↓ I have included one of my dream diaries as a sample. I originally wrote it in Japanese and just Google translated it, so the content is a mess. ↓↓ とりあえずサンプルテキストとして、過去につけた夢日記のうちの一つを載せています ↓
I was a child of a demon...俺は魔族の子だったのか…
The story begins in a garage.
"Do you know about the California legend?"
This guy who cheerfully talks to me is not even my best friend. This is the man I just met here.
As I exit the tall, bright cream-colored garage that looks like a Hollywood movie studio, the strong West Coast sun hits my skin.
"Once upon a time, in a small town around here, there was a baseball team made up of kind-hearted black men. Their baseball skills were first-class, and everyone in town was cheering them on. All that was left was to go to the tournament. But this didn't happen. The tournament categorically refused their participation. You know why, right? There was nothing they could do.However, there was one young man who was even more furious than them. He was a mechanic here, and the people involved in the tournament were entrusting him with the maintenance of their cars. He was a gentle man, so he didn't put a bomb in that car. He opened the trunk and crammed 12 players into it. It was made by an experienced mechanic. He packed it all up in no time and just returned it. There was an article on the front page of the newspaper saying that they had won. Yes, things are designed to work well. This is a California legend. ”
That's ridiculous. But is this man's strangely persuasive tone making I think so?
Then I saw members of a black baseball team running on the sidewalk in front of me.
"They're in a similar situation. Despite these legends, people keep making stupid mistakes."
He deliberately glanced at a certain spot. There are two cars in front of the garage. One of them is a convertible car with a nice trunk.
I knew what I had to do, so I quickly carefully stuffed those 12 people into the trunk, then ran to the driver's seat and said to him,
"Let's go."
the man got scared.
"Eh...seriously? You're a left-hand drive driver, is that okay? Besides, this is another Volkswagen...I guess the owner of this car is also a rich crazy guy...I never thought he'd do that...Eh..."
While he was frightened, the owner of the car came out of the garage. The man and I quickly crossed the road and hid in the bushes next to the house across the street.
Their bodies covered from head to toe in tasteless items. The ultimate shit item is a branded bag that looks like a Barbie doll accessory due to large body size.
We prayed that the old lady was the owner of the Volkswagen, but their prayers did not work and the 12 men were kidnapped by the old lady in an open car.
Those 12 people later became not baseball legends, but department store legends (lol)
I thought there was no point in feeling depressed, so I ran cheerfully towards the city.
"Are you serious? Haha! You're crazy!"
He's a proper man.
But perhaps because of this appropriateness, I enjoyed the conversation with him. Apparently he's a man who lives in this town.
This town is a strange one, with an inorganic and eerie atmosphere, much like the 64 graphics. The one thing that really caught my eye was an ideal-looking house with a red roof. It wasn't that the house stood out because it was nice, but that it caught my eye because there were multiple tombstones lined up in the garden of such a nice house. For some reason, this house felt familiar.
Go to work, come home, clean the graves and put your hands together. I've seen people doing this over and over again from behind. I don't know if he's remembering someone's father or his own actions from a bird's-eye view.
Putting those personal thoughts to one's heart, I continued the conversation with the man. Suddenly, the ground rippled. The surrounding residents, houses, and scenery all ripple in a psychedelic manner. Huh? Was the man this young? Next to me was a boy of about 12 years old. However, the person in question doesn't seem to notice and continues talking.
"Also, my daughter is really adoreble... She's not even four years old yet. You're the same age as me, right? Don't you have any children?"After all, this guy is a grown man, not a 12-year-old boy.
At the same time as I reaffirmed the abnormality of the current situation, I felt depressed and despised myself for not having a partner or a family at this age.
At that moment, this strange space-time distortion ended.
"Ah, it was distorted again. It was dangerous. If it had lasted a little longer, it would have turned back into a fetus."
Apparently it's a daily occurrence here.
After finishing my conversation with the man, I headed home.
My family was worried and were all waiting for me. I won't be lectured, but they let me know that they were worried.
That's right, I come from a family of demons. The man I met today treated me so normally that I had completely forgotten about it, but seeing all four purple-skinned people makes me realize that.
The next morning, the family heads out from home in different directions to start their day.
I went to the hospital, which is my daily routine. It seems that the environment is not suitable for living among humans, so since I am physically weak, I always have to go to the hospital in the morning for a medical examination. My father pats me on the shoulder and sees me off. He is a big man with a cheerful smile.
However, on the way to the hospital, I noticed something.
The reason why the nurses and teachers at that hospital didn't treat me maliciously.
That's right, money. My father gives them a bribe that far exceeds the medical fees. It's money in the world. Why didn't I notice it until now? Without a doubt, meeting the man yesterday was a big deal. There aren't many people who will treat you like that without giving anything in return.
It means that there is always a reason for someone who shows kindness towards me. After all, our family needs a huge amount of money to live a normal life.
I thought about suicide. I thought that even if I got married and had a child, I wouldn't be able to provide my child with a normal life.
物語はとあるガレージで始まる。
「お前、カリフォルニアの伝説って知ってるか？」
そう陽気に話しかけてくるコイツは親友でもなんでもない。たった今ここで出会った男だ。
ハリウッドの撮影スタジオみたいな、明るいクリーム色の背の高いガレージを出ると、西海岸の強い日差しが皮膚を差す。
「昔、このあたりの小さな街に心優しい黒人の男たちの野球チームがあったんだ。彼らの野球の腕前は一級のもので、街のみんなが応援していた。あとは大会に出るだけだったのさ。しかしこれが叶わなかった。大会側は断固として彼らの出場を拒んだ。理由はわかるだろ？彼らにはどうすることもできなかった。しかし、彼ら以上に怒りに燃えている一人の青年がいたんだ。彼はちょうどここの整備士でな、これまたちょうど大会関係者が彼に車の整備を任せていたんだ。彼は温厚な人だったから、その車に爆弾を仕込むなんてことはしなかった。トランクを開けると、そこに12人の選手を詰め込んだ。歴戦の整備士の手付きだ。あっという間に詰め込んじまうと、そのまま返しちまったのさ。新聞一面に彼らが優勝したとの記事。そうさ、物事ってのは上手く回るようにできてるのさ。これがカリフォルニアの伝説さ。」
馬鹿げた話だ。しかし妙に説得力がある、この男の語り口調がそう思わせるのか？
すると前の歩道を黒人の野球チームの面々がランニングしている。
「彼らもまた同じような状況にいるのさ。あのような伝説があっていながらも、人々は馬鹿な過ちを繰り返す。」
彼はチラッと目線を意図的にある箇所へ向けた。ガレージ前には2台の車。そのうち一つは素敵なトランクのオープンカーだ。
俺にすべきことは何か分かったから、すぐさまその12人を丁寧にトランクに詰めると、運転席に駆け寄りながらそいつに言った。
「さぁ行くぞ」
ソイツは日和った。
「えぇ…まじ？お前左ハンドルだけど大丈夫なの？しかもこれもう一台あるのワーゲンの〇〇じゃん…多分この車の持ち主も金持ちのイカレポンチだぜ…まさかやるとは思わなかったよ…えぇ…」
日和っている内に、車の持ち主がガレージから出てきてしまった。俺とソイツはすぐに道路を横切って向かいの家の茂みに隠れる。
地面が揺れるほどの巨体のおばさん二人組みだ。頭から爪先まで趣味の悪い品々に身を包んでいる。極めつけは巨体のせいでバービー人形の付属品みたいに見えるブランドのバッグだ。
そのおばさんがワーゲンの主人であることを祈ったが、その祈りも通じず、12人の男たちはオープンカーでおばさんに誘拐されたのだった…。
あの12人は後に、野球のレジェンドではなく、デパートでレジェンドになったのだ(ろう)
俺はクヨクヨしても無駄だと思ったので、街の方へ陽気に駆け出す。
「お前まじかよ！ハハッ！クレイジーな奴だな！」
調子のいい男だ。
でもこの調子の良さがあるからか、ソイツとの会話は楽しかった。どうやらこの街に住んでいる男らしい。
この街は変な街だ、64のグラフィックのように無機質で不気味な雰囲気がある。そしてひと際目だっていたのは赤い屋根の理想のような家だ。何も素敵だから目立っていたわけではない、そんな素敵な家の庭に、複数もの墓石が並んでいたからだ。なぜかこの家には馴染みがあった。
仕事に行き、家に帰り、墓を掃除して手を合わせる。そんな繰り返しをする背中を俺は後ろから見ていたことがある。誰かの父親か、それとも自分自身の行動を俯瞰的に思い出しているのかは分からない。
そんな個人的な思いは胸にしまい、男との会話を続ける。突然、地面が波打った。周りの住民も、家も、景色すべてがサイケデリックに波打つ。あれ？男ってこんな若かったっけな？自分の横にいたのは12ほどの少年だ。しかし当の本人は気づいていないようで、話を続ける。
「それとな、娘がほんとに可愛くてよぉ…。まだ4つにもなってないぐらいなんだが。お前俺と同い年だろ？子供はいねぇのか？」
やっぱりこいつは12の少年ではなく成人した大人だ。そう今の異常事態を再確認すると同時に、いい年してパートナーも家庭もいない自分を自ら蔑んでヘコんだ。
その瞬間に、この妙な時空の歪みは終わった。
「あぁまた歪んでたな。危なかった、もうちょい長く続いていたら胎児にまで戻ってたぜ」
どうやらここでは日常茶飯事らしい。
男との会話を終え、帰路につく。
俺の家族は心配して、全員そろって俺を待っていた。説教なんてことはしないが、心配していた旨を伝えられる。
そうだ、俺は魔族の一家だった。今日出会った男があまりにも自分に普通に接してくれるので、すっかり忘れていたが、紫の肌が四人揃うとそれを実感させられる。
翌朝、また家族は各々の一日を開始すべく、家からそれぞれ違う方向へ向かう。
俺は日課である病院へ。魔族が住むには適していない環境らしいので、体の弱い俺は、必ず朝は病院に行って診察を受けないといけない。父親が俺の肩を叩いて見送る。快活な笑顔の大男だ。
しかし、病院に向かう途中、なぜか気づいてしまった。
あの病院の看護師や先生が俺を邪険に扱わない理由。
そうだ、金だ。父親が診察費を遥かに越した額の賄賂を渡している。世の中金だ。なぜ今まで気づかなかったのか。間違いなく昨日の男との出会いが大きかった。あれだけなんの見返りもなく普通に接してくれるヤツはそうそういない。
俺に優しさを向けるやつには必ず何らかの理由があるということだ。やはり俺たちの一族が普通に生活していくには莫大な金が必要だ。
俺は自殺を考えた。どうせ結婚して子供ができたところで、そいつに普通の暮らしを提供してやれないと思ったからだ。
