5. Taxi Driver
I could see her placing both hands on the steering wheel.
Finally, my mouth opened.
"…A steering wheel?"
The words came out in surprise, and her response flew back to me in the backseat.
"That's right. I'm driving this taxi myself."
"Manual driving?" I said, astonished. "I've never seen it before. Only read about it in textbooks."
Another memory surfaced. I must still be in high school, as I recalled learning from a history textbook about the era when humans drove cars themselves.
"I got my license for manual driving," she explained, a bit shyly.
"I just really wanted to try driving the old-fashioned way… I'm kind of into primitive things."
"That's an unusual hobby."
"I get that a lot."
She gave a small laugh, but her expression quickly clouded.
"But I'm so sorry. I only just got my license, and my skills are still rough… I mean, I do have a beginner's mark on the car, but… I ended up hitting you."
"It's okay."
I cut off what seemed like the start of another apology, just as a red light came on.
"Honestly, it's more my fault for running with my head down. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. Sorry. Even though cars have priority."
"N-no, no…"
She started to apologize again in a fluster, but the light turned green, and she focused on driving.
The car fell into a brief, gentle silence.
Leaning my head lightly against the window, I gazed absently at the city scenery passing by when I suddenly felt a ticklish sensation, as if memories were about to return.
I quickly pulled my head away from the window and shook it to dispel the feeling.
"Don't come back on your own, memories," I muttered to myself bitterly.
"I'm Jinri. Please call me Jinri," the girl in the driver's seat said, breaking the silence.
"What's your name?"
"Yura," I replied. "Call me Yura."
I realized something.
I remembered my name.
The memory of my name had returned.
But I felt no joy.
Instead, a suffocating sensation gripped me, as if a snake were slowly slithering from my feet to my neck, tightening its hold.
"That's a cool name," she said.
"Yours is pretty great too."
Jinri laughed shyly, "Hehe."
"My owner gave it to me."
"You have an owner?"
"Yes. They're away on a business trip to Mars right now, though."
"So, where are they?"
"Earth."
"Earth, huh…"
I couldn't help but stare off into the distance, as if peering toward Earth, my gaze drifting to the fireworks still bursting outside the window.
The theme had shifted again, from freshwater fish back to deep-sea creatures.
"Have you ever been to Earth?" Jinri asked.
"I don't know," I answered flatly. "I have amnesia."
"What?!"
Startled, Jinri jerked the steering wheel, causing the car to sway momentarily.
"Oh, right, you mentioned that earlier, didn't you?"
"It's fine, it's fine."
I waved my hand and adjusted my seat, trying to reassure her.
"I keep saying this, but it started before the accident with you. So don't worry about it."
"Okay…"
From the driver's seat came a voice that sounded both relieved and somehow disappointed.
"Yeah," I said. "Tonight, when I woke up, I realized I had no memories at all."
The car fell back into a natural silence.
I stole a glance at Jinri through the rearview mirror.
She was wearing a sky-blue summer sailor suit, which suited her so perfectly it seemed tailor-made. Her short haircut, barely reaching her shoulders, accentuated the refreshing vibe of the outfit.
Her beauty was almost dizzying, like it could crash my CPU.
To avoid overloading, I hurriedly looked away, gazing out the window.
Then, a thought struck me, and I asked, "Where are we going?"
"To the hospital," Jinri, the driver, replied. "I know a good place."
"No, really, I'm fine now."
"No way," she said firmly. "You need a proper checkup."
"…"
"We're here."
Jinri let go of the steering wheel, pulled the handbrake, and got out of the car. Then she opened my door for me.
"No automatic doors?"
"Automatic is so tasteless."
"Spoken like a true primitive enthusiast."
She laughed, "Hehe," and extended her hand.
I hesitated for a moment before gently taking her hand, clad in white driver's gloves.
The same electric jolt, like static, coursed through me as when she'd reached out to help me up after the accident.
"Thank you."
As I stepped out of the car and stood, I noticed Jinri was a head shorter than me.
She had the appearance of an ordinary 16-year-old girl.
She should be an ordinary humanoid robot.
Yet, the voltage from her hand felt like the frequency of something extraordinary.
I asked casually, "Are you human?"
"Huh? No, I'm not."
Her response was matter-of-fact.
"Why would you think that?"
She asked with genuine curiosity, and I answered honestly.
"I don't know, you just feel… different."
"Different how?"
"I can't explain it."
"…"
My fumbling response made Jinri's eyes cloud with worry again.
"See, this is why we need to get you to the hospital, Yura. You need a proper checkup, okay?"
With a tone like she was coaxing a child, she gripped my hand with a gentle yet firm insistence, as if leading a kid to the dentist, and pulled me toward the hospital.