• Chapter 19-- She Welcomes Death with Open Arms!


    Again, I'm sorry if it's rushed. We're coming down to the last two chapters of the story and after working on this for about a half a year, I'm antsy to get this wrapped. Enjoy.



    July 5, 2008

    Normal P.O.V.

    8:57 pm.

    “I apologize for calling you so late,” Yuuta spoke quietly into the phone. Standing alone in the hallway he traced circles on the wall with his fingertips in an attempt to distract himself—or rather to stop himself from crying.

    “Nakamura-san, what’s wrong?” It was Tamika.

    He gripped the phone tighter in his hand. “Ayano-chan hasn’t come out of her room for nearly two days and I’m worried.”

    “What happened to cause her to do this?” There was an edge of annoyance in her voice from having to try and pry the information out of him.

    “Suzuki-san, Sumi… Sumi’s dead.”

    The line disconnected.

    ! ^ *

    Ayano’s P.O.V.

    The rain isn’t letting up just as I can’t stop crying.

    It’s so empty without Sumi here. Otou-san wouldn’t be coming back, that much I can tell. Even Oka-san has left. The only one here is Yuuta-san, the person who is probably in the most pain.

    Ding-dong.

    I sat up in bed. “Who could it be at this hour?”

    I heard the door open and was surprised to hear Mi-chan’s (Tamika) voice.

    “Sumi-san! Sumi-san! Sumi-san, where are you?!”

    Silence.

    “Sumi-san!”

    More silence. I heard a thud soon followed by Mi-chan’s wailing. “Suzuki-san, it’s all right,” Yuuta’s voice wavered at the end.

    At that moment I truly realized that Sumi wasn’t coming back. Her room would gradually lose all signs of life, become dusty and cold; become quiet because I could no longer hear her talks with Yuuta. Eventually, her existence in this home will vanish forever. Sumi couldn’t come back—not for Oka-san, not for Yuuta, not even for my sake. In a world without Sumi my existence is meaningless.

    “I’m done. I give up.” I cracked open the window and slipped out into the rainy, stormy night. I don’t want to live anymore.”

    %%%%%

    Normal P.O.V.

    Several minutes passed by before Tamika began to calm down. Yuuta was on the floor with his back resting against the wall. All he could do was sit and wait for Tamika to compose herself.

    “Suzuki-san.”

    She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Hai?”

    “Please, help Ayano-chan. She’s the worst off,” he looked down and clenched his fist, “I don’t fully know the details myself but Ayano-chan was the one who found her body.”

    Tamika clasped a hand over her mouth as she tried to stop another wave of wails. “Oh god, Aya-chan…” She stood up and ran to Ayano’s room.

    “Aya-chan?” Tamika knocked on the door, “Aya-chan, it’s me. Please open up.” She turned the doorknob only for it to stop half way. It was locked.

    “She’s still not opening up?” Yuuta’s voice came from behind her. Tamika turned around and shook her head. “It’s still locked.” Her gaze landed on Sumi’s bedroom door. “Sumi-san…Sumi-san kept an extra key in case Aya-chan did something silly. But…” she trailed off.

    “It’s fine. I can go into the room, you just have to tell me where it is.”

    “Under the bed in a red box.”

    “Got it.” Yuuta nodded. In a couple of minutes he returned with key in hand. “Why don’t you open it?”

    “Hai.” With a click the door opened and Tamika peeked inside. “Aya--!” She froze when she found the room empty. Tamika flung the door fully open and ran to the window. “Aya-chan?!”

    “What happened?!” Yuuta stood dazed in the doorway.

    “Aya-chan!” Tamika called out into the night, “Aya-chan!” Her body began to shake as she sobbed, “Aya-chan, don’t you leave me too.”

    Yuuta buried his face in his hands. “I don’t know what to do anymore,Suzuki-san.”

    “Let’s—let’s c-call Kazuki and-nd Hatakeyama-kun (Kioshi),” Tamika chocked out through her sobs, “May-maybe they wh-what to do.”

    @@@@

    (Normal P.O.V. Train Station)

    Naoko closed her umbrella as she walked down the stairs to the underground station. Returning from a late dinner by herself made her feel lonely. This wasn’t how it was suppose to be—she should’ve been coming home with Yoshi by her side. Stopping suddenly in the middle of the stairway she whispered to herself. “Dooshite…what could have gone wrong?”

    The people who passed her by stared at her with irritation or exchanged glances. “Oh, shove it people!” Naoko stomped away, “No one has anything else to do but stare like idiots.”

    The platform was already nearly empty of passengers, just a few scattered here and there. She sighed as she edged closer to the tracks, looking down the tunnel to see if another one was coming. “Hurry up. I want to go home.”

    As she glanced around at the faces of the people one captured her attention. “Seko-kun!” She gasped. Yoshi stood with one suitcase in hand, staring at the ceiling lost in thought.

    “Seko-kun!” Naoko called out causing Yoshi to look at her. “Seko-kun!” She ran over to him, “What are you doing?” She pointed to the suitcase.

    “Omae,” Yoshi glared at her.

    Fine, if he wanted to be rude she could too. “I asked you a question.”

    “Why does it matter to you anyway?”

    “Just do it.”

    He sighed out of annoyance. “I’m going away.”

    “Going away?” Naoko raised an eyebrow, “Exactly where are you going?”

    Yoshi shrugged. “I don’t know myself, but, one thing’s for sure—I’m never coming back here.”

    Naoko’s world was crumbling beneath her. “Never…coming back?”

    He bit his lower and looked down to the ground. “I’m not good enough for Ayano. Simple as that. So I’m not going to be a burden to her anymore,” he smiled, “But I would like to think that we’ll meet again someday-in a place…where the real me can be.”

    The train began to enter the station and the passengers lined up, ready to get on board. Naoko grabbed onto Yoshi’s arm and held on as tightly as could. “Please don’t go! I love you! I don’t care if you think your love is second-rate—I’ll do everything I can to make you happy!” Tears poured down her face and left dark spots on his shirt. “So please, stay here for me.” She looked up at him, “I’ve loved you for so long. I was that girl at the playground from your younger days. You remember, don’t you? Right?”

    Again he smiled but with sadness. He closed his eyes. “I know it was you. But what happened, Kioko?* That happiness? Where did it go?”

    (*Earlier on in the story, Yoshi and Naoko had met when they were kids. Because Naoko was so happy and speechless, therefore not able to tell him her name, be decided to call her Kioko, which means happy child.)

    “She took it.”

    Yoshi laughed and freed himself. “Is that fear speaking now? You and I both know that’s not true.”

    The train squealed as it slowed down. Naoko stood tippy-toe on the very edge of the platform. “I’ll do it. If you don’t stay I swear to God I’ll—“

    “Go ahead,” he shrugged, “I won’t stop you. But don’t think that death can save you.”

    She stepped away from the train. “That’s what I thought.”

    ! ******

    (Ayano’s P.O.V.)

    I stared down at the dark, black waters from atop the bridge railing. The rain continued to pour down hard against my body, pushing down on me as if to encourage me to do it. The night was lit by flashes of lightening in the sky, the air filled with the booming rumble of thunder.

    “I don’t want this anymore.”

    Ending my life is so easy. I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing this sooner. I’d rather give up now while I have nothing than to lose it all later on. I smiled, the first time in what’s felt like a hundred years. I let my mind go free so that my body gave way to the pounding of the rain. I felt the earth disappear beneath my feet and for once I was happy that I was in control of my own life, even if it meant ending it.

    “Nooo!”

    Two arms wrapped around my waist forcing me to fall backwards. All too quickly I found myself on solid ground being hugged and cried upon. “You can cry. You can complain. You can even scream—but, please! Never give up!” He hugged me closer and cried harder. I never expected to see this coming from him.

    “Kio-kun.” I said into his chest.

    “Onegai,” he whispered into my ear softly, “don’t ever leave me again, Ayano.”

    My eyes widened as tears came. He never called me by my name before. Speechless, all I could do was hug him and relax into his arms.

    “Aya-chan.”

    I looked up to find that we were no longer in the rain. Mi-chan was covering us with a huge, clear umbrella, Kazu-kun standing right behind her.

    “We heard, Ayano,” Kazu-kun (Kazuki) looked away. He didn’t have to say anymore—I knew he was talking about Sumi.

    I pulled away from Kio-kun and gave the best smile I could with my red eyes and tear stained face. “Kioshi, everyone. Arigatou.”

    “We’ll always be here, Aya-chan,” Mi-chan said but she was putting up a front. I could see the tears starting to brim over, “so don’t ever do something like this again.” She slammed into me giving me a hug that knocked the breath out of me and letting the rain pour down on us again.

    Kazu-kun, patted my head and smiled. “It will be alright.”

    As I stood up I immediately fell down. My body felt so heavy and I suddenly became very, very tired.

    “Ah, the burn out finally comes.” Kazu-kun said as he picked me up by the arm, Kio-kun picking me up with the other. They carried me along as Mi-chan held the umbrella over us.

    I was so happy that my friends saved me and I will forever be grateful to them. If that night never came and that night’s end never happened, I would’ve missed out on a lot of things. I’m so lucky that I have people who want to stand beside me until it’s our time to go.

    July 6, 2008

    Tamika’s house (Ayano’s P.O.V.)

    Early morning.

    I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Last night we all stayed at Mi-chan’s. She was kind enough to let us all clean up and eat-she even let me take her bed. Outside the window was a cloudy morning but luckily no rain. I crawled quietly across the bed and smiled at the sight before me. On the floor, although there was a distance between them, Mi-chan’s and Kazu-kun’s hands were intertwined loosely. As my gaze fell upon Kioshi I could feel my face burn up. “Ahh!”

    Last night was not only a turning point for Mi-chan and Kazu-kun but for Kioshi and I as well. When I was getting ready to sleep he very innocently kissed me on the lips before tucking me in.

    I flopped back on the bed but the squeak was so loud that it woke everyone up. “Gomenasai! That was my fault!”

    Mi-chan stretched her arms up, trying to act cool, but I could see the blush on her face. Hahaha! For once I had blackmail against Mi-chan. “Aya-chan, I’m going to go make us breakfast then.”

    “I’ll come help.” Kioshi smiled.

    “Okay.”

    The two left the room leaving Kazu-kun and I all alone. It was silent for a few minutes as we listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen. “Kazu-kun?” I sat down beside him.

    “Hmmm?”

    “Can I tell you something?”

    “Shoot.”

    I sighed. How could I put this so that what I was saying would be clear enough for him to understand? “It might be a little late but…” I stared down at my hands. “Goodbye, Kazuki Yunokawa.”

    He was silent for a moment before smiling. “I think we already said goodbye a long time ago.”

    I looked at him and then to the doorway that separated us from Mi-chan and Kioshi. “I think so.”

    We both laughed whole heartily.

    Those painful moments of growing up and moving on…

    I found myself touching my lips and smiling. Kazu-kun was suddenly up in my face. “Ayano, you’re blushing.”

    “I-I’m not.”

    He snickered. “So he kissed you.”

    I flailed my arms and blushed. “How did you know?”

    “I didn’t,” he smirked, “But now I do!” he flicked his finger against my forehead. “Baka!”

    “Ugh!” I grabbed the nearest object and threw it at him. “You’re such a kid!”

    …make the happy moments shine brighter and brighter as we get older and go our separate ways.

    “Oi!” Mi-chan was standing in the doorway with a tray of food. “Stop being stupid, Yunokawa!”

    “Why do you immediately blame me?!”

    “Because it’s fact.”

    Kioshi sat beside me and geld my hand. “Like an old married couple, aren’t they?”

    I giggled. “But we love them anyway.”

    “That’s true.”

    I rested my head on his shoulder. I smiled from the bottom of my heart. Everything was perfect—nothing could ruin my mood. Being here laughing, having fun and living made me so happy I didn’t know what to do.

    “I’ll love you always, Ayano.” Kioshi said just loud enough for only me to hear.

    “I’ll love you always, too.”

    Yes, these moments will be engraved in my heart forever.

    (90(0(0(09)90(

    July 7, 2008

    “Aya-chan.” A voice echoed.

    I opened my eyes to find myself lying on top of the ocean. “Ehhh?”

    Waves came crashing my way but they went right through my body. At the same time I could feel the sun against my skin and hear seagulls in the distance.

    “Aya-chan.”

    A shadow spread over me as a figure leaned over me. My eyes widened in surprise. “Onee-chan?”

    She giggled. “Did you forget what I looked like already?”

    “But you…you died.” I said bewildered.

    “I did.” Her voice was sad and quite, “I just wanted to say goodbye.”

    I looked down beneath me to the blue crystal clear ocean. “Is this place heaven?”

    “Ie. This is limbo.”

    I let that soak in. “So this is really goodbye, isn’t it?” I stared up at her.

    She laid next to me and grabbed my hand. “I just want you to know that Oka-san and Otou-san are doing fine.”

    “Will I ever see them again?”

    “That’s not up to me.”

    Blackness began to engulf my vision. “Sayonara, Aya-chan.”

    “Don’t go!”

    “You know I have to.”

    I woke up. My bedroom was lit by the early morning sun and already I could feel the heat of a hot summer’s day. “Was it just a dream?”

    I climbed out of bed and made my way to the kitchen where the aroma of coffee welcomed me. I stretched my arms in the air before grabbing a cup of coffee. Stepping out into the backyard my gaze drifted up to the sky.

    “No way.” I whispered.

    As vibrant and as colorful as I had ever seen was a rainbow sparkling in the sky. Within my vision was yet another thing that caught my eye. I began to walk towards it to see if it really was there. Realization hit me. The cup slipped from my hands and crashed to the stone-like path under me. I sank to the ground, sobbing.

    “Ayano?!” I heard Kioshi run to me. “Wha-“ but he became silent.

    In the middle of my garden stood a fully bloomed Azalea amongst the normally barren spot.



    “It finally grew.” I choked out.

    Kioshi wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him. “It did.”

    “But why is there always a spot that just has dirt?” I heard Naoko say from behind me.

    “Well, I wanted to grow Azalea.”

    Soon, I stood alone with Kioshi. “Hey, do you know what Azalea means?”

    “No, I don’t.” he replied.

    “It means ‘take care of yourself for me’.”

    Kioshi laughed softly. “So that’s why Baisota-san likes that flower.”

    “Yeah.” I smiled. “That’s onee-chan’s flower.”

    Ch. 19 She Welcomes Death with Open Arms/End

    Yet another chapter completed! I plan on updating really soon! Please comment