[Misawa] Dear Mr. Fox

"Good-bye," said the little prince.

"Goodbye," said the fox. "Here, here is my secret. It is very simple: only the heart can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eyes."

……

"People have forgotten this truth," said the Fox, "but you must not forget it. You are now responsible to the end for everything you have tamed. You are responsible for your roses."

It was rare for Sawamura not to fall asleep as soon as he got on the plane, but to read the book he just bought in the bookstore, and it was an English book.He spent more than two hours reading this short story, let out a long breath, and pulled up the porthole beside him a little.The starry sky seen at an altitude of [-] meters is no different from the surface, and it is not too crowded.The flight distance and location are displayed on the small screen on the back of the chair.They are flying deeper into the night.

He pulled down the porthole again and closed his eyes.

It was late at night when we arrived at Narita Airport.Sawamura carried his only luggage on his back, a NorthFace backpack, went straight out of the customs, and found a long queue waiting for a taxi.There are no stars in the sky, and there are reddish clouds at the end of the horizon. Is it the sun, or the sleepless dream of the city?This was the first time he came back to Tokyo after going abroad. It was like going home. He didn't book a hotel, and he didn't plan to look for it.If you turn right to the subway station in the lobby just now, there is a Shinkansen train connecting to Nagano.But that was not his destination.

Some things have to be returned to a person.

That's some big stuff.So I must go, now.

Fifteen hours ago in the airport lobby, he received a call from Master.Hearing what he said, Chris didn't answer anything, just asked him to write down an address.

Although I don't know if he's still there.Good luck, Sawamura.

Suddenly, I felt a little envious of Master.

Sawamura was sitting in the taxi, holding the address that his master had told him in his hand, holding it tightly, as if the words on it would fall off and disappear as soon as he let go.The driver stopped the car at a fork in the road and said, just go a little further, and it is not easy to make a U-turn.On the one-way street where the headlights disappeared, there was only one street lamp staring at him.The residential area in the middle of the night is extremely quiet, and the cat's footsteps can be heard walking on the fence.There seems to be the sound of fireworks in the distance, but the beautiful flowers are not blooming in the night sky.

Sawamura took a wrong turn at the fork in the road.There is a wide open space in the front left. From a distance, I thought it was a small park. When I got closer, I found out that it was a baseball practice field.Probably every afternoon, it will be occupied by elementary school students or junior high school students.He could imagine the scene.Except for a five-mile radius around Qingdao, there was no other area in Tokyo that he felt so familiar with.This is Edogawa District, the place where that person was born and raised, and the place that appeared in Master's photos.

He still remembered the pictures he had seen at Chris's house.The short boy with the baseball cap askew, the innocent and sly eyes hidden behind the lens, like two bright mirrors, reflected his heart at the beginning of their meeting.Miyuki always told him that this was the proof of the best shooting partner, as if he had to tell himself the same, to make himself believe it.After so many years, no one thought about what to do in the past.Why even after leaving the diamond field, why can't I take my eyes off that person.Why can't we see each other again even though I feel the temperature of that soul.Why never see each other again, but persistently use words to piece together each other's appearance.Words, a fragile and unfaithful medium as malleable as snowflakes, can also build a solid path through the blessing of some gentle people, lit by the fireflies of longing, leading to the true direction of his heart.

The applause still echoed in his dreams.The truth of that blurred face is still hidden in the forest of words.It was a treasure he had forgotten eight years ago; all he knew was to find it.Before the thorns of those times grow more luxuriant, arrive at the world that is almost closed.

Sawamura stood by the road for a while longer.As if in response to some of his thoughts, the open space under the streetlights switched to a dusk scene.A boy wearing glasses walked towards him with a big bag that didn't match his figure, brushed past him, walked along the way he came, and walked in another direction.Knowing that it was a hallucination, Sawamura involuntarily chased after him, as if possessed by a demon.Even the blowing wind was filled with the dusty and dry atmosphere after training in the afternoon.

The trot turned into a trot, and he couldn't keep up with the boy.

The short syllables of that name almost gushed out of his throat, and he forced it back again, turning into water vapor that blinded his eyes.

The figure of the boy disappeared near a two-story independent building.Sawamura raised his head, only vaguely seeing traces of the demolished signboard, and compared it with the address of Miyuki's house written on the nearly crumbled piece of paper.As soon as the fingers relaxed, the late autumn wind swept away the note and rolled it into the endless darkness.

There were no street lights on either side of the building, but he could clearly see the words "Sold" on the closed iron gate.There is an incense burner in the corner of the door, and a few bunches of black chrysanthemums that seem to have been dried.

Sawamura?why are you here.

If asked again, I would definitely answer this way:

Because Miyuki has been waiting for me to find you again, to meet you again, and to share something for you beyond my means.Happiness or pain, whatever.Even if you keep hiding, I will find you out.

Because you are no longer my captain, my partner, my senior, you are no longer everything that used to connect us.

So it's up to me to rebuild that connection.

No matter how much time and distance you have to travel through.

Sawamura sat down slowly with his back against the small building, with his face buried between his knees, like a stray cat curled up in a ball, thinking of a warm place that he could never return to.The remaining warmth of memory dissipates as soon as the wind blows.

Some cold and wet rain drifted on the dry wind, reminding him of the light snow in Chicago.

Maybe he planned to just sleep overnight in front of an abandoned old building in a certain street in Edogawa District, so he kept sitting like a stray cat.This is a quiet and beautiful place, as if it is far away from Tokyo.He could faintly hear the sound of a car engine in the distance.The sound of the Edogawa running a few blocks away.There is also the sound of scattered rain, which crescendos and fades away.

At last he heard footsteps.

Step into the water crisply.They must be good waterproof leather shoes, usually polished and shiny, and I don't care about splashing some rain at this time.And the sound of water dripping on the umbrella.There is also almost nothing, the sound of my own breathing, the sound of my heartbeat.He tightened his fingers on his arm.

The footsteps grew louder and clearer, and stopped when the sound was strongest, just in front of him.

——Why are you here?

No one asked anything.The man put away the umbrella and sat down next to him, like another stray cat, snuggling up to him, shoulder to shoulder, as if warming up.The umbrella and the newly purchased bouquet are set aside.

The rain is about to stop.Sawamura looked up.The clouds in the night sky were dispersing, revealing a slender crescent moon.

"Welcome back."

"I am back."

"Just got off work?"

"That's right. It's not as good as you guys, and you have a long Thanksgiving holiday."

He turned his head to look at Miyuki, who also looked at him, and put on the most familiar smirking mask again.So what is your expression?It doesn't matter.Sawamura reached into his coat pocket with his left hand, and took out a platinum gadget warmed by his own body heat.

"I've come to give you this back. 'A gift that didn't go.'"

There was a moment of surprise on Miyuki's face, and he quickly recovered his original expression, took the ring from his palm, but didn't let him withdraw his hand.As he used to check the condition of his pitcher's fingers, Miyuki spread his fingers with the five fingers of his other hand.The gesture of interlocking fingers was maintained for a short while, Miyuki pulled his ring finger while retracting his hand, and gently put the ring on.

"Thank you for coming to give it back to me. This time I can finally give it away," he said with a smile.

"Explain, Miyuki Kazuya." Sawamura said calmly.To his surprise, he wasn't too surprised.

"This is my mother's relic. When I was in college, the family's business had problems, and the cash flow was not good. I asked my father to pawn it to ease some of the family's difficulties. But my father said that this is the only thing that can't work. This is left to you by your mother." , I want you to give it to your future lover. At that time, I thought it was meaningless, but I had nothing to do with him, just like he had nothing to do with me. No matter what he said, no matter how much I didn’t want it, I still left the baseball field and ended up with Protecting my home in a practical way. Until my father died, I still thought so, went to New York to find a doctor who could operate, and wanted to continue to fight against some irresistible things. But it was enough. When I came home, my father put Leave everything to me, including business and property rights, as well as his advice. This time, for the last time, I decided to listen to him."

Sawamura said nothing.He blamed himself for being so ignorant of another human being.Miyuki didn't hide, didn't go anywhere, and was always on the battlefield alone.But at the same time, he was pleasantly surprised and even proud. It was the first time he heard Miyuki tell him about himself, perhaps something that no one else in the world knew.He returned the ring.But there was something else, something more important, something Miyuki had been guarding.He wondered if he, too, could protect something like this strong man.

"Then let's build a home."

Miyuki was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and laughed, the laughter made the night seem more still.Sawamura still stared at him with those big eyes, a little sullen, but it was overshadowed by his determination.

"Sorry." He finally stopped smiling.Hitting his head heavily against the base of the wall, "I didn't expect to come back here and hear someone say 'Welcome back' to me. Can you say it again."

"Welcome back, Miyuki."

Then he stretched out the hand with the ring on to hold Miyuki's right hand, this time for such a long time, tightly clasped.They pulled each other up like this, offered black chrysanthemums together, burned incense together, and then walked down like this together.There are still many things they don't know about each other, such as Sawamura's training and schedule, such as Miyuki's work content and new address.But they will gradually know.

FIN.