Page 137
(Writing pad and pencil)
Page 138-139
| sfx | sa sa sa sa sa sa sa sa-- |
| sign | Earth Shop |
| Girl | Hmmm . . . . |
| We're going to need a compass-- | |
| --and this map. | |
| sfx | bassa [unfurling] |
| -And we'd get lost without a good lamp. | |
| Great! Let's go! |
Page 141
| Girl | Baron! |
| Sir Cat | Nyao! |
| Wait, we can't leave yet! | |
| I've forgotten something. I know I've forgotten something! | |
| Yuuko | Shizuku! |
| sfx | bah-- |
| Yuuko | What are you writing? |
| Shizuku | N-nothing! Nothing at all! |
| Heh heh heh. | |
| sfx | kon kon |
Page 142
| Teacher | This math formula is going to be on the midterm exam, so be sure to remember it! |
| Class | What! |
| Sir Cat | This is it! I knew it was here. |
| Girl | What is it? |
| Sir Cat | Something precious and irreplaceable: a mirror in which shines the soul of she whose whereabouts I do not know. |
| And so began the adventures of Sir Cat and the young lass. |
Page 143
(As it turned out,) I had seen the beginning of the story in my dream.
| Sir Cat | Adieu! |
The person I had seen leaving with Sir Cat was in fact myself!
And I was worried that I had lost him.
| sign | Library |
However . . . .
| Shizuku | So they've left the Earth Shop. Now what? |
| sfx | ummm |
| title | The Art and Culture of Germany |
| titles | The Eurasian Enigma |
| Puppets of the World | |
| The Second World War | |
| The Doll: Questions and Conjectures | |
| West Germany | |
| Travels through Europe |
A European romance, perhaps--
--or an adventure spanning the continents . . . .
Page 144
What to do?
This project had ground to a halt pretty quickly.
| sfx | ki--n ko--n ki--n ko--n |
| Boy | Hey, let's go. |
| Boy | How about we stop at Iseya and grab something to eat? |
| sfx | gaya gaya [chatter] |
| Yuuko | Where's Shizuku? |
| sfx | kyoro kyoro [glancing around] |
| Boy | If you're looking for Tsukishima, she shot out of here like a bullet a few minutes ago. |
| Yuuko | Like a bullet? |
| sfx | doooo--n |
| Yuuko | Something funny's going on here. |
| She's probably off to the library again. |
Page 145
| sign | The Earth Shop |
| Shizuku | Good afternoon, Grandpa! |
| Geh-- | |
| Seiji | What exactly does "geh" mean? |
| Shizuku | Nothing in particular. |
| Heh heh heh. | |
| Slip of the tongue, I guess. | |
| Shizuku | Hey, there, I came to see you! |
| Sir Cat | Welcome back! |
You know, come to think about it, I left school as soon as I could and ran all the way here . . . .
Page 146
| Shizuku | Hey, you skipped out on cleaning duty! |
| Seiji | Yeah, so I had this painting I wanted to finish. |
| Oh, blast. | |
| Shizuku | I want to see it! |
| Seiji | It's no good. I've haven't got it right, yet. |
| Shizuku | I want to see it! Show it to me, PLEASE! |
| sfx | wah-- |
| Shizuku | Too late for excuses now. |
| I'm just lucky that way. | |
| Seiji | Okay, okay. |
Page 147
| Shizuku | It's up there? |
| Seiji | Watch your step. |
| Shizuku | Wow, what a totally cool hideout! |
| sfx | hyokko [unexpected] |
| Seiji | Big deal. |
Page 148
| Shizuku | It's great! |
But who was it?
She looked familiar.
Maybe some actress . . . .
| sfx | peh-to |
| Shizuku | So you're almost done? |
| Seiji | After three more days or so. |
| Shizuku | Are you using a model? |
| sfx | doh-ki! |
| Seiji | Well . . . um . . . sort of, this person I know. |
| Shizuku | Huh. |
Page 149
Her deep blue eyes . . . .
The fish gliding through the water.
This picture was filled with drama.
Seeing encouraged me to buckle down and keep at it!
| Seiji | Now that you mention it, how's your writing going? |
| Shizuku | Well, I sort of developed writer's block. I thought that maybe if I came here something new would bubble up in my head. |
| After seeing this picture . . . . | |
| You know, it's really inspired me. |
Page 150
(top panel: Seiji)
| Seiji | Thanks. |
| Shizuku | Hey, there's a bunch more painting over here! |
| Seiji | No! |
| sfx | ba-- ba-- [keep back] |
| Seiji | This old crap I don't show to anybody! |
| Shizuku | STINGY! |
| Seiji | Who's being stingy? You should watch what you say, or certain people might think you're being a brat. |
| Cat | Nyah. |
| Shizuku | Hey, Luna! |
| No, it's Moon. |
Page 151
| Seiji | No, it's Luna. Moon's too timid to venture out on his own. He's at home. |
| Shizuku | Is that so? Huh. Well, come on up, Luna. |
| Heh heh. | |
| Luna | Nyah. |
| Shizuku | That's right, that's right. You're welcome here, too. |
| Oh, there was something I wanted to ask you. | |
| Seiji | What's that? |
| Shizuku | Once I've finished writing my story . . . . |
| I was hoping you'd paint my picture. | |
| Seiji | Sure. |
| Shizuku | Really? You know, I'll hold you to that. |
Page 152
So . . . Seiji Amasawa.
| sfx | za-- za-- [cicada] |
| sfx | fu fu . . . . [laughing to herself] |
Hearken to what the forest says:
"Listen to the memories of the wind, blown here from distant lands--
to the memories of the clouds, that see everything from high above in the sky."
We have come from the dominion of the Moon. We shall be your guides--
with my power to speak the language of the wind,
and my power to speak the language of the clouds.
Page 153
| Girl | Thank you so very much. |
| Cats | And what is this, but a Cat Lord just like ourselves! |
And so began our journey with the first of our companions.
The Cat Lords would sing--
cry as the gales cried,
dance as the breezes danced.
And the wind spoke its language in a soulful melody.
| Shizuku | Who's that? |
| It's Kouji! |
Page 154
| Shizuku | I'll (sneak up on him and) give him a real surprise! |
| sfx | ta ta ta ta ta ta |
I guess he must be on his way to the Earth Shop.
No, he's with somebody.
It's Shio!
I've a got a feeling about this . . . .
J-just a minute!
The last thing I expected!
Page 155
| sfx | ga--n [staring] |
| doki doki doki doki doki doki doki | |
| Shio | He's a great guy! |
Now that I think about it, Shio was really happy to get that hagaki.
| Kouji | Shizuku-chan! |
And she's probably the one who told Kouji about me.
| sfx | doki doki doki doki doki doki doki |
I don't think I'm supposed to be standing here watching this.
Of course!
The painting!
It looks like Shio!
Page 156
But . . . .
| sfx | doki doki doki |
That means Seiji must really like Shio, too!
| sfx | zahn |
| byuuuu-- |
I still can't keep my thoughts straight about anything.
| sfx | kata kata [rattle] |
Page 157
I can't stand it.
My brain is turning to mush.
| Mother | Shizuku! It's time for dinner! |
| Shizuku | I'm not hungry! |
Page 158
| Seiji | Just write it all down and see what you come up with. |
| Shizuku | Thanks, Seiji |
| S-seiji-kun? | |
| Ah . . . um . . . | |
| SEIJI! | |
| SEI-- | |
| sfx | ga-pah! |
| Mother | What this about sausages? |
| It's eight o'clock. You'd better hurry! | |
| Shizuku | Oh no, I'm going to be late for school! |
| Mother | Well, this is what happens when you skip dinner--you end up dreaming about sausages! |
| sfx | mogu mogu [grumble] |
| Shizuku | It's not about sausages. |
Page 159
(top left panel: Shizuku running to school)
Drat! (Just thinking about him makes) my ears turn all red!
| sfx | ta ta ta ta ta ta ta |
| Yuuko | And after that, you know, Kousaka Sensei was like . . . |
| . . . Shizuku? | |
| What's up with you? Something wrong? | |
| Shizuku | Something wrong? |
| Yuuko | Yeah, you seem pretty out of it today. |
| sfx | dasshu! |
Page 160
| Yuuko | What's going on, Shizuku? |
| sfx | doki doki doki |
| Teacher | Do you need something, Miss Tsukishima? |
| Shizuku | Um . . . ah . . . . |
| sign | Staff office |
| Shizuku | Oh, sorry, excuse us! |
| Yuuko | Isn't this what you'd call being in love? |
| Shizuku | N-not that. |
| Yuuko | Seiji is a nice guy, you know. |
| Shizuku | Yeah, but I used to hate him. |
| Yuuko | That's only because you didn't know what he was really like. |
Page 161
| Shizuku | But doesn't it seems two-faced, all of a sudden, to go: Oh, now I see all of your good qualities! |
| Yuuko | You've just got to be honest with yourself, Shizuku. |
| And that goes for me, too. | |
| I've decided (to take your advice) and find out from Sugiyama for myself. | |
| Shizuku | Yuuko. |
| Yuuko | So I've been telling myself it'd be fine if we could just go on being friends-- |
| --but-- | |
| --I know it wouldn't work. My heart aches so bad. | |
| It'd be better if he just came out and dumped me. |
Page 162
| Yuuko | The problem is, I'm still in love with him. |
The problem, Yuuko, is that Seiji probably has a crush on my sister.
| sfx | ki-- ki-- [bicycle brakes] |
| Shizuku | Oh. |
| Seiji | Hi. |
| Shizuku | What? |
| Seiji | Nothing in particular. I was wondering if you were going to be coming by today. |
| Shizuku | I can't today. |
Page 163
| Seiji | Oh. Well, how about tomorrow morning? |
| Shizuku | Goodbye. |
| Seiji | Tomorrow morning? |
It was awful. I didn't want him to see me like this.
I'm so sorry, Seiji-kun . . . .
| Seiji | What's with her? |
Page 164
I do like him.
Even when he says mean things to me, he really is a nice guy.
And the way he holds onto that special world of his . . . .
He . . .
. . . probably ever since then . . . .
What an idiot I've been . . .
. . . an idiot.
Page 165
| sfx | kochi kochi kochi kochi |
I must have fallen asleep.
What time is it?
There's somebody at the gate.
Why so early in the morning?
Is it the newspaper boy, I wonder?
S-Seiji!
What's going on?
| sfx | kacha |
Page 166
| Shizuku | What are you doing here? |
| Seiji | G'morning. |
| There's something I want to show you. | |
| Shizuku | You rode all the way here to show me something? |
| And you even found out where I live. |
My face was bright red--
| Seiji | I looked it up in the school directory. |
| Shizuku | Normally I'd be asleep this early in the morning. |
--but it was dark enough he couldn't tell.
| Seiji | Yeah, I know, but . . . . |
| Shizuku | You wanted to see me. |
So how could I not believe in fate?
Page 167
| sfx | sha--tsu |
But what am I supposed to do now?
| Shizuku | How far is it? |
| Seiji | Just a bit further. |
| sfx | doki doki doki doki |
My heart was beating like a drum.
| Shizuku | Aren't we almost to the Earth Shop by now? |
| sfx | ki-- |
| Seiji | We're here. |
Page 168
| Shizuku | Um . . . . |
| Seiji | (It'd better if you stand) over here. |
| Shizuku | Seiji-kun, that painting . . . . |
| Seiji | What about it? |
| Shizuku | The model you used . . . . |
Page 169
| Seiji | You figured it out? |
| Shizuku | Of course I did! |
| Seiji | Yeah, it was you. |
| Shizuku | Me? |
| Seiji | In another minute or so. |
| Shizuku | Sei-- Me? |
Page 170
| Seiji | I really wanted you to see this. |
| Shizuku | Thank you. It's so beautiful. |
Oh, I'm no good at this! I just can't hold everything I'm feeling!
Page 171
| Shizuku | Listen, Seiji, I-- I-- |
| Seiji | Shizuku-- |
| I love you! | |
| Shizuku | What? |
| Seiji | I promised myself that if we met today I would tell you that I loved you. |
Page 172
| Shizuku | Me--me too. |
| I love you. | |
| I really do. |
As the day dawned Seiji told me how he, too, had (become curious) about me from the books he'd checked out from the library.
And all the times, glancing at the check-out card, he'd stopped (and looked for my name).
|
Airships Ever since I was a child I've thrilled at the sight of a blimp floating up there in the sky. I feel like I want to run after it and follow it wherever it goes. Even today I get that same impulse. Someday I plan to get a ride in one. Black Cats I'm a cat lover. I'm especially bewitched by the mysterious presence of a black cat. A while back, I nursed back to health an injured tortoiseshell cat, but as soon as he got well he took off. I was lonely without him, so I got a racoon (araiguma). They're a bit rare, but it seems that more and more people are raising them. When I take him out for a walk, I tell people it's a tanuki. |
Page 173
| sign | Tsukishima | Yasunari |
| Tomoko | ||
| Shio | ||
| Shizuku |
| Shizuku | I'm home! |
| Shio | You sure are up early. Where were you off to? |
| Shizuku | It's a secret. |
| Hey, Shio, so you've been dating Kouji all this time, huh? | |
| Shio | What? |
| Shut up about that! | |
| Have you been spying on me? You'd better not make a habit of it! | |
| Shizuku | Heh heh heh. |
| After that day we added another companion to our little troupe. | |
| Boy | All right, let's go! |
Page 174
It was the beginning of a long, hard journey.
As their journey continued, they were able to help many people along the way.
People just like myself.
| sfx | gacha |
| Shio | Shizuku! You home? |
| Kouji has offered to take us on a ride in the airship! |
Page 175
| Shizuku | REALLY? |
| I wanna go! I wanna go! | |
| Shio | Kouji's grandpa at the Earth Shop knows the guy who operates it. |
| Kouji | Ah, here they come. |
| Shizuku | Hey Luna! Moon! It's so good to see you again! |
Overcoming any numbers of obstacles . . . .
Page 176
One day--
--I know the paths of our two star-struck lovers will cross again.
And you are sure to hear them say . . .
"At long last we have found each other!"
Page 177
. . . if you only listen closely.
Mimi o Sumaseba
by Shizuku Tsukishima
