★A place to visit

〜A place to visit〜
　　　　　　　　by Yuriko Watanabe （エッセイライティングコンテスト優秀賞）

There is one place where I want to visit again.

Eighteen years ago, in New York, my husband and I were in a café at Grand Central Station. Actually, my eleven-month-old son was also there, and we took turns walking around inside the station, pushing his stroller. He often lost his temper and cried hard, especially when we wanted to sit back or have dinner at restaurants. The building looked like a palace with a high ceiling and elaborate carvings. All this was far different from my image of New York.

While my husband was out of the café, I was looking down from balcony at business people and travelers come and go in the station. I just don’t remember why I chose the early morning hours to be there. That must have been one of the busiest places I had ever seen. It was so full of the busy people. Yet even with those people, the gigantic hall looked silent and majestic. I gradually forgot my irritation due to all the fuss built up with taking my baby had made. I really felt sympathy for the people there, each of whom had his/her own problems, but they started the new day as though they had none.

Some years later, I learned that the Grand Central Station had been used as a film location, and after the 9.11 terrorist attacks, numerous photos of missing people were on the wall. Thinking about that, I have a different feeling toward Grand Central Station. I would like to visit there again someday. Yeｔ I often wonder, shall I go by myself or with my son when he turns eighteen.