PJ [Beginning B] -> Chiaki-san [Development] -> Chiaki-san [Twist] -> PJ [Conclusion] 'White Seashell (Tentative)'
PJ [Beginning B]
The wind blows through, and the sun beats down on my skin.
They say it's going to be a scorching summer this year.
I felt like going to the sea.
The sparkling ocean and the large, white cumulonimbus clouds floating on the horizon.
Summer is coming.
A summer I will never forget for the rest of my life.
Chiaki-san [Development]
Why the sea?
Why did I go alone instead of with the usual group?
And then, I met her.
At night, I walked along the beach as if drawn to it.
I could see only her upper body in the sea.
'I have to save her'
I thought that instantly and ran into the sea.
Chiaki-san [Twist]
The moment I touched the shoulder of her surprised face, my body felt like it was floating.
How long was I with her?
I remember her smile was wonderful and it healed me, but,
when I woke up, I was in a hotel bed.
And there was a seashell in my hand.
PJ [Conclusion]
That day, I thought I would save you.
That day we went for a barbecue with our friends.
We all ate a lot of meat and drank a lot of beer, didn't we?
In a drunken stupor, the three of us got on the boat Yuya's dad let us use.
I could see Takashi and Yuna waving from the beach.
It was fun; I thought it was the best summer ever.
On the boat running as if cutting through the wind, your smile was next to me.
We kissed, making sure Yuya wouldn't notice.
At that time, it was natural, but Yuya didn't have any bad intentions. No, we who rode together while drunk were equally guilty.
Thrown out when it capsized, I searched for you with all my might.
Chinatsu! Chinatsu!
I shouted at the top of my lungs. I kept swimming blindly. I kept searching for you with all my strength. Still, I couldn't find you.
In the end, I was the only one who survived by holding onto the boat.
When I was rescued by the Coast Guard's lifeboat, it seemed Yuya had already been found as a cold body.
After that, no one could find you.
At the night sea, I found you floating in the moonlight.
I shouted at the top of my lungs, but you didn't turn around.
Forgetting to even take off my shoes, I ran into the sea.
When I touched your shoulder, you turned around and definitely smiled.
And when you gave me a short kiss, you said, 'Thank you for finding me.'
When I came to, I was on the bed.
In my hand was a 'white seashell'.
I cried. I cried and cried and kept on crying.
I didn't want to believe that the kiss with you was the last one.
How long had I been like that?
When I suddenly looked at my smartphone, there were many missed calls and many Line notifications.
When I opened Line, they were all notifications from Takashi.
'Tetsuji, you idiot. Where on earth are you at a time like this? Chinatsu-chan has been found. She still has no consciousness, and I don't understand the situation either. But she is alive. Chinatsu-chan is definitely alive! The location is...'
By the time I realized it, I was running.
Smartphone in my right hand. And in my left hand, I was clutching the 'white seashell'.
<End>
[Promotion for PJ novel for those who enjoyed it]
I'm promoting it because I wrote a medium-length novel of 40,000 characters for the first time in a while.
It's a slightly fantasy story about boys and girls in summer (*It is not horror).
I submitted it to the Creative Awards 2023.
If you have time, please read it and give me your impressions~
My name is Nobuo Takabatake
Her name is Suna Ando
2012. A story of a very mysterious 'life', a 'distant promise', and a 'farewell' that she and I experienced in the summer of our sixth year of elementary school.