TOKYO BABYLON VOLUME 5; Chapter 6: Old Copyright CLAMP - SHINSHOKAN 1st Edition: 04/05/1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This script is a English rendering of a Spanish translation of the original Japanese text. As such, I cannot guarantee that it is completely accurate, although I maintain that the English mirrors the Spanish in meaning as closely as is humanly possible. Please keep this for your own personal use; it is intended as an aid only, and nothing replaces actually owning the books themselves. If you wish to post this on the Internet, please inform me or Ryoppei. English translation from Spanish courtesy of Amarythia (Amarythia@aol.com) The Spanish text was taken from Japanese. I do not know who scripted this translation, but I acquired it courtesy of Ryoppei (Ryoppei@yahoo.com). If you know who scripted the Spanish translation, please e-mail me so that I may give credit to that person. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Version 1.0* p 8 Note: No one is young forever. The entire world is aging. p 9 3 Woman: "In spite of everything, there is nothing more that can be done." 4 "Next month, you are going to have to stop spending so much." Man: "Eh?! I can't do anymore than I already have." 5 Woman: "How dare you say that! Next year, the children are going to complete kindergarten and enter into elementary school. The mortgage is too tight." Man: "I'm sorry." 6 "But, what am I supposed to do?" Woman: "So, I'm the only one who has to work this hard, is that it? Even though I found a part-time job, we are still going to have to budget." 7 "Don't be stubborn..." p 10 1 "I want to go see our neighbor, Mr. Miura, to ask him for a job. I will not allow this family to commit virtual suicide!" 2 "Just how much do you think it costs to raise two children, anyway?!" 3 "We've had to pay the mortgage for this house for 30 years. And, in addition to that..." 4 "We've had to support that burden." p 11 3 Old Man: "Kanae..." 4 "I'm still missing one." p 14 2 Guy with glasses: "Have...have you finished?" 3 Subaru: "Yes." 4 Manager: "Thank you very much." Guy with glasses: "Wonderful! Wonderful! We'll finally be able to sell this house now!" 5 "A family committed suicide here three months ago." "All who have inhabited this house have said that it's haunted--they've heard the sounds of footsteps and sorrowful moans. We couldn't sell the property! True, Mr. President?" p 15 1 Manager: "Calm down a little!" 2 "I saw how things were going, and I think it was inhuman." "It was impossible for them to pay off the mortgage on the house that they had purchased, and, so, they came here begging to borrow money. Finally, they beat their daughter to death and hanged themselves." 3 "The husband hanged himself in this room." 4 "When the president told us this, we found it strange... But owning a house in Tokyo is near impossible. The local economies collapse; the prices go up; and the area in the central Tokyo isn't accessible to the common people." "The time that it takes to go and return to work can't be less than 4 hours; the rents go up; and the dream of having a house vanishes." p 16 1 "I...I don't have a home-sweet-home. That would be a bother." 2 Subaru: "Since there isn't room in the house for Old Men, they're kicked out." 3 Manager: "Oh, forgive me...I'm sorry for having talked so long just to continue being in your company." Subaru: "Nn...no problem." 4 Manager: "But I'm confident that when I get old," "That won't happen to me." p 17 1 Subaru: "If, like always, I worry myself no over this, Hokuto will scold me." "But, I still don't understand why the people from that house had to die..." 6 "What..." p 18 3 "Y...you..." 6 "Umm." Bird: "Chirp." p 19 1 Old Man: "It seems that the little one has taken to you." 3 Subaru: "These birds only come together like this to feed...You brought them together..." Old Man: "It isn't anything strange." 4 Subaru: "This...There are so many species of birds here--it's like magic..." Old Man: "Magic, you say?" 5 Subaru: "Eh?" Old Man: "These little ones are my friends." "We always meet here and pass the time together." "They are my best friends." p 20 1 Subaru: "Friends?" 2 Old Man: "All animals understand the hearts of their companions: if they are happy or sad." "That which they want or don't want to do. They know who wishes to be their friend from the bottom of his heart." 3 "Understanding the heart of others--" "It makes them like human beings." 4 Subaru: "I also believe that." "That's why I love animals!" 6 "I'm sorry! I shouldn't behave this way in front of strangers..." Old Man: "I'm not a stranger." p 21 1 Subaru: "Eh?" 2 Old Man: "Now, we know each other." 3 Subaru: "Yes!" 4 "...Some time ago, I had a little puppy dog." p 22 1 "That dog was a true friend...we were always together..." 2 "But, sadly, the dog sickened..." 3 "Even though I took care of the dog the whole time, I couldn't do anything for him..." "Even though the dog was suffering, all I could do was stay by him and talk to him." 4 "He suffered so much..." "And died." "That's why I have never again owned an animal. There is nothing more horrible than the loss of a beloved..." p 23 1 "But, I want to be a veterinarian. In order to study veterinary medicine, I am under obligation to listen to animals." "I would like to be a zookeeper so that I may always be with the animals and care for the puppies." 2 "But, now I'm involved in a job that is completely different..." 3 "Nevertheless, in truth, I would like to quit this job." "Even though I'm under obligation not to do so..." 4 "And, it is impossible to change things." "But, I just can't abandon my dream of raising puppies..." 5 Old Man: "Why do you love animals so much?" 6 Subaru: "I don't like talking much with people." "They don't take to me well; I guess I just don't have the right words..." p 24 1 "That's why I talk so little." "It isn't pleasant when someone doesn't understand me. But, animals understand me even though I don't talk to them..." Old Man: "It is the same with me." 2 Subaru: "Eh?" 3 Old Man: "I was a zookeeper for Ueno Park." Subaru: "Really?!" Old Man: "Yup. I cared for animals for 18 years until I retired. I was in charge of the birds in the zoo." "I also had trouble talking with other people, and I was weak, but I loved talking with the zoo birds from Ueno Park." 4 "Because of this, I felt very close to the birds." 5 "Until that dog died, you were close to it, right?" p 25 2 Subaru: "Yes." 3 Old Man: "You were talking to it while it suffered." 4 Subaru: "...Yes." 5 Old Man: "That means that you and that dog were friends." "Realize that." 6 "Dogs, upon the moment of death, are used to being under the watchful eyes of their masters." "Animals are intelligent and frequently know when the hour of death comes upon them. That you were at his side at that moment united the two of you all the more." p 26 1 "You must admit that that dog was your best friend." 3 "Veterinarians also are friends of dogs. Your dream isn't that far away." 4 Subaru: "Friends..." 5 Old Man: "Don't abandon your dream." "What happens, happens. Make your dream reality." "I may be old, but I've never left behind the dreams that I once had." p 27 3 Subaru: "Ah! I'm sorry!" "Accompanying me in my sorrows has eaten up an entire hour...!" 4 "Your family will be really worried!" Old Man: "No one is going to be worried about me." 5 Subaru: "Do you live alone?" Old Man: "My wife passed away 30 years ago, but I live with my daughter and her husband." 6 Subaru: "Par...pardon, but surely you matter to your daughter..." 7 Old Man: "It is as if I had no family." Subaru: "Eh?" p 28 1 Old Man: "I am but a burden." 4 Woman: "Father! I told you to return before dinner time!" 5 "It's always the same..." Boy: "Gahh." 6 Woman: "Souko, Shinya! You already ate! Be quiet, please!" p 29 2 Old Man: "Souko, Shinya. What's going on?" 3 Boy: "Gahh." "Yahh." 4 "Hey Grandpa." Old Man: "Hmm?" 5 Girl: "When are you going to die?" p 30 1 Boy: "Mommy told us that when you die, my sister and I will get separate rooms." Girl: "So, when are you going to die, Grandpa?" 3 Old Man: "Souko, Shinya, tell your mother that I don't want dinner today. I don't feel so well, so I'll be going to bed soon. Will you help me?" Boy: "Yes!" 6 Old Man: "Kanae. I still have one left." p 31 1 "After that," "I can be with you again." 3 Seishiro: "I haven't seen Subaru lately. Is he still working?" Hokuto: "That's because he is going to see Grandfather." 4 Seishiro: "Your Grandfather is still alive?" Hokuto: "No, no." 5 "We don't have a Grandfather anymore. This is another Grandfather." 6 Seishiro: "Another?" 7 Hokuto: "He met a delightful Grandfather after work the other day in the park who used to be a Ueno Park zookeeper!" p 32 1 Seishiro: "Why is that Grandfather...?" 2 Hokuto: "He wants to ask him about various things. You see," "Really, this Grandfather can teach him so much since Subaru's dream is to become a veterinarian in a zoo." 3 "Subaru considers himself equal to the elderly and the young, men and women, alike." "He loves the whole world." 4 "Since he is interested in animals and the elderly, one such as you'll interest him too." p 33 1 Subaru: "Do you mind if I ask you something?" Old Man: "About what?" 2 Subaru: "About your dream." "What was it?" 3 Old Man: "You want to hear it?" Subaru: "If that doesn't bother you." 5 Old Man: "This is my wife when we were blessed with a child." "36 years have passed, and she is now a woman." "Since having her was the greatest wonder in the world, we named her Sachiyo." p 34 1 "Nevertheless," "My wife had a delicate constitution, and, because of that, 6 years later she was admitted into a hospital." 2 "Just before dying, my wife told me:" 3 "'I have never been able to do anything for Sachiyo, so you are going to have to do them for me. I want you to do 100 things that will bring happiness to Sachiyo.'" 5 "Naturally, I promised my wife that I would do them." "I have long worked to make Sachiyo happy." p 35 1 "Up until this point, I have completed 99. I have one more happiness to grant my daughter.' 2 "If, after this last gift, Sachiyo lives happily (1)," "I'll feel proud, and I believe that I will be able to leave this world in peace." 3 "I promised to protect her," "And, even though it seems foolish and stupid, that has always been my dream." 4 Subaru: "None of that. It's a wonderful dream." 5 Old Man: "I only have this photo of the entire family. Last year we moved. The house is really small, and since there wasn't any room, we had to throw away all of our photo albums." p 36 1 "When Sachiyo was little, she loved bananas.' 2 "Since she always loved to eat bananas, she frequently feigned sickness." "She used to scare me so much." 4 "But now," "That's a time long since past." p 37 4 Sachiyo: "Do you need to hear it again?" 5 "The budget of this house barely gives us room to live!" 6 Husband: "How terrible can an outing at the golf club be?" Sachiyo: "What do you have to do that for?!" "I don't have to be the only one in this house that makes efforts to save!" p 38 1 Husband: "I have to make myself known to my superiors if I hope to get a promotion." "How can you deny me? It's the mortgage's fault..." 2 Sachiyo: "The mortgage goes up every month. It's horrible!" 5 Children: "Mommy?!" Husband: "Sachiyo?!" p 39 1 Husband: "Sachiyo! Sachiyo!" 2 Children: "Mommy!" 4 "Let's go; go to sleep, Mommy." 6 Sachiyo: "I haven't had a cold for years..." "It's going to be impossible for me to go to work..." p 40 4 Sachiyo: "Where are you going, father?" Old Man: "Out for a moment." 5 "I'm going out to buy something..." 7 Sachiyo: "Buy something, buy something!" "Consider a moment the budget of this house! You don't do anything but waste the money of this house! Think about just who is bringing home the salary!" p 41 1 "We don't earn enough money to feed you!" 4 Old Man: "...I'll be back right away." p 42 3 Subaru: "What could he be doing?" "It seems that he isn't going to come today..." 5 "Aaaaaay." p 43 1 "Aaaay." 2 "A person has been hit by a truck!!" 5 Subaru: "It can't be..." p 44 2 "Excuse me for a moment..." 5 "Grandfather?!" p 45 1 Subaru: "Grandfather!" "Hold on!" 3 "Grandfather!!" 4 Truck driver: "That Grandfather appeared suddenly and pratically threw himself on top of me!" 5 Subaru: "Quickly!" "Call an ambulance!!" p 46 2 Truck driver: "Y..." 4 Old Man: "...sto...a..." 5 "This..." "Sachiyo..." 6 "Sachiyo is..." "...sick...Bananas always..." p 47 1 Subaru: "Grandfather...!" "Try not to talk!" 2 Old Man: "So that Sachiyo may live happily..." "This is the 100th..." 3 "Finally, I may leave this place..." p 48 1 Subaru: "Grand...father?" 5 "Grandfather." p 49 1 "Grandfather!!" p 50 2 Sachiyo: "Have you forgotten the key again? Father!" 3 "It's alright." "We are going to relax!" 5 "You..." "Who are you?!" p 51 1 "Eh?" 2 Subaru: "Your father just died in the street opposite the park." 3 Sachiyo: "Dddddied..." p 52 1 Subaru: "So that you may live happily." "He went to buy you the bananas that you used to love so much." Sachiyo: "You...you're lying..." Subaru: "In order to bring them to you quickly," 2 "He went so fast that he couldn't see very well..." "And, a truck hit him, and he died." 3 "Your father told me...that he promised his wife before she died," 4 "That he would do 100 things to make you happy." "And, he told me that, when he did them, he would feel proud and would then be able to rejoin his wife in death. The 100th deed is the gift of these bananas." p 53 1 "Since you loved bananas when you were little...he wanted to bring them to you as quickly as possible so you would be able to eat them all up and get better...and so he we as quickly as possible to the store." "Since he had problems with his legs, he had to put a lot of effort into running to buy them and returning to you." 2 Sachiyo: "Father, Father!!" "Father!" p 54 5 Subaru: "...For that woman, each day hurts." "Later, she cried for all that she had done to her father." "People are resentful and disatisfied with everything, and it is Old Men who suffer the consequences." 6 "But, when she cried, she was repenting." "'Please, Father, forgive me,' she kept saying." p 55 1 "After all of that," 2 "In the end...he reconciled with his daughter...but I don't know if she will ever live happily." p 56 1 Seishiro: "It is uncertain and worrisome, the future for Old Men." "When one's health deteriorates, and one can't move; when one becomes a bother to those who are with him, and they mistreat that person;" 2 "When one becomes old," 3 "For many people, life then becomes a horror." p 57 1 Hokuto: "Even though becoming old is terrible, the elderly deserve respect for their age!" "Grandmothers and Grandfathers know soooo much more than we, the young!" 2 Subaru: "An Old Man is a living library of knowledge!" "He that doesn't recognize this is truly a fool!!" 3 Seishiro: "The Grandfather told you that, when he felt proud for completing the promise that he had made to his wife, he would be reunited with her." p 58 1 "Surely, now, " "He feels proud." Hokuto: "Cheer up, Subaru." 3 Boy: "Mommy, where are we going?" 4 Sachiyo: "To the place where your Grandmother and Grandfather are." 5 Girl: "Grandfather has died?" 6 Sachiyo: "Yes, and through the fault of your mother." "Your mother is an idiot; she was senselessly cruel to your Grandfather." p 59 1 "Certainly I don't deserve your forgiveness, but, nevertheless, with all my might," "I beg of you: 'Please, forgive me.'" 2 Father: "Your father is also at fault." "Souko, Shinya, did you love your Grandfather?" Children: "Yes!!" 3 Father: "Then, never forget your Grandfather, and love him forever." Children: "Yes!!" 5 Subaru: "Ah..." p 60 5 Hokuto: "Subaru! Come on!" 6 Subaru: "I'm cooooming." END OF CHAPTER 6: OLD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOOTNOTES: (1) Throughout this chapter, I translated "ser feliz" as "to live happily". The literal translation is "to be happy"; however, the use of the verb, "ser", indicates a permanent, persisting condition that I feel "to live happily" conveys better than just "to be happy".