Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, Day 33.
The ship that left the Greek port, carrying our friends and us,
was sailing for Italy, across the sea.
For us, who had been off the main group’s route for so long,
simply being on the same ship as everyone was joy enough.
The 100-year-old Buick still could not run under its own power.
The ring gear flying in from New York was not yet in our hands either.
Even so, we were once again in the same stretch of time as our friends.
That alone made me so, so happy.
“KOMO, come on over!”
On the ship, our friends had gathered in the hall, chatting happily with beers in hand.
Laughter came from every direction; it was such a lively time that you would never think we were in the middle of a long journey.
“KOMO, come on over!”
My friends called out to me too.
I was happy. They hadn’t forgotten me.
But, as always, I could not speak any English at all.
I could barely understand what everyone was saying.
Even when people spoke to me, I couldn’t answer with a single clever word.
In the end, all I could do was laugh.
Even so, my friends smiled and made a place for me.
Even without understanding the words, we shared the time of having run from the same Peking and aimed for the same Paris.
That accumulated time connected us in place of words.
A night like rewinding to the start day
In the circle of friends, I felt a strange sensation, as if rewound to the day we started from Peking.
That day, not knowing what lay ahead,
we threw ourselves into the adventure of heading for Paris with an old car.
My chest was full of hope and anxiety, yet more than that, I was thrilled.
There were days when, after one breakdown after another and drifting from the main group, I thought we might never get back.
I cannot count how many times retirement crossed my mind.
Even so, here I am, on the same ship as my friends again.
It felt as if the journey were starting over from the very first day.
It isn’t over yet.
We are still heading for Paris.
The cars that have run for 33 days
It has already been 33 days since the journey began.
Looking over the classic cars lined up on the ship, every one of them seemed rather worn out.
Old vehicles built decades ago — some nearly 100 years ago — had crossed deserts, crossed mountains, run over rough roads and passed through borders.
Wearing mud and dust, accumulating scratches and signs of repair, they had still made it this far.
At first there had been several hundred entries.
But the number of cars that made it to the start in Peking was under 100.
In the two years since the originally planned 2022 event, there was the effect of COVID, war and the weak yen,
and… getting cancer.
Countless hardships came crashing down.
The friends from the warm-up event with whom I had promised “let’s run together!” were not there either.
But! I started, and I am still running.
There were cars that had been in accidents.
There are friends whose cars burned.
There are friends who, no matter how many times they repaired,
could not get running, and had to choose to retire.
Not everyone who stood in line on the start day is on this ship now.
Every time I saw an empty place, I was reminded of how harsh this journey is.
It wasn’t only the cars that were tired
It wasn’t only the classic cars that were worn out.
The participants’ bodies, too, had 33 days of fatigue piled up.
“It’s been a week since my stomach went bad.”
“I’ve got a fever and a cough, so I’ll stay in my room tonight.”
Such voices could be heard too.
Every day, we run long distances from early morning, exposed to heat and cold, and some days we cannot sleep properly.
Food and water do not always agree with the body.
If the car breaks down, it gets fixed that same day and sets off again the next morning.
People and cars alike were continuing the journey right at the limit.
Even so, there was laughter in the hall tonight.
With beers in hand, they rejoiced in one another’s safety and shared being here today.
Perhaps everyone was smiling in order to run tomorrow.
What a smile can say
Unable to speak English, I could, again, only smile.
But I have felt it again and again on this journey.
Even without words, a smile gets through.
We can share joy, dance together, and convey our wish for one another’s safety.
“I’m glad to see you again.”
“I’m glad we’ve come this far together.”
“Let’s go on together tomorrow too.”
Even if I couldn’t say it out loud, I hoped it was getting across in my smile.
And from my friends’ smiles, too, it came across clearly.
We had come back into the same journey once more.
Tomorrow, at last!
The ship moves on through the night sea.
Beyond the sea lies Italy.
And the miracle ring gear we have been waiting for is also heading to Italy.
Could we really receive it?
Could we start running under our own power again?
Could we make it to the finish in Paris in time?
We still did not know the answer.
But tonight, holding in our hearts the joy of being in the same place as our friends again,
let’s wait for tomorrow.
Tomorrow, at last!
The next step of our Peking to Paris begins.
To be continued in Day 34…