I Hope You’re Still Alive When Tomorrow Comes - 24

Chapter 24: The Sea

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We got off the train, leaving the station and the smell of the sea immediately filled my nostrils. Right in front of us, the blue horizon stretched endlessly. 

“It’s the sea!”

Seeing it, Kiho’s excitement skyrocketed. She yelled out, which made me take a step back from shock. Fortunately, no one else was around. This was to be expected though. It was this early and we came here on weekdays too. I was the only one that was a bit surprised because Kiho suddenly yelled. 

“………So there are people who actually yell ‘sea’ when they see the sea…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Hey, come on! Let’s go to the beach!”

Kiho’s face beamed with an excited smile as she pulled my arm, practically dragging me along. She was so eager to get to the beach. As I was being pulled along with her, I couldn’t stop myself from muttering under my breath. 

“…..Do people like Yuzushima this much?”

Nanami even had gone so far as to come up with that reckless plan just to visit this place. There must be something about Yuzushima that made girls want to go here that badly. The sea was certainly beautiful and there were plenty of nice shops around, but there were a lot of similar places much closer by. We didn’t need to go to Yuzushima for that. 

While I was lost in my own thoughts…

“No. If anything, I don’t really like it.”

Kiho’s unexpected answer took me by surprise. 

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I came here for a field trip back in elementary school.”

Her reason didn’t make any sense either. 

“And? You didn’t have fun back then?”

“Yes. I didn’t have any friends back then.”

She said it so nonchalantly that I couldn’t come up with a response right away. 

“A-Ah-“

I stammered, feeling loss for words. 

“But I was healthy.”

“Huh?”

“So I had to go. I had to participate in all school events. All of them.”

I stared at Kiho incredulously, puzzled by her strange words. She stared ahead. She had an oddly calm expression on her face. 

“Ah. By the way, Tsuchiya-kun.”

While I was struggling to respond, she suddenly spoke up, as if she had just remembered something. Kiho turned to face me.

“How much money do you have now?”

“Umm…”

I recalled how much money I had in my wallet. I remembered I had checked my wallet earlier. 

“About three thousand yen or so…”

“That’s after deducting the train fare for the return trip?”

“Including that.”

“Hmm~”

Kiho fell silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Then, she slowly opened her bag. She took her walled out and carefully checked its content. After pondering for a while, she muttered. 

“Maybe going to a cafe is out of the question…. “

Kiho sighed. 

“It’s impossible.” 

I said and then I quickly added. 

“I can barely pay the train fare back.”

“Yeah. I don’t think I have enough money to cover your part too, Tsuchiya-kun. How unfortunate.”

“Yeah. Give it up. It can’t be helped. We came here without any preparation after all.”

“You’re right..”

Kiho nodded, feeling despondent.

“Oh, then…”

But then, she immediately perked up. 

“Let’s climb up the mountain.”

“The mountain?”

Ignoring my lack of enthusiasm, Kiho continued. Her voice was filled with excitement. 

“Yeah. There’s a mountain nearby called Shiranami. It’s not that high, so it’s going to be easy to climb. They said the scenery there is superb. Let’s try climbing it.”

“No way. Sounds exhausting.”

“What are you talking about? We’re still young. Besides, it’ll be fine. You can take a bus if you’re tired midway.”

Cutting off my objection, Kiho took out her smartphone from her bag. 

“I will check the bus schedule real quick!”

She said briskly and started fiddling with her phone. In the end, she found out there was a bus coming up the mountain in just 10 minutes from now. And so, we headed to the nearby bus stop. 

Even a famous tourist spot like Yuzushima looked like a normal peaceful seaside town on the weekday. There were a small girl around 5 years old and a woman who appeared to be her mother at the small bus stop. The girl was talking incessantly to her mother. Her childlike voice reached us ever so faintly. She was talking about how she promised to teach her friend, Yumi-chan, how to use the stilts. While I was listening to her endless chatter, I suddenly remembered that climbing the mountain was also part of Nanami’s itinerary to Yuzushima. 

….Someone like Nanami… There’s no way she’s able to climb the mountain. 

Soon, the small blue bus came into view. We boarded the bus. Most of the seats were empty, save for only a few local high school students inside. The mother and daughter pair from before didn’t get on this bus. We sat next to each other in the back and I noticed the small girl from earlier gazing up at us through the window. 

“Ah…”

Suddenly, a wave of éjà vu washed over me, causing me to look up. Reflecting the pouring sunlight, the sea was shimmering. It was still from sunset. The wind was blowing, the waves were still a bit strong. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I just remembered something.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been here before too. For a school trip.”

“I see. During elementary school?”

“Yeah. I came during a field trip. Oh, and also on an overnight stay when I was still in nursery school.”

Of course, Nanami didn’t come to either of those two. She couldn’t come. 

Ah… So that’s why…

Suddenly, everything clicked, like the perfect puzzle piece. I then lowered my gaze. 

The reason why Nanami insisted on going to Yuzushima… I finally understood why now and that realization made me feel lost. 

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T/N: I think I get it now. For Nanami, her sickly body is a curse. For Kiho, her healthy body is a curse.