Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051598917319858
I think the reason Berlin felt so unusually noisy was probably because my brain was processing the words I couldn’t understand as background noise.
It was about ten years ago that we moved to Berlin, Germany, because of my dad’s job.
I was seven years old at the time.
Convinced that it would definitely be useful in the future, I ended up attending the same Grundschule as the local kids—even though I couldn’t speak a word of German.
My first day at the new school.
Led into the classroom by the teacher, I was suddenly met with the gaze of the entire class.
“────”
The teacher was saying something. She was probably introducing me, but I didn’t understand a word.
Prompted by the teacher, I hurriedly bowed my head.
“Ich heiße Rintaro Osaki (My name is Rintaro Osaki).”
I stammered through the stock phrase I’d memorized.
It seemed like everyone started asking me questions all at once, but I had no idea what they were asking, so I just kept flashing a confused smile.
Once I sat down, the boy next to me tried to talk to me a few times.
“――――?”
“……Huh?”
“――, ――――?”
“Sorry, I don’t get it.”
When I tilted my head in confusion, he looked just as flustered.
That happened a few times, and by the time three days had passed since I transferred, almost no one was talking to me anymore.
They’d say hello back, so I don’t think they actually disliked me.
I guess they just didn’t know how to act around me.
“……What should I do?”
Back in Japan, I was the type who could get along with just about anyone, and I had a lot of friends.
But if we can’t communicate, there’s nothing I can do.
Once I get a little better at speaking, I’ll try talking to someone again. That’s what I’ll do.
With that in mind, I decided to spend my breaks alone for a while—and that’s when it happened.
“……I-I am…… a magical girl of justice……”
I heard a very faint voice.
In the classroom where my classmates were running around and making a racket, the only reason I didn’t miss those words was because they were in Japanese.
“────!”
When I turned around, a girl with golden hair half-hiding her face was standing there, looking timid and nervous. I didn’t know her name, but since she was always alone—perhaps because she was shy—I felt a slight sense of kinship with her.
When our eyes met, she flinched, her shoulders trembling.
“Ah, um…”
“Could it be… ‘Starry Sky Magical Lily’?”
At that moment, the girl’s face lit up.
“Lily! Do you like Lily?”
This time, her words were mixed with German.
But from the title of the show and her expression, I could sort of tell what she was saying.
“I’m not an expert, but I know it.”
Nodding, I tried mimicking the transformation pose.
The girl jumped for joy and, as if to return the favor, struck a perfect transformation pose of her own.
Clap, clap, clap.
When I clapped back, the girl smiled shyly, looking both happy and embarrassed.
“Um, my name is Rintaro.”
I pointed at myself and said that, and the girl tilted her head slightly.
‘Rin… Taro?’
“That’s right. Rintaro.”
‘Rintaro!’
Hearing her call my name so haltingly made me feel strangely tickled.
“And you?”
As soon as I asked that, I realized she probably wouldn’t understand.
So this time, I pointed at the girl and tilted my head.
The girl thought for a moment, then placed her hand on her chest.
“…Elis Wiegert.”
“Elis?”
“Yeah. Elis.”
When I called her name, Elis nodded slightly.
That was the first conversation between Elis and me. Though, to be honest, we didn’t understand a single word each other was saying.
At first, it wasn’t really what you’d call a conversation.
Elis drew a picture of Lily in the margin of her notebook.
I said the names of characters I knew.
Elis nodded happily.
Conversely, Elis pointed at pencils and desks, teaching me German names.
My pronunciation was pretty shaky, but every time I got it right, Eris would break into a bright smile.
I only knew a few words.
I knew even fewer sentences.
But by drawing pictures, pointing, imitating, making mistakes, and laughing—
Just that alone was surprisingly enough to get by.
“Rintaro”
“Hm?”
During recess one day.
Eris clasped her hands in front of her chest and looked at me.
“I am… the magic girl of justice…!”
In a voice just a little louder than before, Ellis struck a transformation pose.
“Eris, cute.”
‘Cute!?’
“Yeah. That was cute.”
I tried using the German I’d just learned.
Maybe my pronunciation wasn’t great, because Ellis just stared at me blankly.
Still, maybe she was just happy that I was trying to speak German, because she happily twirled her long bangs again and gave me an awkward smile.
From that day on, Ellis started talking to me even more.
That’s why Ellis was the first friend I’d made since coming to Germany.
★ ☆ ★
Talking with Ellis taught me that even if you don’t understand the language, things can work out surprisingly well if you have something in common to talk about.
All I needed then was courage and confidence. And I got both from Ellis.
I’d run up to the boys playing soccer during break and join in, or mix in with the kids dancing to music in the classroom and show off some silly moves.
As I kept doing things like that, I gradually became friends with everyone, and before I knew it, I could speak at least a little German.
It was during recess one day.
I was sitting around a desk talking with a few classmates when I saw Ellis standing a little ways off.
She was looking this way.
But she didn’t come over.
When our eyes met, she hurriedly hid her face behind her long bangs.
“Elis!”
When I called out to her, Elis flinched and her shoulders shook.
“Come over here.”
“But…”
“We were just talking about manga.”
“Manga?”
At those words, Elis’s eyes lifted slightly.
Elis seemed unsure what to do, but when I beckoned her over, she timidly approached.
As everyone’s gaze turned to her, she froze just from that alone.
So I spoke up first.
“Elis, you know a lot about manga.”
Looking back now, my grammar was probably pretty shaky.
But it seemed to get the point across. Then, Elis suddenly flung open the notebook she was holding.
Inside were doodles of manga characters.
They were actually pretty good, and a chorus of “Oohs” went up from the crowd.
“Did you draw these, Elis?”
Another girl, intrigued, asked Elis.
Elis looked at me with a troubled expression, but when I nodded and said, “It’s okay,” she answered in a small voice.
“…Yeah. I drew it.”
“Wow. That’s good.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah! Hey, try drawing some other characters too!”
Elis’s cheeks began to turn red little by little.
After that, Elis started talking to everyone, even though her voice was still trembling.
At first, her voice was soft, but with every nod from someone, her words grew a little more, and her voice grew louder.
From that day on, Elice was able to talk to the other kids.
And gradually, she started speaking up on her own.
“Good morning, Elis.”
“…Good morning.”
“Show me that drawing again.”
“Okay!”
At the time, all I could think was how glad I was that Elis had managed to get along with everyone.
I assumed it was just a minor memory for Elis, too.
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate, Thank you in advance !