Today, August 15, was a perfectly average day. It was a good one, I thought.
The news this morning said it’d be an easygoing kind of day. Completely normal temperatures for this season. They were absolutely right.
So I had nothing to complain about. If I had to come up with something, I guess I’d like to see the sunset just one more time, right at the end.
Oh, and if I could add something else, joining that tournament would’ve been nice. But there’s no reason to be greedy.
…Life, I figured, was just kind of short like that.
I heard the ambulance siren and felt some light bumping below me. I heard Takane’s voice as I fell in and out of consciousness. Probably stuff like “It’s all right” and “Hang in there” and so on. Earlier, I was in so much pain that I was incapable of focusing on anything else. Now, though, I couldn’t feel anything at all.
It was funny. It didn’t feel like I was cured. It was weird, but it felt more like it all just disappeared.
If I had to guess, the part of me that feels pain was probably dead. I had no way of confirming this, but thinking about it made me feel a little lonely.
The sounds around me seemed to echo mindlessly in my ears, and soon I could only pick up on the barest nuances of Takane’s words. What did she say? I didn’t know. She sounded real sad, though.
Ahhh, I’m sorry, Takane. I’m really sorry. I’ve received so much from you, but I couldn’t give anything in return.
I bet you’re angry about it. Well, you can be, if you want. You can punch me, even. If it helps you get over it, you can do anything you like.
Oh, but don’t take it out too much on people besides me. You might run into all kinds of wonderful people later on in life. You need to treat them with the care they’ll deserve.
Yeah. That’s right. You’re a kind, gentle girl, Takane. You need to keep on smiling. You need to be happy.
So please, Takane. Stop crying…
Once the final echoes faded away, I no longer felt anything.
This was exactly the kind of silence I feared the most, but now that I was faced with the full brunt of it, it was nothing.
So this was “dying”?
No. If I was still thinking about stuff like this, I guess I wasn’t quite there yet.
I didn’t see my life flash before my eyes, or any other handy guidepost showing where I was in the process. In fact, I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.
But I suppose my thoughts would disappear before too long. I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else, and then…
…No.
I just can’t accept this. I don’t want to die.
What’s going to happen to me now? Hey, Takane, are you still near me? If you are, tell me. Come on. Tell me…
Takane, Shintaro, Ayano, Mr. Tateyama…
I wanted to be together with all of you for longer. I wanted to play around with you guys so much more.
I didn’t want to be born in this weak, broken body. If I was stronger…as strong as the hero of a video game, I could’ve been with all of you forever…
Forever…with all of you…