Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 31 Chapter 12

March 〇 (Monday)

Today, I met with s.h.i.+mako-san and Yos.h.i.+no-san in the Rose Mansion, and we made presents for White Day.

We spent a bit of time thinking about what to make, but once we started work things went smoothly and we left to go home surprisingly early. Everyone was really pleased with what we'd done.

On the way home, I posted an air-mail letter to Kanina s.h.i.+zuka-sama using the mailbox at the north entrance of the train station. I wonder how long it will take to get to Italy.

After separating from s.h.i.+mako-san at the M-station ticket gate, I took about three steps before I called out, "Ah, no."

My voice was unexpectedly loud, and I quickly looked around in a bit of a panic. It was the time of day when people were commuting home from school or work, so there were a lot of pedestrians around but, luckily, my voice didn't appear to have stood out amongst the chattering, sounds of footsteps, and other noises surrounding me.

Careful, careful. Just a little bit further and I'd turn into a "crazy person who talks to themselves even when no-one else is around."

Oops, if I get sidetracked with that I'll forget what I was supposed to be doing again.

The letter to s.h.i.+zuka-sama that I was supposed to put in the postbox near the north entrance was still in my possession. I hadn't mailed it yet, even though I'd written it in the diary.

I turned around to go back, but then thought better of it and decided to head towards the south entrance. Either the north or south would do. Thinking about it, the diary didn't form any kind of binding contract. After all, I'd written, "things went smoothly" and "we left to go home surprisingly early" and it's hard to tell if that's what actually happened. Well, since I was directly involved in that completely subjective measure, and that's what I wrote because that's what I thought, then that's how it must have been.

Still, it was mildly amusing to write something in a diary, and then to have the outcome comply with your prediction. The reason nothing outlandish happened, like meeting an alien, or picking up a briefcase with one hundred million yen inside, was because it wasn't written about in the diary. So it was fun to think that the diary was as close to reality as possible. But the bits where it differed were also interesting.

And that's how I found myself standing in front of the red postbox at the south entrance. Just before posting it, I made one last check.

Stamp, check. Recipient's address, check. Air-mail mark, check. The seal was glued shut. Everything was in order.

Having completed the checklist, I held the letter to the silver mouth of the postbox. In my mind I wished it a safe voyage, then gave it a gentle nudge.

The topic of the letter was my pet.i.t soeur. When I met s.h.i.+zuka-sama during our school trip, I promised that I'd give her a full report once I'd acknowledged a pet.i.t soeur. She'd been kept waiting for quite some time, but at long last I was finally able to post such a letter.

When I turned around, pleased with a job well done, I found a young women dressed in black standing before me.

"I thought that was you, Yumi-san."

I knew that face.

I was stumped on who it was for just a moment, but then the circuit in my memory snapped in to place and I called out, in a much louder voice than before.

"Ooowaaaaah!"

This time, my voice was loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Because, to me, the person standing there was as outlandish as an alien.

"Wh - What is it, Yumi-san?"

Even the person I was pointing at had been lured into raising their voice.

"But, but."

I looked back and forth from that person to the mailbox, over and over.

"I'm allowed to be in j.a.pan, aren't I? After all, it's my home country."

The person who laughed as she said that was Kanina s.h.i.+zuka-sama, in the flesh. Who I'd just sent a letter to.

"Don't tell me you read my letter and came flying back?"

Such a coincidence, but an unbelievable conclusion. So, for starters, I tapped s.h.i.+zuka-sama lightly on the arm. Yep, her arm provided the proper tactile feedback. It didn't appear as though she were an apparition.

"Letter? To me? Sorry, I haven't read it. It probably hadn't arrived by the time I left."

" &h.e.l.lip; I suppose not."

I'd only just dropped it in the postbox. For it to have already arrived would have been magic. Plus, it would mean that s.h.i.+zuka-sama knew how to teleport herself. That would be the only way to get from Italy to j.a.pan instantaneously.

"There's been some misfortune in my family, so I've temporarily returned to j.a.pan."

"Ah, my - "

condolences, was what I was about to say, but s.h.i.+zuka-sama waved it away, saying, "It's fine, it's fine."

"My great-grandmother on my father's side was 101 years old. It was a peaceful death."

That probably explained why s.h.i.+zuka-sama was dressed in black. They were her mourning clothes.

"Do you want to go somewhere? Well, that's what I'd like to ask, but this is the train station near school, and the cafe's kinda ordinary. Plus, you're in your school uniform."

"Sorry."

"Well then, how about I get you a can of coffee?"

s.h.i.+zuka-sama pointed at a convenience store. I agreed, and followed her over.

"Here you go, Yumi-san."

As she held out the warm cafe au lait, s.h.i.+zuka-sama asked, "And what do good little girls say at times like this?" I bowed my head, said, "Thank-you very much," and accepted the offered drink. This time around, I managed to avoid s.h.i.+zuka-sama saying I was being improper.

We leaned against the station building's external wall and slowly sipped our cafe au laits, while calmly watching the buses and taxis proceed through the roundabout in front of us.

"The school I go to is usually strict about being absent or late, but my teacher is a bit of a j.a.panophile. "If it's an important funeral, then go home," they said, and gave me a week's vacation. In return, they asked me to bring back a lucky coin. Apparently they'd heard about some custom of handing out 5 yen coins as a longevity charm."

Two years ago, s.h.i.+zuka-sama had been a student at Lillian's Girls Academy, but she moved to Italy to study singing. When I met her at the leaning tower of Pisa, she said she was studying for exams, but it looked like she was in school now.

"The funeral was today, and I plan on going home tomorrow, so I hadn't contacted anyone. But despite that, I just happened to run into you, Yumi-san. At first, I couldn't believe it."

s.h.i.+zuka-sama said that all her relatives had gathered at her great-grandmother's house, which was in the neighborhood, and that her parents were still there. She'd left, alone, so that she could return to her parent's house and do some more preparation for tomorrow. But then she'd unexpectedly caught sight of me.

"Ah -, s.h.i.+mako-san was here until just recently."

I realized, finally pinning down something that had been nagging away at me for a while. Unlike Yos.h.i.+no-san, who had gone her separate way at the school gate, s.h.i.+mako-san had been with me up until the train station, so if things had gone perfectly then they could have met.

"It's okay, I've sent her a letter."

"Oh."

That's right, s.h.i.+zuka-sama and s.h.i.+mako-san were penfriends.

"Oh, right, what about your letter? Why on earth were you writing to me?"

"Umm - "

I couldn't answer that, I'd sooner reach into the mailbox and pull out the letter I'd just sent.

"Well, it's - "

I was stopped mid-sentence.

"It's okay. I can tell you don't want to talk about it. And if you answer, it'll spoil the fun of getting home and reading your letter."

"I suppose so."

Although, it's far more likely that s.h.i.+zuka-sama would arrive home before the letter.

"Then I won't ask you the other questions I'd prepared either. Since it would be bad if they were related to the letter's contents."

"I see."

Those questions were probably regarding a pet.i.t soeur. Therefore, obviously, that's what must have been written about in the letter. You're sharp, s.h.i.+zuka-sama.

"It's almost time for the high-school graduation ceremony, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

I agreed with her statement.

"If I hadn't gone to Italy, then I'd be part of that ceremony with Sachiko-san, Rei-san, and everyone else, so my feelings on it are complicated. But since I'm only one person, no matter how much I desire it, I can only walk one path."

Her feelings may be complicated, but she didn't seem to be in two minds about it. She'd freed herself from that a long time ago. Since about a year ago, when she'd announced her candidacy in the student council elections.

My thoughts about my onee-sama's graduation were complicated too.

In my head, I knew that we couldn't stay in the same place forever, and that this was the start of my onee-sama's new journey, so I should be happy.

But, what, I wonder. When the day of the ceremony comes, how will I be? Maybe I'll break down in tears in front of everyone, just like my onee-sama one year earlier.

Feeling someone's eyes on me, I looked up and saw s.h.i.+zuka-sama staring at me.

"It's okay to cry, but make sure you smile when you see off - "

Her lips moved to say 'Sachiko-san,' but her voice was drowned out by a car's horn.

"So that she can have peace of mind as she starts her new journey."

"Yes."

I couldn't ask how she knew this. Although given how expressive my face is, it was probably plainly obvious what I was thinking.

After draining her bottled cafe au lait, s.h.i.+zuka-sama solemnly murmured.

"In a way, today was my great-grandmother's graduation ceremony."

After that, she cheerfully waved goodbye, then made her way up the stairs to the train station.

I smiled until she'd disappeared from sight.

Just in case she happened to suddenly turn around.