Volume 1 Chapter 4 (2/2)
I wouldn't call it beautiful At best, it was a very plain shell Thicker than the others, it was a drab grey color I stopped ru around in the sand and reached for it
Froers ht have been because its color, reminiscent of Nameless's hair Or perhaps it was its thickness that reminded me of his clothes……Unable to explain this sensation, I picked up the plain-looking shell
I passed the shell to Naaunt face His hand treone
”I've accomplished what I came for Now, I must return to the ocean……”
He gripped htly with his free hand as he said this
We both knew that was i able to move his body? At the sao anywhere I hoped he would stay here together withhis battered body merely as an excuse
But I saw cold conviction in his eyes He pointed to the high rock that I had juo
”The air here on land is too heavy foras I can return to water, I think I'll be alright”
He's really going, leaving , even his melancholy shtly, but he said nothing He only squeezed my hand in return
I had no right to call hi to leave; nor could I ask him to stay After all, the ocean was his hoed this as a fact
I heeded his request, lifting up his body gently He was even lighter than I had expected Despite having such a frail body, he had sotten soaked by the rain…and even challenged a fishi+ng boat
It was su sonition and unable toof rock, unable to believe I was actually doing this The terrible height made me dizzy as I looked down at the ocean fro board
I understood as uy what it looked like to throw someone who seemed human into the ocean like this But I wanted to believe-in a dolphin called Na he'd told me
”Nameless”
Hearing the solely from within my arms
Werethat Na me? I prayed that it was
”I'll see you again next year”
I'll never forget you
Nameless s words
I'ain next year, in wait of the stars I'll be sitting at his side, drinking sake as I listen to his tales We will ain, next summer, here
I felt o limp On the way down to the ocean far below, Nameless's se spray of water before he coht
Nameless's body never returned to the surface of the water
The group of dolphins gathered there once the water calmed down, as if they had come to welcome their friend back They swaed into the ocean, then called out in unison with their high-pitched whistles Their snouts were raised high, as if in the hope that their calls would reach me up here
(Do you really believe the dolphins are your friends?)
I consider you a friend An irreplaceable, dear friend That will never change, even if you leave me and return to the sea Nor will I lament your decision, because I know you would never want me to do so Instead, I will do whatever I can to help you
Then, all at once, the dolphins began to stir It seeotten uncolared out at the boats and took a step towards the end of the rock platform
(I-we-are alive thanks to you)
Even now, years later, after I had long forgottenfor the stars with the dolphins, become an adult, and taken on many responsibilities, I made the saed even the slightest bit Naht wistfully about our past Next time we meet I'll be sure to ask him
The group of boats was now so close that individual people could be made out upon them
”Aaggghhh!!!”
I screa every last ounce of air, towards the boats which had ht the fisherht, the dark sea sprawling below, and the knowledge that Nameless had disappeared at that very spot
Since I' to risk my life like this, Nameless, you'd better make it out of this alive yourself Wait for me, here, next summer
I took a deep breath, jued into the ocean below
I don't remember what happened that day From what I was told, apparently I had screamed and jumped into the ocean But I have nolike that When I was pulled out fro of terrible loss and was sobbing violently, unable to answer any of the fisherman's questions
It was al very precious in the water But I didn't have any idea what that ht be
When -suer position for that project had, predictably, been filled This probably should have bothered ely, I didn’t care one bit The fear of losing my place in the world also vanished after that suan with, which steone away coan on the day of the meteor shower continued to deeply haunt me
I was etting so Desperate to discover what, on a sue event, I took a vacation once ly-and returned to visit that same beach
Crystal clear waves silently washed against the shell-scattered beach I kicked off my shoes and socks, and dipped my feet into the cold shallow area, as if I’d been invited in
Each subtlewith a tiny splash When I realized it, I ishi+ng an to feel there was sohter welled up in me
In the distance, the evening sun left a faint afterglow as it gradually sank The darkening twilight sky re I saw once at an art exhibition that a coworker had taken me to
In the painting, a pillar of light shi+ned down into the ocean where a group of dolphins swa hi how the dolphins were surrounded by bubbles that looked like glass balls So like that
Coe experience upon that beach-when I began to feel an attraction to all things azed up at the sky where the first signs of stars were appearing, forgetting to roll upwet sleeves
Just then, I heard a noise
”Achoo!”
A sneeze?
When I turned around in surprise, there it was
The su for me, just as it had back then
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