Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou:Volume 1 Prologue

On that day six years ago, I was walking downhill along the slopes of Kita-Kamakura, stumbling my way through the narrow alley by the railway.

My white shirt was soaked in sweat, causing it to stick tightly against my back. The irritating cries of cicadas rang endlessly by my ears. Hydrangeas could be seen everywhere, but before they had withered, it was already summer, following the end to the rainy season.

For the locals who did not enjoy surfing, summer was not a season for them to be happy about. Though the beaches of Yuigahama and Enoshima were already opened to the public, the middle and high-school students here did not really like to play and swim on the beaches around here — because of the large number of tourists as well as the strange dirty color found in the waters during the rising tide.

I was a second-year high-school student of the prefectural high school located halfway up a mountain. It was a Sunday, but I was in school to retrieve a textbook which I had forgotten there. I had just left the school and was about to make my way home. Since I had missed the bus that only passed once every hour, I was forced to make my way to the JR station despite the fact that I travel to and from the school by bus. Kamakura was surrounded by mountains and the roads here were narrow. There were just places where the transportation network was incredibly inconvenient.

I could see the platform of Kita-Kamakura Station to my right. The platform was really long, and combined with the fact that the ticket gates were located at only one of the extremities, it resulted in the need to take a long walk before you could get into the station.

And to my left were rows of old buildings. The trees planted in the courtyards of the various families were huge, resulting in lush greenery.

Not many people might know this, or perhaps they would not really take note even if they did…but there was a second-hand bookstore located on this alley.

This wooden building, which has been around for many years, did not even put up the name of their store. The only thing they did was to place an old signboard that rotates to the wind at the entrance of their store, and on it were the words "Acquisition of old books and providing honest valuation" inscribed in a flamboyant handwriting. The signboard couldn't really rotate much though due to its rust.

Just as I was about to pass by the bookstore whose name I did not know of......

Something unexpected happened. The timber-framed sliding door rattled open, and a young woman stepped out of the door.

She was wearing a set of plain clothes — a white sleeveless blouse with a long blue skirt. Her long hair was braided and wound up behind her neck. Her pale skin complimented her shiny black eyes, making them look even brighter. Beneath her straight nose was a pair of thin lips.

She should be slightly older than me. She looked different from anyone whom I knew, and was a beautiful girl who would cause passers-by to stop and take a second look. Even so, she did not seem to be the type of beauty difficult to approach. Her lips were pursed like a small bird's, and she was emitting a strange, hoarse sound.

"Su— Susu— Su—"

It took me a while to realize that she was whistling. She might actually be a klutz.

She pulled out a small cart from the old wooden building. It seemed like she was an employee of the second-hand bookstore getting ready for its opening.

Her attention was focused on pushing the cart to its destined area. She did not look at me even once, who was standing motionlessly by the side, through the corner of her eyes. On the cart was a wooden plank with the words "A hundred yen for each" written sloppily on it. The cart was probably used to display books that were on sale.

Just as she was about to head back into the store, she suddenly set her eyes on the signboard and gave a soft "Eh?" She gave the metal plate a push, and it began to spin with a creaking sound. It stopped when the back of the "Acquisition of old books, providing honest valuation" side was facing the street.

Biblia Antique Books

I thought for a moment and realized…that it should be the name of the store! So it's not a nameless store after all. She walked back into the store with a springy step, and all these while she did not realize my existence.

Who is she?

The store should be run by a middle-aged man with greyish hair all by himself. Did he hire a college student?

I could not help but to make my way to the Biblia Antique Books and peek through the glass panel of the sliding door into the dimly-lit store. Facing the bookshelves was a counter filled with books. I saw the girl through the valleys of the mountain of books.

It looked just as though she was buried within the books. She was reading a very large book, and those round eyes behind her glasses were wide opened and sparkling with brilliance — I could see that clearly even from the place I was. There were times where she smiled, others where she nodded her head hard; she was never still.

She really loves reading.

That was probably what you mean by losing yourself. Her actions might look a little strange, but that was the first time I saw someone whose expressions were that lively while being engrossed in a book. I was incredibly envious. What was she reading? What was so interesting about its contents?

I placed my hand on the sliding door, but pulled it away and gave up in the end. What was the point of asking her those questions? Reading was something that has little to do with me…the reason being the 'constitution' of my body. I left the entrance of the bookstore in a depressed mood and slowly made my way towards the station.

Her silhouette, which I saw in the dim bookstore, has been burned deep into my memory like a painting. As I made my way past the ticketing gates and onto the platform, there were several times where I wanted to turn around and go back to that store so that I could chat with that girl. That did not happen.

And just like that, I took the Yokosuka line to get back home.

I did not find it strange that I let the chance slip past me without even doing anything. Only an exceptionally talented person could grab hold and fully utilize the opportunity encountered. An ordinary person would most likely pass by it quietly — and since I was an ordinary person, what I did was to take the ordinary course of action.

But even up till now, there will be times when I think to myself — what would happen if I enter the store and familiarize myself with her? Perhaps my life would take a different turn if I did that.

Whatever, such presumptions were pointless. There would be of no end to things if I continued to dwell on it any longer.

Aside from the stories written in them, the second-hand books that circulate among the hands of people do have their very own story as well. I am quoting this from someone else, but I do find it to be true. Just, if I can add something to that, it will be that not all 'stories' are beautiful. There are some ugly contents that will cause one to turn his head away — just like everything else that exists in this world.

My name is Daisuke Goura, and I'm twenty-three this year. The old books that are related to me are none other than those from The Complete Works of Sōseki.

Well then, let me begin with this story.

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