Part 71: Kid - Fifth Day - Part 1
Track—Lemurianische Ruine
"Right? Now, jokes aside..."
"Where in the world could those 15 years have gone? I've never had amnesia like you, don't remember being abducted by aliens and haven't had any Rip Van Winkle like experiences either."
"........."
(Rip Van what...?)
"That would mean when I was 12, I was really 27? That couldn't be, right? Or that when I was five, I was actually 20. That's even more impossible. In the 18 years and seven months of my life I've never once felt a gap of 15 years."
(A 15 year gap...?)
"Listen. Sorry to stop you, but let's get back on topic..."
"?"
"You were just talking about Rip Van Winkle, right?"
"And?"
"He falls asleep and..."
"Huh?"
(Rip Van Winkle...he falls asleep...and when he returns home... When he returns home...)
"I got it! I got it! This is probably what happened."
"...Would you stop talking about these stupid theories of yours?"
"But it would explain everything! Somewhere along the line, maybe when you were small before you can even remember, I'll bet you jumped 15 years into the future. You were probably really born 33 years ago... That would mean that if Yoichi died 34 years ago it all makes sense."
"Geez...how many times are you going to have to say that before you are satisfied? Time travel is a physical impossibility. Just like...."
"...Water flows downhill... BUT, if you use a siphon, you can move water up hill!"
"That's not what I mean. It's just an example, an analogy..."
"But...but... But you're not the only one that experienced time travel! I...I did too... But my time travel was different... And I think it is probably the reason that I get premonitions about things. I was trapped here in LeMU before."
"How can you be so sure about it? How can you be so absolutely confident about it?"
"Even if...IF... Just suppose that you did travel through time... Where is the other Kid, the other you?"
"The other me?"
"Yes, the other you. You're saying that you have been repeating the several days of being trapped here, right? If so, then the past you should be here as well."
"That's...uh...I...I know! Only my memory is going back through time!"
"Even though you forgot everything?"
"That's exactly why I've lost my memory! Normally anything like a memory going back through time would defy common sense. But this time common sense is being defied... My brain couldn't deal with the situation and started to panic. So it tried to logically explain or deal with the situation. And so it erased all of my memories."
"........."
"........."
"Uh...I don't mean to take the air out of you after your enthusiastic speech, but... We don't call that logical. I'm pretty sure the word is pathological. And sometimes they add the word delusional for good measure."
[Music—Stop]
So the day ended without us finding any answers.
Track—Insel Null
Sora had put in a request and we were going to have another picnic. She really seemed to enjoy them. We spread out the same Myumyun blanket near the rest area.
But just as I got to where we'd set it, I saw Takeshi breaking down the trap.
"Huh? You're cleaning it up?"
Takeshi nodded silently.
"Meaning...that...?"
"........."
Takeshi's shoulders slumped and he let out a big sigh. He looked so pathetic...I couldn't say anything else.
Track—Klamauk
Video: Kid/You – Astral
She again plopped herself down on the sheet and started munching away. I didn't know if Takeshi had matured over night, but he held his tongue, though it was clear he was in a sulky mood. Sara and Tsugumi didn't look at each other. It seemed like they were ignoring each other. Apparently they still weren't getting along. But everybody tried to make the best of it, eating, chatting and having fun.
"Rock, paper, scissors! Ready go!"
"I lost again!"
"Kid, you're terrible at this. What is that? Sixteen losses in a row?"
"Weird..."
"You're too nice. You have to just throw out what you feel - rock, paper or scissors."
"He's the gullible type."
"I am not. I'm trying to win."
"Rock, paper, scissors. Ready go!"
"Dang it!"
I just kept losing.
"Could be, that with your amnesia, your ability to make decisions isn't so good right now. Don't get too caught up with the trivial things that you can't control. You need to be strong. Make up your own mind. Or you'll just end up following everybody else."
"I know..."
"That being as it is..."
"Time for the LOSER'S PENALTY!"
"Hand over your sandwich."
"..."
Silently, I held out my sandwich.
"All righty!"
She squeezed a ton of mustard on to my sandwich. The penalty was mustard. And my sandwich was already drenched in the stuff. My mouth felt like it was on fire before I even took a bite...Maybe thanks to that exchange, I was able to get through the whole thing without thinking about it too much. Suddenly, someone cut across my field of vision. It was Tsugumi. Tsugumi was walking toward Takeshi. She extended her hand.
"Huh? What's with the hand?"
"..."
"You're like a dog. Shake girl. And you'll probably say 'don't make fun of me!'"
"You're really dumb, you know that?"
"Are you trying to say that you want another helping?"
Tsugumi nodded at Sora's extra explanation. She had already wolfed down her first one.
"Hey...you've gotta lot of nerve...you only show your face at meal time and now you're demanding seconds..."
"Well, I suppose..."
"So do you have more or not?"
"I do. I thought you might want more so I made a SPECIAL one for you."
"Special?"
I had a bad feeling about the whole thing.
"Eat this. And no leftovers."
"..."
Tsugumi took the sandwich without saying anything.
"..."
Takeshi stared at Tsugumi as she took the wrap off of the sandwich.
"...What?"
"Nothing. It's just that you're so beautiful. I can't take my eyes off of you even when you're just removing a sandwich wrapper..."
"Your stupidity is terminal. Maybe if you died 50 times it would help."
"..."
I thought Takeshi would get angry. But he was just grinning as he watched Tsugumi start in on her sandwich. Something was definitely not right here. I sucked in my breath and watched. Tsugumi bit into the sandwich.
Munch.
Chomp. Chew.
"Hmmm?"
"Hee, heee... Fwaaa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha..."
"..."
"It's got quite a flavor, huh? That sandwich...ha, ha,ha..."
Takeshi laughed so hard he cried.
"It's packed with mustard, Tabasco, pepper, sage, nutmeg, cinnamon, mint and a dose of curry powder... For good measure I added a dose of mayonnaise, ketchup, sugar, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and vanilla... And...what else? Oh, I forget... Anyway, I threw in every ingredient and spice that I could find. It's my secret 34 ingredient sauce."
"..."
"H...hey! That's just too cruel!"
"Yeah...!"
"That's going too far, Takeshi!"
"Shut up! I'm the cook here."
"Tsugumi...I highly recommend inducing vomiting immediately...! Get water quickly! N...no...we'll need medicine first...!"
"She'll be fine. She'll get the runs, but she won't die."
"That's not something you should do to a girl."
I went to grab Takeshi with my left hand.
"Wait. I'm fine."
Tsugumi mumbled this, stopping us.
"Huh, well aren't you tough!"
"I'm perfectly fine."
"But it still tastes terrible, right? Right? Tell the truth."
"I'm totally fine..."
[Music—Stop]
[Everybody]
"..............."
Track—Klamauk
What?
"What did you just say? What's it taste like?"
"Pizza."
"Are you serious?"
Tsugumi nodded.
"........."
"Munch, munch..."
"Hey...let me see that! That can't be!"
Takeshi went to grab the sandwich, but Tsugumi was too quick for him. Not only that, Takeshi caught his foot and fell to the floor. In that instant, Tsugumi polished off the sandwich.
"Thanks for the sandwich. You made it specially for me, right?"
".................."
So the event ended with Tsugumi turning the tables on Takeshi.
Track—Ersteboden
I separated the cans and sandwich wrappers and put them in garbage bags. You and Sara helped. Takeshi said he was going to start getting ready for lunch and headed to the kiosk. Sora said she had to do some maintenance on LeMMIH and left for the Control Room. Tsugumi disappeared to somewhere unknown.
....
But something happened when I was picking up garbage.
[Music—Stop]
[??]
"Hello there!"
"Huh?"
"What? What's the matter?"
"Nothing... Did somebody just call out?"
"What?"
"Nobody said anything."
"Really? Must be my imagination..."
"I'll bet you're just trying to find a way to get out of helping."
"I'm not. It's not that at all."
"You hearing your mystery voices again?"
"Well, I..."
"Please, don't do that again. Get a hold of yourself already. I know you're tired, but..."
"........."
We started picking up garbage again. We finally finished with the trash, folded the blanket and were done cleaning up.
"Now we'll just sweep the area. Mayo. Can you do me a favor and get me a broom and dustpan? I think they are at the kiosk."
"Roger that!"
Sara set out for the kiosk.
"I was just thinking. This must be a nightmare for the people that clean this place."
"It would be if 'people' had to do it. But LeMMIH usually uses a cleaning robot that automatically cleans the whole complex."
"Wow."
"Well, what with the accident and all, I imagine the robot is a rusted pile of junk metal at the bottom of the ocean right about now."
"I'll bet."
[??]
"Heave ho, heave ho!"
(...What?)
I...I was hearing voices again.
"Thinking about it, I guess that LeMU is just one massive pile of scrap metal. I suppose it's just of matter of how it's destroyed..."
"What? What's the matter?"
"Um..."
"You're not...not again?"
"..."
"Oh...alright. You've done enough. Just go to the infirmary or somewhere and rest. You've got a serious condition of something..."
Track—Traum In Der Dunkelheit
I was sure I'd heard something... This time, I was sure it wasn't my imagination.
[??]
"I'm carving. Can't you see. I'm carving..."
(See, I really can hear something.)
[??]
"I'm etching some marks into the stone."
(...Stone statue?)
I looked around the four stone statues at the edge of the open area. And there....
She was standing there next to the figure as if clinging to the statue.
(Oh！ It's that girl...)
It was the girl that I had seen and who had then vanished on the first day.
"Look, You! Right there!"
"Look! Over on that statue!"
"What about the statue?"
"Look! That stone statue! There's a girl there! See?"
"Huh? I don't see anybody."
"Not there! Over there! Oh, forget it! I'll go call to her!"
"Kid!"
I sprinted toward the stone statue.
(What could the girl be doing up there?)
[??]
"Well, it's because... I was feeling lonesome."
Lonesome?
[??]
"And anyway, I was...feeling sad..."
Sad?
(What is she talking about?)
[??]
"And next... Uh oh!"
Just then the girl lost her balance, falling from her awkward place on the pedestal.
I ran toward her. The water caught on my feet and sprayed everywhere as I ran all out to where she was.
(Will I make it?)
I threw out my free left hand to where the girl would be falling to catch her.
Splash!
....
I didn't feel anything. I thought maybe I hadn't reached her in time. Scared, I opened my eyes.
There was no one in my arms. Or even around me. Only the water sloshing about gently around me.
"Hey, are you alright? It looks like you took a pretty nasty spill..."
"..."
Of course there was no one on the pedestal supporting the statue. Without saying anything, I got up and went behind the statue.
There were deep notches that looked like they had been carved there by something hard and sharp. They were the shape of people. Really simple looking like stick people. At the end of each stick was a little round face... There were six in all. Looking closer, I saw that next to the people figures were two carvings of animals that I'd never seen. I looked up at the statue.
"That's a good question..."
I ignored them and gently touched the carvings on the statue. Without thinking I blurted out -
"Watch your step, okay?"
[??]
"Okay!"
That answer could have been my imagination that time...
Track—Zweitestock
I decided to take a walk around the complex for fun.
I thought that it might make for a good change of pace to walk around a floor I hadn't spent much time on...That was my thinking.
I wondered where I should go... I looked around, thinking.
[Music—Stop]
Video: Kid/You - Gabriel
...It was then that it happened. I saw 'the girl' again!
"Oh!"
I saw her small figure cutting across the corridor. I was sure of it. It was that girl! I chased after her.
Track—Tief Blau
It was almost as if she were trying to get away from me.
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
She might not have heard me and she didn't show any sign of stopping. I wondered what it was all about. This girl that kept appearing out of nowhere and then disappearing. This girl that didn't register on LeMMIH's bio scan. No, she had registered once...
She only appeared in front of me and we hardly communicated... Well, I couldn't worry about it. I knew it wouldn't help. It was something that I could only solve by asking her directly.
I followed in soon after her.
[Music—Stop]
A massive whale floated like a majestic phantasm, in the cosmic room. The girl was in the middle of the room.
Track—Der Mond Das Meer
She was facing away from me, sitting and hugging her knees.
"I finally...caught up..."
I approached her as I caught my breath...I heard singing. It sounded like phrases from a children's song.
[??]
"Moon sprite...shouldering a...long bow. Waiting inside a dream."
I felt like... I had heard the lyrics somewhere before. Somewhere, I was sure... In the distant, distant past... I wondered if it was my missing memory that was making me feel that way...?
"Hey, you."
Her shoulders jumped with shock and she stopped singing.
It was the girl after all.
"Why do you run away from me?"
[??]
"........."
"Oh, well. I guess it doesn't matter."
It really did matter to me, but since I had finally been able to confront the girl, I felt a surge of relief.
"Well, why don't we go where everyone else is?"
I held out my hand as I said this. Finally, she stood up and spoke.
[??]
"Brother..."
Two people actually speak this line together.
"...What?"
[??]
"........."
The girl just stared at my face.
"L...let's go!"
I took her hand and tugged it as I began to walk. The inside of my mind was churning... It was because of what she had just said. Inside of me it felt like another me was screaming...That was how I felt.
[Music—Stop]
Of course, I was still leading the girl by the hand. Everyone turned to look at me at once.
"Huh?"
"Another what?"
"Who are you talking about?"
"Are you talking about...THAT girl?"
"Yeah. I found her in the Cosmic Whale Room and brought her here."
"........."
"........."
"........."
"........."
"W...what's the matter with everyone? Why aren't you surprised?"
"Maybe you better rest for a while."
"What?"
[??]
"Hey, hey!"
The girl was tugging at my sleeve. I turned to look at her. But... The girl that I had brought back was...
Track—Drittestock
"What are you doing...dragging me here all of the sudden?"
"S-Sara...?"
"???"
I looked back at everyone.
"T-this isn't right! I swear, I saw her! We were walking here hand-in-hand. It wasn't Sara..."
"Is that right? Sara?"
"No. I didn't see anybody else. The Kid just suddenly grabbed my hand..."
"What? Sara...why are you lying...?"
"Huh? What're you talking about? You're the one that's lying?"
"W-what...? The girl was in the Whale Room...she was sitting down hugging her knees. She was singing some kind of phrases to a kid's song."
"I'm telling you that was me!"
Sara was red-faced and shouting.
"You don't have to tell everybody about it!"
"........."
(Geez, what's with her...? What's going on here...)
"Oh my!"
You groaned as she slapped her forehead with her hand.
"Kid? Just forget about everything else and get some rest. I'll bring you some dinner later."
"..............."
"What is going on with this guy...?"
[Music—Stop]
'Dritte stock - from the partition to the Cosmic Whale was submerged.'
'Casualties: None'
'Flooding to other rooms: None'
'Chance of damage spreading: None...'
Sora's voice conveyed the situation over the intercom in a matter-of-fact tone. The Cosmic Whale Room... I had been there until just shortly before the flooding. But somehow it felt like some event that had taken place thousands of miles away. I covered my head with the blanket, closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
I tried to search.
...For the world I should be in.
...For the place I should return to.
...And for myself.
Track—Gedaechtnisschwund
"........."
The corridor I was in wasn't very popular. It was completely silent. It was narrow...dark...cold...
(Where...is this...?)
I wondered if I really was in LeMU. Nothing looked familiar. It was like an unknown world. I just stood there in the middle of the foreign corridor.
Wait... I...I knew that space. For some reason, it seemed familiar to me. Like an image that appears and hides in the mist - not quite visible. Or like the moon peeking in between gaps in a thick night fog ...It was a corridor that stretched on straight forward. It seemed to go on forever in both directions. I started walking without really thinking about it.
(...I've been here before... But when could that have been?)
It felt like something long ago, but at the same time like something recent. I couldn't remember when. I just kept walking to nowhere in particular.
(...I have to go...)
But where was it that I felt I had to go? I didn't know why, but I felt that I had to go.
(...That's why I'm walking...)
In a soundless world. A colorless world. A scentless world. A world that didn't exist anywhere...
I found myself in a big room. It was big...and white...and quiet...
(...This looks like a hospital...)
That was what I thought. In a corner of the room were three capsule-like machines. As if they were calling out to me, I approached the capsules. Someone was in the capsules... Someone was in there sleeping. I reached out my right hand toward the capsule. My hand...made contact.
(Huh?)
Startled, I tried to jump backward. But my right hand was stuck to the capsule and I couldn't pull it back. I looked back at the capsule.
(——!?)
No, it was more dark blue, than black. The capsule continued to ooze...blackish blue and deep blue. I didn't know and couldn't imagine what was going on.
(That's right! Someone's inside. I have to open this and save them...!)
But my body wouldn't move, it felt paralyzed. I stopped breathing and could only watch what was unfolding. Finally, that sticky blue liquid covered the entire capsule. But it didn't stop there. It kept going... To the floor, the walls, the ceiling...as if it would swallow the whole room. It was like a living animal with a will of its own reproducing itself. The sticky blue liquid began to crawl up my body. Up my legs and my hands...inside my clothes and between my legs. I couldn't shake it off, or scream. I could only watch.
After covering my body, it forced open my mouth and started into my body. It invaded me through my ears, nose and the pores of my skin. In my body the 'blue' traveled around reaching my brain, my lungs and my heart. It began eating away at my brain, my organs and blood vessels. The blue liquid sucked my blood and started changing its color to black. I was changing into something that wasn't me...
(Aaaaaaahhhhhh..........!)
Assaulted by boundless fear and horrible despair...I howled a soundless scream.
[Music—Stop]
The next thing I knew, I was on a bed. It smelled of disinfectant... I wondered where I was. I was drenched in sweat. My heart was pounding. I had a dull headache. I lifted up my torso and glanced around me. The room was dim...but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was scenery that I knew.
(Oh yeah...I'm back in the infirmary...)
I finally realized that I had just been having a dream. I got my breath back and thought back to the dream.
(Uh...let's see...??)
What had seemed so vivid only moments ago seemed to vanish from my mind like clouds covering the night sky. All that was left was an unknown fear, a slight headache...and a fragment of a dream. I gave up and looked around me. The area was enveloped in a faint darkness. It wasn't a blackout. The lights had been dimmed to make it easier to sleep.
The proof seemed to be the sleeping breathing that I could here coming from the bed next me. I thought it might be Sara. Now wide awake, I got out of bed. I suddenly noticed something. There was someone laying face down next to my bed asleep. I squinted to see who it might be...It was You. I thought that she was going to be sore for sure after sleeping in that position. To at least keep her from catching a cold, I went to cover her with a blanket. Just then...
Track—Ersteboden
"Hmmm..."
"Oh...Kid? Good morning."
"Oh, did I wake you up?"
"No...I didn't mean to go to sleep. I guess I dozed off. Alright then!"
You shouted as she stood up.
"So? How're you feeling?"
"I feel perfectly fine."
"How could you be? You've been hearing things, seeing things...and that's proof that your nerves are shot."
"........."
"I've been looking out for you every night so I feel kind of responsible."
"It's not your fault."
"Well, that makes me feel a little better."
Saying that You shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm done with the bed so you can sleep here, You."
"What about you?"
"I slept enough this afternoon. I'm not tired."
"Hmmm. I see..."
You thought for a minute...
"In that case, will you hang out with me tonight?"
"Uh, sure."
So we decided to hang out again that night, in what seemed to be becoming a nightly ritual.
[Music—Stop]
We climbed on top of the roof of one of the buildings and gazed out over the scenery. I actually didn't know why we had decided to climb up on that particular night. But if I were to take a stab at the reason... It was probably because Lemuria was so beautiful then. For a while the two of us were silent, just enjoying the view. Finally, I started the conversation.
"Let's get to the bottom of things."
"To the bottom of what?"
"Let's get to the truth about your past. About your father and mother."
"........."
"That and the truth about my past. About by lost memories and my ability to see the future."
"........."
"That and one more thing - the truth about all of our pasts. And why this accident happened. Why were we the only ones trapped here? Why couldn't we get out?"
".................."
"I'm tired of dwelling on this. I mean it. Let's really figure things out tonight."
Track—Heilmittel
"Um...Kid..."
You stared into the distance.
"?"
"I'm sorry, but could we just forget about that today?"
"Huh? Why...?"
"I just feel so tired... That wasn't the reason that I invited you here today."
"........."
I wondered why we had come here.
"Why do you get so caught up in knowing about the past of people? You can never take back what's happened in the past... All we can do is live in the moment, with what is happening to us right this instant. We can't hop back and forth to the past or the future."
"........."
"The future will come. But until that moment comes, the future is just like the dark. You can't see anything. You never know what might happen a minute from now. The future is scary, so that's why people look to the past. If you look back everything is clearly illuminated. But... The past is really the same. The further that you get away from the present, the darker it is and the less you can see."
"........."
To me, it seemed to lose your memory, like I had, made everything pitch black... No, rather things become nothing.
"The only sphere that we can truly know is really tiny. Especially when it comes to time, we are essentially blind. That's why I...I...I just want to value this moment. The past and the future - I don't care about them anymore."
"........."
I was left speechless. There was nothing I could be expected to say. Because she was no longer focused on reflecting on her past. She was different from me. I alone was intent on knowing everything. I believed that I had to know it, or else. But You wasn't like that. The dragon had left the damsel free. There was no longer...any need to get vanquish it.
I didn't know how much time had passed.
Even though there was no meaning in it. I didn't feel that there was any reason for being there.
(I've had enough of this.)
I stood up quickly.
"So, should we get some sleep?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"........."
"What's wrong?"
"I want... I want to spend...just a little more time with you."
"Huh? But..."
'But there's nothing for us to do, is there?'
That was what I was about to say, but You said...
"There's something about being with you that relaxes me..."
"........."
I sat down again where I was. I figured that even if it was nothing to me, it might mean something to her...
"Hey. Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"
I shook my head.
"Guess."
"How am I supposed to know...?"
"You traveled through time, right? You experienced all this before, right? In that case, you should know what I'm about to do."
"You don't believe in time travel, right?"
"That's not what I'm saying."
"........."
"So guess."
You repeated herself.
"What...you're going to do?"
"Yeah, probably."
"What...you're going to do?"
"I keep telling you to guess, right?"
"........."
"You don't know?"
"I don't know."
"What is it you're supposed to do at times like this?"
"What?"
"Use your other eye."
My other eye...
"The third eye?"
"Yup. When the third eye opens, true wisdom is apparent and all becomes visible."
"But how?"
"You want me to teach you?"
"Y-yeah..."
It was something I had hoped for. If I could harness that power, then my past memory...
"First, do you know where the first eye is?"
I cocked my head, thinking.
"It's here."
I closed it... The tip of You's finger touched my eyelid.
"And the second eye? Right here..."
Without giving me a second to think, You did the same thing to my left eye.
"That's...right...here..."
..........
.......
....
I felt something soft touch my lips.
My mind went completely blank. I couldn't think of anything. The third eye...? Had I found true wisdom? Had all things become visible to me? It was a lie! I felt more and more confused. I only... The scene in front of me...the soft touch of skin... And the sweet smell that made my brain numb...it was all I could do to absorb these.
That night passed as I etched...pure...slow...and new memories into my mind.
[Music—Stop]