[Serialized Novel] "Fragile Items Reception Counter" is here (Episode 11)

Less than five minutes later, a white light car pulled into the parking lot.
The person who stepped out was a tall, sturdily built man in his thirties or forties, with striking sharp, narrow eyes and thick, straight eyebrows.

This is Mr. Sayama. He's the older brother of a friend of mine from high school. He moved to Shodoshima a few years ago and runs a cafe with his wife. His three-year-old son is just so cute!

Hello, nice to meet you.

Mr. Sayama smiled gently with a sun-tanned face. He had a very deep, pleasant voice.

Nice to meet you. My name is Haru Yuzuki. Thank you for coming all this way.

I'm Fumi Fujisawa. It's a pleasure to meet you!

I really did meet you both here. It was just as the note in the box said, but I was still surprised.

Mr. Sayama smiled, showing his white teeth.

I came here because I was instructed to by the note from the 'Fragile Items Reception Counter.' It said to be here at this time on this day...

"But, Mr. Sayama, you found the counter before, too! What an amazing coincidence...! But how did you know that I knew about it? We've never talked about that before..."

"Well, I didn't have a clue until just a while ago... When Keita left, he said he came to the island this time to deliver a message to a pair of women, and that he was helping them look for something, right? When I heard that, I thought, 'Wait, could it be...?'"
"So, before I went to 'Kasumi Gelato,' I called just in case. And since they knew about that box, I was seriously surprised."

On the note Mr. Sayama brought, in addition to today's date and the location, there were descriptions of the two of us, and below that,

PRAYTHATYOUWILLRETURNTOTHEORIGINALFORM

was written.

"O-R-I-G-I-N-A-L-F-O-R-M... does that mean our original form...? R-E-T-U-R-N... return... P-R-A-Y..."

When I said that, Takano-kun said,

"P-R-A-Y... return, pray... Could it be 'pray' as in a prayer?"

he said.

"Pray that you will return to your original form..."

Kazumi repeated, as if chewing on the words.

"Ah! Mr. Sayama! I still have the wooden box!"

Takano-kun took his backpack off his back and rummaged through it, finally finding and pulling out the small wooden box.

"I didn't bring the things I had inside it this time, though..."

Takano-kun undid the latch and opened the lid.
Inside was a urethane mold that made it immediately obvious that a wristwatch would fit perfectly.

"See! Mine is like this. What about yours... Wait? Is there something attached to the back of the lid? Huh? Was this here before?"

It was a small, folded piece of paper. It certainly hadn't been there when he showed it to me at Yakatazaki. Takano-kun gently unfolded it.

"It's kind of long."

Kazumi said as soon as she saw it. On the paper, it was written:

GO TO THE GOD'S ROCK AND CROSS THE ANGEL'S PATH BY FIVE O'CLOCK

it said.

"God... of... rock...? God... of..."

As I muttered that, Fumi said,

"Isn't it 'to the god's rock'?"

she said.

"Mairitenshi...? What's that?"

Takano-kun tilted his head.

"Keita, what is 'mairitenshi'?"

Sayama-san laughed.

"Doesn't it mean to pray... to pray at the god's rock?"

When Fumi said that, Sayama-san,

"Ah, in that case, it might be the Kasane-iwa (Stacked Rocks)."

He said.

"Kasane-iwa...? Now that you mention it, I think I saw that in the guidebook..."

I searched through my bag.

"It's the Kasane-iwa Fudo. It's a massive rock that looks like it's about to fall but doesn't, and it's carefully enshrined. You can go part of the way by car."

Mr. Sayama said.

"Visiting the God's rock... Tenshi no Michi... Ah! Angel Road! Isn't this Angel Road?"

Kazumi shouted.

"Then, does that mean we should visit the God's rock and then cross the Angel Road by five o'clock...?"

When I said that, Mr. Sayama fell into thought.

"It takes over thirty minutes to get from here to the Kasanai Fudo... walking up... and from there to Angel Road... I believe it's about fifteen minutes... Keita, what time is it now?"

"Um... it's 3:30 PM!"

"It'll take time to climb up to the rocks, so it might be cutting it pretty close. You two had better hurry. The mountain path is narrow and the parking lot is quite small, so I'd like to guide you, but I'll pass. My bike won't be in the way. Keita, you know the place, right?"

"Yes! I'll guide us, let's leave right away! Mr. Sayama, thank you for everything!"

"Yeah, take care. Come back anytime."

"Thank you for coming!"

Kazumi said, and I bowed along with her.

"Don't worry about the thanks, just get going! When you come to the island next time, please come to my cafe."

"Yes!! We definitely will!!"

We got into the car. After watching him start the engine, Takano-kun drove off, and we followed behind him.

＊

We reached a narrow mountain road that was quintessentially Shikoku.

"I hope no cars are coming from the other way...!"

After saying that, Kazumi fell silent. I think part of it was that she was concentrating on driving, but I suspect she wouldn't have talked even if she weren't. Right beside us was a cliff with no guardrail. We climbed the narrow mountain road, winding around curves, and arrived sooner than I had expected. Only one rental car was parked in the small parking lot. Takano-kun, who had been checking behind him as he drove, parked his bike first and then guided us into the parking lot with a loud, "All right, all right!"

"Kasane-iwa" is a massive, stacked rock formation located at the top of a long flight of stairs. Apparently, there used to be a quarry nearby, so it's not entirely clear whether it's natural or man-made. It seemed to be known as a power spot because it's a rock at the top of a mountain that looks like it should fall but doesn't.

"It's a bit of a climb up the stairs from here. There's a small shrine along the way, and beyond that, it's like climbing up a steep rock face... I've been here before, and you have to grab onto chains to climb it. It's not a long distance, but it might be quite tough for women."

Actually, I had already looked it up earlier in the car using a guidebook and my smartphone.

I am incredibly timid and cautious, and on top of that, my athletic ability is catastrophically bad. I absolutely do not want to go on even a slight mountain path or even a small hillside, and going down one is especially terrifying—I absolutely cannot do it. I was always last in marathons, greeted by applause (which was the worst; I just wanted to be left alone), and I have a dark history from a school trip ski lesson where I got stuck and had to be carried down by an instructor. Grabbing a chain to climb a rock is out of the question. It's uncharted territory. I'm certain I'd either freeze in fear or slip and fall. Honestly, I absolutely hated the idea.

The message Takano-kun brought,

"BEYOND WHERE YOU ALWAYS STOP"

It was a message addressed to me. By then, I was convinced.
Even on a slight slope that others could easily climb up and down, I would freeze with fear. If it were my usual self, I would definitely not attempt it, saying I'd wait in the car.

"It's beyond where you always stop"

It's beyond this. Beyond where I climb up and climb down.

"I'll wait here. I'm sure it's better if it's just the two of you... please be careful and go ahead."

How should one raise a child to become such a good person? I was happy for Takano-kun's kindness.
I wish the children in my kindergarten class would grow up straight like this too. What can I do for that?
The faces of the children who had graduated until now and the children in my current class came to mind. Every child is very precious, and sometimes I get the urge to hug them all together tightly.

"Takano-kun, thank you so much. I'm going now."

We headed toward the stairs. Right next to it was a hut with a pointed roof, and a cafe was open. I was surprised that Shodoshima had such stylish places even in a spot like this.
In the center of the entrance to the approach, there was a small shrine, and on the stones embedded at our feet on the left and right, "Welcome Path" and "Return Path" were carved, and we chose the "Welcome Path" and walked on.

"The stairs to the main hall are 352 steps, it says...! Whaaat!?"

Kazumi raised her voice after seeing the notice.
I get out of breath immediately on stairs. I think that being a kindergarten teacher is a test of physical strength, so in that sense, I'm really not suited for it.
Kazumi seems to have good athletic ability, and she climbed up easily.

Towards the end, I climbed as if clinging to the handrail.
But perhaps because I was mindful of the time and did my best, I arrived at the shrine before the heavy rock sooner than I had expected.

"Wow...! The view is beautiful..."

The words I had uttered countless times on Shodoshima slipped out here as well. My vocabulary...! I thought, but since it really was beautiful, I couldn't help it.
No matter where I climbed, a superb view overlooking the sea spread out before me.

The wooden sliding doors of the main shrine were closed. There was a notice posted, and it seemed I was actually allowed to open them to pray, but I felt a bit hesitant to touch them on my own, so I put an offering into the small shrine opposite and pressed my hands together in prayer.
Before my eyes, the naturally beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea spread out, and a pleasant breeze blew through.

"Alright! ...Well, we don't have much time, so shall we climb? ...Haru-chan, your hands are shaking."

Fumi had seen right through me.
When I went on trips with Kyohei, I had always avoided places like this, so the urge to quit was strong.

"Climbing up means I have to climb down... and that... is scary."

In front of friends, I often pretended to be fine at times like this, but for some reason, I was able to be honest in front of Fumi, whom I had only just met today.

"If this were just sightseeing, I definitely wouldn't go because I'm too scared..."

"What do you want to do, Haru-chan? You don't have to push yourself. That message Mr. Sayama brought earlier, 'Pray for your true form to return,' I'm sure that's meant for me."

"No, I'm okay. I'll go."

I stepped in front of the arrow sign that read 'Kasane-iwa, 80 meters ahead.' Reading the warning, 'The path is narrow and there are steep cliffs on both sides. Please be careful when climbing,' my legs went weak.

"Alright, I'll go first. I'll pull you up, so don't worry! I'll make sure to support you on the way back too!"

That route was no longer a "path." It was rock climbing. Perhaps to someone with mountaineering experience, it might look like a "path."

(H-how am I supposed to climb this... where do I put my feet?!)

(What is this! This isn't a path at all!!)

(If I were to slip sideways here...)

Thinking that in my heart, I climbed desperately. Is this chain okay...?! I couldn't help but think that while putting my entire weight on it.

Since this isn't mountaineering but a place where ordinary tourists also go, from someone else's perspective, my fear might seem like, 'Huh? I don't get it. Over that much...?'
But this rock climb was a huge challenge for me.

"Haru-chan, just a little more!"

Kazumi never made fun of me for being scared. I was happy about that, and it gave me the courage to go on.
I took Kazumi's outstretched hand and pulled my body up.

(Continues to Episode 12)

Click here to read the series.