The Gundam He Wanted to See #ShortShort

He said he wanted to see a Gundam.

Oh, not the anime, but a real, big one. But I don't really know much about Gundam. I only ever watched magical girl anime. So I asked my dad, and he said, 'They had one at the Osaka Expo last year, didn't they?'

He never took me to the Expo, so hearing him say that kind of annoyed me.

Dad was drinking some sake he bought on a business trip called 'Char' as if it were precious.
'There was a moving Gundam in Yokohama, but... it was dismantled. Oh, right. There's a Unicorn in Odaiba. A life-sized one. But I heard on the news that one is getting dismantled this summer, too.'
Oh, so it's actually pretty close. That must be what he was talking about. Thanks for the info, Dad. Sometimes having an anime-loving parent comes in handy.

◇

The next day at school, I told him about it.

Oh, when I say 'him,' I haven't actually confessed my feelings yet. It's a one-sided crush. My family is moving soon, and I'll be at a different high school next year, so we'll be apart eventually, but I still think there's a chance. If I get closer to him now and lose a bit more weight, maybe we could date once we're in high school.

His seat is right behind mine. I turned around during the break to talk to him.
And then,
'A Unicorn? But the one I want to see is the first Gundam.'
he said—

What does 'first' mean... Are Unicorn and the first one different things? I have no idea. I should have asked my dad more and done my homework.

'Um... where is the... first one?'
'It used to be in Odaiba... apparently.'
'...It's not there now?'
'Yeah.'
'Then you can't see it.'
I was wondering why he was talking about something from so long ago when he suddenly blurted out,

'...Will you go out with me?'
'...'
What did he just say?
'If you'd like, I'd like you to go out with me.'
Whoa! What is this sudden turn of events? I instinctively covered my cheeks with both hands.

'I want to try going to Shiokaze Park in Odaiba. Won't you come with me?'—

Shiokaze... does that mean a date?!

◇◇

When my old man died in an accident last year, I didn't cry. I mean, it would be a lie to say I wasn't sad. But I couldn't cry the way my mother and sister were crying. I guess I just didn't get along with him very well.

To my father, I was a child born quite late in his life. Maybe because of that, he felt more like a grandfather than a father, and I didn't like being around him. Part of it was because friends used to tease me when I was little, asking, 'Do you live with your grandpa?' So when he passed away, it felt somewhat like it had nothing to do with me.

But as I thought about becoming a high school student next year, I gradually started to realize that my father was gone. It wasn't so much sadness as it was like having a missing tooth. Is that what you call a sense of loss?

That was when I found that photo in the room that used to be his study.

In it, a family of three was standing in front of a large humanoid statue. I knew immediately who they were. My mother, my sister, and my father. My sister is over ten years older than me. But the sister in the photo is still just a kid, and everyone looks so young. Especially my father—I've never seen him make a face like that.

But I'm the only one not in the picture.

And behind the three of them is a massive statue. The eyes are glowing, and you can see something like horns on both shoulders. A humanoid silhouette backlit against the evening sky. After a while, I realized, oh, that's a Gundam.

When I flipped the photo over, it was written in clumsy handwriting: '2009, Odaiba.' 2009 was before I was born. That's why I'm not in it.

'Oh, that. I think that was when the three of us—Dad, Mom, and I—went to see it.'
When I showed it to my sister after she got home from work, she remembered it immediately and told me.
'That brings back memories,' my mother said, too.

I don't know anything about my family's history from before I was born. So, it doesn't bring back any memories for me.

But—

But I felt a bit frustrated that I was the only one not there.

I didn't want to be in photos with my aging dad, so there are almost no pictures left of the four of us as a family. But here, my young parents and my older sister are smiling.

Hey, Dad. Dad, who died so soon. Why am I the only one not there?

I felt an inexplicable anger. I wanted to go to Odaiba and see what kind of place the Gundam had been in. I wanted to know what it was like.

Suddenly, I felt like my classmate Tanaka would come with me. I don't really know why.

That's why I asked her to come along.

◇◇◇

When I looked it up online, it said that before he and I were born, a life-sized statue of the original Gundam stood at a place called Shiokaze Park in Odaiba.

I'm busy with moving preparations on the weekend, and since I'm technically a student preparing for exams, I have to tell my parents. Oh, but if I mention a date, I don't know what they'll say, so I'll just play it off by saying, "I'm going to Odaiba with a friend tomorrow."
"Take care," Dad says, feeling good after drinking his "Char" sake. Easy.
But Mom is sharp. She stops cooking and looks into my eyes with a probing gaze. She pushes up the frame of her black round glasses with her middle finger. Did she figure it out?
"...We're moving soon, so clean your room before you go."

Probably safe...

And so, on Saturday, we arrived at Shiokaze Park in Odaiba.

Even though it was a date, he had a slightly stern look on his face when we arrived at the park. He seemed more nervous than he is at school...
Oh, wait, it's a date with just the two of us, so he's nervous. That must be it. I'm the same way, though.

"They say the Gundam was at the Sun Plaza."
Regardless of how I felt, he kept walking ahead. It seemed like his main goal was to come here rather than enjoy a date with me.

Before long, a circular grassy plaza appeared before us. This was it. It was a beautiful place, but there weren't many people. Just a few families here and there.
"The Gundam was in a place like this?"
As I looked around, he took a photo out of his bag and held it up to the sky.

Oh... that photo...

It's probably his family. But only three of them. He's not in it... As soon as I thought that, a sudden feeling of frustration, sadness, and emotions that weren't my own welled up deep in my chest. Huh? What is this?

"I think it was taken from this angle."
He is checking the photo against the grass and the direction of the sea. Every time he moves the photo, my heart starts to race.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

—When I was little, Mom once told me, "Memories remain in the land itself." She said, "If you wish for them to be there, those memories will come back to life."

I didn't really understand what she meant, but I remember she said it so gently at the time. I think it was when we were at Grandma's house. We were at Grandma's house, where no one lived anymore, and Mom said that while looking at the garden. It was a summer evening, and the cicadas were chirping.
"Can I see Grandma, too?"
"If you wish to see her, yes."

So I closed my eyes and wished to see Grandma. Really hard. And when I opened my eyes again... I felt like I could see Grandma in the garden—

"...Hey, Tanaka. Look at that."
I opened my eyes when I was suddenly called.

He is looking at me. He seems incredibly surprised. When I follow his gaze and look up at the sky...

There was a Gundam there.

Its eyes were glowing, and it had two rods on its back. A giant silhouetted against the evening sky.

"...Can you see it?"
"Yeah."
"But... it's not really there, is it?"
"It's not. But I can see it."

The parents and children in the park don't notice the Gundam at all. No, that's not it. They can't see it. We are the only ones who can see it... surely.

"I wonder why."
"I don't know."
"Did you do something?"
"No way, of course not."

There's no way I could do something like that.

But.

But, if I could use magic—

Feeling like someone called me, I looked at the photo.

My mother, my father, my older sister, and me, the four of us laughing together.

For just a fleeting moment, that's what it looked like—

<End>

(From the author)
The following is a series about Taeko-san, the witch who is the mother of the protagonist of this story. I would be happy if you would read those as well.