Short Story: 'Memories of a Summer Day'

The summer of 1965.

My parents, who ran a small kimono shop in Asakusa, Tokyo, were busy tailoring yukata before the Obon festival,

and could not leave the shop from morning until night.

Because of this, eleven-year-old Kiyohiko Nishiwaki was sent to spend his summer vacation

in a mountain village where his grandparents lived.

Clutching the single train ticket his mother had given him,

Kiyohiko boarded the train alone at Ueno Station.

The scenery outside the window gradually changed.

The Tokyo cityscape, filled only with buildings, had turned into fields and farms before he knew it, and blue mountains could be seen in the distance.

When he arrived at the station, his grandfather was standing beyond the small ticket gate.

"Oh, Kiyohiko. You've come a long way."

The voice of his grandfather, who smiled with a sun-tanned face, had a resonance he had never heard in Tokyo.

His grandparents' house was an old wooden structure surrounded by mountains and rice paddies.

In the morning, he woke up to the sound of birds.

During the day, he ate watermelon on the veranda, played in the river, and walked along mountain paths.

At night, he fell asleep listening to the sound of wind chimes.

A summer he had never known in Tokyo was there.

One evening at dusk,

on the way back from the fields with his grandfather, Kiyohiko found an old torii gate deep in the mountains.

An old torii gate. Beyond the stone steps, there was a small shrine.

"There's a shrine over there."

Grandfather nodded.

"It's been there for a long time. I used to play there often when I was a child."

Kiyohiko gazed beyond the torii gate.

"Can I go?"

"Yes. But make sure you come back before the sun sets."

"Okay!"

***

The next day.

Kiyohiko headed to the shrine by himself.

An old torii gate.

Long stone steps.

A quiet shrine grounds.

Underneath a large tree, a young girl was standing.

A white dress.

A straw hat.

The girl smiled when she saw Kiyohiko.

"Did you come from Tokyo?"

Kiyohiko nodded.

Yes. I came from a place called Asakusa.

Asakusa?

The girl tilted her head.

Is that a place where many people live?

Yes. But this is the first time I've been to a place this quiet.

Is it too quiet? Is it boring?

Kiyohiko shook his head.

It's... somehow peaceful.

The girl smiled happily.

Summer in this village is beautiful, you know.

I suppose so.

The mountains, the river, and the sunset is so beautiful.

The two of them sat side by side, watching the sunset sink behind the mountains.

The sky dyed in red.

Trees swaying in the wind. Rustle, rustle, rustle...

The sound of cicadas chirping in the distance.

Kan-kana-kana...

Kiyohiko was looking at scenery he had never seen in Tokyo.

From then on, Kiyohiko went to the shrine almost every day.

The girl told him stories about the history of this village.

"You know, children used to play at this shrine a lot in the old days."

"Did you play here too?"

When Kiyohiko asked, the girl smiled.

"Yes. I often played here with my older brother."

"What kind of games did you play?"

"We played in the river, played hide-and-seek at the shrine... it was fun."

The two walked near the river, and talked in the shade of the trees, spending time in the shrine grounds until dusk.
The two walked near the river, and talked in the shade of the trees, spending time in the shrine grounds until dusk.

The girl talked about the village in the past.

Kiyohiko talked about life in Tokyo.

As the summer days passed, the time Kiyohiko spent going to the shrine became irreplaceable to him.
As the summer days passed, the time Kiyohiko spent going to the shrine became irreplaceable to him.

Before long, the end of summer vacation drew near.

Kiyohiko came to the shrine to say goodbye to the girl.

"I'm going back to Tokyo tomorrow."

"I see."

The girl lowered her eyes just a little.

"I had so much fun playing with you, Kiyohiko."

The girl smiled.

"I had fun too. I'll come back again."

Kiyohiko replied with a smile as well.

"Yes. I'll be waiting."

　　　　　***

The night I was to return to Tokyo.

My grandfather took an old wooden box out from the back of the closet.

"There is something I want to show you, Kiyohiko."

Inside, a few old photographs were carefully tucked away.

Kiyohiko paused at one of them.

In it, my grandfather was pictured as a young boy.

And, right next to him—.

A white dress.

A straw hat.

That girl was there.

"Grandpa... who is this girl?"

My grandfather peered at the photo.

"Ah... this is my little sister."

My grandfather gazed at the photo quietly.

"We used to play together at that shrine all the time."

Kiyohiko held his breath.

"When the war started..."

"I lost my sister."

Kiyohiko could not say a word.

Meeting at the shrine.

Watching the sunset together.

Promising to meet again.

I could not tell my grandfather about it.

I felt that doing so would destroy the memories he had cherished for so many years.

The next morning.

Kiyohiko waved goodbye to his grandparents and boarded the train back to Tokyo.

Outside the window, mountains and rice fields drifted by.

In the distance, I could see that shrine.

I felt as if a girl in a white dress was standing in front of it.

Kiyohiko gave a small wave.

　　　　　***

Twenty years have passed since then.

Kiyohiko has become an adult.

However, he has never once returned to that shrine.

I wonder if that shrine still remains today.

I hope to go and check someday.

The promise of that day.

Memories of a summer day.

Afterword

The title "Memories of a Summer Day" suddenly came to mind,
and I wrote it all in one go.

This time, rather than eccentric developments or big plot twists,
I tried to write while prioritizing nostalgia above all else.

I would be happy if you could feel,
even just a little, the atmosphere of those summers long ago.