Snapshot of my life — 25 April 2005

2005, April 25

A catastrophic train accident happened

Today marks the 20th anniversary

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I had (and have) nothing to do with the incident at all

• It happened 500 km away from Tokyo

• I didn’t know anyone who was affected

• I hadn’t been (and still haven’t been) to the place where it happened

And so,
this incident should've been one of those that quickly fades from memory

But every year on April 25
I remember

I remember one scene from that day, April 25, 2005

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That day
I was at school

One classmate, named Muraki-kun, came in late

He had gone to a clinic that morning before coming to school

And when he arrived,
he said

“Some train accident happened near Osaka”

That was all

He didn’t say anything more

In fact,
he had nothing more to say

We weren’t at an age where such subjects interested us

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Maybe this accident is like an “index” in my life—

An index that brings back a small, minor, trivial memory from the past

An index that reminds me of the past, and somehow makes me compare "then" with "now"

A snapshot of a feeling, of my life

(*Due to this train accident, 107 people passed away. May they be at peace)