【EN】Jirō Kishibe, The Screenwriter of Life
By Senon Wakamiya
【EN】
Osorezan, Aomori.
A young man stands among pinwheels, watching a river.
He is the screenwriter Jirō Kishibe. He died twenty-five years ago, at the age of twenty-three.
Feeling pity, God granted him a privilege: the authority to rewrite other people’s life scripts.
And today, once again, a woman who wants her story “fixed” is sent to him.
“…Um. Where am I?”
Aomori. Osorezan.
“What!? I was taking a nap in my apartment in Tokyo…”
Only your soul got delivered mid-nap. An out-of-body experience. Wakamiya-san referred you, right?
“Yes… Senon told me about you…”
Don’t sleep that deeply during a nap. Your brain cells will die.
“Excuse me… is it true you can rewrite the script of someone’s life?”
Yes. But I can only rewrite this exact moment. The past can’t be changed.
Still, if the meaning of this moment changes, the future changes with it.
“So you’re… dead, right?”
Ah. Yes. I’m not alive.
“And yet you can use a computer.”
You know those street-racer ghosts who died on a mountain pass, and they appear with the whole car? Same thing.
“I don’t really get it.”
So—what do we change? How do you want your story to unfold, right now?
“But I’m sleeping in Tokyo.”
Doesn’t matter. Whether you’re napping, bedridden with illness, or your body turns into particles and fuses with the floor and sinks into the earth… it depends on the script.
“Um… I don’t want to fuse with the floor. I was crying because I miss my boyfriend. I fell asleep crying.”
Boyfriend? Sorry, but… are you married?
“I am.”
Right… and children?
“One son. Fifth grade.”
And this “boyfriend” is…
“I want to see him. Rewrite it.”
Okay. Is he someone you can’t easily meet?
“Yes. He lives far away.”
Far… like Kyushu? Okinawa?
“São Paulo.”
Brazil!? Wait—did he come all the way from Brazil to see you!?
“No. I went to see him.”
You went!? Leaving your fifth-grade son behind!? What is this end-times nonsense!
Is he on assignment overseas or something?
“No. He’s Brazilian. Like, actually Brazilian.”
WHY!? How did you even meet!?
“Online.”
Ma’am… that sounds like a romance scam. Do you even speak the same language?
“Well… I like bossa nova, so I kind of get some things… and there are translation apps… and emojis…”
Don’t do international affairs through emoji exchanges! Ma’am, that’s absolutely a scam. That’s not love—just fraud.
“But at the São Paulo airport, while hugging me, he said this: ‘Lend me 100 reals.’”
That’s not “romance,” that’s a receipt!
He asked you for money! You’re being played! What’s a real!? I can’t even picture the exchange rate!
“Kishibe-san, speaking ill of someone’s love… what gives you the right? That’s emotional abuse.”
Why are you applying harassment laws to a ghost…
For the record, I also have the right to refuse your harassment claim.
“I’m sorry… I got mad.”
So. Where do you want your international affair fixed?
“I want to meet him.”
You already said that.
“In Guam.”
WHY!? Why Guam with a Brazilian!? What is the necessity of Guam!?
“Because I’ve never been.”
Listen. I’m not a travel agent. I’m not granting tour packages. Go yourself. Save money.
“But Wakamiya-san said, ‘Kishibe can rewrite any scenario freely’… ‘Kishibe is a genius’…”
…Tch. Fine. So you want to go to Guam tomorrow?
“And I also want something for my son.”
Your son? What happened—did he catch a cold?
“He plays soccer. Junior youth. He’s a substitute. Always.”
Uh-huh.
“Make him a regular.”
I’m not a kids’ soccer coach!
“It’s junior youth.”
That’s exactly why he should work for it!
No—your son should work for it. Make him practice. This isn’t a script issue—this is something you earn!
“Just… rewrite it quick. Like, snap.”
No, no, no—wait. Why not ask the Brazilian guy? That’s perfect!
He can come teach soccer from Brazil, and you can meet him at the same time!
“And also… my pet dog…”
Hold on. So Antonio lands at Haneda Airport, and—
“He died last month.”
Oh, he’s right behind you.
“That fast!?”
This is Osorezan. The border between this world and the next. That’s my specialty.
“Ah… the wind over the Sanzu River…”
Ma’am, you need to go back soon. The script is ready. Now stop thinking.
“Um… can I stay here a little longer?”
Why?
“My husband went to the Netherlands for karate training and never came back.”
(Fin)
SENON ARCHIVE -まとめのまとめ-
Contents (EN)
① Gogyouka (Five-Line Poems)
② Transformation Begins in the Body (walking / meals / notebook)
③ Sergei (dialogue series)
④ Dialogues & Inner Comedy
⑤ Declaration / Meta
Index (EN):
GOGYŌKA-EN
他言語版 / Other languages
【JP】Japanese:
【PT-BR】Português (Brasil)：
【ES】Español：
【FR】Français：
【ZH-简】简体中文：
【ZH-繁TW】繁體中文（台灣）：
