Clannad Another Story:Another Story16
Chapter 16
Author: Jun Maeda
The Memories of a Town
The light of the summer sun seemed familiar, but the warmth of it was somehow different. I had been walking for nearly an hour since I got off the bus. I had the parasol I borrowed from Mama out under this cloudless sky.
"Ou seul allez-vous la fille? (Where're you headed to by yourself, miss?)"
A old man on a large tractor started talking to me.
To his side was an old women, holding onto a parasol just as I was. I was a little flustered, but I was able to speak the words I had memorized.
"Il va au gisement de lavande. (I'm headed for the lavender fields)"
The old man laughed and offered to give me a ride on the tractor.
In front of my eyes was a carpet of purple stretching all the way to the horizon.
At the foot of the mountain behind me was a village of white houses, like the kind you would expect to have seen hundreds of years ago.
It was a sight that you could only see here.
But the kindness of the people, and how they lived each day to the fullest, could be found in any town.
It all started as a conversation between Nagisa and Ushio.
"Shio, it's almost summer vacation."
"Yeah."
They were in the kitchen talking. Ushio seemed to like cooking, so she was happily helping her mother.
"Would you like to go anywhere?"
"Well... I do..."
"Then try asking Papa."
I don't remember when she started calling me Papa.
"But will he let me?"
"I'm sure he won't mind, right?"
She came in from the kitchen holding a plate to ask me that.
"Probably not. Where would you like to go, Ushio?"
"You see, Papa..."
Ushio sat down in front of me with her back straight and a serious look in her eyes. It must be a pretty serious request, but her eyes were filled with determination.
"What, you want to go overseas?"
I spoke first.
Bull's-eye; Ushio nodded to my question.
"That's amazing, Tomoya. You sure know our Shio well."
Nagisa turned around in the kitchen and said that with a smile.
"She's our daughter, so of course I would. And we have the resources to do so, as well. Where would you like to go?"
I continued asking Ushio questions.
"Do you want to go swimming in Hawaii? See the koalas in Australia? Or perhaps the Arch of Triumph in Paris?
Ushio nodded again... three times.
"Greedy, aren't you? Pick one."
"But, I want to go to all of them."
"Seriously?"
"I want to go to all of them... Hawaii, Australia, Paris. I want to travel across the world."
"Across the world!?"
I nearly dropped my cup.
"Yeah, I want to travel across the world by myself and see all the different villages."
She stared at me with her large eyes, and her hands were clutched in determination.
"But, you're still in grade school..."
"Age has nothing to do with this. I want to go."
She said this with force in her voice. She must have gotten this stubbornness from her mother.
Neither of us spoke, and the room fell into silence.
Even so, if neither of us speaks, I can't understand her reasons.
"... Why across the world? What made you want to do that?"
"I've always wanted to visit all the different towns and meet the people that live there."
"But you've already been to a lot of different towns, and seen a lot of places."
"Yeah, but I want to go all over the world. I saw some towns on TV. There was one on a small town in Europe. Everyone living there looked so happy."
Ushio's eyes were tinged with excitement.
"When I learned about the world outside of our town in class, I was so excited. I wanted to know more, so I read some books at the library. And after that, I wanted to go out and see these villages and meet and talk to these people myself."
Ushio looked lost in thought, as though she was remembering the scenes from the TV or the lines from the books she read.
Now that I think about it, Ushio was always bothering me to teach her difficult words that even I didn't know. It must have been for the books she was reading about the towns and their cultures.
I didn't like the idea, but at the same time, I was surprised.
I had thought that Ushio was still a child who didn't know about the world, but she had gone this far to deepen her own knowledge.
But...
"Still, this is a bit too sudden..."
Way too sudden, in my opinion.
"I'm used to traveling alone."
"Going overseas is a lot different."
"Even so, I have faith in my ability to adapt."
I believe we brought up Ushio well.
As though to be able to do the things Nagisa was never able to do, we raised her to be a strong girl.
She was always the leading part in the culture festivals, and would be the one to act out the fights and scuffles.
I remembered what the old man, Nagisa's dad, once said.
Our dream is the same as our daughter's.
I wonder if this is how it is for Nagisa now.
If Ushio can fulfil her own wish, will she be happy from that?
It seemed so Nagisa-like; so modest, yet brave.
"I can go, right, Papa?"
That small, full-of-energy version of Nagisa was clinging to my legs.
"What do you think, Nagisa?"
I turned towards the kitchen and asked her that.
"I want to let her do whatever makes her happy."
It was a foolish question.
The train shook as it climbed the mountain trail.
This place was famous, so a lot of people seemed to be visiting now.
The people there were still as friendly as ever, and I had many people talk to me.
I couldn't understand much of what they said. And before I knew it, I had a can of coconut juice in my hands.
I took a sip. It was sweet, but very tasty.
"E tasty muito! (It's very good!)"
I don't know if I said that correctly, but everyone looked liked they were pleased.
We arrived after about 30 minutes. There were clouds below us.
I could see the ocean in the distance, and the skyscraper that had seemed so large earlier now looked so very small.
Behind me was a tall stone statue with its arms spread out. It looked as if it was encouraging me.
When we visited the Furukawa household during the weekend, I took the chance to ask Nagisa's parents about Ushio's trip.
"As expected of my grandchild. The scale is on a different level altogether."
He didn't seem to be trying to stop her at all.
"Don't be so irresponsible!"
We were in the living room. Ushio was sitting on Akio's lap while he was brushing her hair.
The fact that every time we come here they happen to take these particular positions was quite vexing.
"Come on, Akki, keep at it!"
"A grade schooler that's traveled all across the world? That's a great thing right there. I don't have the kind of courage to do that. That's amazing, Ushio. You'll make it big-time when you grow up! Compared to that, you dad is just a measly worm!"
Now that's just mean.
"You don't want this poor excuse of a father as your dad. So, you can be our child, okay? Alright, from today on, you're Ushio Furukawa!"
"That's right, if you don't let me go, I'll be Akki's daughter instead."
"Dammit. Double-teaming me..."
"Please forgive him, Tomoya."
To the side was Sanae, apologizing for the old man's evil tricks.
"And there's a good side to it for you guys, as well. You two haven't been alone together in quite a while, have you?"
"Huh? What do you mean...?"
Next to me, Nagisa had her head down in embarrassment.
"... You don't need to know."
I didn't really get what they were talking about.
"What, has your husband already gone dry?"
"Ah, well, no..."
This is where I should have stopped her. I would regret letting her continue.
"We make time for that kind of stuff... you know... perverted things..."
Nagisa's bombshell announcement part... er, what part were we on, anyway? I don't remember...
It was then that I noticed. I was being sucked into the Furukawa household's pace (it used to be the triangle of fools, but it's been upgraded to a square of fools now).
"I'm just worried about her."
I quickly diverted the conversation back to the problem at hand.
"I've heard that a lot of Japanese people get their stuff stolen while on trips. It's too dangerous, I say."
"You bastard, don't look down on my granddaughter... We've trained her well."
Well, she was brought up by the old man from a young age. Since then, she's always been more fit than other kids of her age. She's never lost a track match in the sports competitions. She's been placed as the anchor for a 5 man team and managed to come from behind and win it for them. The memory was still fresh in our minds.
I fully understood how strong she was.
But, on the other hand, curled up on the old man's lap like that, she was just as cute as any of the other girls her age...
I have no idea where I was going with this.
I had no other option than to ask for more time to think about it.
"So, did you come up with an answer, Tomoya?"
On the dining table was some shredded squid and tsukudani. In his hand was some sake.
It was just about to become midnight.
Nagisa, Ushio, and Sanae were sleeping together in the other room.
When we were up for it, me and the old man would sit together and have a drink like this.
"For what?"
"About Ushio's trip. Don't tell me you already forgot."
"Don't worry, I've been thinking about it. Isn't that why you wanted to talk to me?"
"Well, props for not forgetting about it."
"Of course. It's an important matter."
I took a sip from my cup. The gradually spreading warmth felt good.
"I understand that you're worried. I've been a parent as well."
The old man poured some more sake into my cup.
"But... I get the feeling she's doing this because of something else."
"Such as what?"
"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew..."
For a while, the old man quit talking and started eating some of the squid.
"It's like... she's... inherited Nagisa's fate, maybe..."
He said it quietly, as if just remembering it himself.
"Nagisa's... fate?"
"We've talked about this before, dumbass. When she was young, she almost lost her life... When she woke up in that field with nothing in it..."
"Yeah..."
"And then, the same kind of thing happened to Ushio. As though she had been spirited away, she disappeared... to the same place... though there was a hospital there now... There she slept."
That time was all a blur to me; I can't really remember what happened. But, I know that I had thought I had lost Ushio for good.
"......."
My mouth became parched. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol.
"I get the feeling her trip now might have something to do with that."
No, that can't be.
"Hey, old man... We've grown up in this town, and we love it... Even Nagisa has said so."
"Yeah, that's true."
"Then, why does she have to go and forsake this town?"
"Forsake?"
"Am I wrong?"
"Yeah. If you're trying to say that Ushio should have a close connection with this town, then this trip...."
The old man stopped there for a moment, and downed his cup in one gulp. After taking a breather, he continued on.
"won't affect her love for this town. You could say this is a journey into adulthood."
The rays of the just-risen sun still felt pleasant.
I tied her shoelaces and adjusted her hat.
On her back was a fairly large backpack.
Tied to the keyholder were 4 good-luck charms.
"It is unfortunate that Tomoya can't come along with us to see you off."
"I can't help it. I have work."
I still have work today, so I can't go and see her off at the airport.
So Nagisa, Sanae, and the old man would see her off without me.
"If you're all done, then let's get going."
Standing next to the doorway smoking a cigarette, the old man tried hurrying us up.
"No, first I have to warn her about a few things. Make sure to look out for cars. Don't go with strange people. Also..."
"You're being paranoid."
The old man stopped me.
"Man, you sure worry a lot."
I know I worry too much, and yet, I can't stop myself.
"She'll be alright. She's your kid, after all."
"... Is that so... Well, I suppose..."
I picked up Ushio and her luggage, and headed out to the entrance hall.
"You've sure grown."
"Yeah, I'm 4 centimeters taller than I was last year."
She told me that with a smile on her face.
And suddenly, I saw something wavering in the air.
It was like snow... no, it was a light.
It was dancing in the air.
As though to give its blessing to the journey of this child.
And at the same time, I remembered the old man's words.
... this trip won't affect her love for this town. You could say this is a journey into adulthood.
Ah, so that's what he meant
I was finally able to grasp that concept.
The act of maturing is to meet many other people, and to part with them, as well.
It's the same with towns.
She'll be visiting many different towns, and will part with each one of them.
That's how both she and the towns will mature during this journey.
I could understand the light's feelings as well.
It was looking forward to meeting all of these different people and towns as well.
"What's the matter?"
Nagisa asked me that, probably because she thought I was acting strange.
"The light..."
I said that and started to point towards it, but it had already disappeared.
"No, it's nothing."
"It's about time to go."
Slapping me on the back, the old man left first.
"Yeah."
I tried to let Ushio down, but she grabbed and held onto my neck instead.
"Sorry, Papa."
She whispered that into my ear.
"No, it's fine."
"I love you, Papa."
"I love you too, Ushio."
Ushio gave me a peck on the cheek.
Finally letting go of me, she got down and stood up.
"See you later, Papa."
She said that looking over her shoulder.
"Be careful out there."
"Yeah. I'll be off then!"
Ushio headed off.
Filled with the expectations, and the memories, of a town.
