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一年後のわたしへ
十月のある日、ミンさんは文房具屋で小さな封筒を見つけました。手のひらぐらいの大きさで、うすい水色です。一年後の自分に、これで手紙を書こう。そう決めて、一つ買いました。
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One day in October, Min found a small envelope in a stationery shop. It was about the size of her palm, in a pale sky blue. I’ll use this to write a letter to myself a year from now, she thought. Her mind made up, she bought one.
その夜、机に向かいましたが、なかなか書けませんでした。一年後の自分が何を知りたいか、分からなかったからです。そこで、質問を書くことにしました。「日本語の本を一冊、最後まで読めましたか」「朝の散歩は続いていますか」。最後に「あまり無理をしないでほしいです」と書きました。書き終わってから読むと、どの質問も、今の自分への宿題のように見えました。
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That night she sat down at her desk, but the words wouldn’t come. She had no idea what she would want to know a year from now. So she decided to write questions. “Did you manage to read a whole book in Japanese?” “Are you still going for morning walks?” At the end she wrote, “Please don’t push yourself too hard.” When she read it through afterwards, every question looked like homework for the person she was now.
手帳のいちばん後ろには、来年のカレンダーがあります。ミンさんはそこに封筒をはさんで、なくさないようにテープでとめました。それから、来年の今日の日付に小さな星をかきました。その日まで開けないつもりです。でもその前に、明日の朝は少し早く起きて、散歩に行こうと思っています。
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At the very back of her planner is next year’s calendar. Min slipped the envelope in there and taped it down so it wouldn’t get lost. Then she drew a little star on today’s date next year. She doesn’t plan to open it until then. Before that, though, she’s thinking of getting up a bit earlier tomorrow and going for a walk.
Three expressions
友だちに、駅まで迎えに来てほしいです。
I’d like my friend to come and pick me up at the station.
「〜てほしい」: after the te form of a verb, wanting someone else to do something; that person takes 「に」. The negative is 「〜ないでほしい」. In the story, 「あまり無理をしないでほしいです」 means “please don’t push yourself too hard”. Saying 「〜てほしい」 directly to someone older or senior can sound impolite.
後ろの席からも見えるように、大きな字で書きました。
I wrote in large letters so that people at the back could see too.
「〜ように」: after the dictionary form, nai form or potential form of a verb, a purpose: “so that (you can) …, so as not to …”. What comes before it is usually a state you can’t control. When it is an action you choose to do, 「〜ために」 is more common. In the story, 「なくさないように」 means “so it wouldn’t get lost”.
夏休みに、国へ帰るつもりです。
I’m planning to go back to my home country in the summer holidays.
「〜つもりです」: after the dictionary form or nai form of a verb, a plan you have already thought out. In the story, 「その日まで開けないつもりです」 means “she doesn’t plan to open it until that day”.
One small thing to do
Tip
Write one line to yourself a year from now and slip it into a notebook you use often. Then mark the same day next year, or set a reminder on your phone.