Souta woke up to the rays of the evening sun shining brightly into his eyes. He pulled the curtains to the train window to cover his face from the bright light.
Unghh...How long was I asleep for?
The man sitting opposite to him had left, hopping off on some earlier station. He felt relieved, being able to look around a bit more now. Quickly glancing around, he saw that most of the carriage was already empty.
It took him some more time to fully wake up, his body still craving more rest. After silencing these reasonable inner desires, Souta started to make sense of the situation. Looking outside, he could barely make out a familiar mountain range in the distance. At least he hoped so, for it was sometimes hard to make a distinction between clouds in the horizon and the woody mountainsides.
His suspicions were however soon proved correct by the train's announcement system.
"Next Stop, Tsukimori Valley"
These words sounded familiar to him
Faint memories of a childhood trip to a bigger town by train danced around in his mind, but they disappeared as quickly as they came. He didn't even have time to grasp if his memories had colors in them
shit
His mood dampened by the sudden invasion of memories from a better time, Souta started to gather his things. He slid the earbuds to his pocket, instantly regretting his decision.
The next time I pull those out I'll have to fight with the tangled wire.
He grabbed his shirt and backpack from the train's roof track and walked to the doors, making sure to keep his head down.
I wonder how things will go this time. He wondered to himself while the train started to slow down. Surely I can survive a few days with my parents without having to look at them.Oh..and the festival..I need to think up an excuse to avoid it this time again…
The summer moon festival. A commemoration of the moon, held every year in Tsukimori. The whole village comes together for a traditional night of festivities: food, song and dance, fireworks and a grand worship ritual to end the evening.
Souta hadn't been part of the festivities for years, for he had started to hate crowded places more than anything after his vision of the world started to change. Every year he'd think up an excuse. Sometimes he was sick, sometimes busy with school.
Maybe this year I'm old enough to just say that I don't want to go… he mumbled to himself as the train came to a halt and the carriage doors opened.
***
The village was located in a valley surrounded by mountains, with a small train track passing through. The train did not however stop there often, only once or twice a week.
He stepped down from the carriage and looked around a bit.
The station was in reality just a small, partially cracked concrete slab, with a few benches and a timetable. Still, it felt more like home than anything for the past few months.
"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be the son of Mr. and Mrs. Aokawa?"
Souta froze in place
"It totally is you! Souta right? I haven't seen you since you were little. Are you here to participate in the festival too? That's so nice of you! Oh but you should cut that hair, I can barely see your face, almost didn't recognize you."
The man was now standing in front of him, bowing down to his height.
Please don't look please don't look please don't-
But it was too late. The man, with a swift move of his hand brushed Souta's hair to the side.
"Well haven't you grown older! Almost looking like a real man now!"
But he couldn't get a word out. Staring at him was a face so horrid it almost made him fall on his back. The man's eyelids had been shown shut by what looked like red thread, constantly twitching as he spoke. His nose had somehow caved into the skull, and when he spoke Souta could see the man had four rows of teeth instead of two. Though every skin was grey for Souta, this one had some darker spots all over, almost like a sickness was spreading throughout the face.
"Heyy do you hear me? Souta?"
He couldn't get his eyes off the man's face.
"You alright? Need some water?"
"I uh.. yes.. I'm..going to the festival… my parents are waiting I should really get going"
How did I even get those words out
Souta hastily turned around, shook his head a bit to let his hair down and almost sprinted out of the station to the familiar dirt road that led to the village. There was still some sunlight left, but not for long as the mountains rose high above the horizon. His head still in a daze from the encounter, he hurried on until the station was nowhere to be seen. Only then could he get a few deep breaths in
Thankfully he knew the path pretty well, as he had often watched the trains pass by as a child with his friends. His body was doing the walking on his own as his head was reeling with thoughts
Who was that man? Some friend of my parents probably…his voice didn't sound familiar though. Why would he just walk up to me like that?
Not really my luckiest day huh
On both sides of the road were rice fields, adorned with small ditches for irrigation. A decently sizable river ran through the valley, so the land was good for farming. Further behind he saw a few run down houses, with lights shining from the windows. He also thought he saw two people riding bicycles, but it could also have been his imagination. After a few minutes, he came across an old wooden bridge.
I can't believe that bridge is still standing after all this time..I thought many years ago that it would collapse from all the rotten wood..well better this way anyhow. Less work for the people.
With weary steps he walked onto the bridge, wood creaking under him. Slowly, watching his steps he walked on, step by step. The old planks bent, but didn't break.
I should probably rest for a few days, something seems to be going on with my head
Exhausted from sprinting away from the station., he decided to stop for a bit to rest against the railing. There seemed to be no one around, and the river brought with it a bit of cool air. On a whim, Souta decided to look over the railing into the dark, murky water rushing beneath him.
"AAHH"
Without realizing, he had jumped back a few steps. For the dark waters were not as empty as he had expected
Gathering himself, he slowly walked back up and peeked over the railing once more. There, in the murky stream a face was looking back at him, with a calm emotion on his face. A normal face, not distorted, not mutilated, nor was it missing parts. Just a gentle smile, and eyes full of life.
For once Shouta knew exactly who he was looking at.
It was himself.
Well it was himself, but not the current him. After examining the reflection for a while, he concluded that it must be himself around the age of 10.
What am I even witnessing..that's clearly me in the water..like a reflection, but it's not mirroring my moves it's just…there.
"Hey, can you hear me?" Souta asked, half hoping that the figure wouldn't answer.
But the image stayed silent, only smiling.
Well of course it can't hear me. It's a reflection in the water, what am I even thinking….
Once again he peeked over the railing to take a closer look, but the image had disappeared.
I don't know if a few days of rest will fix this, something seems to be seriously wrong with my head
Eventually he managed to convince himself that the image was just a figment of his imagination, a hallucination formed by the stress he had to endure that day. It made him feel a bit easier about the whole thing.
But a new emotion had slowly been forming in the back of his mind. Not fear, nor doubt about what he had just witnessed.
Sadness.
A sense of longing for something long lost
Nostalgia.
As the last rays of the sun lit the path forward, one last thought came to Souta's mind
It's not so bad seeing a normal face once in a while, even if only in my head.