After class, I made sure none of my classmates were around before I took out the letter and
memo I had. I was still a little unsure about the letter but put it inside my pocket. I wanted to
give it to Akari no matter what happened so I wanted to have it somewhere where I could touch
it and be reassured it was still there. As for the memo, it had a list of the trains I had to take
and the times they would arrive. I had already gone through the list a number of times already but I went through them one more time.
First I would take the three fty-four train at the Goutokuji Station on the Oda Line to
Shinjuku. I would then switch to the Saikyou Line and travel to the Oomiya station, switch to
the Utsunomiya Line and reach Koyama Station. Then I would switch to the Ryouke Line and
nally reach my destination at Iwafune Station by six forty- ve. I was going to meet up with
Akari at seven o'clock at Iwafune so I should make it just in time. It was the rst time I travelled
so far by train alone but I told myself that it was going to be alright. Yes, it will be alright. It
might be di cult but I was sure nothing was going to happen.
I made my way down the dimly lit stairs in school and in the entry hall I opened up my
locker to change shoes. It was deserted which made the sound of the steel door closing louder
than usual. It made my heart beat a little faster. I decided I would leave the umbrella I had
brought with me in the morning and went outside, looking up at the sky. The early morning
scent of rain was now that of snow. It was a smell that was easier to pick up than rain and it
made my heart livelier than before. As I stood there gazing up at the sky I felt as if I was going
to be swallowed up as countless small pieces of white descended. Quickly, I put on my hood and
ran towards the station.
It was my rst time at Shinjuku Station. It was a station I had never come across in my life
but now that I think about it, I had gone there to watch a movie with a friend once. At that
time we went to Shinjuku on the Oda Line and after leaving the ticket barriers at the JR East
Exit, we got lost quite a bit before managing to leave the station. That experience we had of
Shinjuku Station's complexity and busy environment left more of a strong impression with me
than the movie itself.
I left the Oda Line ticket barrier and stopped, looking carefully at the guide map on the wall
so that I wouldn't get lost then walked quickly to the spot marked "JR Line Ticket O ce". On
the other side of all the pillars were a large row of ticket machines and I made my way to the
one with the shortest queue, waiting in line for my turn. Somehow I felt as if my chest was in
pain when I caught the perfume coming from the woman in front of me who was dressed like the
regular o ce lady. The queue next to me moved on and this time I felt oddly uneasy as I brie y
smelled Naphthalene coming from an elderly man's coat. The station was lled with so many
voices blended together in a single sound. The tips of my shoes covered in snow felt cold. My
head was feeling a bit dizzy. When it was nally my turn to buy a ticket I was a little confused
when I discovered the machines had no buttons (at that time, most ticket machines still had
buttons). I peeked over at the person next to me and found out I just had to touch the screen.
I left the ticket machine and paying careful attention at several platform signs I weaved my
way through the crowds and made my way to the Saikyou Line. "External Yamanote Line Loop",
"Going to Sobu Line, Nagano", "Internal Yamanote Line Loop", "Going to Sobu Line, Chiba",
"Central Line Express", "Main Central Line Express". . . I had to go through many platforms
and along the way I stopped by a large map of the station's complex and stared at it. The
Saikyou Line was in the inner most area. I took the memo I made out of my pocket and looked
at my watch (a black G Shock I received to celebrate my successful entry into junior high). The
Shinjuku train was going to leave at four twenty-six. The digital numbers on my watch were
showing four fteen. It will be alright. I still had ten minutes and I was going to make it.