Dawn was approaching in the amusement park, and the place suddenly became lively.
Even so, it probably wasn’t normal operating hours yet. The crowds of people with unrecognizable faces weren’t around yet. What looked like pure white arms— I couldn’t see them too well in the morning light— started popping up here and there, doing things like wiping down the walls of buildings, and painting things white.
Morning cleaning and maintenance, was the impression I got. I still don’t understand the true nature of this strange amusement park even now, though. It would be hard to even guess at. It seemed like there was a schedule, and everything was moving according to that.
Amusement parks are meant to entertain their customers. But in that case, who was this place meant to entertain? At the very least, I’m having no fun at all here.
I want to be home already. Yesterday, I only felt this vaguely. But now, that feeling has become an urgent desire. I want to return to my world, which was boring but peaceful. I can’t sleep well in this dimension.
Sounds similar to construction resounded. Looking towards them, the things that had burnt down yesterday, the parliament building and the merry-go-round, were being removed. The hard-to-see white arms also had a hand in this, lifting up rubble into the sky.
At the same time, something that looked like a white ants’ nest, or clay, came up from the ground. The fingers on the white arms kneaded it, making it start to take shape. Are they building a new building or attraction?
Those giant arms...if the black ones I saw yesterday are the same as the white ones I see now, then... They seem to be rough things, and it doesn’t look like they’re able to recognize us. If we were to be recognized as something foreign to this amusement park, as trash, I don’t think we could avoid getting removed.
After all, yesterday I too was taken along with a bunch of TVs, and was carelessly dropped by them... Let’s be careful not to get near those white arms. Anything could happen at any time in this dimension; we were living next to death. I’ll have to protect myself.
Only now do I realize how safe life in the country was, the daily life that I casually enjoyed. Humans, advanced in the fields of science and civilization, making towns and laws... In order to protect ourselves, we built up history, structure, and culture. I realized that.
I can feel that this is a place outside of human history. It’s just like the deep mountains, or the ocean floor. No, it’s just like the surface of the moon; this is an extremely dangerous wilderness, where no one will protect you.
This place is raw nature, where human lives can be blown away easily. This is terrible. I got the chills, and wrapped my arms around myself.
“Ummm—” Torii told me that Utena and Kurashima would be right outside the gift shop, but they aren’t here. Not having lookouts is a problem; Torii and I were sleeping defenselessly inside just a moment ago.
If there had been another fire, the both of us would have been goners. Where could Utena and the others be and what could they even be doing there, I wonder... Angry, I looked around randomly.
Right away, I saw two of the missing people. Utena and Kurashima were on the opposite side of the gift shop, in a small but tasteful building. Like something built by three little pigs, it was a messy patchwork of brick, wood, and straw. The roof was the color of cheap toothpaste.
The place had a sign, but as usual, it was written in either a foreign language, or some other unknown language to me, and I couldn’t read it. Through the cleanly polished windowsill, I could see the two of them having a friendly chat.
I guess that building is a restaurant, because the two of them were eating. Pastel colored marshmallows were piled on a ceramic plate, and I could see them throw one into their mouths occasionally. It looked like they were having a date, so it was hard to interrupt them, but...
“Heeyy!” Calling out to them, I walk over. It didn’t look like they’d heard me, so I opened the double doors. I stepped inside the building, or the store, as I’ll call it.
“Ah, Hitomi! Morning, look who’s an over-sleeper!” Utena noticed me immediately, and she waved her hand to call me over.
She was incredibly confused last night, though. Either Kurashima had calmed her down, or she’s just not the type to dwell on one emotion for too long. Either way, Utena’s expression was bright and cheerful. Wiping off the crumbs around her mouth with the back of her hand, she motioned me over.
“Here, sit. We have food,” she offered generously. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Now that she said it, I barely ate anything yesterday. I only snacked a bit while we were inside that parliament building, or whatever it was.
“Ha... Um, good morning.” Greeting them while sounding a little spaced out, I came closer to the two. The inside of the store felt like a cafe, with seats lined up here and there. In true amusement park fashion, the chairs were shaped like some kind of artwork, and seemed hard to use for normal people. What were they trying to imitate? I wondered. The design looked like some sort of alien, or a mollusk.
Utena and Kurashima sat across from each other at a table. I hesitated for a moment, trying to decide who to sit next to, before choosing Utena.
“Oh, you’re sitting here? Okay, come over!♪” Laughing sweetly, Utena shifted over to the side to give me space to sit. She was relatively bright and friendly— a good girl, although her childish way of speaking stood out.
“Did you sleep well?” she chatted. “Utena slept at a weird time, so she kept waking up and falling back asleep. I’m tired enough to want to go back to sleep, but somehow I’m wide awake instead.” The girl who was speaking about something looked understandably thin. Utena was a glamorous girl originally, but now, she looked worn out. It was probably because she’d cried her eyes out last night, but her eyes looked puffy and swollen. Her long hair was also getting frayed, and tangled in some places. She must have changed into a new uniform, though, because what she was wearing looked clean. Utena was the type to pay attention to her looks, so thinking that she wouldn’t want me to see her like this, I turned my eyes away from her.