Yasutaka Tsutsui - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Kazuko stood up and took a good look at Kazuo’s face, that lovely face that she would surely never see again.

“Are you going now… right now?” she asked.

Kazuo nodded solemnly.

“Can you just tell me one thing?” said Kazuko, her voice cracking. “Are you never going to return to this time? Are you never going to appear in front of me again?”

“I will probably come again. Some day…” said Kazuo as he picked up the radio-like device from the desk and pushed in the antenna.

“But when will that be?”

“I don’t know when. Probably when I finish my research, when I succeed in making the potion.”

Hearing noises from the road outside, Kazuko realized that time was moving once more.

“So will you come back to see me?” She pleaded again.

Already, Kazuo was starting to fade before her eyes, and she had to struggle to keep him in sight. She watched as a white steam enveloped Kazuo and a strong scent of lavender filled the air.

“I will come to see you, Kazuko,” he said, rapidly fading. “Not as Kazuo Fukamachi, but as someone completely new to you.”

“I’ll know,” said Kazuko, struggling to hold on to her consciousness. “I’ll know who you are.”

Then everything around her went black, and all her strength left her body. And in that brief moment before her body hit the floor, she heard a distant voice.

“Goodbye, Kazuko. Goodbye.”

“Come on Kazuko, let’s go,” came Goro’s booming voice as he walked into the science lab. “I’ve got your bag here!”

“Kazuko! ”he shrieked, seeing her lying motionless on the floor. Immediately, he ran over to her and tried to lift her. But she was too heavy for him to lift by himself.

“What should I do!” He said to himself as his eyes welled up with tears. “Maybe you’re just exhausted, Kazuko! This lab is far too big for the two of us to clean!” And with that, he got up and ran to the staff room for help.

When he got there, he was relieved to see Mr Fuku-shima sitting there reading, and together they went to the science lab and carried Kazuko back to the nurse’s room, where they laid her on the bed and waited for her to wake up.

“Oh. What happened?” she said, with a groggy voice.

“You fainted in the science lab…” said Goro.

Kazuko strained to remember what she was doing in the science lab. But all she could remember was that she’d gone there to put away the brooms.

“Were you the only ones cleaning the science lab?” asked Mr Fukushima.

“That’s right,” said Goro, puffing out his chest. “Just the two of us cleaning that big room. Me and Kazuko and… That’s probably why she fainted, from fatigue.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Mr Fukushima, sincerely. “I will increase the number of students on the task from tomorrow.”

Now that Kazuo had returned to the future, he no longer existed in the hearts of the people of the present. His memory had vanished entirely from the minds of Mr Fukushima, Goro and Kazuko. But more than that, there was simply no Kazuo Fukamachi in this world — with no seat for him in the classroom, nobody noticing his absence, and no reason for anyone to think that anything strange had happened. And when three days had passed, there was also no fire at Goro’s house, nobody was late for school, and no truck came careering through the red light at the intersection. Kazuo had seen to it that none of those bad things would happen before he departed for the future and peaceful days returned to Kazuko’s life. But every day, on her way home from school, she would pass by a small, nice-looking western-style house where a lovely middle-aged couple lived. Every day, she would pass by the greenhouse next to the house and every day she would enjoy the sweet lavender smell that came from within.

I remember this scent, she would think to herself. So sweet, so nostalgic. I smelt this somewhere before. But where?

She could see the name Fukamachi on a shiny name-plate by the door of the house, but it was a name that meant nothing to Kazuko. And at that moment, in her heart, she began to dream of meeting someone. Someone special who would one day walk into her life. Someone she would instantly feel she had known for years. Someone who would feel the same about her.

Masako was in the same class as Bunichi Morimoto again. They’d been in the same classes all the way through primary school, but had been placed in different ones the previous year, when they started secondary school. Bunichi had grown quite a lot in that past year, and now Masako only came up to his shoulders, so sometimes felt a little awkward standing next to him. But they were good friends who always spent their breaks working on their homework together. Their classmates teased them about this, but they didn’t let it bother them.

One day, towards the end of summer, Masako was packing her books into her bag when Bunichi came up to her and asked, “Are you going to volleyball practice today?”

“No, I’m going home. I have way too much homework.”

“We can go home together then, if you like,” said Bunichi. “But won’t your team-mates be upset that you skipped practice?”

“They won’t mind. I’m too short to get much time on the court anyway, so I think it’s okay to slack off a little from time to time.”

And with that, the two of them walked out of the school gates side by side and onto the street, to where the sycamore leaves were already turning yellow and a cool breeze danced around them.

“Bunichi?” said Masako in the tone she reserved for asking favours. “Do you think you could help me with today’s math homework?”

“Yeah, sure. Why don’t you come over to my house?”

“No way!” cried out Masako, surprising even herself.

It simply wasn’t like her to react that way.

“There’s no need to shout. I mean, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

“I’m sorry,” said Masako, feeling bad. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“You’re a strange one sometimes, Masako.”

As they carried on walking, Masako wondered why she’d shouted like that. Was it that she really didn’t want to go to Bunichi’s house? There wasn’t any reason for her to feel that way after all. So instead she searched her mind for an explanation and started to think of Bunichi’s young and pretty mother, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.

“I just… didn’t want to disturb your mother,” offered Masako.

“Oh, is that what you were worried about? That’s so not like you!” said Bunichi, laughing. There wasn’t much you could do to dampen Bunichi’s spirits, and that was one of the things Masako liked about him.

“All right then,” said Masako, “I guess I could stop by just for a little bit.”

“Great!”

When they arrived, Bunichi’s mother seemed a little surprised to see Masako.

“Why, Masako, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I haven’t seen you since your primary-school graduation ceremony!”

“Yes, it has been a while,” said Masako, doing her best to sound older than she was.

“You’re so tanned, and you haven’t grown one bit!”

“Hey! I’m kind of self-conscious about my height, you know!” said Masako in a sulky tone.

Bunichi’s mother laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that Bunichi has grown so much this past year, so it’s a little funny to see you haven’t changed at all.”

“Come on, let’s go up to my room,” said Bunichi impatiently.

As Masako followed Bunichi to his room, his mother called out from behind them. “And try not to faint this time, Masako!”