Editing Tabi ni Deyou:Dream

"...So? Can you repair it?"

A boy with a wrench in his hand was asked this question and moaned with a face that looked like after a week of constipation.

"I've been trying for four days now, but as things stand, we might reach the next town before I get this done."

"Please not! There are still several miles left..."

Along with a dry laugh, the girl sat down on a bench. The wood of the bench had become crumbly due to the persistently shining sun and pricked her uncovered tights, but right now her fatigue won over this uncomfortableness. The girl was wearing a common blazer school uniform, but because of the heat she had taken off the jacket and was fanning herself with her hand.

"Aren't you just fundamentally unsuited for repairing things, boy? Nobody's going to praise you when you tell them about your heroic story of pushing a broken motorcycle for 140 miles, you know?"

"...Oh please shut up. We're always moving, so I don't have occasion to do some extensive mending."

The boy who had been called "boy" tapped on his stiff shoulders with the wrench.

He was wearing the same uniform as her - of course the boy's one, though. He had taken off his jacket as well as his necktie and had pulled down the collar.

It was true that there was a limit to the mending he was able to do: for their journey they had forcefully installed a tandem seat on their originally one-person Super Cub and loaded it with things like long distance provisions, clothes, gas and water. The luggage of two people was on there, so there was no space left for carrying around extensive mending equipment. All the replacement parts they had were some bolts and nuts. Furthermore, they also had oil and a spark plug. Considering that even their tools consisted of just a spanner, a hexagonal wrench and a foldable Gerber Knife, proper repair was something they couldn't even dream of.

"Maybe we should just throw it away?"

"Don't be silly. Or do you want to carry all this luggage on your back?"

"Ngh," the boy was at a loss of words. Well, his suggestion was indeed not realistic. "Then could you at least help me push this, girl...?"

"No way." The girl who had been called "girl" sneered at him. "Do you want to force a lady like me to do heavy labor? This doesn't even pass as a joke."

"Heh, a track and field girl is calling herself a lady? Don't you have more muscles than me?"

''It appears that my light joke did not please the lady. I got a middle kick straight into my side. Ouch.''

"...Anyway, we're camping here tonight. At least it's better than having to build up a tent in the middle of the street, right?"

"......Mh, I agree."

At the moment they were at a rest area established for farmers in the vicinity.

There was only a toilet, a water supply, some benches and very few planted trees, but for them it was just what they needed.

Rest areas are more valuable than anything else at a place like this where there is nothing but a long road and endless meadows. There are benches to sleep on, after all, and toilets to use. Some among them are even equipped with a working water supply - like this one. Just try sleeping on an asphalt road once. Be prepared to get bugged by insects, hurt your back on the hard ground and suffer from the hot mornings - it really is a sleeping spot that's worth being called the embodiment of "aweful".


"Well, let's get ready for the night then. It's going to get dark soon."

"Mh," the boy nodded. The short clock-hand of his dear chronograph was already showing past six. Admittedly, his watch couldn't be called reliable as it was a rather old-fashioned that still had to be wound manually, but judging from the reddening sky, the time should have been about right.

"OK, girl, please prepare dinner then. I'll take care of the beds."

"Got it, boy."

They both started with their respective preparations without calling each other by the name.

The boy took our a big bundle containing their sleeping equipment from the luggage carrier, which they had extended to both sides of the back wheel, whereas the girl took out a - originally crammed - bag with ingredients and cookware in it.<!-- they take it both out of the expanded luggage carrier --> Then they set themselves to work.

The boy headed to two old wooden benches that were located right next to each other. Despite being worn-out, they were ideal benches: barely long enough to stretch one's legs out on them and free of disturbing objects like a back or armrests. Even better, the benches were set up between two trees at their sides. Perfect conditions.

He slowly took out some little, rolled-up blankets from the bundle. There was a total of eight of those sheets that had been stowed away using a method they had thought up with great difficulty. Converted, there were four blankets for each of them. He folded two of them thrice and laid them on the bench as a sleeping mat. In addition to this, a blanket for covering themselves was vital because it may have been summer, but they still were on an island high up in the north. The last one he rolled up and arranged as a pillow.

Next, he proceeded with the roof. A laundry line and a big blue sheet, which he both took out of the bottom of the bundle, were supposed to serve as this.

He attached the rope to the tree branches and stretched it right above their improvised beds, after which he pulled the blue sheet over it, making it triangle-shaped with a weight on each corner. That should be enough to shield them from the sun light as well as light rain. Such an installation was quite sensitive to wind, but by tying it to the Super Cub, it should at least not get blown away.

At the end, he put a anti-mosquito pig<!--add translator's note -->, which they had tied up at the side of the luggage carrier, between their pillows and loaded it by putting a green spiral into its stomach.<!-- Mosquito coil -->

All set!

"Oh?"

After completing the camping preparations, the boy was made to turn around by an appetizing smell.

What then entered his eyes was part of every man's dream - the girl preparing dinner in a blazer-apron outfit.

She was using a small camping gas range and a little frying pan to warm through some corned beef and canned white asparagus.

While he wasn't too happy about the latter one, the smell of the former dish getting roasted in butter appealed to his empty stomach and made him struggle keeping it quiet.

Then she divided those two rather small ingredients into two parts with the foldable Gerber Knife, took out two slices of bread from an airtight container and sandwiched one half of the ingredients between them. Finally, she roasted it again as a whole.

Even though the girl had to use a knife that was not even meant for cooking, her movements were skillful and the sandwich was completed in no time.

It was topped with an ideal amount of mustard and the gold-brown color of the roasted bread stimulated his appetite even more.

However, the boy did not eat the sandwich after he had received it.

They had decided to always take their meals together.

Until the girl was done preparing the same sandwich - with a rather different amount of mustard - for herself, the boy bore up against the waterfall of saliva that was about to flow out of his mouth and struggled to keep calm.

"Okay, I'm done. Let's eat!"

The girl swiftly untied the string of her apron and sat down on her temporary bed.

"..."

Then she noticed the stare of the boy.

"...What?"

"Ah, I just thought that you've become quite girl-like."

''<nowiki>*</nowiki>Woosh*, she kicked my shin. It hurts like hell.''

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"No, uhm, the way you cook and take off your apron makes you look like that somehow..."

''To be honest, she rather gives me the impression of a housewife, but I would probably be killed if I told her that.''

"Well, if you play chef for a whole three months it's only natural that you'd get used to it!"

"I'm deeply sorry for pushing it all on you...! Anyway, let's eat."

"Yeah yeah."

The girl sat down again and took her sandwich.

They showed each other a slight smile and took their first bite at the same time.

There was no conversation. But the looks they exchanged from time to time were always smiling.

The succulent corned beef and the spicy mustard both whetted their appetite and accordingly big were the bites they took. It was so tasty that he didn't even mind the hateful asparagus.

The only bad thing that could be said about it was that there was just one bite left.

The boy threw the last bit into his mouth, accompanied with a little regret, and dusted the bread crumbs from his hands.

"Thanks for the meal."

"Yeah. Thanks for the meal."

The girl folded her hands.

"...By the way, boy."

"Mh?"

"...We're out of bread and beef now."

"Whahua?!"

The girl darted him a sharp glance full of coldness mixed with meanness.

"It's been a week since our provisions have last been refilled. If you don't get that bike working, there will be only asparagus on the menu from tomorrow on!"

"I-Is this a threat?!"

"Why, of course not. I'm just informing you, ''my dear driver''."

The boy fell from cloud nine down to the verge of despair at one blow.

''Damn. I seriously must get this repaired...!''

The triumphant look of the girl who could eat asparagus without a problem seemed hateful to him right now.

Suddenly, he noticed that the sun was just about to set completely in the horizon. The remaining dusk disappeared and the world started to be covered by a thick darkness. It wouldn't take much longer for their sight to become black.

He lit a lamp made of a penlight and fluorescent sticks. It was using an LED lamp and was therefore very durable.

"Mh, it's already night. How about you hit the pillow, girl?"

"Whawht? You're staying up?"

The girl had already lied down on her simple bed and had covered herself long before the boy told her to sleep. She dozily turned her head to him.

"Well, I have to write the diary... somehow I have the feeling the entries have been getting rather tragic since four days ago, though."

"Isn't that inevitable? It's a fact that there hasn't been anything good. Our provisions really have reached a critical point, you know?"

"What about our water?"

"Should be fine for now. Just, it looks like it was only the leftover of the water tower, so we should boil it once tomorrow."

"......"

They were in a truly tricky situation. One could say that they had at least enough fuel for the Super Cub, but it would be quite dangerous to boil water with it. They could use it to make a fire at most.

The boy sighed deeply and took out a thick book from their rucksack for miscellaneous things.

It wasn't a book to be exact; it was their diary. Its front cover was empty, so one couldn't tell whether it really was a diary, but at least the two of them used this massively bound book as one.

It was about 5cm thick and the corners of the hard cover were reinforced with brass. There even was a belt with a lock made of the same brass.

The key was attached to the same key chain as the key for the Super Cub. The boy opened the seal like he always did, turned to that day's page and began writing in it with a pencil.

The white penlight was more than enough for him to write. It lightened them up in an artificial light that was contrastive to the shining stars at the purple night sky. Like in inverse proportion to the starry sky, one could see only two tiny lights on the ground. The penlight and the mosquito coil.

After about 10 minutes, the boy finished updating the diary. He shut it again with the key and returned it into the rucksack. Then he turned off the light and lied down on his improvised bed.

The lights went out, leaving a green afterimage behind on their retinals. And, as if to take on the task, the stars at the darkened sky started to compete with their brightness.

All one could see here were those kaleidoscopic orbs, the endless meadows that covered the entire horizon and a gray road that drew a straight line through this green landscape.

And in a corner of that scene, the two travelers slowly fell asleep.



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The next morning the girl woke up due to pain in her back.

She opened her eyes and, for some reason, found herself on the ground.

She was lying on the bare ground without a sheet and in a posture that looked like someone that had been murdered. If someone were to come and draw a line around her body with a chalk, she would make for a perfect corpse.

It should go without saying, but she had fallen from her bed. Which was not unusual at all, though. While there surely was the need to reflect, she didn't need to panic.

She bestirred herself and sat up. The bed next to her was already empty. A few meters away from her, the boy was fighting a duel with the striking Super Cub, holding a spanner in one hand.

"...an early bird, aren't you?"

"No, it's just that you're late! Seriously, you should do something about your habit of sleeping early and standing up late."<!-- More faithful to the original: Sleeping early and standing up late is quite a problem. -->

A curt answer. However, the girl was by far not permissive enough to ignore such a remark. She let him off with a kick on the back for now.

Satisfied by seeing the boy fall over, she tried to relax her back by taking Yoga-like poses, twisting her hips to the left and right, and finally stretching out her whole body as far as possible. She also considered pulling through the whole set of calisthenics, but since that would look pretty miserable when doing it alone, she shortened it and took just a deep breath.

"But boy, did you stand up early in order to repair the bike?"

"Well yeah. Otherwise it would get unbearably hot before I could finish."

The boy took off his working gloves that had gotten black and dirty with oil and carbon.

"Anyway, as soon as I'm through with this, I will have done everything in my might. If it still doesn't work then, we won't get it repaired with our current equipment."

"Uwaa, neck or nothing it is."

The girl smiled wryly and started preparing everything needed for the kettle. She was going to disinfect their newly obtained water by boiling it. It would be a waste to use the gas range, so she collected lots of branches and withered grass and put them on a brick.

The last step was to ignite the open-air fire using the boy's Zippo lighter.

By the side of the girl who had started this torrid work, the boy continued his repair attempt.

It was already past seven in the morning and the sun was rising steadily. Before they knew it, the cool air of this northern province had been swept away completely and instead of it the hot summer sun started shining on them with the same intensity as in the other sections of the country.

What people normally mean by "repair" is mainly just "replacing broken parts". Unless there is a special reason, machines are designed to work correctly as soon as they have been put together. Otherwise they wouldn't be of any use.

Furthermore, the state "defective" signifies that one of these parts is in an incorrect state or was damaged.

It might still be possible to do something in the former case, but in the latter case one has no other choice but to replace the part.

Well, in short, the "repair" the boy could do right now was limited to "disassembling and putting together". They didn't have enough space to drag replacement parts along with them.

But we're talking about the engine of a Super Cub; it's not too hard to understand the structure of its simple four-cycle single-cylinder engine. By now, the boy had gotten good enough to do simple disassembling tasks.

Also, their Super Cub was actually supposed to still do its job for a while, but because it had been used for a long time and rather rudely by its previous owner, it was very worn-out. Bolts had gotten loose, nails had gotten damaged, the gasket had got a split, and the oil had become dirty. The wheels as well as its brake rubbers were smooth like a bald head by now and the suspension was totally worn out.

"I wish I could actually replace the parts..."

''Or if I could at least get my hands on some new oil, I would gladly clean the single parts.''

There wasn't really a point in polishing the parts if there was only "waste oil" in the machine.

"So, how does it look?"

The boy was addressed from behind.

"Suboptimal."

"Uh-oh. Should I get ready for a walk?"

"Maybe? Well, but things are going to become clear now. Either in our favor or not," he said while gripping the handle, the gloves still on, and putting his foot on the starter. "...God help us."<!-- ...Dear god, make it work. ...Dear god, please help us. -->, prayed he and floored the pedal with all his might.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Durururuu*, a shallow sound resonated. Even the girl who was inexperienced in machines gathered that it was a failure.

"..."

One mustn't be trapped in despair. Another try. This time, he tried not only to pray to God, but also to the Super Cub itself.

"Aand gooo!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Durururu...clonk*, the sound got even worse.

"...Hah."

It looked like neither God nor the Super Cub felt like answering his prayer.



After giving up the repair, they quickly started packing in.

It's been three months since they had started their journey. Accordingly quick have they become in this task. They poured the boiled and disinfected water into 2l bottles and stuffed any useful-looking firewood in a special bag after breaking it into smaller pieces. Their camping equipment wandered back into the bundle, which was then attached to the stock-still Super Cub.

For everything up to this point they needed about 30 minutes. In this rather short while of labor, they had become soaked in sweat.

It was summer. Well, they were on a northern island. But it was summer. At the current time, past nine, the sun started shining down on them without mercy. If they could, they would have loved to ask the sun to reduce its temperature settings, but that would be a distance of about hundred-fifty million kilometers. No way to reach that with their voices.

"Should we throw Cubby<!-- Cub-kun --> away after all?" With a helmet in one hand, the girl tapped her hand on the saddle of their silver Super Cub. The black synthetic leather had already become so hot that it was hard to keep the hand on it. "I would prefer to get it repaired somehow, though. I mean, we finally got used to riding together on it..."

"Well, you've got a point there. Neither of us has ever traveled on another vehicle, so it's a riddle if we could actually even properly use another bike if we changed it..."

''This Super Cub, designed with a focus on usability, was also ideal for practicing because of its mild driving feel. Just...''

"But if it doesn't move..."

"Word! Useless junk!"

The girl landed a kick on the Super Cub.

That moment, as if to react against the abuse of his dear two-wheeler, the stomach of the boy suddenly raised a growl. The girl's stomach, too, started growling in canon, driven by his.

"......"

"Got a problem?! I've not had breakfast, so what's wrong with getting hungry?!"

"Ah, I was just surprised at how loud your stomach can... Ah-Ouchouchouch!!"

The girl pulled up his ear and made him stop his steps.

"I'll cut your ration short for saying such things!"

"Please not. I'm no dog, you know?"

"Then use your calories to move your feet, not for idle talk!"

"That calculation would never work out..."

The girl did not object but murmured something while taking out a can from the bag at the rear wheel and sat down on the nearest bench.

"This..."

"It's hardtacks. There's no problem with eating those, right?"

"...but that's just too plain."

"Oh my! Are you a spoiled child or what?"

"Don't you always have the same complaints?"

"Shut up. I made sure to prepare something. Look."

A small bottle was put next to the hardtacks. It was a jar of strawberry jam.

"The best we have. It's one of our valuable preserved foods, so don't empty it."

"Roger, Ma'am!"

The previously tasteless hardtacks metamorphosed into a graceful dessert thanks to a little bottle with a weight of just a mere 100 grams. When they opened it, a sour yet fruity fragrance spread out and quickened their appetite.

"Shall we eat then?"

They opened cans for one meal and took a breakfast before their departure.

Having succeeded in replenishing some calories, tough just very little, the steps of the two of them seemed a lot lighter than yesterday.



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There is a natural phenomenon known as "mirage", which the Japanese call "escaping water".

It describes the phenomenon of seeing a non-existent pool of water on hot summer days at places like on a long asphalt road. They call it "escaping water" because one cannot reach the pool, hence, it looks as though the water is escaping.

The cause of this is different air temperatures near the ground, which result in a changed refractive index and lets one see things that are far away really. This phenomenon, however, occurs only at more-or-less straight and long places, so it was rather unfamiliar and interesting to the boy and girl who had both been born and raised in a large city.

But it didn't take long until it became nothing but nerve-racking.

Already half a day had passed during which they had gotten burned between the sun and the reflected rays from the ground. With the exception of four breaks, they had kept walking non-stop. From time to time, they could even sense the intent to kill in the sun. However, they were neither cheerful nor ill-tempered because any stirring of emotion was virtually evaporated by he heat and disappeared like a shimmer of hot air, leaving them in a state in which they were able of nothing but pushing the bike with vacant expressions like robots.

The scenery around them was exactly the same as half a day ago and consisted solely of an endlessly long road and meadows on each side. The only thing that might have changed was the angle in which they were roasted by the sunlight.

"...I'm hot," murmured the girl while pushing the rear side of the Super Cub.

"...What a coincidence! I am, too," replied the boy while equally pushing the handle.

This was the first conversation they had in an hour. Their steps were as unreliable as though they were sleepwalking and if they weren't using the Super Cub as a substitute for a walking staff, they would surely have tumbled. The boy had taken off his white shirt and was using it as a sunshade, while the girl had put a small plastic sheet on her head.
[[Image:Tabi_ni_Deyou_P0029.jpg|thumb]]

The heat would be much less torturing if he could at least moisten his sunshade, but they had only loaded 5 PET bottles of water. In total, 10 liters.

A human should drink at least one liter a day in order to survive. Two liters at days like this if possible.

On a journey like this, where it always remains unsure when the next occasion to refill water arises, carelessly using water means death.

If this country had still been operating as usual, they might have been able to call help with a mobile phone or something likewise. However, in these days, the device "mobile phone" had turned into a mere pocket lamp with an included clock + calendar + camera + notebook functionality. That was all. The battery of his was already empty, though, so had turned completely useless.

"...why can't there... be at least a decreasing slope..."

"Don't mention it! If you remind me that we're still on a rising slope, I'll lose important power."

Added to this, this kind of incline was nasty. Even though the road continued straight to the end of their sight, it was a gently rising slope.

The disagreeably higher burden in comparison to a flat ground squeezed out their energy like a blood sucking leech and made their legs heavy.

"It's still quite a bit to our target city... are we really going to be okay like this...?"

"Hang in there, girl! Look, we're almost on the top."

"...I would like to request a slope steep enough to ride down while sitting on the bike."

While agreeing with her in his mind, the boy took the last few steps on the asphalt ground.

He tightly gripped the handle of the heavy bike for a last push and finally arrived at the top of the slope.

"Haaah!"

The girl breathed out loud and turned around to the way they had just climbed up. The gentle slope continued with almost no end in sight until it merged in the sky. The roadside station which they had departed from this morning was already beyond the horizon.

"We walked quite a bit, now, didn't we..."

The boy didn't show any reaction to her murmur. Surprised at this, the girl turned around to him.

She found him taking out a pair of binoculars from their bag for daily necessities and looking through it.

"...can you see something?"

"...over there..."

The girl just cocked her head, so he thrust the binoculars into her hand.

At first she was startled by the blurred view, but she quickly set the focus correctly.

There was a declining slope, just the exact opposite of the one they had come from. When she shifted her gaze to look at the horizon, she noticed that the color of the grass around there was a little different.

The concerned area was not very big. A small section of the grassy area was simply covered with a slightly more intensive green.

".......it's a field<!-- better: cultivated land? -->... and there's a house, boy!"

The enlarged image was shaking in her tired arms, but it was certainly a dwelling house. No doubt about it: by the side of the road that cut this green scenery apart was a roof and some cultivated land.

The ground was divided by hand-made fences and was apparently cultivated with vegetables and fruits. Moreover, they could even see a paddy field next to it. The land was in a good shape and clearly maintained by someone.

Of course, it wasn't possible to tell if anybody was actually there from this distance. However, places that have been inhabited always have a water supply. And if agriculture is practiced on top of that, then there should even be a source of water.

"Let's get going, boy! It's right over there at the horizon! We'll be there in no time!"

"Roger that!"

The girl tossed the binoculars back into the bag, whereupon they started to push the bike full of vim and vigor. Unfortunately, the slope wasn't steep enough to let them ride down by using inertia, so they had no choice but to push it to their destination. However, because they could actually perceive the destination in their field of vision, they were taken by a sudden burst of enthusiasm.

Just, it was after they had run over half of the distance at full speed when they recalled that the "distance to the horizon" varies depending on the ground level.



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"I'm dying."

"Me too."

The conversations between them had at last decreased to a few words from time to time. It was only natural, though, because they had, in a run, pushed their bike over a distance that would be classified "long" in track and field athletics. On top of that, they were having a hard time holding their bike back because the steepness of the second half was nasty and added to their labor. While it wasn't as bad as during the rising slope, it was no comparison to walking on a flat ground.

Nevertheless, they eventually reached the house in question. Their shadows had grown long and from somewhere one could hear a crow's cry.

The girl didn't have enough power left to even raise her head, therefore it was the boy who set the kickstand of the bike and approached the building.

"Could this be... a general store combined with a farm...?" he muttered to himself, while surveying the isolated house and the field with his gaze.

On the left side of the road was a general store which was also used as a residence and on the right side was cultivated land. Both of them had the traces of human maintenance.

The combination of the gray road running through a landscape of green meadows and this small "foreign matter" in the middle of it somehow reminded him of a railway and its station. He could also see lots of vegetables that were nearing harvest. It had been a long time since he had last seen such scenery. Tomatoes, shining bright red in the sunlight, cucumbers, so big he started to suspect that the growers were using strange chemicals, and types of vegetables he hadn't seen in ages were swaying in the wind.

"Wow...... hey, girl... girl? Whoa! Girl! Are you OK?!"

The girl, who was supposed stand behind the Super Cub, had fallen prostrate on the hot ground without moving a muscle. Most likely, it was not just the crimson light of the slowly setting sun that dyed her face red.

The boy heaved her up in a hurry and walked towards the field, searching for a source of water. There was supposed to be a watering place for it. Maybe he would be going to get scolded for entering without permission, but in that case he could do nothing but apologize.

However, when he was about to pass by the general store, something that was rather out-of-place caught his eye.

A foreign automobile was parked in the shadow of the building - a very luxurious one at that.

That shiny thing on its bonnet that was sparkling despite being in the shadow looked like the Mercedes-Benz emblem. The boy wasn't very interested in the car market, but it reeked of money just by looking at the big aluminum wheel and the real-leather seats. A white-gloved chauffeur, brushing off the dust from that gorgeous car with a feather duster, would have fit perfectly into the picture.

But why on earth would such a rich Mercedes driver want to work on a field at the northern back of beyond?

He couldn't wipe away his wonderment, but right now the girl he was lending a shoulder seemed to on the verge of melting away, so he hurried to the fields.

While admiring the fabulous condition of the tomatoes and the cucumbers, he slipped through between them and headed deeper into the area. It was hard to search for a source of water while carrying the exhausted girl, but he found one surprisingly quickly.

It was a watering place that was built like a well and was located almost exactly in the center of the field along the road.

Right behind of it was the face of an artificial, small hill-like construct, which was reinforced with stones and equipped with a PVC pipe. Surprisingly clear water flowed out of that pipe into an overflowing　concrete basin.

After making the girl sit down on the stone bench beside it, the boy grabbed himself a plastic wash bowl that was floating in the basin and started scooping water.

Well, and then:

"Wake up, girl!"

A sunstroke, a heatstroke, an empty stomach and exhaustion were almost making the girl turn into a dried cuttlefish, so, to help her, he splashed it all on her with attitude.

"...whatrya doing you MORON!?"

With a lightning right hand, the girl stole the wash bowl from him and smashed it against his face. Without water.

On the left side, the boy who was holding his nose. On the opposite side, the girl who was wet from head to toe. Each of them took a weapon within reach, scooped some water and then stood still, facing each other.

"..."

"..."

Both of them lowered their knees, taking an attack stance, and at the very moment before a dramatic splash contest would have started, a voice interrupted them.


"Hello there! Are you customers?"


The boy and girl turned around to the owner of the voice while letting the water in their bowls steadily flow to the ground. And then, both of them were thunderstruck.
[[Image:Tabi_ni_Deyou_P0037.jpg|thumb]]



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There was a brightly smiling man who wiped off his sweat. A man in his forties, probably, and still in the prime of life was standing there with a straw hat, a towel, a pair of leather boots, a white shirt and an Armani suit, which was rolled up to his knees. His slender yet firm body reminded of the typical sports teacher and his warm smile was full of gentry qualities. He was the living example that a gentleman remains a gentleman even when working on a farm.

However, it wasn't his sudden appearance or his contrastive outfit that surprised them. What surprised them most was his hair.

His hair was not deep-black as it was supposed to be, but snow white like after using some strong decolorant. Moreover, his skin was almost as white as an albino's, showing no signs of tanning despite his work under the blazing sun.<!-- Is actually "white as a Caucasian's" but that doesn't sound good. Albino, better? -->

"Oh, did I startle you?"

"Ah, no, um..."

"Excuse us for staring at you like this."

She lowered her head. This gave the boy the feeling that women might be more skillful in apologizing than men. It was kind of the wrong time to think about such things, though.

Because the two travelers had just come through hovering between life and death and the man was currently making a pause anyway, they decided to sit down on the stone bench and take a break.

The bench was broad enough for about five people and, thanks to the roof that was installed over it, they were protected from the sunlight. Because the watering place was right over there, it was much cooler than on the asphalt road. The ground had gotten wet with the water the boy had splashed on it, but the midsummer sun was drying it. Of course, the same applied to the soaking wet girl.

"...Ah, right. I should introduce myself. This is who I am,"

He took out a little case from his chest pocket, with truly fluent movements at that, and held a business card out to them while giving them a nod.

This sequence of movements was already brought to perfection and made it clear that he had been used to doing this in his daily life.

«　　　　　　　　　　　　Transport Corporation, Representative Director　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　» was written on it.

The name of the transport company and the name of the person himself were missing.

There were no traces of a misprint or abrasion; the letters themselves had completely vanished. In fact, the paper was perfectly fine. It was almost like he had made empty cards for fun.

Solely, one had to concentrate to see it, the logo of the company was printed faintly in a corner of the card.

''I'm not too sure, but I think that was a quite famous company.''

"...well, it's not like there is a point in giving you a business card without my name on it, though."

The boy reluctantly looked up at the bitterly smiling man.

"So... it was «lost»?"

"Yeah, exactly. My name has vanished," he stated plainly. "One day while I was working at the company as usual, the people in my department told me that they had forgotten my name. I had a bad feeling about it because they couldn't remember whatever they tried, so I investigated that matter. What I discovered was that my name had disappeared from all kinds of places: from the data and documents of the company, from my own business cards, my name plate and so on. But what's most, I myself was unable to recall my name."

On hearing the indifferent tone in his voice, the boy and the girl exchanged glances and returned their attention to the man again.

"Even our business partners had forgotten my name all together. Some among them had even forgotten my face. Well, you can imagine how wearisome it was to continue work like that."

The man let out a laugh and put the business card back into the case.

"In the end, I could see no point in continuing my work anymore, so I threw everything away and left. After some time of wandering around the country I eventually settled down here. ...Do you want to join me?"

It wasn't farm work that he offered them, but some bright red tomatoes that had been cooled down with spring water to an agreeable temperature and reflected the sunlight.

It goes without saying that their "Yes" wasn't long in coming.



<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>



"...To tell you the truth, I've always wanted to work in the agricultural field. Yet, I ended up employed in a transport company for vegetables. After a period of hard work there, I suddenly became the head of a department, then a managing director, then the director of the branch and before I knew it, I had reached this age and had become the representative director of the main branch."

"...but that's quite amazing, isn't it?"

The boy set his eyes on the man while biting into his second red gem.

This fabulously mellow tomato was so luscious it almost seemed to burst. There was no comparison between the usual tomato juice and this wonderful fresh fruit flesh. A sense of wellbeing spread through his entire body, which hadn't received any fresh vegetables recently.

He had never thought that he could experience such a magnificent feeling with a mere tomato. Right now he was confident to be able to even munch his hated green pepper. Bare.

"Well, it may look amazing to others I guess. But you see, I liked my work and, as it seems, I had a talent for it. I was interested, so I was absorbed in what I was doing and had climbed high on my career ladder without noticing. But at the same time, I had also removed myself more and more from the work I actually wanted to do."

The girl was sitting next to the boy and having a hard time deciding whether she should ignore the danger of getting a stomach ache and set about a third tomato.

"Thus you made your dream of working on a farm come true under the convenient pretext that your name had been «lost». Uh-huh."

Her choice of words contained a thorny undertone. But not out of ill will. It was more something like sarcasm that she mixed into her words to tease him. The director seemed to be aware of this as well and flashed a smile.

"Yeah. This may be rude to my former colleagues in the company, but every day here is so much fun! ...Well, but the stuff I learned in school and my experience at work don't really come into any use."

The man smiled wryly.

"Why did you come all the way here from Honshuu<!-- or "the central region/island" --> anyway? Wouldn't you have been able to find some cultivated land over there, too?"

"There's no real reason. It's not like I planned to work on a field from the very beginning. At first, I thought I'd drive about a bit for sightseeing, but then I came across this house here. At the time, an old woman was running the general store all on her own. She let me live here and taught me how to grow up vegetables, while I gave her a hand on the field."

"How is she doing now?"

"...in March this year... she vanished."

"...I see," the boy said thoughtfully, while the girl next to him at last gave in to the temptation and took a big bite into her third tomato.

At this moment.

"Oh, director? Do we have guests?"

It was a female voice that had suddenly sounded.

This beautiful voice was clear like the one of an announcer. Its owner stood amidst a corn field that was dyed in the colors of the setting sun.

At once, the corn that had grown high enough for someone to hide in rustled and from it a female secretary appeared. Properly wearing a suit. You may call it a matter of course, but she was a stunning beauty.

"...you've got a secretary even for farm work?!"

They gave him a fierce clip in his belly. Of course, with some restraint.


After recovering from the agony, the director introduced the lady who had joined in the round.

"...uhm, she is my secretary. Since her name has been «lost», she's simply called secretary."

"I am the secretary. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The woman bowed in a truly beautiful angle.

This angle and the position of her hands were proof that she had brought these movements to perfection as a part of her job. However, her suit was dirty and her skin, once white, had been browned by the sun. She was wearing a straw hat on top of her long, pretty black hair and holding some fresh-picked corn in both hands. A hand towel was draped over her shoulders and she wasn't wearing high heels but gumboots. It was a quite queer contrast.

She gave them a bright smile, whereupon the two of them exchanged glances. The time to introduce themselves had come.

"Err... I'm simply the boy. My favorite dish at the moment is tomato."

"I'm the girl. My temporary favorite dish is tomato. There are plans to shift this to corn very soon."

They bowed together and were requited with the secretary's giggle; a delightful one that would have made for a perfect example of how to laugh brilliantly.

In the end, she decided to pause her work as well and joined their chatter round. It was already 6pm. The environment was ideal for taking a break as the air was pleasantly fresh thanks to the gradually dropping temperature and the water nearby.

"Are you on a journey?"

"Yes. We dropped everything and went on a journey. So it's basically the same as it was for the director, isn't it?"

The secretary giggled again on hearing the girl's confident answer.

"Meaning you eloped with your boyfriend?"

"......"

When she asked this question, confident that she were spot-on, the girl's face froze with an uneasy expression. Then, with exactly that expression, she turned a look that contained a strange combination of doubt and expectation to the boy.

"Are you...... my boyfriend?"

She straight-out requested his view on the matter. Puzzled over how he should answer her, he put his hand under his chin and pondered.

"...we never made such an oath... I think."

When he had finally managed to work out this reply, he got kicked by her for whatever reason. This is what they call unreasonableness.

The secretary giggled once more. "I see you are on very good terms with each other. Don't make me jealous!"

After the secretary had said so, the girl stopped her kick assault and proceeded with her tomato.

"But doesn't that go for yourself too, secretary? I mean, you accompanied the director when he abandoned his company, and now you're even working on his farm. Don't you mix quite well in a sense?"

"Oh? But I have not abandoned my work at all?" the secretary said in a wholly stunned-seeming voice, surrounded by three people who made a wondering. "You see, my job is to support the director. I have not abandoned my work. The director is the only one who has."

"H-How can you say that! Sure, you've come here because of me, but I never forced you, did I?"

"None of your excuses! In spite of the fact that I only came along with you due to my job, you told me to «please wash the tomatoes» and to «go get some water to wash the radish». How could I ever refuse your orders in my position?"

She purged her lips, "Hmph!" and pushed the full corn basket upon the director. "Thanks to that I have got completely used to farm work. Anyway, I will go prepare some tea for our guests, so please wash these and make some grilled corn in the meantime, director."

"O-Okay."

After forcing this giant amount of corn upon the director - almost like a pile of documents - she went away at a good pace in order to make them some tea. The director followed her, leaving the boy and girl behind alone by the well.

Neither the director nor the secretary had shown any signs of wonderment when they didn't tell them their names.

The corn field rustled in the gentle wind. Behind it, they could see the slowly setting sun at the horizon.

"...Boy?"

"...Mhm?" he answered her whisper without giving her a look.

"The director is quite colorless<!-- dulled, dull in color, weak in color-->, isn't he?"

"...Yeah."

His hair had turned completely white. His age was approximately somewhere between late thirties to mid-forties. Such white hair in this age would normally be nearly impossible, but that only applies to normal people.

It was the same for his skin. In comparison, the secretary had probably done equally or less work than he, but she was suntanned. However, ''his'' skin was pigment-poor, almost like an albino's.

"...Isn't it hot today?"

"...Well, it's already August..."

The sound of the secretary's hasting steps cut into their pointless conversation.

She put a tray on the stone bench and, along with a refreshing sound, filled their cups with tea. It could be expected that she, as a secretary, knew how to prepare delicious tea, but sadly it should be rather difficult to make full use of these skills for barley tea.

However, the served barley tea was made with fresh spring water and so chilly that the surface of their cups got fogged.

The girl emptied the cup in one go, as if this was the etiquette in this land.

However, the sight of her gulping down the tea wasn't exactly "elegant".

"Ah, right!"

The two girls turned their gazes to the boy.

"What's the matter, boy?"

"Ah, it's not like it's urgent right now, but I was thinking about replenishing our reserves if the water isn't limited."

"Ah, I see..."

Asking gazes focused on the secretary.

"Yes. I think it is fine! This well seems to take its water from a natural spring after all."

"Yay! Fresh water ahoy!"

''As the water is that clear, it shouldn't be necessary to boil it up. Mh... in that case, we ought to throw away the water from yesterday's rest area and fill in some fresh. It feels kind of like a waste since we went through the trouble of disinfecting it, but that can't be helped.''

"Alright, I'll go and fill our bottles up then."

"Eh? Wait, I'll help you."

"I'm fine, no worries. ...in return, save me some corn!"

The boy thrust his finger before her, lending weight to his words, after which the girl sat down again.

The secretary watched his back while he was getting the water, fanning himself due to the heat, with a somewhat meaningful look and muttered, "...he looks very kind. Get going and make him your boyfriend!"

The girl spat out a mouthful of barley tea. Mainly from her mouth. But wasn't there also some that came out of her nose...?

The secretary smiled wryly while stroking her back.

"Is it really something to get that startled about? Slipping out of school two by two and then starting a journey on a bike - what else other than a couple should this be?"

"W-Who knows? I mean, aren't there many different relationships between boys and girls apart from spouses, lovers and siblings?"

Her voice was hoarse because some tea had entered her wind-pipe.

"For instance, the relationship between a director and a secretary?"

The secretary giggled, but the girl averted her gaze uncomfortably.

"But you followed the director here although you aren't a couple, right?"

"Yes. Because I am his secretary."

"...so you have no special feelings for him?"

"Well... as things stand, not in particular?"

"Which means you're merely superior and employee?"

"Yes. After all, he had always addressed me using my surname or no name at all, so maybe he did not even know my full name to begin with?" she said and added a little quieter. "The truth will remain unrevealed though."

The unconcerned voice of the secretary and her amused smile were something to exceed the understanding of girl.

However, she could very much agree with the vague motive veiled in her words. The girl didn't intend to put her thoughts into words, but by looking into her eyes she also realized that secretary didn't seek her understanding anyway.

"And still you don't mind his egoism and keep helping his work on the field?"

"Yes. Because I have decided to stay."

"On this farm?"

"No. With him."

Her confident smile was very calm, yet fulfilled with a strong will.

For some reason, the girl became wholeheartedly embarrassed and felt that she was blushing up to the ears although it wasn't about herself.<!-- "After all, it was none of her business to ask something like that" WAKARANAI YO KUSO -->

Unable to endure, she averted her eyes and looked in another direction.

"...until death parts you?"

"Of course."

The girl heard a somehow triumphant voice from behind her and couldn't bear up against the impulse to scratch her head.

"......You have my support."

The secretary was a little surprised at this sudden and indirect yell, but then she replied with a beaming smile, "Thank you."

It was not an artificial smile like she used to use at work, nor was it an expression of comfort. It was the first wholehearted smile she showed them since they had met.

Just, it was a pity that neither the girl, who had her look turned away, nor the boy, who had gone to fetch their water, and not even the director, who was grilling the corn, could see it.

"Ooi! I didn't know how much we'd need, so I just made lots of them!"

They turned around towards the direction of the voice and spotted the director in question bringing a full basket of corn with him.

"D-Director! Who on earth is going to eat all that?!"

The secretary's roaring rebuke made the director wince.

"But they're still so young... I thought they would eat about this much."

"Nobody can eat this much bare corn without any side dishes! ...It seems like we have to make this our dinner...... besides, I am still young, too."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"My... there is no helping it. Please call the boy."

Contrary to their original relationship, it was the director who was scolded. He walked back the way he had just come from with a confused face.

A fragrant smell arose from the basket that had been left here in his place. Apparently, the director had kindly prepared two types of corn for them. One that was grilled with no special seasoning and another that was first dipped in soy sauce.

The two girls gulped wordlessly.

"...I just remembered another reason why I am here."

"Eh?" She turned around to the secretary who had muttered something.

The secretary continued, still gazing at the steaming corn.

"......I am bad at cooking."

"...Hah."

What could be called a light conversation was still moving on, but their gazes and concentration were fully arrested by the corn.

"...The director is very good at it. Really."

"...Seems so."

Less than a minute later, they were finally freed from the shackles of self-control and could reach out for the grilled corn.



<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>
 


"Ah... ouch, ugh..."

"That's what you get from eating without restraint! It seems like they let us spend the night here, so stay lying down for a while."

The boy smiled wryly and laid a cushion on the veranda for her as a substitute for a pillow.

The cause for her stomach-ache was, naturally, overeating.

At the moment, the two of them were in the middle of cooling down on the veranda at the back of the shop with a fan in their hands.

"Geez... Wasn't it clear that you would get a stomach-ache from that much corn?"

"B-Be quiet already..."

Even her abusive remarks were lacking power. In the end, she had eaten up a whole three cobs of corn. So it was certainly not a weak digestive system that was at fault for her stomach-ache.

Well, one must take in consideration that it was freshly reaped freshly grilled extra-big corn. Corn is said to be best directly after being reaped. He himself couldn't get enough of it, too, so she could understand her.

However, she had already eaten up four cold tomatoes at the time. It was natural that even a stomach like hers, which made the boy think it was titan-made at times, would naturally hurt with such a lot of heavy food in it.

"Dammit...! Why do they have to be that tasty when they're grilled...!"

The boy was amazed at her undue complains but kept quiet because he feared the consequences. Therefore, he decided for a little more reserved reply.

"Well, it was freshly grilled after all. It would be fraud if it wasn't tasty."

"...Word... I guess something like this suits us much better than high-class stuff like crabs and tuna."

"Indeed."

The boy agreed with a wry smile. However, he was pretty confident that the girl would take back that word the very moment when she actually saw some crab or tuna.

Incidentally, the boy had controlled himself a little and had only eaten two tomatoes and two corn cobs, which is why he was full but not in a "critical" state like the girl.

Judging only from her, it seemed true that women are hungrier than men.

By now, the heat that had tormented them during the day had gone down quite a bit. In the background one could hear the harmonic sound of wind chimes softly swaying. This melody was accompanied by the fragrance of summer - the smell of mosquito coil.

He suddenly turned his gaze to the garden. The thoroughly groomed garden was planted with some hydrangea　flowers, which season had already ended, and a bunch of the typical flowers of summer behind them.

A group of magnificent and tall-grown sunflowers reflected the evening sun with their widely-spread yellow petals as if to substitute what they symbolized.

Further down the garden he could see a plastic greenhouse, which had apparently been repaired by the director. Because it was still midsummer, there was only soil inside.

But as it seemed, they had already sown some sprouts; there were small green plants inside a row of neatly ordered planters.

"...Boy...?"

"Mhm?"

The girl suddenly addressed him with a reserved voice, but then got flustered herself.

Because they were alone and in the right mood, so she had called his name. But there was no topic.

Naturally unable to continue the debate on food, she opened and closed her mouth for a while like a goldfish.

"Um... err..."

"They're strawberries. They won't be ready for picking until next year, though. But you have to plant them already at this period."

The boy turned his head towards the sudden voice from behind.

The girl could just turn over in bed because she was lying anyway. The director showed no signs of noticing the grudge in her eyes.

"To tell the truth, I love fruit just as much as I love vegetables. Oh boy, I'm so looking forward to next year!"

It was unclear to to the boy and girl whether he loved ''raising'' them or ''eating'' them, but they didn't ask any further. It was probably both ways.

"Director, how is your stomach?"

"Please don't ask!"

The director sat down next to the boy while holding his painfully growling stomach.

Because he had made a great amount of grilled corn, the secretary had forced him to dispose of the left-overs. In other words: to eat the remaining corn.

It was obvious that after consuming such an amount of high-fiber corn, the toilet had become his best friend.

However, what had surprised him even more was the secretary. She had easily eaten up four corncobs and, on top of that, she had munched a miso-covered cucumber afterwards, calling it her dessert.

Considering the current state of the girl, he couldn't attribute it to "women have stronger stomachs than men", but people that live in the middle of this giant land might just be built differently than them metropolitans. Of course in a good sense.

"So, did you manage to get rid of the corn in the end?"

"......Sorry. I left some over."

"My, my. Well, such 'a lot' decreased to 'some', so it should be fine."

''But while I won't say you deserved it, I don't feel like helping you out, either.''

Suddenly, "Director. Please come over here for a moment." A voice came from the kitchen.

The director got up with a pathetic-sounding "Heave-ho!" and headed to the kitchen, where he eventually got out of their sight. They could only dimly hear their conversation.

"Is there still something to do?"

"No. We are mostly done."

"Eh? Why did you call me then?"

"I do not think you would understand, director."

"Hah?"

"Never mind! You talk with me here for a while. No objections allowed."

"Hah..."

"Let us begin with the weather."

"Hah?"

The boy could virtually see the bewildered face of the director.


The lying girl gave the secretary the thumbs up in her mind. ''Well done!''

She couldn't waste this extraordinary chance made possible by her.

"Boy."

"Mh~?" he replied absent-mindedly.

"I request your lap as my pillow."

"Eeh?!"

Ignoring any complaints, she crawled on the wooden veranda towards him like a caterpillar and occupied his lap with her head.

She also laid the cushion she had used as a pillow before on her stomach to prevent any worse stomach-ache.

"Shouldn't the roles normally be inverted?"

"It's fine in my case. I'm genuinely sick."

"So you call the stomach-ache of a glutton that has simply eaten too much 'sickness', huh... ou-ouch-ouch!?"

She punished his impudent remark by pinching his tight. ''Experience the proverb "Loose lips sink ships" with your very own body!''

"Geez... this is one hard pillow..."

"Please don't ask a man for the impossible!"

But even while saying so, he carefully moved her head to a place where it didn't hit against any bones. He felt a pleasant heaviness on his thighs.

There was a rather long silence between them then.

It was one of those calm moments, which they had almost never come to enjoy in their busy days of worrying about today's meal and tomorrow's fuel. No, listening to the sound of wind chimes while nestling a veranda with a filled stomach was something they had almost never experienced even in their past.

"...mnyah... this is happiness..."<!-- おちつくわ-->

"Yeah. Somehow I'm kinda sorry for making them care so much for us."

"...If you want, we can stay here for a few days? We aren't in a hurry after all, and they also said it would be fine."

"There you go again. How would you answer if I agreed?"

"I would disagree. I mean, we are on a journey. While it's okay to stay somewhere to get our provisions, I don't intend to stay somewhere just for some rest."

"Don't ask me then."

"But it would be unfair if I didn't at least hear out your opinion."

One may wonder if there was a point in doing this when the result would stay the same anyway.

"Well, I'm here to accompany you wherever you go."

"I see," the girl said as if she had comprehended everything and closed her eyes.


In fact, the boy had worked a little by helping them out on the field or by doing some housework during the time the girl had been put out of commission.

He did, however, not consider this enough for a night's board and lodging. Leaving aside the housework, the director had almost only been teaching him things about farm work, so it wasn't labor at all.

Paying with money was no option, either. In this region, where the physical distribution has pretty much been cut off, money wasn't worth much anymore. But did he have anything else other than cash that he could give them...?

When he searched his pockets for his wallet, a little book fell out of it to the ground.

It was a notebook with a green vinyl-cover - the notebook containing his student information.

He opened it and, naturally, found his picture and name on the first page.

However, his name had completely vanished from the corresponding field.


"...my picture has faded quite a lot, huh..."


The colors of this picture, in which he was scowling grimly, had changed from weak pastel into nearly monochrome.

If it went on like this, it was just a matter of time until it would become entirely white as well.

It was a few minutes later when the boy noticed that the girl was breathing calmly on his lap.



<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>



While the secretary was changing the soundly sleeping girl into her pajama, the boy prepared their beds by taking out two guest-futons from the closet, assisted by the director.

Suddenly, the boy recalled something most important.

"Director. Are there any tools for repairing a motorbike in this house?"

"A motorbike? ...Ah, right. You came here on a motorcycle. Is it broken?"

"Yes. Since five days."

The director made his eyes wide.

"...my sympathies! So, tell me, what do you need?"<!-- そりゃ、大変-->

"Since I just need to replace some parts, a few simple tools, parts, of course..., and some fresh oil should do it."

"Mhm. Let's search the storage shed. Maybe we'll find something there."

With these words the director headed to the garden, followed by the boy.



<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>



That night. The sun had completely disappeared from the sky, and the world, the little general store in the middle of the meadows was no exception, was shrouded in the veil of darkness. Since naturally there was no current, the only light source was one of those antique lanterns. Nevertheless, its warm orange light was bright enough for their eyes that had adjusted to the darkness and lit the room. Apparently, the candle used was self-made. To the boy and girl, this softly swaying but strongly shining candle seemed very unique and characteristic for 'this place'.

Because it was ''such a place'', there was no traffic noise and hurly-burly like in the city, which they were used to. Instead, one could hear the mighty mixed chorus performed by the insects of summer, which had to be an annoying sleep interference to unaccustomed people.

In the boy's case, this amount of noise was nothing special. He hadn't been traveling for three months merely for show.

However, there were situations that even the boy had trouble dealing with.

For instance when he was under immense mental pressure - like now, that the girl was sleeping on the futon right next to him.

He couldn't imagine the director doing something like this, so it probably was one of the secretary's jokes. Their two futons were placed tightly beside each other without any space between, which made it look like the scene of a wedding night.

But the secretary made a miscalculation. Surely she was expecting that he would blush like a tomato and move his futon away. Too bad, that was wrong. The boy was a healthy high schooler - such a sweet happening was rather exactly what he wished for. As long it wouldn't make the girl scorn him.

He sat down next to their luggage and started preparing for their departure tomorrow while humming a song.

Since they wouldn't be able to take vegetables with them under this scorching sun, asking for some provisions was out of question. Thus, the problem concerning the food remained unsolved, but there was no use worrying about that now. There was nothing else they could do but stuff themselves as full as possible before departing.

But naturally there were things that had changed for the better since this morning.

Namely, he had come upon a way to repair their Super Cub.

When he had gone searching the storage shed together with the director, they had found several usable parts. Even the type of the spark plug was the same, so it was easily conceivable that a Super Cub had been stored here in the past.

With those parts, it would certainly be possible to repair the bike.

"...ah."

He took their diary out of the luggage when he suddenly recalled it. Today was the girl's turn because the boy had written it yesterday. ''She's not going to wake up anyway, so I'll lay it next to her pillow.''

"Mhh? What is that book?"

The boy raised his head when someone suddenly posed such a question.

Through the crack that was left open in the sliding door, he could see the secretary with a candle in one hand. She was also carrying a towel, so probably she had just taken a bath. Her uncouth pajama in combination with her wet hair made her look sexy.

She entered the room curiously and cowered down beside the boy. He showed her a wry smile.

"It's a diary. ...or should I better call it a travel book?"

"Is it the record of your journey?"

"Yes."

"This diary sure looks splendid, huh... is it foreign-made?"

A thick cover reinforced with brass. On top of that it even got a lock. If it weren't put on a futon in a Japanese house, it would surely look exactly like a magical grimoire.

"Beats me. There was no price tag or any other label."

He cocked his head. Then he took out the key of the Super Cub, and the other key that was tied to it, and opened the seal of the book. On the page of yesterday one could see his peculiar handwriting.

"Yesterday's date... is this your writing?"

"Yes. We take turns at writing this diary, so the girl would be next today," he said with a wry smile and pointed at the soundly sleeping girl with his chin.

"Well, it seems like there is no helping it. I am sure she would get angry if we woke her up now."

"Last time I woke her up in such a situation, my punishment was a cobra twist. Next would be a roll-up I guess?"

The secretary laughed on hearing his confident answer.

"You do not have it easy either, do you."<!-- Rewrite? "You have your troubles, too, do you not?"?-->

"But it's something I took on of my own accord. Just like you, secretary."

She evaded his jab with a giggle. <!-- jab? ジャブ-->

"My, my. What an impertinent child. Rather than being pretentious, you ought to take a bath and sleep."

The secretary turned around elegantly and left the room. While watching her from behind, he put his hand to his chin. Not because he was bewitched by her smooth legs <!-- tight hips -->. No, he was pondering over something in her words that had attracted his attention.

"...Bath......"

First he looked at the sleeping girl.

"...Bath... huh..."

Then he looked in the direction of the bath.

He didn't need to ponder too long.



<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>



The next day in the early morning by the door of the store.


The two travelers were preparing for an early departure because they wanted to go while the morning sun was still low in the horizon.

"We really can't thank you enough for your kindness," the girl bowed down and so did the boy hurriedly when he saw her doing so.

The engine had been repaired early this morning by the boy and was now humming like a kitten, making it seem as though a shaky old man had rejuvenated into a sportsman in his twenties. Judging from this, the engine was in top condition.

"We're sorry for making you even spend us a breakfast after already receiving so much from you."

"No problem. It was a pleasure talking to young people once again. It is too bad that you do not stay for a little longer."

The boy smiled after seeing the secretary's cheerful smile.

"Well, but we're still on a journey."

"...I see. But feel free to visit us anytime."

"Yes. But that's going to be far in the future."

"...Come to think of it, I did not ask for your destination. Tell me, where is your journey headed?" asked the secretary.

The two of them exchanged glances and answered point-blank.


"To the end of the world!"


As expected, the secretary opened her eyes wide.

Their answer meant "heading to a place that does not exist". It meant that they did not mind never arriving at their destination. In other words, that they did not intend to ever stop their journey.


"You could use some food then, right?"

The director appeared from the glass door of the store and was carrying a giant object in his arms.

It was an unbelievably large melon with green and black stripes on its brilliant surface.

"Oh, well, maybe it's too watery to fill your stomaches, but I can guarantee this melon will taste terrific! I chose one that's going to be ripe in a few days because eating it right away would be no fun."

"Are you serious?!<!-- いいんですか --> ...this is awesome... just, how do we get it on the bike?"

The boy accepted the melon hesitatingly, but realized that it was as heavy as he had predicted. Not so heavy that it would be comparable to his own weight, but still not something to carry around easily.

"Can't you just use a net?", the girl suggested and took out a net from the bundle for their sleeping equipment, which they used to use as a hammock. Wobbly on his legs, the boy put the heavy melon down next to the bike.

"No, what I mean is where do we put it? The tandem is already occupied by you, the front is full, too, and the side bag may still be empty, but think about the balance..."

"All right, I'll go get another melon for the balance!"

The secretary slammed the director with her elbow when he made this suggestion. ''Geez, in contrast to such a high position, he never learns.''

"But surely... we could hold the balance with some water on the opposite site..."

While the boy cut off the engine and started taking off their luggage, trying out some things, the secretary secretly approached the girl.

Slightly away from the director, who was assisting the boy, their talk among women began.


"...Listen up, girl. Men are like wolves, so mark my words!"

"A... ahahaha... I'll bear in mind."

She had been told the same thing already several times since their decision to depart.

"First, never sleep in the same bed like him whatever may happen! There is a saying that teaches you not to sleep with boys after reaching the age of seven!"

"I wouldn't dream of it!"

The mouth of the girl was quickly covered.

[[Image:Tabi_ni_Deyou_P0070.jpg|thumb]]
The secretary evaded the suspicious glance of the director and put her arm around the girl.

"...furthermore, be careful not to fall asleep before him!"

"You sound like a veteran housewife," the girl countered annoyed.

The secretary grasped her shoulders.

"And girl! Should you ever fall in love with each other and have ''you-know-what'', ALWAYS USE A RUBBER!"

"Shut UP!!"

The girl thrust her away with a vengeance and the secretary landed hard on her back.


The boy, who had stolen some glances on them, cocked his head.

"They're being pretty noisy right now. Are our girls having some problem?"

"Better don't mind them. They are a kind that will remain a riddle to us men for all eternity."

"Somehow it sounds extremely persuasive and unpersuasive at the same time when you say that, director..."

"Well, that's the difference in our life experience."

A grapple fight between the two females was just about to start in front of their eyes.

Since he was worried about the girl, the boy would have actually wanted to stop them, but as history has proven, the chances of success for interfering in a quarrel between women as a man are hopeless. At best, he would get roared at by both of them and be chased away. For sure.

Anyway, while praying for a peaceful draw between them, he somehow managed to succeed in getting the melon on the Super Cub.

He turned around to the loudly arguing girls.

"I'm done with the preparations! I somehow arranged our stuff so that the water keeps the balance."

Upon hearing him out, the girl instantly changed her attitude and rushed to him.

"Shall we depart then?"

"Okay... but are you all right?"

The boy took out a handkerchief and wiped her sweat. It was too early to be sweat-soaked - they were going to drive their motorbike under the blazing sun.

While the girl was loosening her necktie due to the heat, the boy put a half-helmet on her head and turned to their hosts.

"Alright, we're off then."

He gave them a nod and approached the bike.

"If you've got enough of the journey, feel free to visit us! Just in case, the strawberries will be ripe in May!"

"Roge~r!"

He kicked up the kickstand and got on the saddle, making the loose suspension of the Super Cub sink down deeply.

After that, the girl took a seat on the tandem, so the height of their bike was quite a bit lower than usual.

"Will Cubby really be fine like this? It's not going to break in, right?"

"Who knows...? No, I'm sure there's no prob!"

It was not clear whether he sneered spiritedly or sighed distressedly, but the sound of the engine after turning the key wiped such worries away in an instant.

The boy couldn't suppress a smile when he felt the light but powerful vibration of his single cylinder.

"...it won't get broken again underway, I trust?"

"Don't worry! OK, let's get going."

"Mhm. Got it."

She fastened the chin strap and held onto his waist.

The boy made sure of her with a brief glance and looked ahead again. <!-- proper English? -->

"Let's GO!"

He opened the throttle full and drove away.

At first the bike drove zig-zag due to the heavy luggage and passengers, but this settled quickly when they became faster. The director and secretary, who were waving their hands, became smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared because of the rise and fall of the road.

While smoothly accelerating, they could at last drive their little motorbike again on this lonely road in the middle of meadows.

It was seven at morning and still summer. Bathing in the blazing light of the as usual brightly shining sun, another day of chasing after "escaping water" was about to start.




===Interlude===


"...Boy?"

The girl raised her voice a while after they had departed.

"Mhm?"

"...the director mentioned that the strawberries will be ripe in May next year, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Do you think he will remain until then?"

"...I don't know. But indeed. What will happen earlier? His 'disappearance' or the harvest of the strawberries?"

"..."

There was silence between them for a while. The girl held tightly onto him.

''Hang in there, secretary. Hang in there!''

Her yell was erased by the ventilation of the Super Cub and, maybe without reaching anyone, disappeared in the summery asphalt.



<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>



The several PS strong engine of the Super Cub kept running just fine even after the store of the director had disappeared beyond the horizon. The scenery that unfolded on both sides wasn't much different from yesterday, but this time it was rather refreshing thanks to the speed. The sun was still emitting death ray like sunlight, but the fresh wind relieved them very much.

"...by the way. Boy?"

The girl suddenly addressed him. With a cold voice at that.

"Yes. How may I help you, madam?"

"Could you tell me why I can smell the soft fragrance of soap from your body?"

The boy grew pale in an instant.

"Don't you think this is strange...? I mean, '<i>I</i>' didn't have the occasion to take a bath. Why oh why?"

"...last night... after you fell asleep... I m-mean, you'd have gotten angry if I woke you up......ugh?!"

The girl wrapped her fingers around his neck.

"I see. Do you have anything left to say?"

"W-Wait a-"

She squeezed.

"Ungh!

"You wicked DEVIL!! Do you know when I had my last bath?! It's been more than A WEEK!! Can you imagine this agony?! Oh feel the distress of a girl that couldn't wash her hairs for over a week!!"

Even while the remainder of the boy's life was slowly drained by her firm grip on his neck, the silver Super Cub continued its way on the dead straight road with a powerful sound.


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