『…確かに、幼い頃から丈夫な方じゃなかった…』\ `(... true, I wasn't very healthy ever since I was a child ...)\ dwavestop 0 ;それでも小学校は普通に通えたし、 ;夏休みには真っ黒に日焼けするほど遊んだこともあった。\ `Even so, I attended elementary school like all the others, `and during summer breaks I often played until I was utterly tanned.\ bg "e\byoin_heya_yu2.jpg",5 ;６月。中学に入ってすぐの頃。@ ;来月から始まる、水泳用の水着を注文した翌日。\ `June. Shortly after my entry into middle school.@ ` `The day after I'd ordered a swimsuit for use the next month.\ ;その時、初めて入院ってのを経験した。\ `My first hospitalization.\ ;一学期の中間テストの少し前、 ;降り始めた雨が、やけに冷たい日だった。\ `On a day just before the first semester midterms, `on a day when the first drops of rain were so cruelly cold.\ dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",5 ;真っ白な梅雨空の中。\ `Falling from amidst the pure white of the overcast sky.\ ;そりゃあ、最初の頃は、 ;クラスの皆んなも毎日のように見舞いに来てくれた。\ `Of course, the first time it happened, `all my classmates came to visit me almost every day.\ ;退院した頃には、 ;週末の度に、家にも遊びに来てくれた。\ `And when I was released, `they even came to my house on weekends to play.\ ;…でも、そんなのは最初だけ。\ `... but that was only the first time around.\ dwavestop 1 bg "e\sora_ame01.jpg",3 ;秋を迎え、冬を越し、 ;入院、退院、通院…そしてまた入院を繰り返し…\ `Autumn into winter, winter into spring, a vicious cycle: `hospitalization, release, clinics ... and hospitalization again ...\ ;かつて、友達と呼んでいたクラスメイト。\ `And before I knew it, even the classmates I once called friends ...\ ;いつしか、知り合いへと変わった。\ `... turned into acquaintances ...\ ;そして、他人へと変わった。\ `... and then into strangers.\ ;季節を重ねる毎に、 ;彼等の記憶からわたしは消えたようだった。\ `As if with every changing of seasons, `I was being erased from their collective memory.\ bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",5 dwave 0,"w\n003.ogg" ;「…どうやら、”良い気がしない”らしい」\ `"... it seems that to all those normal people ..."\ dwavestop 0 wait 300 dwave 0,"w\n004.ogg" ;「普通に生きている人にとって、わたしの存在ってのは」\ `"... my very existence was an 'unpleasant' fact."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_k01.jpg",3 dwave 0,"w\n005.ogg" ;「だから…消されたようだった…」\ `"And so ... it looks like I've been erased ..."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 1,"se\rain_1.wav" bg "e\w.jpg",5 bg "e\sora_ame03.jpg",5 dwave 0,"w\n006.ogg" ;「幾つもの季節を、白い梅雨空を… ;　誰とも言葉を交わす必要もなく過ごした…」\ `"I'd spent so many seasons, so many white overcast skies ... ` without the want or need to converse with anybody ..."\ dwavestop 0 dwave 0,"w\n007.ogg" ;「わたしの英語の教科書は、 ;　１年生の中間テスト以降、まっさらな状態だった」\ `"For that matter, my English textbook never changed from that ` of a 1st-year middle school student before the first midterms."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_0012.jpg",5 dwave 0,"w\n008.ogg" ;「…そこで…@わたしの時間も止まったらしい」\ `"... that is where ...@ ` my time seems to come to an end."\ dwavestop 0 bg "e\chara_0013b.jpg",3 bg "e\c005.jpg",5 bg "e\c0052.jpg",3 !w800 dwave 1,"se\z42r.wav" bg "e\w.jpg",1 bg "e\sora01.jpg",5 bg "e\c00.jpg",5 ;　■　８年後…２００４年　主人公　初夏　■\ `　■　Eight years later ... Early Summer 2004: Protagonist　■\ bg "e\sora01.jpg",3 ;夏。流れる汗。\ `Summer. Flowing sweat.\ ;運転免許試験場に設置された、大きな電光掲示板。\ `The gigantic electronic scoreboard `in the driver's license examination facility.\ ;一斉に点灯を始めたライト。 ;俺も他の皆んなと同じように、自分のナンバーを目で追う。\ `Lit up all at once. `My eyes and everyone else's looked for our respective numbers.\ ;「２３７、２３７…」\ `"237, 237 ..."\ dwavestop 0 ;チカチカと約８割ほどのライトが点灯する中、 ;無事に自分の受験番号が光ったことを確認した。\ `And of some eight columns of lit text, `sure enough, my examination number was shining in the midst.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 dwave 1,"se\faan1_b.wav" ;ガタンゴトン、\ ` *clickety-clack*\ ;ちょうど昼過ぎの為か、よく空いていた車内。\ `A nearly-empty train car, `perhaps thanks to the beautiful afternoon.\ ;そんなガラ空きの車内を、 ;俺は試験場からの帰路についていた。\ `Almost alone in that train car, `I was heading back home from the examination hall.\ ;左手には貰ったばかりの交通教本、 ;胸ポケットには真新しい免許証。\ `My left hand held a new traffic regulations handbook, `and my breast pocket held my brand new driver's license.\ ;「これで俺も、普免持ちか…」\ `"So now I've got a license as well ..."\ dwavestop 0 ;しみじみ呟くが、特に感慨はなかった。\ `I muttered somewhat happily, `but there were no strong feelings behind it.\ ;別に、車に乗りたかった訳じゃない。 ;他に何かの目的があった訳でもない。\ `I never particularly wanted to drive a car. `I never particularly had any motive for it.\ ;只、まわりの連中も教習所に通っていたし、 ;車の免許くらい取っておけと勧められただけだった。\ `It was just that my colleagues and the technical institute `both recommended that I at least get a driver's license.\ bg "e\sora_yoru01.jpg",5 ;その夜。\ `That night.\ ;親に免許が取れたことを報告すると、 ;『そうか』と、短く返された。\ `When I told my parents that I'd gotten my license, `they merely replied with an 'I see'.\ ;試しに、車を貸してくれと言ってみたら、 ;同じように短く、@駄目だ。とだけ返された。\ `And when I asked if I could borrow the car, just for a test run, `they instantly and curtly said just one thing:@ ` 'no'.\ ;別に車に乗りたかった訳じゃないけど、 ;その返答はあまりに予想通りだった。そんな親だった。\ `While I didn't really want to drive the car or anything, `the response was all-too-expected. Those were my parents for you.\ bg "e\b.jpg",3 ;翌日。 ;寝覚めから胸が苦しかったので病院へと向かった。\ `The next day. `I awoke with chest pain and went to the hospital.\ ;普段から俺は、病気なんてもんに縁がなかった。 ;だから、初診受付の待ち時間は、ひどく退屈に感じた。\ `Sickness and I generally had nothing to do with each other. `Which is why I found the E.R. waiting room to be utterly boring.\ bg "e\byoin_rouka.jpg",3 ;やっと診察が終わったと思うと、 ;今度はレントゲンと血液検査にも行った。行かされた。\ `And just when I thought they were through examining me, `they ordered an X-ray and some blood tests. Then they left.\ ;更に、長い長い時間を、ぼ〜っと待たされ…\ `And again, I was left waiting for a long, long time ...\ ;思わず、待合室にあったジャンプを３冊も読み、 ;４冊目に手を伸ばした時、\ `I'd already polished off 3 volumes of Shonen Jump `and was just about to start on a fourth when ...\ ;そのまま入院の手続きをさせられた。\ `... they admitted me to the hospital right then and there.\ ;胸ポケットに入れたままになっていた、真新しい免許証。\ `And it seemed that my new license, `which still lay snugly in my breast pocket ...\ ;その出番は遠のいたようだった。\ `... would have to wait a long time for its turn to come.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 mp3fadeout 2000 stop bg "e\sora07.jpg",5 setwindow 100,358,35,17,17,17,0,3,1,1,5,#ffffff,0,0,799,599 !sd erasetextwindow 0 dwavestop 1 bg "e\c03.jpg",3 ;　■　主人公　２００４年　秋　■\ `　■　Protagonist: Autumn 2004　■\ mp3loop "tui2\e01.mp3" bg "e\sora07.jpg",3 ;あんなにうるさかった蝉が鳴き止む頃。\ `Right around when the all-too-noisy cicadas had finally gone silent,\ ;相変わらず俺は病院に居た。\ `I once again found myself in the hospital, as per usual.\ ;もちろん、ずっと入院していた訳じゃない。 ;出たり入ったりの繰り返しだった。\ `Of course, it wasn't as if I'd been there the entire time. `I came and went, came and went. A futile cycle.\ ;先月には、初めて手術ってのも経験した。 ;退院後は、原チャで５分の距離を通院もした。\ `My first surgery was a month before. After that, I started `doing the 5-minute commute to and from the hospital by moped.\ ;それからも、入院、退院、通院、入院を小刻みに繰り返して…\ `And from then on, I was hospitalized, discharged, ordered to clinic, `and hospitalized again and again and again ...\ ;ＰＥＴだかイレッサだか知らないけど、 ;気づけば、その繰り返しで数ヶ月が経とうとしていた。\ `While I still had no clue what 'PET' or 'Iressa' stood for, `in no time at all, several months had already passed.\ ;食欲が減った代わりに、貰う薬の量と種類が増えた。 ;自分でも、目に見えて体力が落ちてきたと実感できる。\ `As my appetite decreased, my medications increased. `I could feel my own physical strength atrophying away.\ ;足が細くなった気がするけど、\ `I kept imagining that my legs were getting thinner,\ ;”それは気のせいじゃない” ;と、体重計の針は教えてくれた。\ `But the needle of the weight scale rudely informed me: `"It's not just your imagination."\ ;なのに俺は…@どこか客観的に自分を見ていた。\ `And yet I ...@ ` kept looking on at myself with detached interest.\ ;まるで他人事か、 ;テレビの１シーンでも眺めているようだった。\ `As if it were happening to somebody else entirely, `as if I were looking at a scene on TV or the like.\ ;突然、身に起こったことに、頭がついて行けなかった。 ;リアルとして起こった実感が沸かなかった。\ `My mind could not grasp what had so suddenly happened to my body. `Nothing within me was telling me that this was real at all.\ ;だから、自分自身のことの筈なのに、 ;どこか遠い場所から冷めた目でしか見れなかった。\ `And that's why, even though it was all happening to me, `I kept looking on as if it were happening to someone far away.\ bg "e\c033.jpg",5 bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;冬の日。 ;街頭からクリスマスツリーが姿を消す頃、\ `A day of winter. `Around when the Christmas trees had vanished from the streets,\ ;年末ということもあってか、自宅に帰してくれた。\ `I was discharged home as a kind of year's end treat.\ ;あくまでも一時的なものらしい。 ;それでも少しは嬉しかった。\ `It seemed like an exercise in total transience. `But still, it made me slightly happy.\ bg "e\amazora02.jpg",5 ;みぞれ混じりの雨の中、 ;久しぶりに帰ってきた俺の家。\ `I traveled back to a home I had not seen in a long time `in the midst of a freezing rain.\ ;何故か、家族が全員揃っていた。\ `Strangely enough, my entire family was there.\ ;普段からそれほど話すことも無かった親なのに、 ;どこかギクシャクとしながらも、笑顔で迎えてくれた。\ `My parents, who had never so much as talked to me, `came out to meet me, if with terribly stilted smiles.\ ;いつも口喧嘩ばかりしていた妹が、 ;俺の好きなクリームシチューとエビフライを作って待っていた。\ `And my little sister, with whom I'd never had a pleasant word, `had made my favorite cream stew and fried shrimp just for me.\ ;こたつに並んで座った。みかんをむいてくれた。 ;やけに優しかった。それが印象的だった。\ `They made me sit at the table. They peeled tangerines for me. `They were cruelly kind. It was an impressive display.\ ;この時点で…@俺は少しだけ察した。\ `At this point ...@ ` a little thought occured to me.\ ;ポケットに入れたままになった、例の真新しい免許証。\ `About my new driver's license, `which was still stuffed away in my pocket.\ ;この免許証は、その価値を生かすことなく ;終わるのかも知れないと思った。\ `That perhaps things would end for the license `without it ever having known any use.\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 ;ギクシャクとした不自然な笑顔に迎えられて…\ ; ;冷静に、曖昧に、ひたすら薄っぺらく、 ;他人事のように俺はそう思った。\ `And surrounded by a trio of stilted, strained smiles ...\ `I kept that thought, as if it were someone else's business, `with dispassion, ambiguity, and total disinterest.\ bg "e\w.jpg",5 bg "e\c032.jpg",5 ;　■　主人公　２００５年　１月　■\ `　■　Protagonist: January 2005　■\ bg "e\byoin_rouka.jpg",5 ;年が明けて、また帰って来た病院。\ `A new year began, and I returned to the hospital.\ ;何故かその日は、いつもの４階ではなく、 ;談話室のような部屋に行った。行かされた。\ `But on this day, instead of my usual 4F room, `I ended up in a conference room of sorts. They took me there.\ ;そして、オヤジと医者の先生、 ;それに俺も交えた三人で色んな話しを聞いた。聞かされた。\ `And then, my father and the doctors `had a little talk. I joined in. Well, they talked to me.\ ;いわゆる、告知というやつなんだろう。\ `So this was their so-called announcement.\ ;すごく遠回しな言い方だったが、 ;そう解釈した。死ぬらしい俺は。\ `They said it in a terribly roundabout fashion, `but they told me: that I was going to die.\ ;「そうですか…」\ `"I see ..."\ dwavestop 0 ;だから、それだけを返した。他に言葉は見つからなかった。 ;入室してから出るまでに、口にしたのはこれだけだった。\ `That was my only reply. I had no other words. `It was the only thing that left my mouth from beginning to end.\ ;俺の返事を受け、 ;手に持ったボールペンを走らせる先生。\ `And the doctors' ballpoint pens flew across paper `as if in response to my words.\ ;恐らくはホスピスへの手続きだろう。 ;あくまでも事務的な態度だった。オヤジも似たようなもんだった。\ `Those were probably Hospice enrollment procedures. `Businesslike to the last. My father was the same.\ ;…こんな簡単なモンなんだ…\ `... so it's this simple ...\ ;それが俺の率直な感想だった。\ `... was the only real thought I had.\ bg "e\b.jpg",5 ;そして、その日を境に４階から７階へと、 ;６人部屋から個室へと変わった。\ `That day, I was transferred from 4F to 7F, `from a 6-person room to a private room.\ bg "e\byoin7_rouka.jpg",5 ;それと、この７階自体は他の階と少し違っていた。\ `It was a little different from the other wards, this 7F.\ ;まず、床がピカピカになっていた。 ;天井も今までより、ずっと高く広々としていた。\ `First of all, the floors were sparkling clean. `And second of all, the ceiling was higher than I'd ever seen it.\ ;病室の中もすごく綺麗で、大きな窓からは、 ;明るく日光を採り入れる仕組みなっているようだった。\ `The rooms were very nice, and had large windows `from which the warm daylight streamed in as if by design.\ ;…だけど、窓は少ししか開かなかった。\ `... but the windows only opened a little.\ ;試しに計ってみると、 ;ちょうど頭がギリギリ通らない幅だった。\ `I tested them out, `and my head would just barely fit out of one.\ ;他にも、認識用の腕輪の色が変わった。\ `The color of my ID bracelet had changed as well.\ ;入院した日から、ずっと手首に巻かれていたビニール製の腕輪。 ;俺の名前や血液型が記載されていた。\ `The bracelet that I h