Chapter 2 Part 2 | Contents | Chapter 2 Part 4
July 5, 1991 (Heisei 3) – Friday
It was nine days after the start of the war.
The war between Slovenia and Yugoslavia seemed to be almost over, which was a good thing.
The result was clear. Between the overwhelming Yugoslav People’s Army and the defense forces of a republic that had just declared its independence, the latter were victorious. The People’s Army had started its retreat.
Out of the ten thousand troops mobilized for the Yugoslav People’s Army, thirty percent of them were lost in the fighting. I’d heard someone knowledgeable about the military say that an army is destroyed when it loses thirty percent of its men. The idea is that if such a fraction of soldiers is injured or killed, more soldiers have to be put towards evacuation and other tasks, further splitting manpower. However, that did not apply in this case. According to the figures, 1277 soldiers were captured and 1712 more deserted. You could say that many of them did not have the will to fight, but that might be an oversimplification.
So the federal army was in the process of retreating, and both sides were already moving on to military negotiations for exchanging prisoners of war and other concessions. That should be a thing to be happy about. However…
The pieces of commentary on the television and newspapers were catching up to Maja’s opinion. They said that it wasn’t the end, that it wasn’t clear if Yugoslavia could retain the rest of the federation. Both America and the EC were leaning towards recognizing Slovenia’s independence. Did the phrase “ethnic self-determination” still carry a beautiful ring to it in Europe?
Though the plum rain hadn’t let up, it was abnormally hot today. Clouds filled the sky, but there was hardly any wind. Between the humid air and the lukewarm tap water, it felt extremely hot. It was a pain to maintain good sitting posture, but even if I were to place my head on my desk, the mugginess would be quite unpleasant. This weather took a turn for the worse after school.
I had an errand to run for the class, and I was thinking that I wouldn’t be able to complete it before it started raining. My prediction turned out to be on the mark, and the rain began before thirty minutes had even passed. It was strong, so I decided to wait for it to die down a little. The classroom windows were left open, but since there was no wind despite the intense downpour, the risk of rain getting into the classroom was negligible. On top of that, the reduced temperature made it feel like a cool evening breeze was running through the room, so no one went over to close the windows. As a result, the pitter-patter of raindrops loudly reverberated in the classroom, and with nothing to do besides await each monotonous note, a wave of drowsiness washed over me.
In an odd state where I was sleepy and not sleepy at the same time, I reflected on a variety of topics. For example, I pondered about the reason why I didn’t want Maja to return to her country, which wasn’t only that I was worried about her safety, and also how it would be too embarrassing to say such an egoistic thing to her. I also thought about how it wouldn’t be a final goodbye, and that we could see each other again if we wanted to, among other things. It seemed that since the day I met Maja, any thinking I did while it was raining would gravitate to her. The sleepiness intensified.
With my head being in a dreamlike trance, I could only stare blankly as Maja appeared before my eyes.
“……”
She was wearing a pink pair of pants, and a shirt with stripes in warm colors. The sleeves of her shirt and the hem of her pants were wet. I was thinking that I’d seen these clothes somewhere before, when it hit me that it was what she wore when we first met. After peeking at my sleepy face, Maja called out to me in a concerned manner.
“Um, Moriya-san?”
“…Ah, Maja, huh.”
She nodded, a light grin on her face.
“Yes.”
With a few gentle shakes of my head and a bout of tapping on my temple with an index finger, my senses returned. I was now fully awake. I interlaced my fingers on top of the table and spoke as if nothing had happened.
“Feels like I haven’t seen you for a long time.”
“Hm, that might be right.”
“Did you get caught in the rain?”
“Yes, though I only got a little wet.”
There was no change in Maja’s appearance since the last time I saw her, which was right before the war started. She still had black eyes and black hair, a somewhat childlike face and on it, her distinctively striking eyebrows. I felt slightly relieved.
“You look well.”
“It is thanks to your support.”
She gave me a deep bow. As I looked on at a loss as to how to respond, Maja raised her head, flashing a mischievous smile.
I scratched my nose with my little finger and intentionally cleared my throat. There should be all sorts of things I wanted to talk to or ask Maja about if I met her, but nothing came to mind at the moment. In the meantime, Maja looked around the classroom, and asked.
“I am looking for Izuru. Moriya-san, do you know where she is?”
Upon hearing her question, I knitted my brows.
“She’s not in her classroom?”
“No. I have asked a few different people, but they did not know.”
“What about Sen… Tachiarai?”
“I could not find her.”
I slowly stood up from my seat.
“Alright, let’s try finding them.”
Even though we were searching for two people, it didn’t take much effort. Thinking that we should first check if she was still in school, I headed towards the dimly lit entranceway to find that each of their shoe lockers only contained their indoor shoes.
“They must have gone home already. That’s a pity.”
Maja clamped her lips together, as if to say that it was indeed disappointing, but she shook her head slightly.
“There is no helping it. But that is fine.”
“It is?”
She nodded.
“I thought I should see this building one last time.”
She swiveled her head round again, scanning the entranceway that was lit only by the faint light from a fluorescent lamp.
“I also learned many things here… Even if I come back to Fujishiba, that will be a long time away. Perhaps when I become an old grandma.”
She then cast her eyes outwards, where it was still raining.
“Hm, the rain is strong.”
“Yeah, I intend to wait until it weakens.”
“I will also wait. Moriya-san, do you know a good place?”
I knew just the perfect place for that.
We went to an empty classroom in the Humanities Block. It was an air pocket I’d found within the school, a slightly dusty but quiet location. Maja opened a window and gazed at Fujishiba City, which was being hit by the rain. I took a few steps away from her, used a pocket towel to wipe a table and chair that was covered with chalk dust, then sat on the table.
Lightning flashed in the sky. With the amount of time it took for the resulting thunder to reach my ears, I estimated the distance of the thundercloud. It seemed to be far away.
Maja turned her body around and leaned on the window frame, with her back towards the rain. She then shrugged, as if in exasperation.
“Japan really does have a lot of rain.”
“But we hold up umbrellas when it rains.”
I joked, causing Maja to laugh.
“Hm, that seems like a long time ago.”
“You’re right.”
Even though that was only two months before.
I gently shook my head.
“…But Maja, it may be a lot, but we don’t have the most rain in the world, I think. Is there that little rain in Yugoslavia?”
Maja assertively nodded, clearly full of confidence.
“I spent some time researching it. In Juni, Fujishiba had an average rainfall of 250 milliliters. That is almost three, tri puta of what my city gets.”
“Three times, you mean?”
“Da. Exactly.”
I crossed my arms. She must have spent some time on it, but I didn’t think she would look into something like that. Honest words slipped out of my mouth.
“You’ve really done your research well.”
“You have also done research on Yugoslavia, right, Moriya-san?”
I was surprised.
“How did you know?”
“Um, Machi-san told me about it. She also said that you want to ask me about all sorts of things.”
Maja closed the window, shutting off the sounds of raindrops striking on various objects and causing a silence to fall. She sat down on a table that was diagonally across from mine, not minding that it was coated with chalk dust.
“If you have things to ask, feel free to ask me anything.”
She then closed an eye and added.
“If you do not ask now, you will only get to ask those questions when you become a grandpa.”
So Tachiarai told her? The first thought I had was that she was planning something. But Tachiarai wouldn’t use such a roundabout method, and simply might have mentioned it during the course of some other conversation.
I hadn’t expected Maja to bring it up herself, and that caught me by surprise, but I did have some questions for her. Actually, I wanted to ask a favor of her, but before that I should get a grasp on the current situation. After closing my eyes for a moment, I deliberately opened my mouth.
“Can I really ask you anything?”
“Hm, anything, as long as it is gentlemanly.”
“…Even about the war?”
Maja smiled with only her lips.
“Is there anything else you want to ask about?”
Of course.
I thought back to the past eight days. There should be many things that I didn’t understand, things that didn’t make sense to me. With Maja, I would also be able to supplement my knowledge with details on Yugoslavia’s history and social systems that cannot be covered in books. But before that, I asked this question.
“So… Maja, you’re going back?”
Maja opened her eyes wide in surprise. She probably hadn’t expected that question. But she soon regained her composure and gave a small nod.
“Yes, I will go back to my city, to my home.”
“Why?”
“Why? Moriya-san, a home is for going back to. I still have my home… also, that is the promise I had with my father. Did I not tell you at the start that I would be here for two months?”
I kept quiet. She was right. I knew it from the start.
“…Is that all you want to ask me?”
I firmly shook my head.
“No, there’s more… Did you know that a war might happen in Yugoslavia?”
“Yes. Um, I mean, no.”
“Which is it?”
Maja stared into space, seemingly trying to recall the past, and dangled her legs. Eventually, she spoke, though her words came out very slowly.
“…I did notice that all sorts of things were getting worse and worse.
“Um, three years ago, when I went to Macedonia, this happened. I talked to some small children, and they laughed at me. Why did they laugh. They said, ‘This person’s speaking Srpskohrvatskom!’ At that time, I…”
She hit herself in the head with a fist.
“I felt like this. I went to Macedonia before when I was a lot younger, and it was not like that. In just a few years, Macedonia’s heart moved away from Yugoslavia. And that did not only happen to Macedonia. I thought that Yugoslavia was starting to be hated.
“But that was just a hunch.”
“Was there anything else, besides that hunch?”
“Da. If it was only their hearts moving away, the problem might resolve itself with time. But the three things that all five ethnic groups of Yugoslavia view to be important were gone. And if they are gone, it is difficult for Yugoslavia to remain as one federation. That is what I thought. Moriya-san, do you know what these three things are?”
The things that, in a sense, bind Yugoslavia together… I could only think of one.
“President Tito.”
Maja exclaimed with delight.
“Da! Amazing!”
“That’s the only one I know.”
“Mm. The other two are SKJ, which is the political party, and JNA1, which is the army.”
She raised a finger as she brought up each point. She then thrust her right hand, which had three fingers up, towards me.
“Tito is human. He died.”
She put down one of her fingers.
“Yugoslavia is getting increasingly poorer. This causes the ruling political party to get hated. Last year, there was an election that recognized parties other than the SKJ. It is no longer considered to be of value.”
She put down another finger.
Only her index finger was left standing.
“There is a legend that the JNA protected Yugoslavia. It takes in people from every ethnic group, so it was precious to each ethnic group. But after Tito died, its spiritual power declined. This is what I thought… in this war, when Slovenia was the enemy, Slovene soldiers deserted. It is clear that the JNA is no longer important to them.”
Maja, retracted her hand, which was now a fist.
“…That is why I knew that a war might happen in Yugoslavia. Even so, I did not want to think that it would happen. That is why I decided that it would not happen.”
Her voice was quiet. In its core was something I couldn’t even begin to fathom.
So that’s why. The Yugoslav People’s Army had Slovenes in it. I could understand why they would desert upon seeing Slovenia’s defense forces. But I felt something else fell out of place. Without thinking, I murmured.
“So Yugoslavia’s army lost?”
Maja shook her head.
“They could not give it their all. They thought Slovenia to be weak from the beginning, but even if they knew that to be untrue, they were afraid of the EC.”
…I see, but…
“But even if those three things are gone, that isn’t a reason to declare independence, right? Is drifting apart a reason for bloodshed? Was that the ‘dream’?”
“Hm, I thought you would ask this question at the start.”
She then answered my question without a hint of hesitation, as if she’d actually written a script beforehand.
“Moriya-san, did you find out if Slovenia and Hrvatska are wealthy republics in Yugoslavia?”
I was about to nod, but stopped.
“Hrvatska?”
“In Japanese, it is called Croatia.”
Just like Japan and nippon, huh. Satisfied, I was able to nod.
“Did you find out how much each republic depends on the others?”
This time, I shook my head.
“I see. In Yugoslavia, each republic manages its own economy. Goods are often sold in the republic it was produced in.”
“…If that’s the case, they might be fine without Yugoslavia, but it shouldn’t be a hindrance to them, right?”
Maja grinned.
“Mm, Moriya-san, that was amazing. Let me be unfair to you for a bit. Why did Slovenia and Hrvatska think of Yugoslavia as a hindrance?”
I pondered about that question.
If I could take Maja’s claim that each republic manages its own economy at face value, there should be no annoying directives from the federal government. That fit with what I read about Yugoslavia being decentralized. What, then?
…I thought of all sorts of things, but in the end, I could only give up.
“It’s no use. I don’t know.”
“So I will reveal the answer.”
As if putting on airs, she cleared her throat.
“Each republic manages its own economy. But… that is not the case for taxes.”
“……”
“Money earned in the north is used in the south by Yugoslavia. Um, to put it in Japanese, it would be ‘Federal Development Funds’. The Slovenes and Croats say that they are supporting the south. Some might even think that their money is being stolen.
“I know a good Japanese word to describe that. To the north, the south is ‘baggage’.”
I was lost for words.
“So that’s why they declared independence? What about the fervent aspiration of the Slavs?”
“That is not completely absent. In Slovenia and Croatia in particular, there is a strong belief that they are part of Evropa, and not part of Azija in the south.
“…I remember that when we first met, you said that Yugoslavia is part of Eastern Europe, but Machi-san said that it is better to call it Central Europe. She was being considerate of me. In Slovenia and Hrvatska, there are many people who get a little annoyed when you say they are Central European, but they will get angry if you say they are Eastern European. So, there are people who want to move away from Yugoslavia.
“But Moriya-san, besides that, there is something a lot more important.”
Maja said as she sidled up to me while staying seated.
“This is a secret. Please do not tell this to anyone else.”
She stifled her voice, and spoke softly.
“A human can forget their father who was killed, but cannot forget when their money is stolen.”
It was like a whisper in my ear. For a moment, I lost my composure.
But when I came to, Maja was still sitting on the table soiled with chalk dust and was close to her original position, like she hadn’t moved at all.
…Suddenly, all sound seemed to fade away.
I wondered if there was some problem with my ears, but it was just the rain diminishing in intensity. Maja turned to look out the window, then checked her wristwatch and stood up.
“I have to get back to Izuru’s house by five. I need to prepare the plates.”
“Ah, I see.”
All I could manage was a half-hearted reply.
“You wanted to talk more with me, right?”
“Yeah, I wanted…”
But I couldn’t finish my sentence. I knew what I wanted to say, but I was overwhelmed by what Maja had told me. Without worrying about my wretchedness, Maja was already about to leave. When she opened the door, I barely managed to call out to stop her.
“Maja.”
“Yes?”
But all I could say was this.
“…I’ll bring a great present for you tomorrow.”
Maja beamed with wholehearted joy.
“Thank you very much! I will look forward to it. See you tomorrow, then.”
Left alone in the empty classroom, I also smiled.
But unlike Maja’s, it was a self-deprecating smile. With clenched fists, I strongly hit my thighs. Pain spread around my knees. I’d just confirmed what I didn’t need to confirm. As I thought, I was still ignorant and powerless.
Tomorrow would be the last day. I would have to make up my mind. If not, I would definitely regret it… Even when the sun set and it became dark, I did not move from that spot until a patrolling teacher told me off.
Chapter 2 Part 2 | Contents | Chapter 2 Part 4
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Editors (Tier 2): Dedavond, Pearl H Nettle, David Liu
Assistants (Tier 1) : Rolando Sanchez, Lilliam
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