The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED

“Luckily, I fainted while I was falling,” said Etsuko, “so I didn’t actually swallow much water.”

Masako tried hard to listen, but Etsuko’s voice seemed as if it were coming from far away.

“Then I floated a little way downriver and came to rest on the bank,” continued Etsuko, putting her hand gently on Masako’s shoulder, “and that’s where somebody found me. Luckily, it was someone I knew, so they carried me straight back home. Unfortunately, I ended up getting pneumonia, so I was bedridden for quite a long time. But by the time I’d finally recovered, you were already gone. Your family had already moved into town.”

“I felt so alone,” sniffed Masako, with her eyes still staring blankly into the distance. “After I pushed you into the river, I ran back home crying. And after that I came down with a fever. All the time I was in bed I kept having horrible dreams. I was delirious and talking in my sleep. And when I was finally able to get up…”

Masako’s voice trailed off and she hung her head.

“And then you didn’t remember what happened, right?” said Bunichi, stepping in to help his friend explain. “You’d forgotten everything!”

“That’s right,” Masako nodded.

“When you threw Etsuko off the bridge, you thought you killed her,” Bunichi continued. “The feeling of guilt was so strong that you couldn’t handle it, so unconsciously you erased everything from your memory.”

Bunichi was exactly right. Masako must have been so worried about Etsuko that she’d come down with a fever and felt so bad about what had happened that she’d erased it from her memory. But somehow, she’d always remained afraid of Prajna masks. Or was she? Perhaps it wasn’t that she was afraid of Prajna masks at all. Perhaps she was simply afraid that the mask might make her remember the terrible incident. Maybe that was why she was scared of heights too. And maybe that was why saving Bunichi from falling hadn’t been enough to cure that fear of heights — but it had served to remind her that something like that had happened before and that there was somebody else who needed saving.

Now everything was clear to Masako — everything that had happened that day. It was as if the mists had risen from her mind and set her emotions free to settle down again. Masako took a breath, then she looked up and smiled at Bunichi and Etsuko.

“I’m all right now. Again, I’m so sorry for making you worry.”

Bunichi and Etsuko both looked relieved.

“Etsuko, I did a horrible thing to you, didn’t I?” said Masako, taking Etsuko’s hand and blushing with embarrassment.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Thanks, Bunichi-san,” continued Masako with unusual politeness. “It’s all thanks to you.”

“You’re so silly, Masako,” said Bunichi, turning bright red again.

“Hey, why don’t you guys come over to my house?” said Etsuko suddenly, brightening the mood. “We have lots of fruit!”

Masako remembered how every autumn Etsuko’s house was filled with pears and grapes sent from friends of her family who worked in an orchard, and together the three of them headed towards her house — walking in a single line down the middle of the bridge, with Etsuko’s pigtails swaying in the cool mountain breeze.