part1 c16 (2/2)
He could feel it.
Before his mind could make it up, his body did. He made up the memoriable warmth of Meiko.
He was confused. He wanted to deny it, yet he wanted to accept it.
The person he longed for so long, Meiko...
Meiko looked at Jinta and said something in his ear. Jinta accepted Meko’s feelings and nodded his head solemnly.
“Menma wants me to tell something to you.”
“Eh…”
“Thanks for the hair clip. She also said, sorry…”
“!!”
Atsumu’s body s.h.i.+vered greatly. Then, he jumped off of Jinta’s body as if escaping.
“Yukiatsu!!”
He dashed up the slope.
“Hey, hey! Yukiatsu!”
His heart was quaking. Atsumu neglected Tetsudo and Naruko and pa.s.sed through Chiriko without even turning his head around.
“…”
Chiriko heaved a long sigh. Chiriko, who usually feared cold, was now covered with a s.h.i.+rt immersed in sweat.
Atsumu’s memory of that day was a memory he could never forget.
On that day, Meiko rushed out of the sercret base, chasing Jinta. And Atsumu was chasing behind Meiko.
“Wait, Menma!”
“I can’t wait! If I don’t run faster, Jintan would get away.”
“You don’t need to care for that guy!”
Hearing Atsumu’s shouts, Meiko stopped running unconsciously.
“Menma isn’t any ugly girl…”
Atsumu stretched his hand into his short pants and took out a hair clip. A small pink flower was imprinted on it.
“For you.”
“Eh…”
“I think this hair clip is very suitable for you, Menma.”
He had bought it a month ago, but he couldn’t find a chance to give her. Nevertheless, it was the time now.
Atsumu’s face turned red, and he didn’t dare to look at Meiko’s face. Then, he cried,”it’s for my favourite Menma!”
It was the first confession experienced to either Atsumu or Meiko.
“Ah…Sor-Sorry!”
However, Meiko ran away in panic.
“Eh…”
“Um…Jinta is about to run away! Um, sorry…let’s talk about this next time!”
Bang and pop. Meiko had run afar.
Atsumu could only see her off.
“Rats!” He cried, throwing the hair clip in his hand into the bushes.
The same hair clip was worn by the ‘Menma’ Atsumu was holding in his hands.
It wasn’t ‘Menma’ anymore but just the sc.r.a.ps of Atsumu’s persistence. It was just a Meiko sh.e.l.l with a wig and a hair clip.
Atsumu leaned on the fence of the bridge, gazing steadily at the wig. The dress was put at his feet’s side. He was wearing a ridiculous costume composed of a sleevless garment and a short pants with a jacket covering him.
It looked as if Atsumu could easily discard the appearance as ‘Menma’, but in his heart…if he could really discard it like taking off clothes, perhaps he would have been saved early on.
“You look devastated.”
He lifted is head.
Chiriko was standing there. She must have chased him here.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“…”
“You knew everything from the very start…
“Don’t you wish I knew it?”
Chiriko knew where Atsumu bought the dress.
This is because she bought it with him after school. Not only was the dress but also the hair clip was bought. She was just shocked that he even had a wig.
Chiriko didn’t ask what Atsumu bought them for. Atsumu didn’t have the intention to explain to her.
Both of them remained silent. They had their own ‘Meiko trauma’. It was their new connection, unlike the one they had when they were small.
The connection should be like this originally.
But Chiriko…
“Why did you betray me?”
“…”
“What do you want to do?
(What do I want to do?)
Even Chiriko was unclear of what she felt.
Nevertheless, Chiriko wanted to save Atsumu. She wanted to pull him out from the ‘Menma’ darkness.
She had known this wouldn’t work. This would only pour salt on Atsumu’s wound, but Chiriko had prepared for this.
(I would suffer the pain with you.)
“Give it to me.”
“Ah…”
Chiriko picked up the dress beside Atsumu’s feet.
Scuff…
She covered the wide dress on herself.
Then, she s.n.a.t.c.hed the wig from Chiriko’s hand and wore it on herself. Quickly, she had silver hair. Chiriko became the same as ‘Meiko’.
“Menma!”
Atsumu looked at the Menma in front of him, weeping.
Then, as if he had lost his strength, he fell down and embraced the same thing as ‘Menma’, Chiriko at her waist.
Chiriko stroked Atsumu’s hair lightly. It was a light brown, soft hair with a fragrance of summer gra.s.s.
“Menma…please don’t leave me again. Please don’t leave me…”
Atsumu repeated brus.h.i.+ng against Chiriko’s waist. Chiriko gently smiled and solemnly nodded her head.
“I know…I would stay with you forever, Yukiatsu.”
To stay with you forever…
Chiriko was also hurt.
It wasn’t something that actually happened but just an imagination. With the dress in her hands, all she could do to it was to stare at it silently.
(Never could I become like Menma.)
Atsumu slowly stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“Where could I go apart from going back?”
“Where’s the dress? Give it back to me.”
“…”
Chiriko handed him the dress. Atsumu s.n.a.t.c.hed it violently, turned away, and left.”
Seeing him off, Chiriko wondered what she could do to bring an end to this endless night. Chiriko didn’t know what to do.
It really hurt—Chiriko was hurt.
But, she couldn’t cry, for Atsumu upon her eyes was hurt more seriously than her.
Atsumu’s ‘Menma’ had vanished.
But it was only what it seemed. ‘Menma’ was still here: here, over there…there was sign of her existence everywhere.
No one could escape from ‘Menma’. Everyone was caught by ‘Menma’s’ face.
The river flowed slowly under the illumination of the moonlight. The trickling, cold waterflowing sound was telling them that they could never be forgiven.
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