Fool's Love

"Please forgive me."

The aimless march continued.Masumi and I chatted without a word.

"This is the last happy hour."

Masumi said.The red fingers protruding from the cuffs of the cotton-padded jacket fiddled with the branches in front of them, making a swishing sound, which sounded like countless sliding doors had been pushed open.

That's how we go deep.The mobile phone signal is full, even if you can't find the way back... I thought silently.

"Yeah... After next semester, it will be the third year of high school."

"I'm not talking about that. The manga, Yamagishi. It's still a little far from being finished."

As soon as Masumi said it, I just remembered.Indeed, I've forgotten all about it in the preoccupation with sightseeing and drinking.

"But the original manuscripts are all in Osaka, so it's useless to worry now."

"That being said, I can't relax at all. I'm always worried that I won't be able to meet the deadline."

"Go back and redouble your efforts to draw."

At this moment.In front of the increasingly narrow road, a ray of light suddenly shines in.

Masumi stopped there, stretching out her hand to push aside the bushes that had grown together.On the other side of the thin layer of occlusion, there is a large flat snow field.

The fluffy snow quilt, the snow crystals flying in the air, all spread out under the foggy blue sky.

"Ah, what a big snow!"

I was shocked by the scenery in front of me, and the words I spit out became fragmented, and my vocabulary was like that of a primary school student.

"I feel that Shan'an is a bit reluctant to leave."

"Huh? No, no, of course I still think Osaka is the best..."

"Maybe there will be this scene: Yamagishi is fascinated by the snowy Hokkaido, staying here and not planning to leave. Then one day he was robbed..."

"Ah, that's too much!" Masumi continued with a smile on his face.

"I was robbed, and was hit on the head with a blunt instrument by the gangster, and passed out. I woke up and found that I was in the hospital. My wallet and things that could prove my identity were all lost. When I came out of the ward, I found that the time on the TV had changed. It's been two years."

"It's not going to happen. My parents can contact me."

"Just imagine this possibility. Yamagishi thought, aside from other things, how about the manga submission?

I wanted to contact me, but when I went back to school, I found out that I had graduated and I didn't know the new LINE number. "

"Then I'll go directly to Masumi's house."

"Does Yamagishi know where my family lives?"

It was only after he said this that I realized: Indeed, although Masumi has visited my house many times, I have never been to the place where he lives.

Masumi walked towards the center of the open space.I stood where I was, thought for a while, then looked up again and replied.

"Then I'll set fire to the school."

"what?"

"In that case, my name will be broadcast on the news, and the incident will also be circulated among the alumni of the school. In that case, there is no need for me to go find Masumi, and Masumi will come when he hears the news See me--don't you?"

"Yamagishi, are you still sober?"

I feel that Masumi is not the same as me at this moment, usually he would not ask me such convoluted questions at all.

I just imitated his appearance and gave the answer that a drunkard should have.Unknowingly, the mood seems to have become better.

"If I haven't sobered up, then you must be more than twice as drunk."

"How is it possible! Besides, what kind of strange term is "drunkenness"? "

"It's the degree of drunkenness. Maybe you were already drunk when you just took a sip of wine, otherwise you wouldn't think of kissing me."

"Because I don't think it's anything at all?"

"But you clearly said before that you would handle your feelings with caution!"

"It's not the same thing!" Masumi still didn't lose the wind, and his voice gradually became higher, "Speaking of which, Yamagishi, who can eat other people's hair, must be more drunk!"

I have nothing to say.

Having suffered a loss, he wanted to get it back from his hand, and rushed forward a few small steps, preparing to chase and hit Masumi a few times, but he quickly dodged.

Immediately aware of my intentions, Masumi turned and ran forward, trying to shake off me, and I rushed forward afterward.

Masumi would not be able to outrun me if he ran on a ground without snow.At any rate, they are people who have practiced running and won a place in a sports meeting.

But this is a snowy field, every time I take a step forward, my feet sink into the ankle-deep snow, and I can't use any strength at all.

I gritted my teeth, increased the speed of my legs, and gradually shortened the distance from Masumi.It was finally time for him to grab me - I couldn't help stretching my arms forward.

Just then, Masumi turned a corner.Without reacting, I continued to rush two steps.

The texture under the feet suddenly changed, and the originally hard and flat ground made a "squeaky" sound.I knew something was wrong right away, but it was too late—

a hole.Looks like a long-abandoned hole that was too used to catch large animals like bears.

The traps inside have been removed, and the surface is covered with twigs that have accumulated over the years.

It may not be easy to distinguish in normal times, but after it snows in winter, it forms a whole with the surroundings——I fell into this hole.

"Yamagishi! Are you okay? Yamagishi!"

Masumi's voice came from outside the cave, and immediately after that, Masumi's face appeared in the field of vision.

"It's fine. No, I sprained my foot slightly."

Fortunately in misfortune.The hole is not very deep, only about ten centimeters higher than my head.

Even without Masumi, if it takes a little time, he should be able to get out of this hole.

"The snow is getting smaller."

I said.At this time, the temperature was much warmer than when we first left the hotel, and the sky gradually brightened.At night, the bright moon hung high in the sky, shining brightly, almost transparent.

I resentfully complained to Masumi: "You didn't come here to step on the spot in advance, and you wanted to scare me, so you led me into this hole because of your temper?"

"No, there's no such thing. I didn't know there was a hole here either."

He is telling the truth.There was no trace of anyone passing by the path that came over.

But after all, it was an accident that happened while I was chasing him, so Masumi couldn't help feeling sorry.

So, I had no choice but to joke with a wry smile: "Ah, it's true—but, in this way, I can experience the characteristics of Hokkaido."

"what is that?"

"There are no bears on the streets of Osaka. So...falling into a bear trap...this kind of thing..."

The more I spoke, the weaker my voice became.Isn't there a saying?

"Explaining jokes is the most boring thing." - it should be referring to the current situation.

The more I went on, the more I felt that my idea just now was boring, and finally I had no choice but to gesticulate with a red face.However, Masumi smiled.

"Okay...give me your hand, please."

He got down on one knee and held out his hand to me.I also reached out and overlapped his hand.Masumi tried to pull me out of the hole.

--Very difficult.I know that he is not the kind of person with great strength, and his figure is much thinner than mine.

But he still tried to pull me up.One hand is replaced by two hands.I also stomped hard on the earthen walls of the cave with my feet.

The first rescue failed when I was only one step away from the entrance of the cave.Masumi said it was okay, but in fact he was out of breath.

The problem was me, it took too long to find a foothold at first, and the cave was full of snow, which was very slippery.

Masumi was going to start the second attempt right away, but I discouraged him by saying that it would be all over if he also fell into the hole due to fatigue.So, we decided to rest for 5 minutes and try again.

Five minutes later, Masumi reached out to me again.

"Yamagishi. I want to ask you something."

Holding his right hand tightly, I was about to take a step towards the wall when Masumi suddenly called my name.

I looked up suspiciously, and at this moment, Masumi was also looking at me with bitter and sad eyes.

"what's up?"

"Please forgive me."

It's the first time I've seen Masumi show this expression - it's not surprising that tears will fall in the next second, as if a face that is about to cry.

I didn't expect him to be so distressed because he indirectly caused me to fall into the trap, and he said in a panic, "I forgive you, I have already forgiven you!", repeating this several times.I don't think I will ever forget the look on his face at that time.

With the previous experience, the second escape from the cave went very smoothly.

Masumi and I then returned to the hotel along the same road.Before returning to my room, I waved goodbye to Masumi softly.At this time, there were still about three hours before the meeting time for the second day of the school trip.