R11:CO7 01.txt

再び、夜がやってきた。%K%P
And night came once again.

私達は太陽が沈むまでに交替で眠った。%K%P
We took turns sleeping until the sun set.

けれど、体力はほとんど回復しなかった。%K%P
But we could barely recover any of our strength

食糧も燃料もなくなり、ついには水もなくなった。%K%P
Our food, fuel, and water had been used up.

空気の乾ききっている避難小屋では、呼吸をするのも苦しいほどだ。%K%P
The air inside the shelter cabin was so dry it was getting difficult to even breathe.

そう……空気はあまりにも冷たくて、吸い込むと肺が痛い。%K%P
Yes... the air was so cold that breathing in made my lungs cry out in pain.

鼻から呼吸をすると、鼻の中が凍ってしまいそうだった。%K%P
And when you breathed in through your nose, you felt as if the inside of it would freeze solid.

コートを着て、その上から毛布まで羽織っているのに、まるで防寒の意味を為さなかった。%K%P
Even though we had our coats on and even blankets draped over each of us, they were completely useless as protection from the cold.

病的なほど身体が震えて止まらない。%K%P
I couldn't stop my body from shivering like someone severely ill.

手足を動かすのも困難なほどだ。%K%P
It was difficult to even move my limbs.

避難小屋にいる私達の間に、会話は完全に途切れていた。%K%P
Inside the shelter cabin, all conversation between us had stopped completely.

『寒い』とすら、言えなかった。%K%P
We didn't so much as utter the words "it's cold."

闇に閉ざされた小屋の中で、ひたすらに紫色に変色した唇を震わせている。%K%P
Our discolored lips quivered intensely inside this small cabin enshrouded in darkness.

かろうじて、震える息が聞こえてくるから、生きているとわかるだけ。%K%P
Only the sound of our shaky breaths reminded us that we were still alive.

今、黄泉木に寄り添って寝ているゆになどは、その息すらも消えてしまいそうだった。%K%P
Yuni, who was now asleep and cuddled beside Yomogi-san, looked almost as if he had stopped breathing altogether.

……限界。%K%P
...We were at our limit.

幾度もそう思ったが、今度こそ本当に死が間近に迫っていることが実感できた。%K%P
I had felt this way many times before, but it wasn't until now that I felt the reality of death drawing closer and closer.

寒さという名の死神が完全に避難小屋へと入り込み、鋭い刃で誰の首を切り落とそうか算段をしている――。%K%P
The god of death known as cold had invaded the shelter cabin, and was contemplating whose neck would be the first under his scythe――

昨日の電話がきちんと伝わったのかどうかわからない。%K%P
I don't know if the phone call yesterday actually made it through.

けれど、伝わったとしても、この吹雪では救助隊は来れないだろう。%K%P
But even if it had, the rescue team probably wouldn't come for us in this blizzard.

こころ「…………」%K%P
......

私は凍える指先に、息を吐きかけた。%K%P
I breathed a sigh onto my frozen fingers.

このまま、凍るようにして死んでしまうの……？%K%P
Are we going to freeze to death like this...?

こうして、震えながら死を待つしかないの……？%K%P
Is there nothing we can do but sit here and shiver this way as we wait for death...?

人格交換なんていう奇妙な現象に巻き込まれ、なにもわからないまま、死んでしまうの……？%K%P
To get caught up in this bizarre personality exchange phenomenon and die without understanding any of it...?

こころ「……いやだ……」%K%P
...No...

こころ「……いやだよぉ……」%K%P
...Noooo...

生きていることを確かめるように声を出してみたけれど、その声はかすれて消える……。%K%P
I tried forcing my voice out, as if to make sure I was still alive, but that voice cracked and faded away....

私は、心から欲していた。%K%N
I prayed for it in my heart.

――希望を。%K%N
――For hope.

――生きる希望を。%K%P
――For the hope to live on.

ほんのわずかでもいい。%K%N
No matter how small it may be.

目指すべき光が欲しかった。%K%N
I wished for a light to reach out to.

行く先を照らす光が欲しかった。%K%P
I wished for a light to lead the way.

でないと、小屋の中の漆黒の闇に押し潰されてしまいそうだった。%K%P
Without it, we were all going to be crushed by the complete darkness that enveloped us inside this cabin.

それから、数時間が経った――%K%P
Countless hours passed――

外の吹雪は、あいかわらず収まることを知らない。%K%P
I don't know if the blizzard outside has subsided at all.

屋根の上に積もっていた雪が、地響きと共に落ちた。%K%P
The snow that had piled up on the roof fell to the ground with a loud thud.

ふいに、黛が口を開く。%K%P
Suddenly, Mayuzumi's lips moved.

黛「日付……変わったわ……」%K%P
Looks like... it's the next day...

言われて、時計を見た。%K%P
When I heard what she said, I looked at my watch.

薄暗くてよくわからなかったけれど、０時を回っているようだ。%K%P
I couldn't see very well because it was dark, but it looks like the hands have made their way back to 12 AM.

黛「……ねぇ、黄泉木さん……」%K%P
...Hey, Yomogi-san...

黄泉木「……なんだ」%K%P
...What?

黛「新聞があったわよね……あれ……燃やして」%K%P
You have that newspaper... right... so let's burn that.

新聞は、初めは棚に入れておいた。%K%P
The newspaper had originally been placed on the shelf.

だが、棚を壊して薪にしてしまった今は、私のベッドの下に突っ込んである。%K%P
But we had broken the shelf into pieces for firewood, and the newspaper had since been shoved under my bed.

私は手を伸ばし新聞を取った。%K%P
I reached out and grabbed it.

黄泉木「すぐに燃えちまって……薪の代わりにはならないぞ」%K%P
That's going to burn to a crisp in seconds... we can't use that as firewood.

黛「それでもいいから、燃やして……！」%K%P
That's fine, just burn it...!

弱っているとは思えないほどに強い口調だった。%K%P
Her voice was strong and determined, surprising from someone who looked so weak.

黄泉木の隣に座っていたゆにが、身じろきした。%K%P
Yuni, who had been sitting right beside Yomogi, shifted his body a bit and glanced over.

なぜか不満げな表情だ。%K%P
For some reason, he looked annoyed.

ゆに「どうして、そんなことするんだよぉ……」%K%P
Why do you want to do that...?

その問いに、黛はしばらく黙っていたが……%K%P
When she heard the question, Mayuzumi went quiet for a moment. But then she said...

黛「……怖いのよ」%K%P
...I'm scared of it.

呟くように答えた。%K%P
She muttered.

ゆに「な……にが？」%K%P
Scared of... what?

黛「……その新聞が」%K%P
...That newspaper article.

黛「……どうせ、嘘に決まってるだろうけど……」%K%P
...It's obviously not real...

黛「今日、私達が死ぬって書いてあるのよ？」%K%P
But it said that we're all going to die today, didn't it?

黛「そんな悪趣味な新聞、置いておきたくない……」%K%P
It's a sick joke, and I don't want it around anymore...

ゆに「そんなことしても……無駄だよ」%K%P
Even if you burn it... it's still useless.

ゆにの声は、妙に落ち着いていた。%K%P
Yuni's voice was strangely calm.

ゆに「新聞を燃やしたって、記事の内容が消えるわけじゃ……ないんだ……」%K%P
Even if you burn the newspaper, the things described in that article... won't disappear with it...

ゆに「そこに書かれていることは……」%K%P
Because every single word...

ゆに「本当のことなんだから」%K%P
is true...

黛「だ……黙れ！」%K%P
Sh... shut up!

黛「こんなときに……悪い冗談やめて！」%K%P
Stop... stop making such sick jokes at a time like this!

何もかもが嫌だとでも言いたげに、黛は毛布を頭からかぶってしまった。%K%P
Spouting off almost every hateful word in the book, Mayuzumi pulled the blanket over her head.

ゆに「ホントのことなのに……」%K%P
But it's the truth...

ぽつりと呟くゆにを横目に、私は新聞を広げた。%K%P
Glancing over at Yuni as he continued mumbling, I opened the newspaper.

新聞を月明かりに翳して、読み返してみようと思った。%K%P
I wanted to read it over once more under the moonlight.

ところが、そもそも月が雲に隠れていた。%K%P
But the moon was hidden behind the clouds.

窓からは、まったく光が射し込んできていない。%K%P
Not even the smallest bit of light made it through the window.

暗すぎて記事を読むことができない。%K%P
It was so dark that I couldn't read the article.

懐中電灯を貸してもらおうかと思ったところで、ふと気づいた。%K%P
Just as I was about to ask for a flashlight, I suddenly remembered something.

ポケットからＶＲを取り出す。%K%P
I took out the ＶＲ from my pocket.

電源を入れ、スイッチを押した。%K%P
I turned it on and pushed the switch.

ＶＲのディスプレイは液晶になっていて、わずかに光るのだ。%K%P
The display on the ＶＲ lit up and shone faintly.

それをランプ代わりにした。%K%P
I could use it as a lamp.

%N
%FS--------------------------------------------%FE%T60%N
%LC２０１１年（平成２３年）７月４日（月曜日）%T60%N
July 4th (Monday) 2011 (Heisei 23)

%N
%LC朱倉岳に男女３人の腐乱死体%T60%N
Three Decomposed Male and Female Corpses Found on Mount Akakura

%N
%LCＨＡＬ墜落事故の不明者か？%T60%N
Missing passengers from the HAL crash?
%FS--------------------------------------------%FE%K%P

私達が死亡したという、未来の記事。%K%P
An article from the future telling us that we died.

これを、ゆには本物だと言った。%K%P
Yuni said the article was real.

以前なら、冗談だろうと一笑に付すところだ。%K%P
Before, I probably would have thought it a joke and laughed it off.

でも、今は違う。%K%P
But things are different now.

この小屋にいるゆには、『未来のゆに』である可能性がある。%K%P
There's a chance that the Yuni inside this cabin is actually "the Yuni of the future."

だから――%K%P
That's why――

ゆにの言葉にも、信憑性が増す。%K%P
His words have gained more credibility.

この新聞は……%K%P
This article...

本物かもしれない。%K%P
It may actually be real.

ゆにが、２０１２年のスフィアとなんらかの関係があるならば、この新聞を持ち込むことだって不可能ではないのだ。%K%P
If Yuni has anything to do with SPHIA in 2012, it's not entirely impossible that he had brought this newspaper here.

方法はわからない。%K%P
I don't know how he could have done it.

そもそも持ち込んだかどうかもわからない。%K%P
I don't even know if he was the one who brought it here.

しかし、『未来のゆに』がここにいるのなら、未来の新聞がここにあってもおかしくない。%K%P
But, if "the Yuni of the future" is here, it's not all that strange that a newspaper article from the future is here as well.

我ながら、妙なことを考えているものだと思う。%K%P
I really do come up with the weirdest ideas.

でも、人格交換という奇妙な体験を繰り返したために、普段なら信じないようなことでも、考慮できるようになっていた。%K%P
But because I've repeatedly experienced the unbelievable phenomenon of personality exchange, I found myself considering possibilities that I'd normally find impossible.

信じはしないけれど、可能性を考慮することはできるようになったのだ。%K%P
It's not that I believe him, but I've come to be able to consider it a possibility.

私もなかなか進歩したものだと、思わず苦笑した。%K%P
I've come a long way, haven't I, I thought as I smiled bitterly.

それに、私は希望を欲していた。%K%P
Right now, I wanted hope.

この新聞に書かれている内容は、絶望的なものだ。%K%P
The words in that article were words of despair.

けれど、裏を返せば、私は『絶望的な未来を知り得た』こととなる。%K%P
But if we think about it another way, I've actually come to gain more information about the hopeless future.

今日、起こるであろうことを、新聞によって知ることができる。%K%P
The events that will happen today can be deduced from the article.

これは、大きなアドバンテージなのではないだろうか？%K%P
It may even turn out to be a big advantage.

ひょっとして、これは私の求めていた希望なのではないだろうか？%K%P
Perhaps this was the ray of hope that I had been praying for.

このまま座して死を待つなんて、嫌だ。%K%P
I don't want to just sit here and wait for death to come.

どうせ死ぬのなら、あらがって死にたいと思う。%K%P
If we're going to die anyway, I would rather keep fighting until I die.

とても、とても怖かったけれど……%K%P
Even though I'm really afraid...

自然の脅威に、%K
Afraid of the threat of nature,

死の運命に、%K
afraid of our destiny of death,

絶望に、%K
afraid of our despair;

少しでもいいから、立ち向かって死にたかった。%K%P
just a little hope is fine, just enough for me to stand up and face death head-on.

のちに、私の死に様を、両親や友人が知ったとき『こころは頑張ったんだね』と言って欲しかった。%K%P
I want my parents and friends to look at my death afterward and say "Kokoro did her best."

こころ「うん」%K%P
Okay.

私はひとつうなずくと、記事を読み始めた。%K%P
Giving myself a slight nod, I began reading the article.

一字一句、漏らさぬように、懸命に――%K%P
So as to absorb every word, every sentence, I read on for my life――