Chapter 50: An unknown ceiling……

Translator: Soafp

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” An unknown ceiling…….”

　No, I’ve seen it a few times already. I should have said it when I first woke up in this hospital room, but I didn’t.

　Seriously, when I woke up in a strange place, I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on to say something like that. Even more so because I had amnesia.

　Yes, that amnesia. The kind of amnesia you see in manga and TV dramas, but I never thought I’d have it. I didn’t lose all my memories, just the last two years or so.

　They told me about the importance of episodic memory, semantic memory, long-term memory, and that the memory of two years is stored in the hippocampus, but I don’t understand it completely.

　What a joke, waking up in a world two years in the future. Did we promise to meet in the Saboady Islands in two years? Is that what you promised me? That’s how I see it now. I wonder if that’s how Urashima Taro felt.

[TL: Urashima Tarō is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale, who in a typical modern version is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace beneath the sea. There he is entertained by the princess Otohime as a reward.]

“Good morning, Tsukiyomi-san. As I told you beforehand, you will meet with the doctor in charge after this, and if there are no problems, you can leave the hospital, but how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

　As I was thinking that my body was growing and I didn’t need a Tamatebako, a nurse came in. It’s been a few days since I woke up, but the tests showed that I had a minor illness except for the lack of memory, so I was going to be discharged. It would be better for me to live a normal life than to stay in a hospital room, so my memory would come back.

[TL: A Tamatebako (玉手箱) “jeweled hand box”, “jewel box”, “jeweled box”, “treasure box”, “casket”, etc., is the name of a mysterious box that in the Japanese folk tale “Urashima Tarō”, is a parting gift that the fisherman Urashima Tarō receives from mistress of the sea (Otohime), after his stay at the Dragon Palace (or Hōrai), to which he was invited after saving a turtle.]

“Thank you for your help.”

“I know you’re going through a lot, but please take care of yourself.”

　After the session with the doctor in charge, I went home with my family who had come to pick me up. Just like when they came to visit me, my parents and Sakuya seemed to be at a loss as to how to treat me, probably because I had lost my memory of the last two years. I felt a little sad, but if I were in the opposite position, I certainly wouldn’t know how to do the same,, so I decided not to worry about it.

“Onii-chan, are you sure you don’t remember anything about the last two years?”

“No, I don’t.”

　In the car on the way home, Sakuya asked me if I remembered anything, but I really don’t. I don’t really remember, but her character is too different from the Sakuya I remember. I wonder if her rebellious period has ended in the last two years? When I was puzzled by the changes in Sakuya, she asked me more questions in a fearful way.

“…… And about that incident?”

“That incident?”

　Was I involved in some kind of incident?

“No. If you don’t remember, it’s probably for the best…”

　When you put it that way, I’m curious. Well if something unpleasant happened and I forgot about it, would they be happier if I just forgot about it? I’m not going to pursue it too deeply, because it seems like Sakuya doesn’t want to tell me. If I want to know, I can look it up. If it’s an incident, I can find out right away.

　After that, we went home without any further conversation.

“This is my room…….?”

　When I got home and went into my room, I wondered if it was really my room. The arrangement of things in the living room was different from what I remembered, but I didn’t care too much because I thought it would change a little in two years. My room, however, had changed quite a bit.

“When did I become a reader?”

　My room was full of books. I wondered if the floor would fall out. This many books must be pretty heavy.

　I rummaged through the room, anxious to see if the floor would collapse. It’s changed quite a bit, but I’m pretty sure it’s my room. The arrangement of things is just the way I like it, and I was able to unlock the computer after typing in a few different passwords that I would have used if I was me. Even though I’ve become a reader, my habits have not changed.

“The soccer-related items and accessories I kept on display are gone.”

　It seems that I didn’t join any club activities in high school, or maybe I failed? Did I move all my accessories to a storage room because I couldn’t fit them in my room anymore?

“I wish I had a diary…”

　I was hoping that a diary would help me understand what happened during the time I lost my memory and how I felt about it, but apparently it doesn’t work that way. It’s not surprising, since I never had the habit of writing a diary.

“I can’t rely on this diary…”

　There was a diary for the summer vacation project, but it only contained bland stuff and stories. For some reason, the last day of summer vacation has already been written. [TL: Recall that he wrote that diary on the first day]

“I’ll have to ask them…”

　I told my childhood friends that I was leaving the hospital today. They’ve been coming to visit me every day. I thought I should thank them and invite them over for a visit.

　I tried to get in touch with them on my phone, but there were many names in my address book that I didn’t recognize. Could it be my high school classmates? I wondered if I could find out through them.

“I have a lot to ask.”

　In the meantime, let’s talk to my family. Maybe they can tell me how I’ve been spending my time at home, aside from school-related stuff.

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