Adachi to Shimamura - Volume 8 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Journey Back

"The sound an airplane makes, it really gives me the feeling that I'm being taken somewhere else", Shimamura said to me as we walked through the airport. "I feel as if I've turned into luggage myself whenever I hear it." 
This statement of hers was followed by her moving her hand through the air mimicking an airplane—an airplane that seemed like it was going to crash soon judging by its trajectory. 
"Hmm... I guess so." 
As was the case with most things in this world, I'd never really given it that much thought. 
What was this sound she was referring to? What did it sound like to be taken somewhere else? I couldn't really put my finger on it. Maybe it was because I had never been turned into luggage before. 
"Do you like it?" 
"Hardly. It makes my ears hurt", she stated nonchalantly. This was a common occurrence with Shimamura: She'd bring up a topic sounding all excited, only for it to end like this. She was kind of an airhead like that, I found. That said, it was often the case that this side of her would get the better of me. 
We were now walking quite a bit faster than we had during our first visit here. Excuses of various sorts—whether it be the fact that there had still been plenty of time left till checkout, or that the hotel was close by, or that it'd be a while since we came here next—had combined to put us utterly behind schedule. Perhaps we should have gone to see the world-famous crab sign yesterday. Perhaps. That said, I was sure that the experience had been unique in some ways because we'd chosen to do it precisely today and not some other day, and because of that, I was glad that we'd done it the way we had. 
Or at least, that was what Shimamura had kept on repeating. 
Our holiday had come to an end, and it was now time to head back home. All that remained was getting on the airplane that would take us there. 
Looking at Shimamura, it was clear that she was finding this all to be a massive pain. She'd packed so much luggage, but in the end, she had used barely any of it. I guess it made sense why it'd annoy her having to drag the heavy suitcase around. Adding to this, she was also just very bad in general when it came to finishing things. 
It was part of her character to avoid doing that as best as she could. 
"......" 
As for me, I wanted to forever remain in a position where I could witness those attempts of hers. 
I'd had a lot of fun this trip. 
When you boiled it all down, that was the core of it. I'd had fun because Shimamura was there by my side. 
It'd take forever were I to list out all the individual things I'd enjoyed doing. There were just so many of them. 
For so long, I had dreamed about us going somewhere faraway with just the two of us, and now, those dreams had at last come true. However, unlike a dream, the memory of them was sure to not fade away. I'd not let it. 
Not enough time had yet passed for me to look back on these events and talk about them. Would that eventually happen? Would I one day find myself reminiscing about what had occurred? Almost certainly. When I raised my head, when I looked at the souvenirs we'd bought, before I went to bed, I would think of the time we'd spent together. I'd obtained not only memories for time to come, but also something far beyond that. 
"Ah, wait. Just a second." 
We were definitely in a bit of a hurry here, yet Shimamura didn't seem to recognize that. For example, just now, she'd spotted a small boutique and decided to drop by it. I joined her to have a look, and as we walked around the shelves, a very strongly flavoured odour of chocolate hit my nose. I had to say, I quite liked it. Shimamura seemed to like it too, and as if having remembered something she'd forgotten, she ended up buying an entire box. 
"As much as I'd like to get her famous regional jam buns or something, those are obviously not a thing", I could hear her mutter. It was there that I figured she was buying the chocolate as a souvenir for someone—someone who I knew. I couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. 
Shimamura really did act awfully friendly towards that strange creature. Moreover, the friendliness she showed her appeared very much different in form compared to how she acted towards me—or towards anyone else for that matter. I'd be lying if I said there hadn't been a time in my life when I really didn't appreciate that. 
Even now, some of those feelings still remained with me. 
"Hey, Shimamura." 
"What?" 
I called her to a halt before she could leave the boutique. 
"I want a souvenir too." 
"Err..." 
Her eyes opened wide, forming circles resembling the shape of a full moon. 
"You and me, we are here right now." 
"Yes." 
The tone in which I said that kinda made it sound like I was reading out loud the lyrics of a song or something. 
"Sorry, Adachi, but it's just hard to tell what you're talking about." 
Excuse me, she added in English. So, she did know how to speak it after all. I'd honestly been under the impression that she'd forgotten everything she'd studied the moment we stepped on board the airplane. 
Kinda late for it, I felt. 
"What's the word here? Memento? Something like that?" 
"Hmm..." 

A look of confusion remained on Shimamura's face. And yet, it didn't stop her from taking a step forward. 
"Let's see", she mumbled to herself while taking a look at the shelf. Approximately five seconds later, she had found something "cute enough" and picked it up. She ran to the counter, bought the thing, and then ran back to me. "Here you go. Your souvenir." 
What she'd chosen was a yellow teacup. A teacup, huh? 
As was to be expected given that she'd just bought the object, the price sticker still remained attached on its bottom side. 
"Why this?" 
"Because you're pretty apathetic towards food." 
"Well, that is true..." 
"Exactly." 
Exactly what? How did any of this link back to the teacup? I was still as clueless as I'd been at first. 
"The real question is, why is the souvenir section filled with these things?" 
"Who knows. Maybe they just produce way too many of them and have to shove them somewhere." 
"Here? Overseas?" 
Don't think so, she added in the form of shaking her finger in front of her. Why did she look so confident? What did she know about other countries? 
Feeling quite dubious, I picked the teacup up and held it against the distant light. 
Would anyone believe me if I told them this thing was as souvenir from overseas? 
"Hmm... Well, anyway", I mumbled to myself, my vision painted in a yellowish tint. 
It really didn't matter. Shimamura had given this cup to me, and as such, whether it came from a different country or from the local supermarket was all the same. 
I could be selfish at times, very much so, and yet, Shimamura would always respond to me with a smile. 
It was as true today as it had been the day when we met; that smile of hers truly was the shining beacon of my life. 

"It's kinda weird. I didn't want to leave so soon, but now that the day has come, I feel almost relieved", Shimamura stated, having now settled in her seat inside the airplane. 
I more or less got what she was talking about. There was definitely a part of me that felt the same way. 
However, unlike Shimamura, I only had our apartment to come home to. 
I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel the slightest bit jealous of her. 
The plane soon took off as scheduled. While in the air, I went ahead and recalled Shimamura's words from earlier. 
I focused my ears on the sound the airplane made to see if I could manage to find it relaxing the same way she did. 
Hmm, no, didn't work. To me, the noise only came off as being annoying and nothing else. 
Even so, I did close my eyes and pretend like I'd been turned into luggage. 
The image of Shimamura carrying me over her shoulder appeared in my mind. Before I knew it, my thoughts had travelled somewhere else entirely. 

Entering the country turned out to be quite a similar process to leaving it. Once that was done with, the time came for us to leave the airport behind. 
The wave of exhaustion that rushed over me as we did so really went to show just how long we'd spent away. 
"Hey, Shimamura." 
A wave of warm air—so distinctively different compared to what it'd been like there—brushed against the tip of my nose. 
What would come next after we got back home was putting away all of our luggage. While it wasn't exactly enjoyable in its own right, I was sure that the fun we'd had overseas would help me get through it. How long would that last? That I didn't know. However, if my supply of those feelings were to eventually run out, then the answer as to what I ought to do was clear. 
"Let's go there again one day", I said to Shimamura while taking one last look at the airport over my shoulder. Next to me, I could see her do the same. 
"Once we've saved up enough money, sure." 
"Right." 
My fluffy dreams were met by the cold touch of reality. 
At some point, we'd both found ourselves able to equally provide for the other. 
We really did make for a good pair. That was what I thought. 
And so, they'd gone by, my ten years with Shimamura.