the girl who leapt
through time
Yasutaka Tsutsui
Translated by David Karashima
ALMA BOOKS
Contents
THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME
7
THE STUFF THAT NIGHTMARES ARE MADE OF
107
ALMA BOOKS LTD
London House
243–253 Lower Mortlake Road
Richmond
Surrey TW9 2LL
United Kingdom
www.almabooks.com
First published by Alma Books Ltd in 2011
Original titles: XXX and XXX
Copyright © Yasutaka Tsutsui, XXXX
Originally published in Japan by XXX in XXX
English translation © David Karashima, 2011
All rights reserved.
Yasutaka Tsutsui and David Karashima assert their moral right to be
identified as the author and translator of this work in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either
are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events
or locales is entirely coincidental.
Printed in Great Britain by CPI Cox & Wyman Ltd
isbn: 978-1-84688-134-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise),
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be resold, lent, hired
out or otherwise circulated without the express prior consent of the publisher.
THE GIRL WHO LEAPT
THROUGH TIME
9
THE DARK SHADOW IN THE SCIENCE LAB
It had been hours since most of the students had left
the school building. Its halls and classrooms were now
cold, and everywhere was quiet, except for the distant
sound of someone playing Chopin’s ‘Polonaise’ on the
piano in the auditorium.
Kazuko Yoshiyama was in her last year of junior
high school, and she’d just about finished cleaning up
the science lab with her classmates, Kazuo Fukamachi
and Goro Asakura.
“That’s good enough. I’ll take out the trash,” she said.
“You boys can go wash your hands.”
As the tall and lanky Kazuo left the room with the
short and stocky Goro, Kazuko had to stop herself from
letting out a chuckle at the contrast between her two
friends. They were very different in other ways, too.
Both of them were very clever, that was for sure. But
while Goro worked hard and could be very impulsive,
Kazuo was a bit of a dreamer. In fact, he often seemed
10
11
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
the
dark
shadow
in
the
science
lab
Although it was called the small science lab, the room
was generally used as a storage space and was filled with
lots of interesting things like jars of biological samples,
skeletons, stuffed animals and all kinds of chemicals.
For most of the girls in the school, the room was a
creepy place best avoided. But Kazuko wasn’t the sort
of person to mind.
“Nobody should be in here,” said Kazuko to herself.
“I wonder if it could be Mr Fukushima?”
But then, she’d seen her teacher leave earlier through
another door, so it surely couldn’t be him making the
noise. So who could it be? Kazuko started to feel a little
scared. But nevertheless, she managed to summon up
the courage to open the door. But as soon as she did,
there was a great smash, and the sound of breaking
glass echoed around the walls of the room.
“Who’s there?” Said Kazuko, her voice wavering as
she struggled to see in the dark.
She could just about see that there were some test tubes
lined up along a desk in the middle of the room, and it
seemed that one of those had simply rolled off onto the
floor, leaving a pool of liquid to spread across the tiles.
Someone must have been doing an experiment in here,
she thought. But who? And where on earth did they go?
to be in a world of his own, and Kazuko could never
be sure of what he was thinking.
While washing their hands in the bathroom sink,
Goro looked over at Kazuo.
“Kazuko’s cute, and she’s nice, too. But she can be a
little overbearing at times, can’t she?”
Goro liked to pepper his sentences with big words
from time to time.
“Oh yeah?” said Kazuo, who had been miles away
again. “What makes you say that?”
“Don’t you think she can be overbearing?” said Goro,
puffing up his chest to match his face, which was al-
ways rather red and puffy. “She treats us like we’re
kids. Come on. You boys can go and wash your hands,
she says.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” replied Kazuo, who
already appeared to be setting off on another excursion
in his mind.
Kazuko took the trash out to the back of the build-
ing and came back to the small science lab to put away
some brooms they’d been using. But as she placed her
hand on the doorknob, she thought she heard a sound
coming from inside.
“That’s odd,” thought Kazuko.
12
13
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
THE SCENT OF LAvENDER
“What just happened?” gasped Kazuko, incredulously.
Was that someone’s shadow she’d seen? She was sure
of it. There was no way it could have been an illusion.
No, she was sure she’d seen somebody move behind
the partition.
Kazuko reached for the door that led to the hallway
and tried pulling it. But, just as she thought, it was
locked. So whoever had been here clearly hadn’t left
through there. So where had they gone? They couldn’t
have just vanished. That would be ridiculous. But
what other explanation was there? This was all just
too strange to be true.
Completely confused, Kazuko slowly returned to the
desk where the test tubes were lined up. There was
a slight hint of a sweet scent in the air, and Kazuko
assumed it must be coming from the contents of the
broken test tube. And though she wasn’t quite sure
what the scent was, she did notice that it was quite
Kazuko walked over to the desk to read the labels on
the bottles of chemicals lined up next to the test tubes.
But before she could, a dark shadow jumped out from
behind the chemicals cabinet and scuttled behind a
partition next to the door. Kazuko froze. Could it be
a burglar?
“Who’s there?” she called out. “Stop scaring me like
that, and show yourself!”
The door leading to the hallway rattled.
“It’s no use trying to escape to the hall!” Yelled Ka-
zuko, trying hard to stop her fear from overwhelming
her. “That door is locked!”
When Kazuko’s voice had echoed away, the room fell
back into silence. With no more rattling of the door and
not a sound from behind the partition.
“I know who you are!” Said Kazuko, feeling a little
more brave. “Come out Kazuo! Or Goro! I know it’s
one of you two trying to scare me!”
Kazuko waited for a response, but none came. So
instead, she gulped down her fear and tiptoed over to
the partition. Then she stopped, took a quiet breath,
and slowly peered around the edge. But incredibly,
there was nobody there.
14
15
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
the
scent
of
lavender
“Nope. She’s not here.” He called out before suddenly
letting out a high-pitched scream.
“What’s up?” called Kazuo, running in after to find
Goro standing by the side of Kazuko, who was lying
still on the floor.
“What’s happened?” asked Goro, trembling. “She’s
not… dead… is she?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” said Kazuo, taking her wrist
in his hand and checking her pulse. “She seems fine.
Can you grab her legs?”
“What for?”
“So we can carry her to see the nurse, of course! I
think she’s fainted.”
When the three of them reached the nurse’s room,
there was no one there. So Kazuo and Goro lay Kazuko
down on the bed.
“I’ll go look for a teacher,” said Kazuo. “You open that
window and find a way to cool her forehead.”
Goro was clearly frightened, and he nodded without
a word. Then, after Kazuo had left, he composed him-
self for a moment, opened the window and dabbed his
handkerchief in water before placing it on Kazuko’s
head.
“It’s probably exhaustion,” Goro mumbled to himself
pleasant. In fact she could remember smelling this be-
fore somewhere. It was something sweet and nostalgic.
Something she’d definitely smelled somewhere before.
But what was it?
She reached for one of the bottles of chemicals on the
desk and tried to read the label. But it was too dark for
her to see properly. She tried squinting to see if that
helped, but as she did, she started to feel lightheaded.
That sweet smell was growing stronger by the second
until – all of a sudden – it overpowered her, sending
her crumbling to the floor and into unconsciousness.
A few minutes later, Kazuo and Goro returned to
the science lab.
“Come on, Kazuko. Let’s go!” called out Kazuo.
“We’ve got your bag here!” Goro added in a loud
voice as he pushed open the door to the empty main lab.
“I guess she hasn’t got back from taking out the trash
yet. Probably ran into someone and is still out there
chatting away. Girls just love to talk!”
“I doubt it,” said Kazuo, in his usual relaxed way, as
he pointed to the door of the smaller lab. “She’s prob-
ably in there putting away the brooms.”
Goro walked off towards the small science lab, swing-
ing his bag and Kazuko’s as he went.
16
17
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
the
scent
of
lavender
“Really?” said Kazuko sitting up on the bed, clearly
surprised. “That’s so strange. I’m sure I… I want to
check the room again. Come with me.”
Mr Fukushima raised his hand.
“Hey now, not so fast. You should take it easy after
fainting like that. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Well, if you’re sure, then I will come with you.”
Together, they returned to the science lab. But when
they got there, sure enough, there was nothing to be
seen. Nothing on the table. And not even a shard of
glass where the broken test tube had been earlier.
“But that’s so odd,” said Kazuko in bewilderment.
“That smell you mentioned,” asked Mr Fukushima,
“could you tell what it was?”
“Well, it was a sweet smell. But how can I describe
it…”
Then the answer suddenly dawned on her. “That’s
it! It was lavender!”
“Lavender?”
“Yes! I remember when I was in elementary school,
and my mother used to let me smell her lavender per-
fume. It was the same smell!”
sheepishly. “It’s ridiculous for them to ask the three of
us to clean a room that big!”
“Come on Kazuko! Wake up!” said Goro with tearful
eyes as he dabbed the handkerchief in water again and
placed it back on her forehead.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kazuo re-
turned with Mr Fukushima, who’d been the last person
left in the staff room.
“Yes, I think she’s just fainted,” he said after giving
her a quick examination.
Together, they waited in silence for several minutes.
Then finally it looked as if Kazuko was starting to
wake up.
“Oh my. What happened?” she said.
“You fainted in the laboratory,” replied Kazuo.
Immediately Kazuko’s memory came flooding back,
and after taking just a moment to regain her composure,
she began to tell the others all about her encounter with
the shadowy figure.
“Wow, that’s really something,” said Kazuo. “But
when we found you on the floor, there weren’t any test
tubes or bottles of chemicals around. And there wasn’t
anything on the floor either.”
“And we didn’t smell anything,” added Goro.
18
19
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
RUMBLING AND SHAKING
Kazuko didn’t feel her normal self for several days
after the incident in the science lab. She wouldn’t go so
far as to say that she was feeling ill or anything. It was
just that her body seemed to have an odd lightness to
it, like a sort of floating sensation that left her feeling
ungrounded. Like she might suddenly do something
crazy. But this strange feeling was more mental than
physical, and Kazuko couldn’t help but wonder if it
might have been caused by the lavender-scented chemi-
cal in the laboratory. In fact, she was almost sure of it.
On the third night after the incident, Kazuko finished
her homework and climbed into bed at eleven. She’d
been playing basketball in the afternoon, and her body
was exhausted, but her mind was still sharp and wide-
awake, so she was having trouble getting to sleep. And
as she lay there in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking
of the incident in the lab, there came a great rumbling
noise, and Kazuko’s bed began jolting up and down.
But Kazuko knew there was something else about
the smell. Something she couldn’t quite remember. But
something that was somehow very important.
20
21
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
rumbling
and
shaking
Suddenly, just as she was finally drifting off, there
came a loud and piercing scream from the road in front
of their house.
“Fire!” came a single voice. Then came the voices of
many: “Fire! Fire!”
What were the chances of so many incidents in one
night! Kazuko was getting sick of it by now, and felt
like crying in frustration. She jumped out of bed again
and went over to the window, pushing open the lace
curtains that hung there.
Outside, about two blocks away, she could see the
chimney of a bathhouse enveloped in smoke. Oh my
goodness! she thought to herself. Goro’s family store is
right next to that bathhouse!
As two fire engines passed Kazuko’s house, their sirens
blaring through the night, she hastily pulled a light
overcoat on over her nightgown and left her room to
investigate.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked her mother
from behind the door to her room.
“There’s a fire near Goro’s house!” she replied. “I’m
going to see what’s going on.”
“Don’t be daft! It’s too dangerous!”
“Earthquake!” said Kazuko to herself. Within mo-
ments the room began shaking sideways and letting out
disturbing creaking sounds. This was no minor tremor.
This was a big one.
Kazuko had always hated earthquakes. So she jumped
out of bed, ran out of her room without changing out
of her nightgown and scurried along the hallway, with
its windows that were now creaking, too. But the very
moment when she opened the front door, the creaking
and rumbling came to an abrupt end. Hearing steps
behind her, she turned around to see her mother and
younger sisters standing in the doorways of their rooms,
looking pale and surprised.
“We’d better go in the garden,” said Kazuko, “in case
there’s an aftershock.”
And within moments they were all standing shiver-
ing in the breeze in the garden. Sure enough several
aftershocks came along within minutes, but they weren’t
too big. So once they’d decided it was safe again, they
all returned to the house and went back to bed. But
again, Kazuko found it difficult to sleep. After all, her
heart was now racing from all that drama. But after
lying there for several minutes more, she felt her eyelids
starting to become heavy.
22
23
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
rumbling
and
shaking
Kazuko glanced at her clock as she got back into bed
yet again. It was already three in the morning. She was
absolutely exhausted, and fell asleep within minutes,
but she kept having strange dreams all through the
night. At first she saw a shadowy figure that jumped
out from behind the fire and then flew away. Then
she found herself in the lab again, which also started
to rumble and shake violently. When she finally woke
up, she found herself covered in sweat. But at least it
was morning.
She looked over to where the sun’s rays were coming
in through the window, casting lacy shadows on the
floor. What time is it? she thought to herself, turning to
glance at the clock. Oh my goodness! I’m late!
Skipping breakfast, she ran out of the house, with a
sleepy, aching head and tired, unsteady legs. Fortunately,
she caught sight of Goro waiting at the traffic light.
“Hey Goro!” she called out. “Are you running late,
too?”
Goro turned around and smiled, happy that he wasn’t
the only one running behind today.
“Yeah,” said Goro. “It took me so long to fall back
to sleep after the fire that I ended up sleeping through
my alarm.”
But Kazuko pretended not to hear her mother’s warn-
ing. Instead she quickly pulled on her wooden sandals
and ran out into the night to where a bunch of onlookers
had already gathered. It seemed as if the fire had started
near the back door of the bathhouse, so it hadn’t spread
to the Asakura General Store yet.
“Please, everyone, stay back!” shouted the police at
the growing mass of sleepy spectators. “You’re getting
in the way of the firefighters!”
“I felt an earthquake earlier,” said a man standing next
to Kazuko to one of his friends. “It must have toppled
the gas burner over and started the fire.”
“Hey you!” said someone, tapping Kazuko on the
shoulder from behind. Kazuko turned to see Kazuo
standing there in his pajamas.
“Oh, Kazuo! I was worried about Goro’s shop.”
“Me too. But I think everything is fine. I hear it’s just
a small fire. They said it’ll be extinguished in no time,”
said Kazuo in his characteristically laid-back fashion.
Not too long after, when the last of the flames had
been snuffed out by the firefighters, Kazuko and Kazuo
walked over to Goro’s house. Together they jumped
for joy at Goro’s lucky escape from the oncoming fire.
Then they all went back to their homes.
24
25
the
girl
who
leapt
through
time
BETWEEN DREAM AND REALITY
Kazuko’s mind was racing with different scenes and
different thoughts. Too many for her to deal with.
I’m going to die! she thought to herself. Run over by
a huge, heavy truck! If only I’d stayed in bed a bit longer.
Then I wouldn’t be so tired and slow!
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion,
and she prayed for the safety of her warm and cozy
bed back home. But she knew there was nothing she
could do. Nothing except keeping her eyes closed as
tightly as she could. And so she did. About a second
passed. But nothing happened. Then another. But still
nothing happened. Kazuko began to wonder what on
earth was going on. But right at that moment, she felt
herself slipping into unconsciousness. She felt a sense
of warmth begin to engulf her. Like the warmth and
coziness of her bed that she’d been praying for.
When Kazuko opened her eyes, she found herself
back in her room. She was wearing her nightgown and
When the light turned green, they both dashed across
the zebra crossing, but as they reached the middle, an
unfamiliar voice startled them.
“Watch out!”
Then came a deafening horn.
Kazuko and Goro turned to see a large truck coming
straight towards them. It looked as if it had just run
a red light, and now it was heading directly for the
intersection where they stood.
Kazuko whipped around and ran straight into Goro,
who was standing right behind her – and they both
tumbled to the ground. She looked up, and the truck
was closer. Then closer still. Until its massive tires were
just meters from her face and Kazuko could do nothing
but close her eyes.
Dostları ilə paylaş: |