"Barbara Ikai" 9

Flowers 2003 September


Kiriya hears someone knock the door. He opens the door and sees a doll. It says "Hello Kiriya. I'm Aoba." Raiko and Mashiro show up from behind the door. They asked a doll creator to make the doll for Kiriya. Though Kiriya says he doesn't want the doll at first, he ends up accepting it. When Kiriya is holding a doll, someone throws rope to coil around the doll's neck and takes it away. Kiriya sees a boy clibming up the building. The boy looks like Pine in Aoba's dream. Kiriya chases him.

A Pine doll arrives at the top of the building. Another Pine doll appears and says "This is not what we need. We can't eat it." When Kiriya catches up with them, three Aoba dolls appear and throw ropes at Pines. A Pine is caught. Aoba dolls cut his chest, and they take out something from the body and eat it. They get aware of Kiriya and asks him if he wants to eat it. Kiriya chases them to top of the next building. Mashiro sees the Pine's dead body melt away.

Kiriya sees Aoba on top of the building.

Kiriya: Aoba, what are the small kids?
Aoba: I don't know.
Kiyiya: You must know them.
Aoba: They come out because they are starving.
Kiriya: Starving?
Aoba: Stop Watarai.
Kiriya: Those children are you, aren't they? Were you starving? Why?
Aoba: It wasn't me that was starving. That planet was. The dead planet which is covered with sand. You dreamed of it, didn't you?
Kiriya: Do you mean Mars? Is it the dead planet?
Aobe: Yes, but it used to be full of water. It had living things, like you and me.
Kiriya: Are you talking about Paleozoic Earth or the Cambrian period?
Aobe: No, I'm talking about the Martian sea. Kiriya, recall the time when we were happy there. You were me, I was you, all of us were one and we filled the whole world. We didn't know fear, starvation or isolation.
Kiriya: I've heard the Martian sea was dried up soon after Mars was formed, and no life was born there.
Aoba: All died.
Kiriya: The star dies according to its destiny.
Aoba: All is dead, but we can be reborn here on the Earth, so all the living things here will be reunited into one and will have eternal life.
Kiriya: Are we going to be one? Eternally?
Aoba: Yes.
Kiriya: What is that?
Aoba: It's a hope.
Kiriya: Is it?
Aoba: It's the ideal image of the future.
Kiriya: Are you working for Martians? I don't want that kind of future. I want to stay myself. I don't want to become anyone else.
Aoba: Do you want to die in despair as a love]starved child?
Kiriya: You're in a bad dream. Wake up!
Aoba: What is "Barbara" you created?
Kiriya: Barbara is my shelter.
Aoba: Barbara is my future. I can't go back into the despair in the real world. Where will my memory of Mars go? Kiriya, try to recall Mars! I'm not the only person that remembers Mars. You and some other people remember Mars. They dream of sand and the sea.
Kiriya: That's just a dream.
Kiriya: That's an old memory beyond dream.

Saying, "Recall Mars! Let's go back to the eternal sea.", Aoba disappears.

Raika wakes up in Kiriya's bed. Two young men go into the room. They are Raika's cousins. Kousuka gives a Kagura mask to Kiriya. Kousuke says his late uncle made it. Kousuke and the uncle saw Kiriya perform a Kagura dance four years ago. Kousuke tells Kiriya that Kiriya's dance was unforgettable and he wants to watch it again.

Mashiro tells Kiriya to get in touch with him if something happens when he leaves Kiriya's room with Raika and her cousins.

Kiriya says to himself that he's not scared of Aoba. He finds Aoba similar to him. He thinks she is something evil.
Kiriya turns a somersault wearing the mask that Kousuke gave him. He remembers what his grandfather said to him when he taught him how to perform the Kagura dance.
"Kiriya, the Kagura is performed in front of God. Your body and soul should be perfectly clean when dancing. The dance should be sometimes violent, and sometimes silent. Forget your desire, your hatred or whatever. Make yourself nothing. That's the only way to go close to God. "
Sera Johanne and his mother came to his mind. Kiriya stops dancing. He thinks he can never dance the Kagura again unless his anger goes away. Aoba comes to his mind and she encourages him to forget the bitter reality. Kiriya is not sure whether he wants to share the future with Aoba or not.

Watarai is going to Hinako's funeral in Barbara. Aoba asks Pine and Taka if it's not true that nobody dies in Barbara. Pine tells her that nobody dies in Barbara and that Hinako will be a part of Barbara's memory.

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