#244: Souvenir from Otaru - 2011-10-01

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Tuesday, February 28 1995.

Rosa wakes up with a strong headache, and looks very surprised from being on her bed again, back in Chile. She stands up with the morning sun, and sees Eliana, who is reading a book on her bed, dressed with a long shirt and violet stockings.

- " Kore wa nani desu ka? Yume? "

- " In Spanish, please, as we're no longer in Japan. "

- " Oh... uh... What's this, Eliana? Is it yet another dream? "

- " No, it's not. My hair is just 205 centimeters long. It hasn't grown much since we met the Chinese ladies. "

- " Just 205 centimeters... "

- " I'm not a Rapunzel, and I'll never be one. Well, I suppose you don't remember anything... "

- " No... The last thing I remember was when... er... when we went to Kyōto. "

- " Do you remember when you saw a sign and fled away? "

- " Oh... er... Gion! Yes, I remember that. Well, I remember all that trip, but from there I remember nothing. "

Rosa returned to her bed, and lied down on it, looking upwards.

- " Well, I'll freshen your memory. The next day we took a train to the town where Naoko lives. We went and... "

- " Oh, yeah! The house in the mountains! So pretty! "

- " Yeah. We stayed many days there. Then, we returned to Kōbe for the last time. "

- " Wait! I remember my birthday! And the farewell! "

- " Good. And then we left to Ōsaka on early morning, and we took the first bullet train to Tōkyō, and from there to the airport. "

- " Right... and from there, nothing. I'm blank. "

- " Well, this is what happened. We had to make a stop in Lima, Peru. And you fainted when you left the plane. Then, we got back inside and you recovered, but when we arrived to Pudahuel you fainted again. And you didn't wake up until now. "

- " Was it so hot? "

- " 28 degrees. For you who starts to complain when it gets over 20... "

- " God. "

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A soft melody started to sound from Eliana's bed.

- " I don't remember ever having had a caprice like this one. This is the fourth time I wounded it up since we returned Chile. It's ten minutes of a very relaxing tune, ideal for reading while over the bed. "

- " I love it too. What's it? "

- " What do you mean with 'what's it'!? The music box I bought for myself in Otaru! Didn't I show...? Oh, you were disguising yourself as a snow woman... "

- " Let me see it! "

Rosa stands up and sees the Marie Antoinette doll, sitting over a music box in the shape of a pale pink piano, with flowers painted over the lid.

- " So pretty! Why didn't I see it before? "

- " I hid in on my backpack. I couldn't let it be broken. Anyways, this is not just any music box. In fact, I'll stop the tune... and play the piano. "

Each key of the piano activated one of the bristles of the music box's metal comb. There were 30 tiny keys in total, 12 black ones and 12 white ones, very hard to play for someone who didn't have fingers as slim as Eliana's.

- " It's not like playing an actual keyboard, but I chose this music box precisely because it had a piano with working keys. Other music boxes had the keys just painted over a flat surface. To be honest, I'm not quite creative now, but I would like to learn to play some tunes. "

Eliana was then playing a very simple tune, that she learned to play with a flute at Music class. She played during a minute, and then resumed her read.

- " You play very well, Eliana. But you made me remember something I wanted to do once we returned to Chile. I must go, I'll be back in an hour. "

- " Ok, go. "