まばたきを三回

by Yuu Nagira

幼馴染で恋人の四ノ宮令が事故で亡くなって二年、斎藤一佳は山間の田舎町で一人静かに暮らしていた。一日の終わりには令の住んでいた家に行き、その日の出来事を彼に語りかける。孤独を紛らわす一佳の習慣だった。ある日、いつものように令の部屋にいた一佳は突然大きな揺れに襲われる。そして次の瞬間、驚きに息を呑んだ。目の前に令が立っていたのだ。綺麗で意地っ張りなままの、幽霊となった令が―。

Genres: Yaoi, Japanese Literature

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2012

About the author

Associated Names:
* 凪良 ゆう (Japanese)
* Yuu Nagira (English)
* นางิระ ยู (Thai)

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book devastated me.

I wasn't supposed to read this yesterday, you know. Originally I had planned to read the Uozumi series, but because of a DHL fuck up that didn't happen. Then I thought I'd just read some manga, but when I got up in the morning I thought, hey, I want to read this. I still read some manga first, so it wasn't until the afternoon I finally opened this. But I swear, it was like this book was calling out to me. Which, considering the content, is oddly fitting.

Some spoilers, but I left out the really important bits.

"Mabataki wo sankai" is the love story of Ryou and Ichika. Ichika is a pottery artisan Kutsunoki, in a small village at the foot of the mountain, and Ryou the only son of the owner of the Shinoya group. When they're still in elementary school, Ryou comes to Ichika's village because of his poor health, and when Ichika rescues Ryou after an accident, they're fates are irrevocably intertwined. Even when Ryou returns to Tokyo, they stay friends, but as they grow older, friendship becomes love. When Ryou is 21, he decides to tell his parents that he and Ichika are together. As he boards the train home, he tells Ichika he loves him so much he could die.

Ichika doesn't hear from Ryou the next ten days. When he finally calls the phone at Ryou's parents house Ryou's mother is hysteric, telling him that Ryou is dead and it's Ichika's fault.

That's when Ichika's life stops. He goes on living, but living means nothing but working, eating, sleeping, and visiting the house Ryou used to live in when he was visiting Kutsunoki. One evening, when he's eating his bento in Ryou's old room, there's an earthquake, and when it's over, the first thing Ichika sees are Ryou's feet. As he looks up, there's his lover, standing there.

And that's where the story starts. Ryou tells him that he's a ghost, and that he's been beside Ichika ever since he died. Even though they can't touch, Ichika is unbelievably happy Ryou is with him. But as time passes, it becomes clear this cannot continue forever.

I think considering the setting it's obvious how utterly heartbreaking this story is. I was literally shaking while I was reading it, and I wish I had had someone to tell me it was going to be okay. I can tell you: it's going to be okay.

In the beginning I wasn't sure I was going to be convinced by this story - ghosts seemed a bit far fetched, and how was this going to be resolved anyway? Let me tell you that unsurprisingly Nagira Yuu managed to write a 100% convincing story that shattered my heart into a million pieces AND proceeded to put it back together. After the main story, there's a second, shorter story, that helped calm me down after crying my eyes out.

It's been a while since I've read a love story where the love between the characters felt like it was flowing from the pages. The flashbacks to their childhood and youth help to underscore this, and if ever a couple was meant to be, it's Ichika and Ryou. Their relationship is very balanced, and at once calm and passionate.

I also was once again struck by how convincing Nagira Yuu writes about boys growing up and falling in love with each other. Their confusion and passion is tangible.

I loved everything about this book. I am so happy it called out to me yesterday, and I'm glad I was able to finish it in one day because otherwise today would have been hell for me and everyone around me.