A Story About a Girl Who Took Life for Granted and Fell in Love With a Kind and Introverted Boy - Chapter 16

“Ah, you really do have a fever.”

The school nurse said this while looking at my thermometer. Then she said, “Make sure to stay hydrated,” and handed me a bottle of sports drink from the refrigerator.

I thanked her in a hoarse voice and took a sip from the bottle.

“Let’s lie down on the bed for a while.”

“Okay…”

I put the half-finished sports drink on the desk and, while staggering, slowly lay on my back on the bed.

Even the ceiling above me looked fuzzy; my mind felt clouded as if I were dazed from the fever.

“If it still feels tough after a while, you can leave early.”

“Thank you…”

In my hazy consciousness, I succumbed to the drowsiness and closed my eyes.

How much time had passed? When I naturally woke up, I felt my mind was clearer than before sleeping.

(That’s good…I think I’m feeling a little better.)

While I felt relieved that my body was returning, I also felt a bit disappointed that I could have left early to go home.

“Are you okay now?”

The school nurse noticed I was awake and asked.

“Yes, I think I’m okay.”

“That’s great! What do you want to do? It will soon be lunch break.”

“Then I will return to class.”

“Understood. Take care.”

The nurse handed me my half-finished sports drink. I thanked her again and left the nurse’s office.

Keen-kōn, kān-kōn.

On my way to the classroom, the bell rang to signal the start of lunch break.

At the same time, teachers and students came out of various classrooms, and the surroundings became lively.

“Oh, Saito-kun.”

At that moment, I passed by the health committee girl who first tried to carry me to the nurse’s office, Yanagihara-san.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

“Thank you, Yanagihara-san. I’m fine now.”

“That’s good!”

Yanagihara-san said this with a bright smile. But then, she suddenly changed the subject, saying, “Oh, by the way…”

“It’s a bit awkward to ask here, but are you and Tashiro-san…dating?”

“Huh?”

“Well, Tashiro-san was calling you by your first name, and it seemed like you were close, so it became a bit of a topic in class.”

…

“Are you okay? Kenji?”

Ah…I see. That might have been the case. She was indeed calling me by my first name. I now call her “Tashiro-san,” but she still calls me by my first name as before.

…

Seeing me go silent, Yanagihara-san seemed to realize something and said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up?”

“I shouldn’t have asked something strange when you’re not feeling well.”

“No…it’s fine. By the way, I’m not dating Kana-san.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, so it was just a misunderstanding.”

…

“I’m sorry for asking so suddenly. Well then, see you, Saito-kun.”

“Yeah.”

We parted again.

(…The rumor about Kana-san.)

If possible, I don’t want that rumor to spread. It’s tough for me to be questioned about it when I’m still healing from the wounds.

I want to be left alone and not have to talk about it yet.

…But while thinking that, I also find a part of me wanting that rumor to spread a little.

That is, the feeling of pride that I was Kana-san’s partner.

“I had a wonderful person named Kana-san as my girlfriend!” I want to brag about that to those around me, even if the relationship was ultimately a lie.

…

I looked at my right hand, which had held Kana-san’s fingers earlier.

I still felt a lingering warmth from her fingertips.

…

“Um, today, we want to decide the roles for the play that our second-year class will perform at the cultural festival.”

After lunch break, during the next class, a boy from the cultural festival committee stood in front of the blackboard and spoke to the classmates.

Our class would perform a play at this year’s cultural festival. And the title was “Night on the Galactic Railroad.”

I wondered why such a classic literary work was chosen. It turned out there was a live-action drama based on “Night on the Galactic Railroad” that was currently popular, so everyone wanted to do it.

I understand manga, anime, and novels well, but I had no idea about dramas, so I didn’t know that was trending.

“First, we need to decide the actors, as well as those responsible for BGM, lighting, costumes, and so on. Let’s decide on the actors first. Um, the characters are Giovanni and Campanella…”

The cultural festival committee member wrote the characters’ names on the blackboard.

My classmates looked at the list of characters on the blackboard and each expressed which role they wanted.

“Me! I want to be Campanella!”

“Hey? You’re more like the bully, Zanelli!”

“I want to play the tutor!”

“Then I’ll be the sister of the tutor’s student!”

I watched them happily volunteering for roles from a distance, feeling a bit envious.

Actually, I have loved this story since I was young and have reread it many times. When I read it in elementary school, I even thought about becoming a novelist.

(I would like to try for the role of Giovanni if I could…But my classmates would be surprised. “What’s with him, trying to take the lead?” I can’t help it; I should stay behind the scenes.)

I have always been really bad at standing in front of people, and as an introverted person, trying to stand out would be completely out of character. The roles of Giovanni and Campanella would likely go to the popular students in class.

(…Night on the Galactic Railroad.)

This story is about Giovanni, a bullied boy, who rides the Galactic Railroad with his best friend, Campanella.

They meet various people and part ways in different ways along the journey. Ultimately, even Campanella leaves Giovanni behind and gets off the train.

Before long, Giovanni finds himself on a quiet hill. The Galactic Railroad was a dream he had.

In reality, Campanella had died trying to save his friend, Zanelli. And Zanelli was the boy who bullied Giovanni.

…It’s a very sad story despite its beautiful world.

(When I was a child, I found this strange world fascinating, but…reading it again now might give me a different impression.)

“What is true happiness?”

This phrase appears many times in the story and feels like it resonates with me more than when I read it as a child.

…

I suddenly looked up and gazed at Kana-san’s back.

I silently stared at her silhouette, unable to see her face.

…

I don’t know what happiness is.

No matter how painful things are, if they are events that happen on the right path, then both the uphill and downhill climbs are all steps closer to true happiness.

Ah, that’s right.

To reach the greatest happiness, all the various sadnesses are all just part of the journey.

──Kenji Miyazawa: Author

Excerpt from “Night on the Galactic Railroad.”