I Want to Hear Your Voice

Sousuke was now working as an ‘announcer’, something that he had dreamed of since he was a child.
He always left his house at a fixed time every day before dawn, when everyone was still asleep.
When they went to the supermarket, the people around them knew about Sousuke, and women especially would try to talk to him.
At such times, Sousuke would respond flawlessly.
But Satori knew that Sousuke didn’t feel very comfortable about it on the inside.

Once, Satori asked Sousuke what kind of things he did at work.
Sousuke then taught him how to tune into a TV program, which they had watched together for the first time a while ago.
Satori waited nervously in front of the TV at the hour Sousuke had told him while sitting on the soles of his feet.  He was surprised to see Sousuke appeared inside the box called “TV,” looking slightly different than usual.
After that, it became Satori’s routine to watch the news program Sousuke was on after seeing him off every morning.
He was happy that he could see Sousuke even though he wasn’t in the room with him right now.
But what made him the happiest was still being around the real Sousuke.

As the music signaling for the washing machine that had finished could be heard, Satori went to the washroom.
He put the clean clothes in a plastic basket and carried them to the balcony.
As soon as he opened the glass window, he was greeted by hot and humid air.
Satori carefully spread the wet clothes and hung them up.
Under the blue sky, the clothes fluttered in the wind.
After finishing his duty, Satori turned his gaze to the distance.

The city ‘Tokyo’ where Sousuke lived was so different from the mountains Satori had inhabited.
Even if he were to view the city from a high place, it was such a jumbled mess of buildings, and the mountains were only faintly visible in the distance.
The wind felt nice on his sweat dotted forehead.
For a while, Satori stared at the scenery of the city in a daze.

Satori had made a certain deal with the Dragon God before he went to meet Sousuke.
No matter how ignorant Satori was, he knew that the city ‘Tokyo’ where Sousuke lived had so many people living there that it couldn’t be compared to the place where he lived.
This was because Satori sometimes got that kind of information from the faint thoughts of the people in the village where he lived.

I want to go to Sousuke, I want to see him.

Toward Satori who trembled as he begged, the Dragon God stared at him with his silent icy eyes.

Satori wondered how much time had passed in silence.

“Some children can see things that humans believe do not exist in this world.
The human child that you talked about must be one of them.
Even if that was the case, it is only possible when you are by his side.
If you are separated from him, the connection between the two of you will weaken.
Eventually, that thin thread will break as if it never existed in the first place.
The human that you hoped to see so much may have long since forgotten about you.”

Sousuke forgetting about him….Just thinking about this made his heart  hurt deep inside, so much that it made him want to cry.
However, Satori looked straight at the Dragon God’s face, while still trembling a little.

“…That’s fine.
I want to see Sousuke no matter what.
I want to hear his voice, even if it’s just one word.”

“—There is a price to pay for your wish to come true.” 

Satori nodded his head.

Suddenly, Satori thought he saw a flicker of emotion in the Dragon God’s clear eyes, which he hadn’t been able to read any emotion in until then.
But then it disappeared almost immediately.
Maybe it was just his imagination.

“If that human does not feel the need to abandon everything to be with you, then you will cease to exist.”

Satori was taken aback.
He widened his eyes in surprise, but then they suddenly relaxed.

Satori thought that it was something easy to do.
There was no way Sousuke would think that he needed Satori so much that he would abandon everything else.
Even so, if he could meet Sousuke just one more time, Satori wouldn’t have any regrets, even if he might lose his own life.

The Dragon God tied some kind of thread around Satori’s finger.

“What is this?”

“Follow this thread and you will find the one you wish to see.”

The thread that was as thin as a spider’s thread was so fragile that it seemed like it would break with a single touch.
However, in the darkness, the thread let out a very faint light that looked like it came from a moonlight that had been ground into powder.
More than anything, it gave Satori the most certain hope that Sousuke was on the other side of the thread.