都・死瞬　TOSISYUN －英語版－

　　　　　　　　　Already finished?

　One night in the midwinter.
　A young man who lost his job and home in a pandemic was vacantly watching a large-scale vision of a commercial building in a corner of the station square.
　The name of the young man was Shun.
　I couldn't find a job.
　I've run out of savings.
　The days when the apartment I lived in was kicked out and I changed manga cafes.
　However, it ended with a state of emergency, and now it is a situation where people live like homeless people.
　Due to restrictions on going out, people walking around the city have disappeared, and the shutters of many stores are closed.
　The town, just like a ghost town, sank in an eerie silence.
　According to the news, the number of infected people seems to be increasing. Then I would be infected and quarantined ...
　He thought so to live, but didn't even have the money to be tested, so he kept waiting for the day when he had a fever, but he didn't do what he wanted.
　On the contrary, the big cold wave that arrived earlier than usual wandered along the road and tasted the freezing of the severe winter.
　… I'm already stuck in my life. Is it easier to die...
　The news said that the winning amount of the net lottery was jumping up.
　It seems that the winnings are being carried over without the winners.
　Shun looked at the good news of the economy like other people.
　The battery level of the smartphone was also low.
　… Because the battery is out of charge. I can't connect with anyone anymore. I'm out too...
　Shun laughed powerlessly and stared at the crescent moon floating in the vacuum night sky.
　May be lucky The smartphone vibrates.
　… SNS. Is it access now ...
　When I checked the SNS without expectation, it was a message from a person who called himself "one-eyed bargain".
　... Who is it?...
　Normally, he ignored it.
　... very suspicious ...
　It was natural to delete it, but I didn't do it for a moment.
　… Maybe it will be the last connection in my life…
　The moment I reconsidered that, I replied to the "one-eyed bargain".
　"Who? “
　Reply with haste.
　"Tourist"
　"What?”
　"anything"
　"What that"
　"What is your hope?”
　"Huh?”
　"I'll make it come true"
　"You. Head. I'm crazy "
　"That's incredible?”
　"It's weird. You "
　"Why don't you try it?”
　Shun, bitter smile.
　"That's right. Give me 100,000 yen "
　"It's money. I like it. "
　The momentary smartphone trembled.
　A message telling you to transfer 100,000 yen from a net bank with zero account balance.
　The transfer requester is "one-eyed bargain".
　…Really. This guy is crazy ...
　A further message appears in the eyes of the moment.
　"Would you like to arrange a hotel?”
　"Huh. why?”
　"From now on, it will be below freezing."
　"Huh?”
　"I can't freeze the customers I grabbed"
　"What is the customer you grabbed?”
　"It's a thousand times."
　"You're really suspicious"
　"Because it is a bargain"
　"Then, don't deal with me who has no money."
　7-digit number and internet lottery URL on the smartphone screen.
　"The hottest online lottery. It's the winning number. Between us, secret "
　When I noticed, he was already logged out.
　The next morning.
　Shun became very rich.

　　　　　　　　　　Erase and reset

　Shun buys a condominium on the top floor of a skyscraper built in a prime location in the city center with the winning money and lives there.
　He got everything with his surplus money and spent his days with all his luxury. Around the moment when he was touted as a lucky winner and became a person of the time, there were a lot of imaginary people.
　The nightly party was the kingdom of the moment.
　After tasting everything, both people and things, and enjoying the fullest of enjoyment, greed sneaked up and fascinated Shun's heart, which eventually ruled him.
　... I want to make more money ...
　The mysterious people began to surround him as if to see through the desire of such a moment.
　When they get close to the moment, they cleverly make money and invest and raise money.
　Those who were good at behaving like that and knew all the tricks were irresistibly attractive to the moment.
　Their empty but sweet and slow words tickled the moment's greed and vanity, and they eroded him like a drug.
　The money that seemed to be used up even if it took a lifetime decreased in proportion to the number of their visits, and eventually they disappeared when the money that was plucked from the moment was exhausted.
　Now there are no more people approaching him, let alone reaching out to help him.
　In the middle of the living room, which was a murky space with nothing, when I was staring at the skyscrapers that were dyed red under the setting sun, a large number of men suddenly appeared before the moment.
　"Get out"
　Shun lost everything.

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　The crowds indifferently pass by, such as the moment when you are at a loss when you sit down in a corner of the terminal station square.
　Under the cloudless winter blue sky, the commercial buildings surrounding the square are lined up clearly like a picture frame.
　A telop telling the momentary bankruptcy and disappearance flowed in a corner of the large-scale vision.
　The momentary smartphone trembled.
　A message from "one-eyed bargain" had arrived on SNS.
　"Net lottery. It ’s a 7-digit winning number. ”
　He stares at it.
　"Shun. You can't die. "
　And I was horrified.

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　In the evening of the end of the year, the terminal station square is crowded with many people.
　The facial expressions of the people passing by were a mixture of the rush of preparations for the New Year's Eve and the relief of being able to safely welcome the new year.
　At the wide show with a large-scale vision, the topic of huge donations by a mysterious rich man was also talked about.
Shun sat down in a corner of the square and watched the wide show with a stunned look.
　The momentary smartphone trembled.
　A message from the one-eyed bargain arrives.
　"There is money. Don't donate everything."
　Shun, no comment.
　"Shun. You took the plunge.”
　For a moment, ignore it.
　"You have a time?”
　“Why?”
　"I'll call you"
　“To who?”
　"Of course, Shun. Get out properly "
　A phone call came in without a break.
　"Shun. Nice to meet you."
　"Nice to meet you ..."
　"It's a surprisingly low voice. It's real, isn't it?"
　"Why my number?"
　"I know everything. I'm in a position to do anything."
　… Is it so great to attract customers? …
　"But the donation was unexpected. I called because I wanted to know the reason."
　"That's right. Wasn't it good with SNS?"
　"If you have a real voice, you can understand it."
　"It's a simple reason."
　"Simple?"
　"I wanted to spend my money the way I wanted."
　"Why?"
　"I was so busy with unwilling waste that most of my money was deceived by others. I thought I'd use the money I wanted to outsmart them."
　The one-eyed barker laughed.

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　"Shun. You are so interesting. I'll give you money again."
　"I don't need it anymore"
　"Well, don't you need it?"
　"People just flock. I like your POWER rather than money. You can manipulate people."
　"It's more interesting. I'll send you my address now. See you tomorrow."
　The phone hung up and the address arrived in a blink of an eye.
　On a freezing rainy morning, Shun is heading to the meeting place.
　He was sandwiched between taverns lined up on both sides, and he continued on the maze-like path of the back alleys.
　It was noon in a few hours, but every store was full of drunkards.
　Most drunkards indifferently ignore Shun, but when they meet, they stare at him with a mixture of emptiness and hostility.
　Frightened by the vague but murderous signs,
　Shun hurried quickly.
　When he opened his sight and went out from an obscure path to a wide street, he saw a forest of guardians.
　Rain is mixed with sleet.
　The cold was soaked in my body, but the freshness of the wet forest made me feel relieved.
　The one-eyed bargain had already arrived.
　He was completely different from the so-called general image of bargain.
　He is dressed in a cashmere coat that can be seen in the distance, holds an umbrella with his right hand in black deer leather gloves, and puts his left hand in his coat pocket, standing in front of an old multi-tenant building.
I'm out.
　Without his black eyepatch, he wouldn't have known him.
　After the encounter, the one-eyed barker said that he would take Shun in front of the iron door at the back of the room in the basement of the building.
　"If you grant your request, I will give you POWER."
　"Request?"
　"I want you to get something from the other side of this door."
　"What is it?"
　"LOVE. It's what I want most now."
　He opened the door.
　"Well, you want POWER. Come on."

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　There was a coffee shop near the company where Shun worked, which was casually fashionable, comfortable, and cozy.
　On the way back to the office after finishing the business, drinking coffee and taking a break at this shop became a daily routine.
　One day in December, on the way back to the office, it rained for a moment.
　On the way to the office, running his bag instead of an umbrella, Shun rushed to the coffee shop.
　As he wiped his head and clothes with a handkerchief, a clerk offered a warm towel.
　"Thank you"
　The warmth of the hand towel seemed to unravel the body of the cold moment from the core.
　"And this one too"
　The moment I received the dry towel, I was surprised to see her face.
　That was the encounter between Shun and Nana.
　On Christmas Eve night, Shun proposed to Nana and the two married.
　The lives of the two were monotonous, mediocre, and less stimulating, but they were peaceful and relaxing days.
　Eventually, their daughter, Hina, was born.
　When thier daughter was two years old, Shun's family moved to a second-hand gardened house in the suburbs.
　There was a peach tree in the garden and it was full of fruit in the season.
　Nana, who learned the joy of harvesting while taking care of it, started a vegetable garden.
　Everything was fine and the moment was full of happiness.

　　　　　　　　　Happiness and Death

　"I'm working overtime. I think I'll get home around 8 o'clock."
　"Yes. I'm going to get the Christmas cake with Hina."
　"I'm sorry"
　"Good luck with your work"
　"Thank you"
　"Hina wants to talk"
　"Daddy?"
　"Yes.Daddy"
　"Daddy. Please come back soon."
　"Yeah. Wait for Hina with her mom and a good girl."
　"Hina, I love daddy"
　"Daddy too. See you later."
　The phone hangs up.
　Shun loved and stared at the photos of his wife and daughter on the standby screen.

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　Shun was waiting for the bus at the roundabout in front of the station.
　"The bus stop at the station. Is it before 8 o'clock? "
　I sent an SNS to my wife, but it was rarely left unread.
　I thought he was busy preparing, and Shun quit his smartphone.
　He somehow heard the conversation of the high school students in front of him waiting for the bus.
　"Are you serious"
　"What up?"
　"A murder happened in my neighborhood"
　"Well, isn't it dangerous?"

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　The high school students who was talking about the murder got off at the same bus stop as Shun.
　The SNS for my wife remained unread as usual.
　There is a fuss and the moment starts running.
In front of his noisy home.
　Rubberneckers.
　Red light of police car.
　Cops.
　Shun broke off the restraint and entered the house.
　Crushed cake.
　Next to them are the bodies of two people who were murdered under his daughter. "Nana. Hina"
　Shun screamed many times.

　　　　　　　　　　At the peach garden

　The moment he realized he was sitting stunned in front of the iron door, he thought he had a nightmare.
　"Did you lose LOVE ..."
　For a moment, I turned around.
　The one-eyed bargain said further, with a cold look at him.
　"It's all a reality that happened in the world behind the door."
　"Uh, that's a lie."
　"Trueness"
　"I hate it"
　Shun tries to open the iron door, shouting the names of his wife and his daughter.

 　"The door won't open for you anymore."
　"Please bring me back to the world behind the door. Please. Please ..."
　Clinging to the waist of the one-eyed bargain, Shun begged.
　He said that the one-eyed bargain would pull the moment apart.
　"Can not"
　"It's a lie"
　"It's true"
　"Isn't there POWER that brought me back?"
　"Life is cut once. No one can change it."

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　The one-eyed bargain told me with the momentary ear when he sat down in front of the iron door.
　"Goodbye"
　"..."
　"When you pass through the shrine precincts, there is a coffee shop called MOMOHANA. You should go there..."
　At the end of that, the sign of one-eyed bargain disappeared.

　　　　　　　　　　　　＊

　It was sunny and the air was warm.
　The trees surrounding the precincts are also refreshing.
　However, the moment I walked along the approach was empty.
　He entered MOMOHANA. 
　"Welcome"
　I saw a clerk greeting
　"Nana…"

　　　　　　　　　　Still from now on

　In a white, bleak room with countless beds lined up, two men were watching the moment when many tubes connected to the equipment were inserted into their heads and arms and slept on the bed.
　A tear ran from the momentary truth, and The one-eyed bargain said, wiping it with his fingertips.
　"Director. How is this material?"
　"It's the best material"
　The man in a white coat called the director kept talking in a good mood. 　"HAPPINESS, ANGER, GREED, EVIL, SADNESS. All the extracts are abundant. It's a pity that LOVE can't be taken."
　"Then don't worry. With LOVE, you will be able to squeeze inexhaustibly."
　Shun said the woman's name in his sleep.
　The two smiled quietly when they saw the happy sleeping face of the moment.

(END)