The Passengers on the Hankyu Line

Takarazuka Station

After the two of them spent their first night together, they had talked about all sorts of things and much came to light.

Masashi thought that Yuki was always snatching up the books he wanted to read, but apparently Yuki’s interest was also piqued by the books that Masashi chose.

Hmm, I wish I could ask him what made him pick up a book like that, she had mused.

When he learned that she had felt that way, it pained him to recall how he had pegged her as a rival he was always competing against.

—I wanted to find a reason to start talking to you, but I didn’t want you to think I was a weird chick.

—I was frustrated to always just miss out on the books I wanted, but your other books – the ones I hadn’t been vying for – impressed me too. You seemed to have good taste.

—So, wait, you mean you disliked me?

—Do I really need to say that it was all the more frustrating because you were just my type?

—No, I get it. You were my type too, only I wasn’t frustrated. I thought it was lucky that time when we were both on the train, that it was my chance to say something to you.

—So, after we changed trains and you came and sat next to me, that was on purpose?

—Yeah. I wanted to show you the sandbank.

—Why?

—I figured if you were the kind of person who saw it and started talking about it with me, then you might be someone I could really like.

—So you’re saying that you really lured me in, huh? Thanks!

—Why?

—If you hadn’t lured me in, I’d never’ve had the courage to lure you in myself. You would have been disappointed, or even worse, had sour grapes or something.

—But you came running off the train after me.

—Because I was already lured in!

—Well, I’m glad to know that we were both aware of each other from the start, Yuki said, opting for an extremely peaceable conclusion.

The Umeda-bound train was quite empty, perhaps because it was a local, and even though they were only riding it for one stop, Masashi and Yuki took a seat.

While they waited for the train to depart, Masashi had a question.

‘Hey. Do you want to know the reason behind the kanji character on the sandbank?’

Although the kanji character had been washed away and now it just looked like any other sandbank, it was still special to them.

Masashi knew the truth about the stones that had been assembled in the form of a kanji character. He had looked into it after Yuki had pointed it out to him.

Apparently, several years after the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995, the kanji character had been constructed as an art installation on the sandbank, as a sort of hopeful wish for the region’s rebirth. It had gone through a restoration, and that had just happened when the two of them had first seen it together.

‘Uh-uh.’ As she had the first time they met, Yuki rejected the idea of knowing the facts behind it. ‘As far as I’m concerned, I already found out what its meaning is.’

‘Its “meaning”?’

‘It’s our god of matchmaking.’ Yuki pressed her hands together briefly when she said this.

After all, her initial association with it had been a draught beer – which was quite off the wall, compared with the meaning that the original artwork had intended – though it made sense that she would first think of it as a prank and later assign goodwill and affection to it, in keeping with her always positive outlook.

Come on now, give me a break.

First she expects me to go along with her inexplicable idea that the sudden appearance of the kanji character on a sandbank is simply clever graffiti, and then to believe that it’s our god of matchmaking?

And these are exactly the reasons that I’m crazy about her.

‘Yuki, remember when you said that I was cheating because I could go to both the western branch and the central library?’

‘Yeah, sure, and I still think you’re cheating!’

‘In that case …’ He prayed to the god of matchmaking or the god of the sandbank to come to his aid, as they had for Yuki. ‘What if we looked for a place together in Obayashi?’

Yuki’s eyes widened. ‘You mean …?’

‘Uh-huh, both of us are the right age, aren’t we? You’re not planning on staying single, and you have your future to think about. As for me, I’m in favour of living together before marriage. Not necessarily in order to determine if the other person is “the one” or for any particular ulterior motive. But because everyone grows up in different environments, with different family rules, you know? This way, we can find out whether those differences complement each other.’

Stop looking at me like that, Yuki, you’re going to burn a hole in my forehead. Masashi forced a smile and scratched his head.

‘And then if we do complement each other, maybe, you think, we oughta get married?’

Yuki looked down and then she squeezed Masashi’s hand tightly.

‘Let’s hope we can find a good place to live.’

Yuki’s reply coincided with the announcement of the train’s departure, and Masashi squeezed her hand back in response.

FIN