Read Online The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida - Free Book Online Page B

recognize me in the dark? So Shun grabbed his mother by her arm …
    … or he thought he did, but her arm wasn’t there. What? This can’t be happening! Shun had absolutely no idea what was going on. He just stood there, struck dumb, as his parents walked by, right in front of him. All Shun could do was repeat to himself, this can’t be true, it can’t be true . He crouched on the ground, hugging his knees. What’s happening to me? What’s going on? Help me. Help …
    ‘Ah, so here you are.’ Shun heard a voice and looked up. Standing there was the old man he’d met outside the supermarket. He was looking down at Shun with a kind face. ‘You’re all right. You’re all right. Let’s go back together.’ The old man took hold of Shun’s hand.
    Shun just looked at the old man.
    Softly, the old man told Shun, ‘You don’t belong to this world any more.’
    Shun didn’t have a clue what he was on about.
    ‘Shun,’ the old man said, ‘you didn’t notice the moment that you died. On your way to the supermarket, I’m afraid you were hit by a car that jumped the red light.’
    The memory of the scene slowly returned to Shun. Yeah, that’s right, I meant to dodge the car, but then I sort of froze and couldn’t move, yes, then I was hit, and I thought , What an ungodly mess this is going to be, but then I came round again and there I was, still outside the supermarket … Shun’s eyes began to brim with tears. So I’m dead? Me? Dead? And I can’t even stop blubbing … I don’t want to be dead. No. No, no. No!
    Shun cried, and he kept on crying.
    How much time had gone by? Nobody can cry for ever, after all. By and by Shun’s tears dried up, but his mind was still blank. The old man spoke: ‘Righto. What say we go back now?’
    Back? Go back where? ‘But my home’s right … here.’ Shun had a quick peek into his house through the window. He could see into the living room. Crying … Mum and Dad are both crying their eyes out .
    Shun’s eyes started filling up once again.
    So what am I supposed to do now?
    The old man motioned to Shun and began walking, and, as if drawn after him by an invisible cord, Shun followed. The old man strode out towards the west. What’s waiting for me up ahead? Even though Shun was dead, he was still gripped by the fear of death. In a quaking voice he asked, ‘Where are we going?’
    The old man put his arm around Shun’s shoulder and replied matter-of-factly: ‘We’re off to Heaven, of course.’
    ‘Oh. I’ve, um … never been to Heaven before.’
    The old man laughed out loud. ‘Obviously.’
    The Path to Heaven. Yes, I read about it in a book, a long time ago … It was a beautiful white path leading upwards to Heaven, with the loveliest never-ever-seen flowers all around . Thinking these things, Shun kept pace with the old man. About half an hour may have passed. Shun was wondering if the Path to Heaven could really be as plain and dull as this one. What’s more, he didn’t feel the remotest bit dead. Even though things had looked so desperate and bleak before, Shun was now feeling much more like his old self again. ‘Excuse me, sir, will we be arriving in Heaven any time soon? It’s just I feel tired enough to keel over and die.’
    The old man snorted out a laugh.
    So Shun snorted out a laugh, too.
    Who would have guessed it? thought Shun. You can find something to laugh at in any situation, even when you’re dead . Mulling this over, Shun found he was feeling happier.
    ‘Well, you finally smiled about something,’ said the old man. ‘Then the Path to Heaven begins right here.’ Serenely, he raised both his hands towards the sky. He seemed to be saying something, but Shun couldn’t catch what it was.
    Now I think of it, somebody once told me how when we die, we become stars. Must have been Mum, I guess. She was always on my side. Dad gave me a lot of time too, mind … but no more games of chucking a ball to one another now … Shun looked up at the