| Short Story in English 英語による短編小説 |
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| Up in Kentucky K.Y 1 Hiroshi switches off his car in the parking lot in downtown, Gifu city. He walks into the narrow alley off the main street. Along the alley there remain some old wooden houses with well-maintained doors and windows. They seem floating up from the street lighted by the electric lights alongside. Around the houses, there are some flowerpots in which pansies and daffodils are in full bloom. When he opens the thick, sturdy door of the bar, "Hikari," the controlledsound of jazz piano comes to his ears. Beyond the dark, narrow corridor, Midori is sitting at the edge of the counter lighted by the down light. She is staring at the whiskey glass on the counter. Noticing my approach, she raises her face and smiles sadly. "I'm sorry to be late." "No, not at all." The ice-rock in her glass begins melting, He orders a bourbon whiskey, Wild Turkey. "I'm sorry to ask you to come and meet me tonight. I presume that you have been too busy to see me, but I have something I have to talk about with you, and I want to get your opinion, by all means," Midori says. "It's O.K. No problem. I am off these days, you know, it's spring holiday this and next week at my college. I am preparing to write an academic research paper these days," Hiroshi responds. She is looking into the melting ice in the whiskey glass without blinking for a while and opens her heavy mouth. "About two weeks ago, my boss at the office offered me a chance to develop my research in the United States of America. The computer company I belong to is very eager to encourage us to study how the market of computer business is going on abroad, especially in the U. S. A. in order to catch up with the most advanced level of computer business, for example, Internet and the computer graphics," she pauses. Hiroshi takes a drink of bourbon from his glass staring at the flowers of three freesias in the Grecian vase on the counter to escape from her eyes. "How many years are you going to stay in America?" "Probably, two or three years. I don't know exactly. Anyway, this is myrequest of you. Can you come along to America with me? You are teaching American literature in a Japanese college now, so, I think you have a good chance to study your major in some college or university in America, don't you?" "It is difficult to go abroad this year, I don't have enough time to get ready now. I am upset that you have asked me such an important thing so abruptly. Please give me a little time to think about it." Hiroshi empties his whiskey glass, making a grimace. "But I think it's a nice oppotunity for you to realize your dream. You always wish to brush up your English skills that is important for your computer business." After a while, Midori sighs and says. "I'm sorry to say this to you so quickly. However, I have been considering this problem every day and night for two weeks very carefully. We have been good friends for these four years after my graduation from the university. Through four years I have been trying to convey what I am really thinking: that you are the most important man to me, I mean, how much I love you as my husband of the near future, but you always tell me nothing about my feeling, just observing me, yes, just observing ..." As she is saying this, Midori flips the flower petals of freesia in the whiteGrecian vase. The freesia of shallow yellow flipped by her finger spins slightlyup two or three times in the vase and sprinkles the fragrance of early spring. Hiroshi says nothing, staring at the spinning freesia. "You always look blue and I always get lost." Midori squeezes her voice from her chest. She stands up and says, "Good bye" to him, and goes to the door along the corridor. At last, Hiroshi stands up and throws his voice at her back, "Send me E-Mail from America. I'll be waiting for it." Midori stops just a moment and waves her right hand without looking back and goes out of the bar into the dark night of early spring. 2 Delta Flight 074 takes off from Nagoya International Airport on time, going up. The ocean of Mikawa Bay comes into her eyes. White sails of some yachts are shining bright on the blue surface of the ocean. The edge of Japanese Island is now disappearing from her sight through the window of the plane. Midori suddenly feels as if she will never come back to Japan again; never see her family, friends, colleagues in her office and Hiroshi. "What's wrong? You look pale. Do you need medicine?" a stewardess asks her. "No, no problem. Coffee, please," she answers. Midori had waited for Hiroshi at Nagoya International Airport. She'd hoped that he would come and see her off there. However, she knew also very well that he would not come. The coffee is so bitter, and she feels the bitterness is very comfortable to her now. Every time the plane sways, she tenses. The airplane begins to descend the runaway of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. On the right hand side through the window there spreads a view of downtown Cincinnati, and on the left hand side, a fresh, green breast of the new world Jay Gatsby once dreamed after a long journey. However, it is still obscure to Midori whether the green light of the new world is glittering or not. 3 Rocking in the old rocking chair, Hiroshi is reading the Asahi Newspaper which tells that the Atlanta Olympic Game will start very soon. Mild sunshine of early summer is falling down over his shoulder. Blunch time on Saturday. A baroque tune of harpsichord is heard, the odor of coffee floating. The leaves of benjamin planted in the flower pot are glittering white. When his naked feet touch the marble floor of the patio, they feel cool. From the edge of the marble floor of the patio, the green lawn spreads. In a corner of the lawn there is a little flowerbed built up by bricks where daisies, north poles, ranancuruses are in full bloom, and pink poppies swaying to and fro with the breeze of early summer. Roses and lilies are going to bloom. The fragrance of jasmine and wisteria are overflowing in the air of his small secret garden surrounded by the tall brick wall. The telephone bell is ringing again. Hiroshi stands up to enter the living room and answers the telephone. "Hello." "...." "Who is this?.... Midori?" The caller hangs up ten seconds later as usual when he answers. This kind of calling has been going on these two weeks. He cannot figure out who he or she is. He wonders if it was Midori. It is just his rough assumption. He thinks that Midori is not the kind of a woman who would try a rude manner. Hiroshi comes back to the patio again and takes a look at one of white lilies in a flower bed. It leans sometimes nodding in the summer breeze like a young woman. Simultaneously, it reminds him of Midori: broad forehead and clear nose, translucent skin, mild outline of cheeks, shady eyelashes, silky black hair, and the rosy lips he sometimes kissed. He regrets that he didn*t go and see her off at Nagoya International Airport. "How could I take such a negligent attitude to her. She is gone. She is no longer on Japanese Islands." He checks his E-Mail right away in his studying room, but finds nothing. Since she left Japan three months before, he has been checking the E-Mail from her every week, but she seems to have sent no message nor a letter to him at all so far. "Please send me E-Mail just once," he talks to Midori in his memory. He realizes at last that he has no way of coming in contact with Midori from his side. He bites his lower lip. 4 "Hi, how are you doing, Midori?" "I'm fine, thank you, and you, Jake?" "Good. Will you join our party this weekend?" "Sure. I will. See you." It took three months for Midori to respond to her American friend with a smile and a vivid voice. Most American friends of boys and girls overwhelmed her by their straight and clear attitudes. She was always surprised to see that not only boys but also girls students insisted on their opinions quite clearly, brightly, and confidently without any hesitancy. She considers, "They have nothing to do with any hesitations. Where does this self-reliance and confidence come from?" but she cannot give a good answer to it. She envies their clarity. Midori has been studying computer science attending the information class and the computer graphics class at Thomas More College. To study hard what she is interested in is a great joy to her. Her friends, Catherine, Mary, Sharon, Jake, William, Matt, are very kind and hospitable to her and help her in her studies. They seem quite different from Hiroshi. She has learned a lot about people in a different culture, as well as computer science. She sometimes thinks about Japan, her family and Hiroshi. She tries to forget the things with him, but it will take some more time. Jake escorts her to the weekend party held at the college cafeteria. He behaves like a gentleman and treats her politely. American boys know very well how to please girls. Walking along the narrow path with him on the campus after the party, they come across a great number of the green lights flickering around the campus lawn. "They are fireflies, aren't they?" "Yes, they come out of the pond over there during this season every year." "We Japanese people have loved them since old ages. Their flickering lights are the signals of communication. Communication of love." "Really, that's a good story. I didn't know that." "Glimmering Betwixt life and death --- Fireflies." "What's that?" "My grand mother recited this poem many times when I was a child. We Japanese love their fleeting lives in this world." Midori looks back her brief love with Hiroshi. She has never contacted him for more than three months since she came over to America. However, she begins thinking to send E-Mail to him tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. She knows well he probably won't answer her, but she just wants to tell him that she begins to look for the green light of the new world in another country. |