The Love of My Childhood Friend, Who Has Overcome a Terminally Ill Diagnosis, Is Overwhelming
With a heavy heart, I couldn’t concentrate at all during the afternoon class.
Usually, when I can’t focus in class, time seems to drag on slower than usual… but for some reason today, it felt like time flew by faster than ever.
After school, the classroom was still bustling with noise, just after the brief homeroom session had ended.
A crowd of classmates had gathered around Kanade.
It was a scene that had become familiar in just the few days since she transferred here.
“Kanade”
Up until now, I had never once thought to push through that crowd to speak to Kanade, but today was the exception.
“Let’s go.”
“……Okay.”
I had made plans with Kanade to go out after school today.
Leaving our classmates behind in silence, we quickly made our way out of school.
The way to school.
We slipped past a few students and headed toward the station at a faster pace than usual.
“……”
During that time, there was no conversation between us.
Since we’d reunited, we’d never once walked together in silence.
Today felt like a day full of first-time experiences.
“We made it.”
Just as we passed through the ticket gates, we jumped onto the arriving train, and I let out a sigh of relief.
“A-kun… So, where are we going today?”
“…I’ll explain once we get there.”
Even on the train, there was no conversation between us.
I killed time during the ride by catching snippets of conversations between students and office workers.
As the train slowed down, I suddenly stood up.
“Time to transfer.”
We switched to the subway, and then rode the train for a while longer.
Perhaps because we’d been riding for so long, Kanade had fallen asleep with her head resting on my shoulder.
……The passenger demographic had changed quite a bit from the train we boarded at the station nearest our school.
The passengers on the train at the station nearest our school were mainly office workers and students—people likely using the train for commuting or going to school…
But on the train we’re riding now, there are quite a few foreigners carrying suitcases.
“…Kanade, we’re almost there.”
“Mm.”
I woke Kanade up, and we got off the train.
The station we got off at was… an underground station with a fairly spacious layout. While many passengers were getting off here, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that virtually no one was boarding.
“This place is…”
“The airport station.”
The place I’d brought Kanade to today was the international airport located within Tokyo.
And this was also the place where I once saw Kanade off as she set out for a trip overseas.
“…Shall we go through the ticket gates?”
I led Kanade out of the station.
We walked through the underground passageway, took the escalator, and headed for the observation deck.
This was also the place where I once saw Kanade off as she took flight into the sky.
“…Want something to drink?”
“Yeah.”
We went to the vending machines.
Then, I bought Kanade a cold tea.
Since the outdoor observation deck is right next to the runway, you can see all kinds of planes, big and small.
“…Akkun. Do you come here often?”
Kanade asked me as we sat down on a bench.
“Why?”
“……I don’t know how to put it, but it doesn’t feel like your first time here.”
“……Haha. You’ve got me figured out.”
I laughed and continued.
“Yeah. I come here often.”
……Normally, this place would be a painful reminder of my farewell with Kanade.
But in a way, it’s precisely because of that that I started coming here all the time.
“…… Because this is where we parted ways. As a kid, I thought that if I came here, maybe—just maybe—I’d run into you by chance.”
Fortunately, it’s only about an hour by train from my house.
If I spent my entire monthly allowance, I could come here five times a month.
So, even though my parents had forbidden me from going on long trips alone, I’d sneak out on weekends when they weren’t looking and come here on my own.
And as I kept coming here over and over again… before I knew it, I’d grown to love airplanes, and I started coming here as a hobby.
“…Well, in the end, I never actually managed to meet you here again, though.”
I gave a wry smile.
In the end, the fact that we were able to meet again… was all thanks to Kanade’s efforts.
As expected, my own efforts didn’t do her any good at all… they just spun their wheels, and rarely led to any real results.
“…Do you know why I brought you here?”
Kanade looked completely clueless.
“…This place where we parted ways—at first, it was a place of bad memories, a place I couldn’t bring myself to approach, but now it’s become a place of solace for me.”
An airplane entering the runway began to roar.
“Airplanes bigger than me, carrying so many people, take off into the sky. Where are the people on those planes going? What are they going to do? I’ve come to enjoy letting my mind wander to such thoughts.”
The roaring plane accelerated rapidly… and soared into the sky.
…Once upon a time, I used to think of planes taking off into the sky as one-way tickets to heaven.
But that was a mistake.
I realized that mistake because I came here.
And thanks to her, who is sitting next to me now.
“…It’s ridiculous to say I’m suffering because of you.”
I smiled.
“You’ve given me so many things.”
Kanade said nothing.
“Of course, there were bad things as well as good ones.”
The next plane taxied down the runway.
“…But even the bad things you gave me ultimately became the foundation that nurtured my rebellious spirit.”
The plane began to roar…
“…So, A-kun…”
“What?”
“Why do you… always look so miserable?”
“…It’s a mistake from the very beginning.”
“……Huh?”
“Life, you know. Isn’t it just one thing after another?”
The plane took off into the sky.
“Things don’t go the way you want them to, tragedies happen, and it’s nothing but suffering that goes unrewarded.”
“……”
“I’m just fed up with it every single day. Well, I try not to let it show on my face… but it seems you saw right through me.”
“……Yeah.”
“……Honestly, when you’re alive, nothing but painful things happen. Sad things, too.”
“……”
“But there are just as many happy things, too.”
……A plane landed on a runway a short distance away.
“The thing that made me happy was, none other than…… seeing you again.”
A roar echoed from the runway……
Maiasa