小説5

翔太は、いつまでも心に残る夢を見た。それは、幼い頃から慣れ親しんだ、あの小さな丘の上での出来事だった。祖母は、生前とは比べ物にならないほど輝いており、頭上からは無数の桜の花びらが舞い降りていた。まるで天国の一片を切り取ったかのような、息をのむ美しさだった。

祖母は、いつも通りの穏やかな笑顔で翔太を見つめていた。その笑顔は、まるで全ての苦しみから解放されたように、安らかで清らかだった。翔太は、そんな祖母の姿に、今まで感じたことのないほどの安らぎを感じた。

目が覚めると、いつもの部屋だった。ふすま一枚隔てた隣の部屋からは、両親の楽しそうな声が聞こえてくる。翔太は、夢の中の情景を懐かしみながら、再び目を閉じた。

幼い頃、親戚の家で奇妙な体験をしたことがある。天井から吊り下げられた電灯の周りを、白いシーツのようなものがゆっくりと回転していたのだ。恐怖というよりは、不思議な感覚だった。それはまるで、あの世とこの世の狭間を彷徨う魂のようだった。

そして、山道を歩く時、木々の間から現れる白い顔。その顔は、にやにやと笑っていた。恐怖を感じながらも、翔太はどこか惹かれるものを感じた。それは、幼い頃の自分の中に潜んでいた、未知なるものへの好奇心だったのかもしれない。

祖母との再会を夢見た夜、翔太は、あの白い顔の意味を悟ったような気がした。それは、生と死、現世とあの世、そして自分自身の心の奥底にある闇を象徴しているのかもしれない。しかし、同時に、それはまた、新たな生命の誕生や、心の再生を意味しているのかもしれない。

Shota had a dream that would stay with him forever. It was a scene from his childhood, on a small hill he had grown up with. His grandmother was glowing more brightly than he had ever seen her, and countless cherry blossoms were falling around her. It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight, like a piece of heaven.

His grandmother looked at him with her usual gentle smile. It was a peaceful and pure smile, as if she had been freed from all suffering. Shota felt a sense of peace he had never experienced before as he gazed at her.

When he woke up, he was in his usual room. He could hear his parents’ cheerful voices from the next room. As he missed the scene from his dream, he closed his eyes again.

When he was younger, he had a strange experience at his relatives’ house. A white sheet-like object was slowly spinning around a light hanging from the ceiling. It was more of a curious feeling than a scary one. It was as if he had seen a soul wandering between this world and the next.

And when he walked through the mountains, a white face would appear from among the trees. The face was grinning. Although he was scared, he felt a strange attraction to it. Perhaps it was a curiosity about the unknown that had been hidden deep within him since childhood.

The night he dreamed of reuniting with his grandmother, Shota felt like he understood the meaning of that white face. It might have symbolized life and death, this world and the next, and the darkness deep within his own heart. But at the same time, it might also have symbolized the birth of new life and the regeneration of the heart.