３０ Ｊｕｌｙ， Ｍｉｙｕｋｉ Ｋｏｂａｙａｓｈｉ
文字数 3,547文字
Lilac’s Ark
When school suddenly closed in early March, I’d been elated. Instead of my report card, I was getting an extra-long spring vacation, and it felt great. Well, it did in the beginning.
In April, I became a sixth grader. But school was still closed. I had to check its website to see who my new teacher was and which class I was in. Dad stopped going to work, and our living room became his office space. Since he was constantly on my back—
It was May, and school still hadn’t started. Prep school was closed; private lessons had been suspended. I couldn’t go to the amusement park or aquarium, or visit my grandmother in Shizuoka. It was as if the world had suddenly gotten smaller.
Would things ever go back to normal? Would I be able to take the entrance exam for middle school next year?
When I felt anxious, I went out into the yard. The branches swayed softly in the wind, light passing through their leaves in varying shades and tones. The grass was lush and velvety, and small, light purple lilacs were just beginning to bloom. Lilacs were called
I’d immersed myself in the book when fine, silvery drops began to fall from the sky. Gradually, the rain and wind intensified, and I closed the door flap tightly. Out of nowhere, the story of Noah’s Ark popped into my head. No matter how bad things got out there, I was safe here—this was Lilac’s Ark. As long as I was here, no storm or virus could harm me.
Anne called a piece of a broken lamp the Fairy Glass, an ordinary hollow Violet Vale. To change the world around us, all we needed was our imagination. Realizing that, I felt the world grow big again. By turning the pages of a book, I could go anywhere, and my mind was infinitely free.
A little while later, the rain let up. Outside the tent, it smelled of wet soil, and the moistened leaves glistened in the sunlight. There was a magnificent rainbow in the sky. The rainbow was only there because it had rained. I would convert my anxiety into hope, and look forward. Everything was going to be all right.
Translated by Asuka Minamoto/Arranged by TranNet KK
Miyuki Kobayashi
Born in Saitama Prefecture. Graduated from Musashino Art University. After working as an editor and writer, made her literary debut in 1990. Has written for Kodansha Aoitori Bunko and YA! ENTERTAINMENT, with her works being massively popular among teenage girls. Her main children’s books include the Naichaisō dayo (I feel like crying), Kore ga koi kana? (Is this love?), and Sakka ni naritai! (I want to become an author!) series, the collected essays
Yes!
This
is
awesome!
When school suddenly closed in early March, I’d been elated. Instead of my report card, I was getting an extra-long spring vacation, and it felt great. Well, it did in the beginning.
In April, I became a sixth grader. But school was still closed. I had to check its website to see who my new teacher was and which class I was in. Dad stopped going to work, and our living room became his office space. Since he was constantly on my back—
Lila!
Keep
it
down!
—I decided to spend my time out in our small yard, inside the dark blue tent we used for camping. Filled with all of my favorite things, it soon became my secret hideout.It was May, and school still hadn’t started. Prep school was closed; private lessons had been suspended. I couldn’t go to the amusement park or aquarium, or visit my grandmother in Shizuoka. It was as if the world had suddenly gotten smaller.
Would things ever go back to normal? Would I be able to take the entrance exam for middle school next year?
When I felt anxious, I went out into the yard. The branches swayed softly in the wind, light passing through their leaves in varying shades and tones. The grass was lush and velvety, and small, light purple lilacs were just beginning to bloom. Lilacs were called
lilas
in French—that was where I’d gotten my name. Inhaling deeply, I breathed in the sweet scent before crawling into my tent and curling up under a red blanket. Today, I’d brought a basket containing a pot of hot tea, some biscuits, my teddy bear, andAnne
of
Green
Gables
.I’d immersed myself in the book when fine, silvery drops began to fall from the sky. Gradually, the rain and wind intensified, and I closed the door flap tightly. Out of nowhere, the story of Noah’s Ark popped into my head. No matter how bad things got out there, I was safe here—this was Lilac’s Ark. As long as I was here, no storm or virus could harm me.
Anne called a piece of a broken lamp the Fairy Glass, an ordinary hollow Violet Vale. To change the world around us, all we needed was our imagination. Realizing that, I felt the world grow big again. By turning the pages of a book, I could go anywhere, and my mind was infinitely free.
A little while later, the rain let up. Outside the tent, it smelled of wet soil, and the moistened leaves glistened in the sunlight. There was a magnificent rainbow in the sky. The rainbow was only there because it had rained. I would convert my anxiety into hope, and look forward. Everything was going to be all right.
Translated by Asuka Minamoto/Arranged by TranNet KK
Miyuki Kobayashi
Born in Saitama Prefecture. Graduated from Musashino Art University. After working as an editor and writer, made her literary debut in 1990. Has written for Kodansha Aoitori Bunko and YA! ENTERTAINMENT, with her works being massively popular among teenage girls. Her main children’s books include the Naichaisō dayo (I feel like crying), Kore ga koi kana? (Is this love?), and Sakka ni naritai! (I want to become an author!) series, the collected essays
Jidō
bungaku
kicchin
(Children’s literature kitchen), and the fairy taleChibi
shirokuma
no
negaigoto
(Little polar bear’s wish), among others. She has also written for many manga titles, and won the 30th Kodansha Manga Award forKicchin
no
ohimesama
(Princess of the kitchen), published inNakayoshi
magazine. Her most recent work is the eighth volume ofSakka
ni
naritai!
