A Story About a Girl Who Took Life for Granted and Fell in Love With a Kind and Introverted Boy - Chapter 25

The play was reaching its climax.

“Campanella, it’s just the two of us again, isn’t it?”

“…Yes, it is, Giovanni.”

Giovanni, played by me, and Campanella, played by Kana-san, faced each other, sitting in chairs.

This was the climax we had rehearsed countless times. As I hid the sweat in my hands by clenching them tightly, we continued our lines.

“Hey, Campanella. Let’s keep going together, wherever this takes us.”

“……………”

“We’ll go on and on, searching for everyone’s true happiness together. Right, Campanella?”

“……………”

“…? Campanella?”

But here, the flow of our dialogue suddenly stopped. Out of nowhere, Kana-san stopped replying.

Her head was down, and she had a troubled expression on her face, as if she was weighed down by something.

(Did she… did she forget her lines?)

I hesitated, unsure of what to do. Should I whisper her line to her or try something else? Anything would be better than letting the scene freeze. I needed to do something.

“……………”

I glanced briefly at the audience. Hundreds of students and teachers stared at us.

Unable to handle the tension, I shifted my focus back to Kana-san.

My heart thudded in my chest, the sound almost echoing within me.

(Maybe I should try calling her…)

In a small voice, barely audible to the audience, I called her name.

“…Kana-san?”

“!”

She looked up, startled, meeting my gaze.

Her face looked pained, her brows furrowed.

“…Ah, Giovanni…”

Kana-san, with trembling lips, spoke Campanella’s line.

“We’ll be together… forever.”

“……………”

Something felt off. Kana-san was acting strangely.

Could she be feeling unwell?

Maybe she had a stomachache, or perhaps she was running a fever. If so, we should wrap up quickly and get her to the health office.

“Look, Giovanni.”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t that field beautiful? I’m sure that’s the real heaven.”

“……………”

Kana-san’s eyes seemed to glisten as if tears were about to spill over. Her gaze was filled with a kind of sorrow that made me uneasy.

What was wrong? Was she truly okay? Could she be sick?

Or was this part of her unique approach to portraying Campanella?

After all, this was the scene where Campanella lies to Giovanni. He tells him they’ll be together forever, even though they can’t be. Maybe her expression conveyed the guilt and sadness of that lie.

…No, I couldn’t tell.

“W-Where? Campanella, I don’t see any fields.”

I had no choice but to keep the play moving forward.

I didn’t understand what Kana-san was feeling, but I didn’t want to ruin the play. We had all worked so hard, rehearsing together over and over.

“There… that’s my mother.”

“Where? I don’t see anyone, Campanella.”

“…Giovanni.”

“Huh?”

“Goodbye.”

With that, she said her farewell, a single tear slipping down her cheek as she looked at me.

“……………”

Of course, that line was in the script. This was one of the modified parts. In the original story, Campanella disappears suddenly, without saying goodbye. For our play, we chose to make it more dramatic.

After Campanella says “goodbye,” she would then leave the stage.

“……………”

I felt my heart squeeze painfully.

Why was Kana-san crying?

Why did that single word, “goodbye,” hurt me so much?

Those tears didn’t look like acting.

“Kana-sa…”

I almost called her name but stopped myself.

I swallowed hard, then rephrased, “Campanella?”

…Tatan, tatan, tatan, tatan…

The sound of a train began to play, gradually growing louder.

“Campanella, why did you say goodbye?”

“……………”

Tatan, tatan, tatan, tatan…

“No… Campanella. We’re supposed to be together forever, aren’t we? You said so yourself!”

“……………”

Tatan, tatan, tatan, tatan…

The lights suddenly went out, plunging the stage into darkness. Then they flickered back on and off, over and over.

Tatan, tatan! tatan, tatan!

“Hey…! Say something, Campanella! Promise me you won’t leave!”

Tatan, tatan! tatan, tatan!

With a trembling voice, Campanella replied firmly.

“Goodbye, Giovanni.”

SCREEEEEECH!!

With a loud screech of brakes, all the lights went off, leaving complete darkness.

The lights came back on, illuminating the stage. I was lying on the floor, and I sat up with a start, looking around.

“The train…? Where’s Campanella?”

I stood and looked at myself. Giovanni now understood that the Galactic Railroad had been just a dream.

“So, it was a dream. I’ve been asleep here on this hill the whole time.”

I sighed, calming myself.

“I should go home. Mother must be worried.”

I walked slowly toward home. Normally, there would be a scene where Giovanni gets milk for his mother, but it was cut for time.

“Giovanni! Something terrible happened!”

I happened to meet a classmate, who told me about Campanella.

“Campanella went into the river!”

“Into the river?”

“He jumped in to save Zanelli, who had fallen in! He swam to rescue him, but now Campanella… Campanella’s nowhere to be found!”

“No…! Campanella!”

Overwhelmed by his friend’s plight, Giovanni started running.

Near the river where Campanella had disappeared, a crowd had gathered.

Among them was Campanella’s father, who stood with a sad, pained expression.

Glancing at his watch, he looked like he was holding back various emotions and said,

“It’s been 45 minutes since Campanella fell in… there’s no hope.”

“……”

“… Oh, you’re Giovanni, aren’t you?”

Campanella’s father noticed me nearby.

“Giovanni, has your father already come home?”

“… No.”

“How odd. Just two days ago, I received a letter saying he was well. I thought he would be here by now… maybe the ship’s delayed.”

“……”

“Giovanni, please, come to our home with everyone after school tomorrow.”

“……”

“Thank you for being Campanella’s friend.”

With that, he quietly walked away.

Left alone, I raised my head and gazed into the distance, preparing for the final scene.

“Campanella… I know where you’ve gone. Not down to the bottom of this river. It’s beyond the galaxy, far away, isn’t it?”

I placed a hand on my chest, clutching my shirt tightly.

The light from the spotlight above the audience shone directly at me. It looked like a single star glowing in the night sky.

“We were always together, weren’t we? Riding on that train…”

I stopped there, unable to continue my lines.

Something in my chest felt warm, making it hard to open my mouth and speak.

“……”

For some reason, it was incredibly difficult to say these lines.

I didn’t understand why. It just hurt so much.

“… We traveled so far together.”

As I finally managed to say the last line, tears I had tried to hold back began to flow uncontrollably.

Droplets of my tears fell onto the polished stage floor.

‘Look! The sea is shining! It’s lit up by my fireworks!’

‘Hey, Kenji, come over here! Let’s make the sea shine together!’

Yes, Kana. You lit fireworks with me, didn’t you?

I rarely had experiences like that, messing around with someone, making noise. I was usually alone reading books, thinking that someone like me, tucked away in a corner, would just be laughed at if I joined in on the fun… so I stayed by myself.

That’s why it felt so overwhelming, so incredibly joyous, to feel how much fun it was to be with someone. I felt like, with Kana, I could go anywhere and be excited.

“……”

When I found out Kana’s confession was a lie, it was unbearable.

It’s ugly, but I really hated her for it.

There were times when I even wished she’d go through something terrible. That she’d get hurt just like I was.

But now, what fills my heart is an endless sense of loss.

Campanella and Kana are blending together, and it feels as if I’ve truly lost someone precious.

‘We’ll always be together.’

The words from Campanella resurface in my mind.

“……”

…Kana.

Kana.

I… I…

I still love you.

If you would allow it, I want to be with you again.

I want to go to many places, to see so many scenes with you.

“……”

Unable to say my lines properly, I just stood there, trembling.

‘No matter how close you are to someone, you can never truly know what they feel, not 100%.’

‘But that’s okay, Kenji.’

‘It doesn’t matter what you or Yuriko think of me. The love I have for you both… that’s my own truth.’

My father’s words from when I last saw him fill my entire being.

Yes, it’s true. No one can ever completely understand another person’s feelings. No matter how long you’re together, you can’t know everything.

The truth of anyone’s heart, what’s real or not, can’t ever be fully known.

Kana lied back then.

And she might still be lying now.

Maybe she never truly liked me at all, and I was nothing more than a plaything in a stupid game.

Even if I asked her over and over for the truth, she might keep evading me with lies.

Maybe she’d keep deceiving me, again and again.

“……”

Clenching my teeth, I looked up.

… Still, it doesn’t matter!

Even if it’s all lies!! I don’t care!!

No matter how much I think about it, I’ll never fully understand another person’s feelings!!

That means I can never know if it’s real or not!!

Then I don’t have to be bound by such illusions!!

I don’t need to be afraid of a phantom that can never be certain!!

I just need to trust in the one, absolute truth in this world…!! The truth that I love Kana…!!

Lie to me as many times as you want!!

Betray me as many times as you want!!

Even so, I… I love you!!

“Haa… haa…”

My body heated up with excitement, my breathing grew heavy.

Nails dug into my clenched fist.

‘I want to be like Campanella.’

…Kana. If you ended up like Campanella, if you died… I would be so, so incredibly sad…

I don’t want you to disappear…! I want you to stay healthy…!

I want you to be happy, forever!!

And now… now, I finally understand…!! This play has made me realize it…!!

“…Ah, I…”

My tearful voice echoed through the gymnasium.

“Like that scorpion, if I could bring happiness to everyone, I wouldn’t mind burning myself a hundred times over.”

In that moment, I forgot I was on stage, being watched by an audience.

In that moment, I was undeniably Giovanni… and undeniably Kenji Saito.

“Campanella… I will, no matter what, no matter how far…”

“I will go with you.”