■━━あれは確か、俺が大学一年の夏休みの頃だったか

当時、専攻していた学部の関係で、ラフカディオ・ハーンや井上円了の著書を漁っていた俺は、父方の祖父の家に『出る』と言う不思議で奇妙な幽霊の話を父から聞いてしまい、矢も盾もたまらずに電車に飛び乗った。

何本もの電車を乗り継ぎ、果ては日に何本も出ないようなバスに揺られて辿りついた祖父の家は高原の中腹にある草原を背にした、旧くも立派な平屋造りの『これぞ日本の田舎だ』とでも言わんばかりの木造建築だ。
ほぼ半日の時間をかけ、遠路はるばるやって来た孫を暖かく迎えてくれた祖父は、八年前に祖母を亡くしてから一人でこの家に住んでいる。

数日分の着替えとレポート等の書類や資料を纏めたファイルを詰め込んだ旅行鞄を居間に置き、麦茶を飲みながら田舎の空気を堪能していると なにやら裏庭を気にした風な祖父が、俺を穏やかな声音でそっと呼んだ。

「ほれ××（俺の名前だ。正直、男の名前とは思えないので意地でも伏せる。）裏の草っ原のあの辺り、雲で影が出来る時に見てみろ」　と。

＊＊＊＊＊

蒼く抜けるような空、聳え立つ純白の入道雲、そしてぎらつく日差しが草原に投げかける濃い黒の影になる辺り
果たして、其処には純白の少女と犬の幻影が、鮮明に、朧げに、幾ばくかの矛盾すら内包して、ソコに在った。

日が翳れば発光するかの如くくっきりと、日が照らせば淡雪の如くぼんやりと移ろうその儚げな姿と、非現実的な風景を目の当たりにし
奇妙な既視感を覚えながらも、俺はその光景に魅せられていた。

━━どれくらいじっと見ていただろうか、夏の長い日中とはいえ、流石に日が沈む頃合になった頃
まるで『これが高地のお約束』とでも言いたげに、バケツの水を引っ繰り返したかの様な、土砂降りの雨が降り出した。

すると少女は、残念そうに空を見上げると、水煙にけぶる視界に溶けるように━━大気の中へ透き通るように━━スッと消えていった。
先程まで幻想の世界を現実の物としていた、裏庭に面した窓は、曇天と、激しい雷雨が降り付ける草原を映すだけとなった。

＊＊＊＊＊

あの雨が止み、早めの夕食を済ませた俺はあの奇妙な現実か、はたまた白昼夢かとも思える少女の姿を思い出しつつ、ああでもないこうでもないとレポートを記していた。

祖父が差し入れにビール（未成年だからと言って、ウチの祖父は容赦してくれないらしい）といくつかのツマミを持ってきて、卓袱台でレポートを纏める俺の真向かいに腰を下ろす。その手元には、古ぼけたアルバムが二冊。

祖父の姿に眼を遣り、そういえば、と昼間から気になっていた事を聞いてみた。『…あれほどハッキリと見える超常現象が、何ゆえ有名になっていないのか』と。

すると祖父は「何だ、そんな事か」と言って、こう述べる。
曰く、『この家系の男衆にしか視る事の出来ない幽霊』だからだそうな。ますます持って奇妙で、不可思議な少女だ。

なにか因縁があったり、悪影響は無いのか心配そうにしていると、祖父は笑って「なんにも悪さはしねぇのさ、あの娘は。ただ━━因縁、というよりも奇縁ならあるのかね」と応える。

━━奇縁？　…そう訝しげにする俺に愉快そうな笑顔を向け、「まぁ、これを見てみぃ」と言って二冊のアルバムを広げ、とある写真を指差して示した。

それは、祖父と父と叔父が子供の頃の写真だった。そこに仲睦まじげに写るのは、あの幻影の少女。
一瞬、心霊写真かとも思ったが、そこに納められた少年と少女の姿はどう見ても只の幼馴染にしか見えない。

これは…？と祖父を見返すと、祖父はにこやかな顔のまま、穏やかな声音で、心底驚く発言を投下した。

「それなぁ、ウチの婆さんと、お前の母さんの若い頃の写真だぞ」

＊＊＊＊＊

奇妙な、そして恐ろしいまでの偶然か必然か、そういえば祖母と母が並んだ姿はまるで、同じ人物が時間だけ異にして其処に居るかのような
そんな記憶を思い出した。当の本人達は「不思議な事もあるもんですねぇ」で済ませていたのを、子供心に突っ込んだものだ。

祖父は穏やかに話を続ける。

「なんだか解らないが、己（おれ）の母親…お前の曾婆さんもそっくりだったよ。三代続けばそりゃあ奇縁と言えようさ」

━━その言葉を聞いて、「成程、奇縁だ。」と思ったのも束の間、俺は昼間、あの少女を見た時に感じた既視感の正体に気が付いた。

待て、思い出すな。　幼少期の曖昧な記憶が　いかん。これは━━ああ、あぁ！思い出した！！　あの少女から感じた既視感、あれは━━！！

その瞬間、玄関の方から良く言えば元気な、悪く言えば喧しい、若い女の声が高らかに響いたのだ。　街灯も無い、夜半過ぎの山奥だぞ此処。

「久しぶり××！さっきお爺から電話貰ったんだけどさぁ、こっち来てるんならさっさと顔出しなさいよね？！」

━━そう、俺の幼少期、祖父の家に帰省する度に様々なトラウマを植え付け、色々と振り回された、元気で無茶振りで暴走特急な夏季限定の幼馴染の━━
背に掛かる黒髪を靡かせた従姉妹が、『あの少女』が妙齢になったかの面持ちで、母を若くした声音で、祖母━━に似ていると言ったら殴られるな、うん。
兎も角、心底楽しそうにやって来たのだ。

その時に感じた直感は、「あ、俺の人生終わった」であり「四代揃って奇縁だなぁ」でもあり『この娘と恐らく結婚するのであろう』というものだった。

＊＊＊＊＊

あれから数年。やはりというか宿命と言うか、あの幼馴染と付き合い、極自然に結婚した俺は

先日亡くなった祖父の葬儀の為、親族と一緒にあの高原の街へ訪れた。奇しくもあの日の様な暑い夏の日。抜けるような蒼穹に聳える入道雲。

父と叔父、そして俺とその従兄弟━叔父の息子だ━は、蒼い空を背景に佇む『あの少女』の姿をぼんやりと眺めていた。…やはりと言うか、当然の如く叔母も、写真で見た従兄弟の彼女も皆同じ顔である。

母と叔母とそして『コイツ』が並んだ姿はもはや『どこの世にも奇●な物語だよ』と突っ込みを入れなければイケナイ気配すら漂っている。

まぁ、それはこの数年で実際見慣れた光景なので今更だ。今重要なのは、彼女達の姿は『あの少女がなれなかった』だろう『大人』の姿であり
それが指し示す何がしかの理由がこの家系に在るという事実━━なのだが、結局のところ何も解らず仕舞いだった。それも当然である。
なにせ聞いた限りで百年余り。資料も無く、記録も無く、見ることが出来るのは家の男性陣のみときた。最早ワケが解らない所か、まじめに考えたら馬鹿を見る領域だ。
父も叔父も、それに関しては「若い頃に諦めた」と言っていたからな。先人の言葉には逆らわないし逆らう意味も無い。

つらつらとそんな事を考えつつ、裏庭に影が掛かったのに気付き、草原を見遣ると

其処に変わらず佇む少女が
ふわり、と微笑んだ様な気がした。

■夕方にみた見事な入道雲から脳裏に過ぎった妄想駄文をつらつらと。御犬様に特に意味は無く。わふ（・ω・）

【クリックで偉い事に】

━━It was around the summer of my first year in college.

At the time, I had been reading literature from the likes of Lafcadio Hearn and Inoue Enryou, as part of my major studies.

When my father told me a tale about a mysterious ghost who appears at my paternal grandfather's home, I jumped on the next train without a second thought.

After transferring between innumerable trains, I spent the day being rocked along the roads by buses that run few times a day, until I finally reached my grandfather's home, an old but stately house on the mountainside with a meadow at its back, and wooden framing that practically proclaimed, "Welcome to the Japanese countryside!"

My grandfather, who had lived alone in that home since my grandmother passed away eight years prior, welcomed me warmly—a welcome sight after approximately half a day's journey.

I set down my travel bag, which was crammed with several days' changes of clothes, assorted materials for reports, and a file of collected references, in the living room. I was sipping barley tea and taking in the country air, when... My grandfather, who seemed to take notice of the backyard for some reason, beckoned to me in a soft voice.

"Look, look there, ○○ [My name; I know it doesn't sound like a male name at all, so I am definitely going to keep it a secret]. There in the backyard, in the grasses, over there, when the clouds cast a shadow, take a look."

****

In the clear, blue sky, cumulonimbus clouds towered, and there, in the grass, where the glittering sunbeams cast deep, black shadows from those clouds... Sure enough, there could be seen a phantom vision in pure white, of a young girl and a dog, an image both distinct and vague, an instance wrapped in contradictions.

I found myself held captive by the scene, by this vague form, that seemed as though it would shine when the sun grew dim, and fade as the light grew brighter. With this unrealistic scenery before my eyes, I felt a strange déjà vu.

━━ For who knows how long, I sat there, staring. Though summer days draw long, it was nearing sunset, and ~in a way that could only remind you of the highlands in summertime~ as though a bucket had been tipped over, a heavy rain suddenly began to fall.

As this happened, the girl looked despondently to the sky, and, as though melting into the mist-cloaked landscape—as though melding with the atmosphere—vanished silently. Until that moment, the window that looked out onto the backyard had shown a scene that seemed to make the world of illusions into a reality, but now it displayed only cloudy weather, and a harsh storm rain pelting down on the grass.

****

Once the rain had stopped, and we finished our early supper, I sat down, struggled to write my college report, recalling the form of the strange girl, who I could not be certain whether was real or a daydream.

My grandfather brought me some refreshments—beer (apparently, from his perspective, being underage is no excuse to decline drinking) and plenty of snacks—and sat down opposite me as I shuffled my reports into order atop the table. In his hand were two weathered albums.

I glanced up at my grandfather, and was reminded of something that had been on my mind all afternoon.

"...Why hasn't a paranormal occurrence as clear and evident as that become famous by now?" I asked.

To which my grandfather replied, "Oh what, that?" and went on to state,"Only the men in our family can see that ghost." Thus was his simple explanation of the mystery girl, who was becoming more and more peculiar.

As I began to worry over what sort of tragic event must have occurred in the past, or what sort of negative influences there must be, my grandfather smiled and replied, "That girl's never done nothin' bad. It's just... more likely than any happening, a kind of fate, that brought her here."

━━ Fate? ...I was skeptical, but he gave me a reassuring smile, and said, "Well, just have a look at this," as he opened the two albums, and pointed to certain photos. They were pictures of my grandfather, father, and uncle as children. There in the photos, depicted in sharp detail, was the phantom girl. For a moment, I assumed it was ghost photography, but the more I looked upon the photos, it was clear that the boys and girls shown there were playmates.

What was this...? I looked to my grandfather, questioning. He gave me a gentle smile, and in a quiet voice, made a declaration that made my heart drop to my stomach.

"Those, well, those are photos of my wife—your grandma—and your own mother, when they were young."

****

Was it a strange and terrifying coincidence? Or was it fate...?

Now that I thought about it, certain memories resurfaced; when you put my grandmother and my mother side by side they appeared nearly identical, as if they were the same person, separated only by time. When it had been mentioned to the two in question, they had summed up the matter with a, "The world is full of strange things, isn't it..." Even as a child, it had seemed to me that they were far too unconcerned by this.

My grandfather continued his story quietly.

"I'm not completely certain, but I think my mother... your great-grandmother, was the same way. For three generations to be the same way... it has to be fate."

━━ At his words, I thought to myself, 'I see, fate,' but just then it occurred to me, the cause of the déjà vu I had felt when I saw the phantom girl that afternoon.

Wait, I thought, I remember. A vague memory from my early childhood, but... how... It was ━━ Ah! Ahh! I remembered!! The déjà vu I felt from that girl, that was━━!!

Just then, from the entryway, a young girl's voice rang loudly out. (To put it kindly, it was a lively voice, or not so kindly, a boisterous one.) There were no no streetlights to shine upon the night scene outside, only the darkness of the mountain's recesses.

"Hey there, ○○, it's been a while! Gramps phoned to tell me you were comin', so it'd be rude of me not to drop by, right?"

━━ That's right, my childhood friend, who I spent so many of my youthful summers with while at my grandfather's house, who put me through so much trauma and abuse, who always cheerfully babbled nonsense, that friend━━

My cousin, with her long, fluttering black hair, who had the face of "that girl" when she was younger, who had a more youthful version of my mother's voice, who━━would smack me if I said she resembled our grandmother, yes her. Anyway, she came here so happily and joyously.

I knew, at that moment, that my life was over, that a fourth generation's fate had been sealed. I knew that this girl was sure to be my bride.

****

It's been several years since then. By some sort of inevitably, or some sort of fate, I went out with that childhood friend and, quite naturally, ended up wedded to her. A few days ago, my grandfather passed away, and my relatives and I visited that little highland town for the funeral service. Curiously, it was a hot summer day, just like the day I saw that girl. Cumulonimbus clouds towered in the clear, blue sky. My father and uncle, I and my cousin ~my uncle's son~ gazed vacantly at the form of "that girl" with the azure sky at our backs... As you might guess, my aunt, and my cousin's girlfriend, whom we saw in a photo, shared the very same face.

When my mother and aunt, and then "this one" [Note: storyteller's wife], stood all together, any onlooker wouldn't be able to help but quip, "Now which episode of 'Tales of the Unusual' did I see this on...?"

Well, in these past several years it's already become a scene I'm accustomed to. What's important now is that those women's appearances are that of the "adult," that perhaps "that girl" could never become, which seems to indicate that the reason for this lies somewhere in my lineage ━━ it's something that I feel we will never truly understand, in the end. Perhaps that's as it should be.

At any rate, all I have is this tale, and a hundred years from now that's all there will be, of a phenomenon of which there is no data, no records, and which only the men of my family can see. Even now, when I try to make sense of it, I just feel like a fool.

My father and uncle have both told me that they already resigned themselves to the matter when they were young. There's no sense in defying the advice of one's elders, when it comes to things like this.

And now, whenever I ponder this tale, I become aware of the shadows in the backyard, and if I look out upon the grasses, I'm sure... Same as ever, that girl will be standing there, smiling softly.

※ I saw huge storm clouds in late afternoon and wrote down this delusional story. The dog has no actual meaning, Woof（・ω・）
("Viewing a full-size image" option may surprise you.)