Page 27 of The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop

The girl seemed to be in high spirits, but Kozue felt unsettled.

When she answered with a nervous nod, the cat pushed its head into her leg as though it was urging her on.

Reluctantly, Kozue walked past her mother’s name on the sign and stepped through the door.

As she did so, she found herself showing her respect with a polite ‘ Ojamashimasu ’.

The interior of the shop was quite eclectic.

It had the atmosphere of a coffee shop, but the place was indeed brimming with books.

The walls were lined with multiple bookcases, and the tables and the counter were cluttered with shelves and bookends filled with books.

It reminded Kozue of an old, traditional inn that looked like it was constantly being renovated on a whim.

There were small vases holding cherry blossoms here and there, adding to the maze-like atmosphere of the room.

‘Please,’ the girl said, gesturing to a table with a ‘Reserved’ sign on it.

Once Kozue was seated, the girl placed a coaster and napkin in front of her.

Then, the cat jumped on the table and planted itself on an empty spot, deftly tucking its front paws under its body to form a perfect loaf.

Everything unfolded so smoothly, it was as though they were following a well-practised procedure.

‘Do make sure you observe everything as thoroughly as possible, down to the smallest detail,’ the girl told Kozue with a cheerful smile on her face.

‘Huh?’ was all Kozue could say in reply, but the girl seemed completely nonchalant as she swiftly prepared some coffee and brought it over.

Then, she proceeded to pull out the chair opposite Kozue and lowered herself into the seat.

Once again, Kozue felt as though she was looking into a mirror.

While Kozue’s body tightened with nerves, the girl seemed perfectly relaxed, sitting with her elbows on the table and her chin resting lightly on her interlaced fingers.

‘I’ve always wanted to talk with you like this,’ the girl said. ‘I never stopped believing that you would one day show up.’

It wasn’t what Kozue expected to hear from someone she’d just met. Yet somehow it didn’t feel out of place. Perhaps because their faces were almost identical, it even felt like this was something Kozue herself had wished.

‘Do you like Kenji as well?’

As the girl continued with those words, Kozue noticed that there was a single book in her hands: Spring and Asura by Kenji Miyazawa.

She’d taken it from her father’s collection of books.

‘Huh?’ she said instinctively. How had she not noticed that she’d been carrying it around this whole time?

It didn’t feel like it had suddenly appeared in her hands, either.

Unable to make sense of it, she lifted her head.

The girl curled her lips into a mischievous grin.

‘Have you forgotten? You were able to get here because you were reading that book. The book opened the door for us. In order for someone in your world to be invited here, that person must be reading the same passage from the same book as me, at exactly the same time on the same day, and in the same season. Not only that, but it also has to be a sunny spring day, beneath the cherry blossoms in full bloom.’

Could this be true? Now that she thought about it, just before she found herself in this place, she was perhaps – yet again – reading Spring and Asura . It wasn’t entirely out of the question.

‘Now, I’m going to tell you once more, so listen closely and remember. You have to read the same passage from the same book, at the exact same time, on the same day, in the same season. And it has to be on a sunny spring day, beneath the cherry blossoms in full bloom.’

Once the girl finished repeating the words, it was as though Kozue had come under some kind of spell.

That’s right , she thought. She had entered her father’s study just as he was taking this book out from the bookcase that he normally keeps locked.

Dad and I read it together while gazing out at the cherry blossoms outside. That must be it.

But did I really?

Her mind went round in circles, unable to find a way out. Still, Kozue wanted to answer the girl’s initial question properly. Carefully choosing her words, she parted her lips.

‘I’m not sure if I can say that I like him.

But Dad always says that there has never been, and there will never be, another writer who could manipulate the Japanese language in the way Kenji Miyazawa did.

But I still have no idea what he means by that.

I started reading him because I want to understand. ’

‘And, what did you think?’

‘Umm… It just made me go, “Wow.” I was blown away – I feel like I understand it, yet I don’t. But when I feel like I don’t understand it, I still do. I’ve never been able to put it into words; it’s just like this loud thud inside my chest.’

‘As you’re reading, you can actually say, “ There . This is where my heart moved. ” Right? Yet you can’t really explain it. And every time you read it, it feels like you’re reading it for the very first time.’

‘Yes, yes! Exactly like that.’

Kozue was so excited to learn that they shared the same experience, she couldn’t help herself from leaning forward. The girl, still facing Kozue, had relaxed her hands and was now sitting with her back straight. Making a loose fist in front of her face, she gave a small ahem .

‘Kenji Miyazawa is the very definition of “unparalleled” – you won’t find another writer like him. However, surprisingly, only two of his books were published in his lifetime: Spring and Asura and The Restaurant of Many Orders . What’s more, both books were essentially self-published.’

‘Really?’

The girl nodded her head.

‘His works could have easily been lost to history. But before he passed away, Kenji entrusted his younger brother with all his manuscripts. Perhaps he sensed his own death. After his departure, people who had been deeply moved by the beautiful Spring and Asura travelled from afar to see his brother, and began publishing all his works. This was how his famous works Night on the Galactic Railroad and Strong in the Rain came to light.’

Captivated by the story, Kozue unconsciously leaned further over the table as she listened to the girl. The cat gazed at her with half-opened eyes, as though it was watching over her. The girl continued to speak.

‘Kenji edited his works over and over again, to the point where it often became difficult to identify the final draft. Moreover, some of his manuscripts were partially burned in a small fire, and there was even a short story for which the opening lines were never found. Despite all of those obstacles, we’re here today reading Kenji Miyazawa’s works together – that in itself is like a miracle.

The words woven by Kenji have continued to move people even after his passing. ’

The girl narrowed her eyes. Something about her tender expression made Kozue’s heart flutter – it had filled her with an unexpected sense of nostalgia.

‘What’s truly amazing is the fact that, through the publication of his works, the words that he invented, such as “Ihatov” and “Galactic railroad”, have also taken root in this world.

Of course, these words have no physical form.

Even so, many people are familiar with them to this day, and share the same idea of what they mean.

In that sense, these words “exist” in their own form. ’

The girl looked straight into Kozue’s eyes.

‘This is very similar to our way of “being”. Kobako and I are both here, but that doesn’t mean that we “exist as physical beings”. But we are here, and that is an absolute truth. I wouldn’t be sitting here speaking to you if it wasn’t.’

The tone of the girl’s voice grew solemn as she continued.

‘And you’re the one who holds the key – you’re the beginning of everything. We need your help, Kozue?chan.’

As if in agreement, the cat lifted its head and gave a meow.

Although the girl had suddenly mentioned her name, Kozue somehow accepted it without hesitation.

In fact, the only question she wanted to ask was the one that had been occupying her mind since the very beginning.

She knew that it was finally time to say it out loud.

‘Umm, there’s something I’d like to know first. What sort of place is this? And, err, could it be that you’re … my mother?’

Out of nowhere, a breeze rushed inside. All around the room, the cherry-blossom branches shifted in their vases. Or, perhaps, what shook at that moment was the very world in which the girl and the cat lived.

* * *

Kozue’s mother and her beloved cat disappeared on a chilly day in early spring. It was sometime between noon and the evening. The earth shook, and the sea roared violently.

That day, her mother had gone into town to take her cat to the vet.

She would have been driving along the coast around that hour, and that was when her father lost contact with her.

It was presumed that her car had been swallowed by the raging waves.

But for her family and others left behind, accepting this as reality was another matter.

Kozue’s father, who made a living as a writer, was left unable to produce any more work after that.

The reason her father decided to move with his family to the Tohoku region in the first place was because he had been considering a novel based around Kenji Miyazawa’s works.

He was thrilled by the prospect of being able to ‘breathe the same air as Kenji’ while he lived there for research.

On the other hand, her mother, Sakura, wasn’t so keen, especially because Kozue was still young.

She was only half convinced when her father pushed forward with the move.

And so when things turned out the way they did, her father’s regret was immeasurable. Unable to do so much as sit at his desk, he essentially retired from writing.