“Can you come to see me?”
“Will it be better for you?”
“Of course.”
“If I have an aircraft, I can fly to you immediately.”
“Where are you now?”
“Umm, I have no idea. I don’t understand the matters on the ground too well. I think my thoughts will be clearer tomorrow and will be able to understand the situation that I am in now. Maybe, I am 500 to 800 kilometers east of where you are. I will not be able to come to your place soon. Well, probably tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
“Are you okay? How will you come here?”
“I will move on the ground.”
“By car?”
“Yes.”
“You have a car. I’m relieved to hear that. How did you get it?”
“It’s my friend’s car.”
“Oh ... Anyway, be careful.”
“I will be careful.”
“I think you should not be conspicuous.”
“Sure.”
“How is your health condition?”
“Not bad.”
“That’s good. I have been worrying about you.”
“My mind is not good, though.”
“Is anything wrong?”
“It’s vague.”
“It is due to drugs.”
“Right. It seems that the efficacy is about to run out.”
“You might feel irritated at times, but I want you to withstand it.”
“Irritated?” I laughed a bit at that timing. “I have never been irritated. I wonder what it is like.”
“I think you have just forgotten about it.”
“Ah, you may be right. I might not be able to recall various things beside that as well.”
“For example?”
“For example, about who I am.”
She chuckled momentarily. “Are you kidding?”
I’m not sure. Am I kidding? I didn’t know even that.
“I may be joking. Why did you tell me not to say my name?”
“I thought the call was wiretapped.”
“Is it solved?”
“Yeah, I believe so. I checked the phone device just in case.”
“Oh, you can do such a thing.”
“Only if I have a tool and a receiver.”
“Just like Sasakura.”
“What? Who?”
“Err, what? I wonder who it is ...”
I could not recall whoever Sasakura was. For some reason, I understood that it was a nostalgic name. At first, I recognized that it was a very familiar existence. However, when I tried to recall it, it faded away. Like a glider attached to and pulled by a winch, my memory was ascending to the sky. It was becoming smaller and smaller. It flashed once in the end and vanished. Nothing was left behind. Only the blue sky was spreading. I remember nothing.
“Call me again tomorrow. Okay? Can you remember it?”
“I think I can.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise.”
“So, be careful.”
“Of what?”
“Of things around you.”
“Around me? Of course, That’s the only thing I can be careful of.”
“You are on the ground and not in the sky. There are always some people around you, and they might be watching you.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“So, be careful.”
“Understood.”
I put the telephone down. I got out of the booth. At one end of the bar counter, that man was waiting for me. Glancing at him once, I walked toward the entrance of the restaurant.
“Hey.” He hailed me.
Although I was already touching the doorknob, I thought about what to do for a moment. Shall I go out, or turn around to look back? When in the sky, I will not have time to think about such a thing. If I hesitate a bit, it’s over.
Before I knew it, the background music was changed. The tune was now a blues number that I had listened to before. I looked back, and approached the counter.
“Are you talking to me?” I stood in front of the man and asked.
“Of course, I am.” He exhaled the breath through his nostrils. Like a bull. Come to think of it, he was giving off the smell of a bull. I had been making the assumption that he was a trailer truck driver. Then, his trailer truck might be loaded with bulls. “Hey, you said you could talk after the phone.”
“I have nothing to talk to you about. What about you?”
“Yes, why don’t we have a conversation while taking time?”
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t have enough time. I have someone waiting.”
“Oh, where?”
“In my car.”
“Really. But don’t worry about that.”
The man stood up while grinning, and approached me. He grabbed me by my shoulder and drew me closer to him. I tried to step back, but his hand was seizing my arm. It was a big hand. He was strong. I glared at him fixedly. He brought his face close to mine, and showed me the weird grin again. Whatever is going down, I should calm down, I thought.
“Let me go,” I warned as quietly as possible.
“Sorry. What did you say?”
“Let go of me, please.”
“Such a faint voice, eh?!” He looked back at the bar counter. “Can someone hear that?”
“I just said that to you,” I uttered.
The man turned to me. He was no longer smiling.
“To ‘you’? You mean, to me?”
“Okay ...” I nodded.
“Oh, you’re obedient and reasonable. So, we can have a good time together, eh? I won’t harm you.”
“No, that’s not what I mean,” I said. “Can I pick up something in my pocket?”
“What? Pocket? Which pocket?” The man laughed, while shaking his palatine uvula. “Funny. What do you mean? Are you taking out a gun, or something?”
“I don’t have a gun. I will pull out something. So, let me go.”
The man released my upper arm. I unzipped a chest pocket of my jacket and picked up my ID card. It was in a vinyl case. I showed it to the nose of the man.
“Oh, what?” He blinked and squinted. It was taking him some time to focus the sight on it.
My right thumb has already unlocked the trigger of a machine gun. I will shoot at the center of the man’s forehead. Bratatat. A red balloon bursts and vanishes in an instant. I was falling into such a reverie.
“What? A pilot? Are you?”
“I am.”
“Really?” With a surprised face, he looked fixedly at me. “I am meeting a pilot for the first time. You are still a young kid, eh?”
“Can you keep it a secret from others over there?” I said so silently.
“Well, yeah ...” The man nodded.