A girl stands in a vegetable garden. > Bonds Gallery

It’s the countryside.
A girl stands in a vegetable garden.

Vegetables grow all around her.
Interestingly, while the girl moves at a normal, everyday pace, the vegetables around her grow at an incredible speed—much like a time-lapse video played back at high velocity. Sprouts emerge, and flowers bloom.
The girl touches the plants, moving as she naturally would.
They stretch and grow, and before long, white blossoms unfold.
It is as if the entire life cycle of these plants—from seed to bloom—unfolds in the mere minutes that the girl spends touching them.
She seems to be observing the plants as she reaches out to them.
The white flowers bloom into a vast, sprawling field of blossoms.
Then, as the flowers wither, fruit begins to form.

“Wow…” my friends and I exclaim, watching in amazement.

We are observing from beyond the garden fence.
I watch the area surrounding the girl.
Other plants nearby are also growing rapidly, reaching full size in an instant.
To her left, in one of the furrows, cabbages have been planted.
They grow massive—easily three times the size of an ordinary cabbage.
It looks as though they are ready for harvest.
The vegetable garden has reached an autumnal state; the rapid growth has finally come to a halt.

In the few minutes the girl spent standing there, the vegetables had matured as if an entire season had passed—it was now autumn.

“You’re a real country boy, aren’t you?” a friend beside me asks.
“Yeah, I grew up here,” I reply.

Suddenly, a loud, booming sound echoes from the direction of the garden—the very ground begins to tremble.
A tractor, belonging to the girl’s family, rolls in. A girl’s father is driving a tractor.
The child follows alongside the moving vehicle.
I feel a bit concerned for the child, but when the tractor comes to a stop, the child begins to examine it with great curiosity.


It is a powerful, streamlined tractor—nothing like the typical tractors seen in rural farming areas.
Its sleek front end resembles that of a spaceship. Though built from sturdy steel plates, it is clearly intended for agricultural work.


To the right of the vegetable garden, a path made of red clay stretches out.
This path leads toward my home; my gaze follows it in that direction.
- It seems the household over there uses both gasoline and diesel fuel.
- I wonder: could one use diesel to power a high-performance engine and build an aircraft capable of flight?

..
 

Dad arrives on a motorcycle.
He’s by the stream.
The bike is longer and larger than a typical motorcycle.

There’s a kick-starter located near the fuel tank on the left side.
The bike has been reinforced with thick steel plating, which makes me wonder—how on earth is he supposed to use that kick-starter?
Well, I suppose it’s fine; he can just use the electric starter most of the time.
I walk around to the front of the motorcycle.

A hose is connected from a fuel container to the bike, leading into a pump mounted on the front.

Dad keeps trying to start the engine, but it won’t catch.
He tries again and again, but it still won’t start.
*Maybe he’s trying to get it running first, then planning to fill it up with fuel quickly?*
That’s my guess.
But this doesn’t seem right. He really should fill the tank manually before trying to start it. I worry that if he keeps cranking it, the electric motor might burn out—I need to stop him.

I try to walk away from the motorcycle, but my legs don’t move the way I want them to.
I end up walking toward the center of the bike, near the engine.
"Yikes, it’s burning hot! It’s completely overheated!"
I shout out, then manage to steady my steps and move away from the bike.
I’m sure Dad heard me when I yelled that it was overheated. Now, I start walking along the stream, heading toward home. It feels like a clear, bright, and pristine early spring day.
There is a stream with clear, ankle-deep water flowing through it. My home lies on the other side.
At first, I realize I’m wearing dress shoes, so I plan to take them off to cross.
But when I go to remove them, I find that I’m wearing sneakers instead.
Not wanting the sneakers to get wet, I decide to take them off before crossing the stream.

I wake up.