R11:CO1 01.txt

目覚めはゆるやかに訪れた。%K%P
I slowly opened my eyes.

見覚えのない天井……。洗いざらしの枕の香り……。%K%P
An unfamiliar ceiling.... the scent of a freshly-washed pillowcase....

何もかもがいつもとは違っていた。%K%P
Everything around me seemed different from the norm.

それは今までに経験したことのない奇妙な違和感だった。%K%P
It was a bizarre feeling like I had never experienced before. A feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn't quite tell what.

ここはどこだろう……？%K%P
Where am I...?

首をめぐらしてあたりを探る。%K%P
I turned my head and looked around.

どうやらここは、部屋らしい。%K%P
Some sort of room...

私はベッドに寝ているらしい。%K%P
A bed beneath my body.

それ以上のことは何もわからなかった。%K%P
That's about all I could figure out. Everything else remained a mystery to me.

思い切って身体を起こしてみる。%K%P
I gathered all my strength and tried to get up from the bed I was lying on.

こころ「うっ！」%K%P
Uu!

こころ「くぅぅぅぅぅぅぅぅっ！」%K%P
Kuuuuuuu!

全身をつらぬくように激痛が駆け抜けた。%K%P
Intense pain immediately shot through my body.

どこが痛いのかなんてわからない。%K%P
I couldn't even understand where this pain was coming from.

身体中の関節という関節、筋肉、内臓、ありとあらゆる箇所が危機的な悲鳴をあげていた。%K%P
Every joint in my body, my muscles, my insides... all of them were crying out in excruciating pain.

私はベッドの上で身悶えた。%K%P
I writhed in agony.

女「どうしたの！？　ちゃんと寝てなきゃダメじゃない！」%K%P
What's wrong?! You should be lying still!

扉が開き、ひとりの女性が駆け寄ってくる。%K%P
The door opened and a woman rushed into the room.

彼女は床にひざまずくと、私の身体を優しくベッドに横たえた。%K%P
She knelt down and gently helped me back into bed.

こころ「あ、あなたは……？」%K%P
You, you are...?

女「覚えてないの？」%K%P
You... don't remember?

私は痛みをこらえながら、彼女の顔立ちを確かめた。%K%P
Enduring the pain coursing through my body, I took a closer look at the woman's face.

こころ「ごめんなさい……」%K%P
I'm sorry...

こころ「どこかで……お会いしましたっけ？」%K%P
Have we... met before?

彼女はひっそりと眉根を寄せて、困惑の色を浮かべる。%K%P
She frowned as a confused look appeared on her face.

女「弱ったわね……」%K%P
Oh dear...

女「記憶喪失かしら？」%K%P
I wonder if it's amnesia?

こころ「記憶、喪失？」%K%P
...Amnesia?

女「ほんとに何も覚えてないの？　私のことや、この施設のこと……」%K%P
So you really don't remember anything? About me, or this facility...

私は改めて彼女の姿をまじまじと見つめた。%K%P
I took a good long look at the woman.

褐色の肌……アッシュブラウンの瞳……。%K%P
Brown skin... with ash-brown eyes....

失礼かも知れないが、それらは平均的な日本人の相貌とはやや異なった印象を与えた。%K%P
Her features didn't give you the impression that she was a typical Japanese person.

ハーフなのだろうか？%K%P
Maybe she was half-Japanese?

いずれにせよ、やはり私は彼女のことを知らなかった。%K%P
In any case, I can definitely say that I haven't met her before.

こころ「ほんとに、ごめんなさい」%K%P
I'm really sorry.

女「いいのよ、謝らなくても」%K%P
It's all right, you have nothing to apologize for.

女「きっと頭をぶつけたのね」%K%P
You probably hit your head.

女「あんな高い所から落ちたんだもの、無理もないわ」%K%P
Falling from as high up as you did, it's no wonder.

落ちた――！？%K%P
Falling――?!

その言葉を聞いたとたん戦慄が走った。%K%P
A shiver ran down my spine as that word left her mouth.

埋もれていた記憶が次々と蘇り、鮮やかな映像となって私の脳裏を駆けめぐる。%K%P
The buried memories resurfaced one by one as a myriad of images ripped through my mind.

阿鼻叫喚の機内、爆発音、紅蓮の炎とドス黒い煙……。%K%P
The plane filled with agonized screams, the terrible explosion, the scorching crimson flames, the thick black smoke....

そして、私の右手には小さな手のひらが……。%K%P
And that tiny palm I held in my right hand....

強く強く私を求めてくるその手のひらが……。%K%P
The palm pleading desperately for my help....

ゆに「こころーん……怖いよぉ……怖いよぉ……」%K%P
Kokoron... I'm scared... I'm so scared...

ゆに「助けてよぉ……こころーん……」%K%P
Help me... Kokoron...

こころ「彼は！？　あの男の子はどこ！？　助かったの！？　助かったんでしょ！」%K%P
Where is he?! Where's that boy?! Did he make it?! He made it, didn't he?!

私は布団を剥ぎ取り、跳び起きた。%K%P
I threw off the blanket and jumped up from the bed.

しかし次の瞬間――。%K%P
But the next moment――

こころ「ああっ、うっ、ううぅぅぅぅ……」%K%P
Aah, uu, uuuuuuugh...

灼熱の痛みが私の身体から力を奪っていく。%K%P
A scorching pain once again ran through my body, draining any remaining strength it had left.

私は崩れるように再びベッドに倒れ込んだ。%K%P
And once again, I collapsed back onto the bed.

女「もう、何やってるの？」%K%P
Come now, what are you doing?

女「まだ動ける身体じゃないのよ？」%K%P
Can't you see your body isn't ready to move yet?

その慈愛に満ちた眼差しは聖母のそれを思わせた。%K%P
That look of hers, filled with love and affection, reminded me of the Virgin Mary.

微笑みは優しく美しく、女性の私から見ても羨ましいほどに魅力的だった。%K%P
A gentle smile, so kind, so beautiful. A smile so charming, it even made me slightly jealous of her.

彼女が布団をかけなおしてくれる。%K%P
She carefully tucked me back into bed.

手のひらが首筋に触れると、不思議なことに痛みや不安はやわらいでいった。%K%P
Amazingly, when the palm of her hand touched my neck, the pain and anxiety started to subside.

こころ「ねえ、教えてください」%K%P
Excuse me, could you please tell me...

こころ「私の隣に座ってた男の子はどうなったんですか？」%K%P
What happened to the boy sitting beside me?

女「隣？　隣って？」%K%P
Beside you? What do you mean, "beside you"?

こころ「飛行機の……墜落したあの飛行機のことですよ」%K%P
The plane... the plane that crashed.

こころ「私の隣に男の子が座ってたはずなんです」%K%P
There should have been a boy sitting beside me.

こころ「年齢は１１歳」%K%P
He was eleven years old.

こころ「名前は……」%K%P
His name was...

こころ「楠田、ゆに」%K%P
Kusuda Yuni.

そう告げたとたん、彼女の瞳が一瞬揺らいだ。%K%P
When I said that, her expression suddenly changed.

女「どういうつもり……？」%K%P
What is this...?

こころ「……えっ？」%K%P
...eh?

女「どうしてあなたが彼のことを知ってるの？」%K%P
How would you know about him?

こころ「ど、どうしてって言われても……」%K%P
What do you mean by how...

こころ「偶然、私の後ろに座ってたのが『楠田ゆに』っていう男の子で……」%K%P
A boy named "Kusuda Yuni" just happened to be sitting in the seat behind me...

女「いいかげんにしてよ！」%K%P
That's enough!

女「あなた達、いったい何を企んでるの！？」%K%P
What are you people plotting?!

企んでる？　あなた『達』？%K%P
Plotting? "You people"?

言ってることが理解できない。%K%P
I couldn't understand what she was saying.

いつしか彼女の表情は硬くこわばり、眼光は鋭く研ぎ澄まされていた。%K%P
When our eyes met again, her expression had become cold and stiff as she stared at me sharply.

聖母の面影は、もはやどこにも見当たらなかった。%K%P
There was no longer any trace of that Mary-like countenance to be seen anywhere on her face.

女「あなた……何者！？」%K%P
Who... who are you?!

女「ここに来た本当の目的は何！？」%K%P
Why are you really here?!

『ここに来た目的』……それは私の方が知りたいぐらいだった。%K%P
"Why am I here?"... that's what I'd like to know.

けれど私が『何者』なのかは自信を持って答えることができる。%K%P
But "who am I?"... well, at least that's one question I can probably answer.

私は威圧的な彼女の態度にしりごみしながらも、おずおずと身体を起こして言った。%K%P
I was intimidated by her coercive attitude, but I was able to lift my body and start talking to her.

こころ「私の名前は冬川こころ」%K%P
My name is Fuyukawa Kokoro.

こころ「墜落した飛行機に搭乗していた乗客のうちの……」%K%P
I was one of the passengers on a plane that crashed...

言い終わる前に、強烈な平手打ちが頬を襲った。%K%P
Before I could finish, a strong slap flew across my cheek.

女「ふざけないでよ！　冗談にしても程があるわ！」%K%P
Stop messing around! There are some things you shouldn't joke about!

彼女の声はかすれていた。%K%P
The woman's voice had become hoarse.

行き場を失った手のひらも、指先も、怒りをみなぎらせるように震えている。%K%P
Her fingers and hands shook as if an anger that filled her to the brim had finally boiled over.

殴られた私はわけがわからずにぼう然としていた。%K%P
I was dumbfounded, with no idea as to what was going on.

いったい何が彼女の逆鱗に触れてしまったのだろうか？%K%P
Just what had struck a nerve with her?

私は何か彼女を傷つけるようなことを言ってしまったのか？%K%P
Was she hurt by something I said?

女「なるほど、手の込んだことするわね」%K%P
I see... so this was all a trick, wasn't it?

女「さっきから妙な言葉づかいをすると思って気になってたんだけど、要するにそれも演技のうちだったんだ？」%K%P
All those odd things you had said a while ago made me curious at first, but that was just a part of your act, wasn't it?

女「笑わせないでよ」%K%P
Don't make me laugh!

女「霊媒師かシャーマンにでもなったつもり？」%K%P
Are you supposed to be a medium or shaman performing a channeling or something?

女「そんな三文芝居で遠まわしに探りを入れるぐらいだったら、はっきりと単刀直入に訊けばいいじゃない」%K%P
If you were going to put on such a cheap act, wouldn't it have been better if you had just asked me straight out, right from the start?

女「あなた、何もかも知ってるんでしょう？」%K%P
You... You know everything, don't you?

こころ「あの……」%K%P
Um...

私は思い切ってくちを開いた。%K%P
I boldly opened my mouth.

こころ「たぶん、あなたは何か勘違いしてるんだと思います」%K%P
I think that you're probably misunderstanding something.

女「お願いだから、そんなしらじらしい演技はやめて」%K%P
Please just stop already! Stop with this shameless act of yours!

こころ「演技なんかしてません」%K%P
But I'm not acting at all.

女「じゃあどういうつもりなのよ」%K%P
Then what are you planning?!

女「なんで『冬川こころ』なんて名前を……」%K%P
Why would you use that name, "Fuyukawa Kokoro"...

こころ「だってそれは、私の本名だからです」%K%P
Because... because, that's my real name.

こころ「私は鳩鳴館女子大３年の冬川こころ」%K%P
I'm a third year at the Kyumeikan Women's University, Fuyukawa Kokoro!

こころ「稚内へと向かう飛行機に乗ってる途中で事故に遭遇して……」%K%P
I was on an airplane going to Wakkanai when an accident happened...

女「やめて！」%K%P
Stop it!

女「あなたが『冬川こころ』なわけないでしょう！？」%K%P
How could you possibly be "Fuyukawa Kokoro"?!

彼女は強く言い放った。%K%P
She declared firmly.

苦悶に歪んだ顔……。%K%P
Face distorted in agony....

そのアッシュブラウンの瞳には溢れんばかりの涙が浮かんでいて……。%K%P
Tears of desperation welling in her beautiful ash-brown eyes....

こころ「でも……」%K%P
But...

なおも食い下がる私を制して、彼女は思いもよらぬ言葉を告げた。%K%P
As I was still trying hard to hang on and gather my own strength, she hit me with something I had in no way expected.

女「死んだ人間のふりなんかして、何が楽しいの？」%K%P
Is it really that much fun pretending to be someone who's dead?!

こころ「……えっ？」%K%P
...Eh?

女「この期に及んでまだとぼけるつもり？」%K%P
You're still trying to play dumb, even now?

女「冬川こころという女の子はもうこの世界には存在しないの」%K%P
The girl named Fuyukawa Kokoro is no longer in this world!

女「彼女は死んだのよ」%K%P
She's dead!!

女「もちろん、あなたもそのことを知ってるはず……そうでしょう？」%K%P
But of course, you should already know that... right?

こころ「そんな……」%K%P
No...

死んだ……？　死んだってどういうこと……？%K%P
Dead...? What did she mean by "dead"...?

私はちゃんとここにいるじゃない……。%K%P
I was right here, wasn't I...?

今ここにこうして存在してるじゃない……。%K%P
I was still alive. Right here. Right now, wasn't I....

私は確かに生きている――。%K%P
I was pretty certain I was still alive――

なのにどうして彼女はそんな嘘を……？%K%P
But why would she make up a lie like that...?

そう、嘘だ……。嘘に決まっている……。%K%P
Yes, a lie.... she must have been lying....

そうは思いながらも、背筋を這うように広がっていく悪寒はどうしても拭うことができなかった。%K%P
But even as I thought that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fight off the chill creeping up my back.

私は言葉を失っていた。頭の中が白く染まっていく。%K%P
I couldn't find a single word to say. My mind went completely blank.

女「とにかく、あなたが何を企んでるのかはまだわからないけど……」%K%P
In any case, even though I don't know what your plan is just yet...

女「どうせだますんなら、もっと巧くやって欲しかったわ」%K%P
If you really want to put one over on me, I hope you'll at least try to do a better job of it!

侮蔑的な眼差しを残して、彼女は出口へと向かった。%K%P
Leaving me with a look of disdain, the woman walked toward the door.

女「あ、それからひとつだけ言っておくけど……」%K%P
Ah, there is one thing I wanted to say, though...

扉の前で立ち止まり、背中を向けたままこう続ける。%K%P
She stopped at the door, then turned around and continued.

女「今さら計画を取り止めるつもりはないから」%K%P
Now that things have come this far, I have no intention of stopping with my plan.

女「邪魔しないで……」%K%P
So don't you dare get in my way...

ひっそりと告げられたその言葉には、何か悲しみに似た感情が込められているような気がした。%K%P
In those quiet words she left behind, amongst other things, I could feel a distinct sense of sadness.