Part 33: Episode 20: Travelling

I could feel my consciously slowly returning to me.
I could feel light hitting my eyes. Did the stars get that bright?
I could no longer feel the cold night air hitting me. All I could feel was the occasional bump.
I heard the sound of wheels grinding against rails. A familiar sound…

Finally, my eyes opened.





I can see no one else on the train. It is very quiet.

Is this… the last train? It’s dark outside.

I look up, and address the dove leaning his head out the window opposite.

Don’t stick your head out too far, Nageki!



It looks so strange outside… What are those lights flowing by? Are we next to a river?
I think so. The river of stars, that is.
The river of stars?
The Milky Way. Those are stars you see.
Oh, so that’s it? I see blue stars, and green ones, and all colors…
There are indeed a great variety.


Nageki takes a black planisphere out from somewhere, and points at it.

We’re here, near Cygnus.
Cygnus… Is that a constellation?
That’s right. Maybe you know it as the Swan.
Oh, yes! Yes! I know that one!

So Cygnus is the Swan? I never knew!

You know a lot, Nageki. I was always told that every hunter-gatherer needs to be able to find Polaris, but other than that I don’t know any of them.
If we passed its tail, and are nearing the head… we must be traveling from north to south.

It’s still the third semester, after all.
……

It was then that it hit me.

…Wait, Nageki… When did we get onto this train?
Who knows?
Where are we going?
I don’t know.
And the train is going through outer space!?
…It would seem so.
Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what do I do!? We’re finally on a date in outer space, and… I forgot my spacesuit!
What will happen if I go into a vacuum without a spacesuit on!? Will I explode!?

Close it, Nageki! Before we explode!
Calm down, Miss Lourde. It’s all right.

A dream…?

That’s right. Nageki can move vertically, but he still can’t leave the school. There’s no way we could be on a train together.
On top of that, we’re on a train through the cosmos breathing in space air. Of course it’s a dream.

Ummm… What were we doing…?
Astronomy.
Oh… right!

We were watching the eclipse on the roof with everyone.

Does this mean… we fell asleep in the middle of the eclipse?
Perhaps.

Oh! Yes!
I gave myself a slight pinch and waited for the sensation to hit me.
……

Hmmm… It… doesn’t hurt. It feels kind of… unsatisfying.
I feel the same as always. But if you don’t feel normal, this must be a dream.
I see… That’s too bad. Going on a trip with you would be so much fun, but it’s just a dream…

He continues staring out the window at the pale stars. He seems more open than usual.
I guess he’s right. We should enjoy ourselves, even if it is just a dream!
The train speakers crackled, and an unfamiliar voice began to speak.

Announcer: We will be checking tickets now. Please have them ready as the conductor comes by.

The conductor appears without a sound. I never felt him coming! He’s as good as the doctor!

…Umm… Wait, have I met you somewhere before?
Could be. I see too many people every day to know.

I really feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before. Maybe it’s just a coincidence?

Anyway, tickets, please.
Tickets…?
You mean we need to pay to ride the train even though it’s a dream…!?

Wow! You get a free ride, Nageki?
I don’t remember getting this anywhere…
Of course not. The Scorpion Flame is a treasure passed down only to the chosen ones.

…All right.

I looked over the planisphere is Nageki’s wings, and it certainly seemed special.
It is a far cry from what a middle-schooler might use in a science fair project. It looks antique, and valuable. The stars aren’t printed on the surface, and instead glitter almost with their own light.
Are those real gemstones?

And you, miss? You don’t have a planisphere, do you?
I need to pay a fare, too!?
Of course you do. Only the one with the planisphere gets on for free.

Aaagh! What a financially troubling dream!
Wh-what do I do…? Do I have anything I could use as a ticket?
I rummaged through my skirt pockets, desperately hoping for anything paper-like that I could use.

…What… is that?
It’s…the fortune I drew at the temple on New Year’s…
You’ve been holding onto it for a while.
Aah, that’s a ticket for the green car.

It is!?

You can stay here if you want, but you could move to the celebrity car. See you around.

What a convenient dream!

And so Nageki and I passed the time on the train, looking at all the different stars we drove by while Nageki explained each of them to me. Who would’ve thought that there were this many important stars in space?
Eventually, the announcer came over the speakers again.



So there are traffic signals in outer space?
It would seem so. Though, one would think that with so much room they could arrange it so that the train would never have to stop.

Yeah.

Oh! Nageki, Nageki! There’s a station!
We aren’t really trying to get anywhere, anyway. Want to get off?
A station…? Didn’t they just say we were stopping to wait for signals?
But there’s a platform and everything. Look, it says “Southern Cross Line – The King’s Station.”
Let’s get off!


Our minds made up, we both stepped off the train, not knowing what sorts of adventures would await us.