Are you familiar with Mitsu City, Shirase Prefecture?

It's fine if you aren't.

Because most people aren't.

――――――✧

I am a freelance reportage writer.

This investigation began with a single email from a reader.

"In my hometown of Mitsu City, several times a year, a haze like a heat shimmer rises toward the mountains, and something like an old row of houses faintly emerges.
Locally, it's called a 'mirage,' but I've been curious about it since I was a child.
I would appreciate it if you could investigate."

Upon receiving this text, I immediately took action.

――――――✧

◇ Interview with the Meteorological Observatory

I inquired at the local meteorological observatory.

The official replied as follows:

"The meteorological conditions for a mirage to occur in that area
almost never exist on record."

So, I traveled to the vicinity of the site.

An old sign stood by the roadside.

Some of the characters were already illegible.

――――――✧

◇ Local History Museum

I visited the Mitsu City Local History Museum.

It seems Mitsu City took its current form during the Great Heisei Merger, incorporating several surrounding settlements.

In the minutes of that merger committee, the following was listed as a target for incorporation:

"Amagaeru District"

However, currently, this district does not exist on any address map.

――――――✧

Just in case, I ordered old aerial photographs.

Even in photos from days when no mirage was reported, the same shadow was there.

――――――

I inquired at the Mitsu City Hall.

"Oh, that's just a trick of the light. A mirage.
Why? Because that's what people have always said."

――――――✧

The number of households recorded as residents of the Amagaeru District is 43.

However, since the merger, not a single record of moving out remains.

――――――✧

The next forecast for when the "mirage" might be visible is coming up soon.

I decided to head to the site that night.