Vol 1 Chapter 6 (2/2)

“I have always been able to smile and work hard because my mother was around”

But while she spoke, she lifted her head and looked atat the darkness behind me

“…But now I am, left alone…”

“You’re not alone, Nayuki!”

I couldn’t help saying

“Don’t you have friends? Kaori, Kitagawa They’re worried about you Also, me too…”

“…”

“I’ back”

Slowly, Nayuki shook her head

I wanted to eirl in front ofhand could not reach her

“It’s impossible”

Reflected under the ht, Nayuki’s face an On that face there occurred the first change

“There is no way I can smile anymore…”

Large teardrops surfaced on her eyes

“I can never smile anymore…”

Tears gushed and rolled through her cheeks onto her pajamas Her adorable cat-paw-printed pajamas absorbed several teardrops

“There is no way I can work hard any anymore…because mum isn’t here anymore…mum…mum…”

Then she sobbed like an abandoned cat with sorrowful sounds hysterically

There was nothing I could do except for looking at her from a side

On the following day, it snowed since the

I couldn’t quite remember when I returned to my room or when I slept

The alarm clock had already pointed to the time for class

But I had no plan to go to school anyway

I ed to woke up, but I had no appetite for breakfast and just stared into space in my room

I was startled when the phone rang for its first and only time: my mother called and informed me of my father’s condition: he had stabilised and they would come in about two to three days

“Is Nayuki fine?”

When my mother asked me, I didn’t kno to answer her

Sobbing, Nayuki rejectedme there was no way she could smile anymore

How could I beco me?

Nayuki re out of her room

I headed outside without any specific goal It was cold outside, and even snowing Although I know this wasti my powerlessness

Co for the people at school to know about this, so I just staggeredback and forth

Then I headed, though I didn’tdistrict

Beside the arched door was a shop selling kid stuff

It was the shop I bought the red glass pebble for Nayuki, which she used it as a snow rabbit’s eye

It was also in front of this shop that I irl that winter

“Yuichi

“…hey”

And as if waiting for me today too, Ayu appeared in front of me

“Hey, why aren’t you taking a bag of taiyaki today?”

Finding her hands empty, I went to the taiyaki shop with her for a look

But the shop closed today

“What bad luck…”

Ayu and I leaned on the steel gate on the door of the shop

We looked silently at the snow under the roof of the taiyaki shop for a while

“…Do you re here?”

Ayu suddenly said

“Eh…oh, yeah, you did”

Between this short silence, I was actually thinking about Nayuki

“I have already found it…the thing I had been looking for”

“That’s great”

I only answered with my mouth in reflex

“Yuichi, you don’t look very energetic today”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah I understand you very much I can tell from how you look”

“Understand me very much…”

“Yeah”

Ayu nodded, the wings behind her on her backpack

“Then can you knohat situation I’m in?”

“Try talking about it”

It was unbelievable With that face and body of a child, she looked in no way of a siic aura in her was e me

I was told to be strong and be Nayuki’s pillar These de Ayu, I was soothed

“I…”

Gradually I started talking about it, about how I felt it too deep and too much a burden at first, but then was captivated by Nayuki, about how I knew Nayuki also waited and thought of me, about how our hearts once crossed But because of Nayuki’s mother Akiko’s accident, Nayuki’s heart was broken by sorrow and rejected my support

Ayu listened to what I said quietly

“What should I do? I can not make miracles happen Will a person like me make Nayuki feel better if I’m not at her side?”

“Yuichi…”

Ayu slightly lifted her body and strokedrushed into me I wanted to expel all of this sorrow and cry like a child

“It will happen A miracle will definitely happen”

“Ayu”

Ayu gave a light kiss on my forehead

“Yuichi, you treasure Nayuki-chan more than anyone else, don’t you?”

“…yeah”

“You want to help Nayuki-chan from the bottom of your heart, don’t you?”

“Yeah”

“Then it’ll happen If you really wish for it, if you wish for that simple, sincere wish for your iranted”

“…”

If I really want to help Nayuki-chan…

If I really wish for it, I wouldn’t give up after being rejected a few times

If I really wish for it, I should have trusted in Nayuki to the last moment

Though I reckon I have a weird personality, I wanted to believe in Ayu right now

“Thank you”

I looked at Ayu with a feeling of being saved

Snowflakes fluttered behind Ayu’s white wings, melted, and vanished

The snowflakes flashed for an instant as they beca In s

No, perhaps, Ayu was the one who looked like an angel

“…because I’ve found what I looked for, so I ain”

Ayu stepped back from my side

“I don’t know if I’ll see you again, Yuichi”

Walking out to the snow from under the roof, Ayu’s presence faded like the snow

“But I’ll never forget you, Yuichi”

“Ayu”

“…I’, Yuichi”

Without saying goodbye, and never will, Ayu ran on the snow and vanished

The last thing I saw on her was her usual energetic smile

“Nayuki”

I called her in front of her room

“Have you fallen asleep?”

She couldn’t be sleeping, but she gave no response

I didn't care and continued, “I’ for you”

I planned and considered for this

“I’ll be waiting at that place from now on for you, Nayuki That place you’ve waited for me in that winter”

Right

It was at the bench in front of the station that I didn’t go to meet her

With that said, I also put an alarm clock in front of the door

“I’ll place the alar borrowed fro its ringing sound”

There was no response co from the other side of the door

“I’ for you”

Having said what I needed, I left the house again

Dusk arrived, the snow outside fiercer

Even the residents ere used to the snow in this town had to open umbrellas on the streets

I only wore a jacket and walked outside, letting snow to fall on my body

In front of the station, white collars going back ho with excites shone the snow fields, creating a beautiful scene Beside the rotary, the bench that had no upper covering was covered with stacked snow, no one sitting on it

I brushed off the snoith my hands and sat on the icy seat

Speaking of which…

I was also here, a feeeks ago, in a si for Nayuki

I couldn’t even figure out why I had co

I had hoped I could leave this town again, as early as possible

But after waiting for Nayuki for two hours, I found her in front of y

When I think about it noould ponder whether Nayuki did that to e for what I did in that winter

But Nayuki wouldn’t be the kind of person to sche

No matter how you look at it, she was…

Re her out of the blue speech, actions, and hed to myself

Nayuki, on the other hand, had now shut her heart in despair

It inter too, but our situations were reversed

The only thing I could do hat she did for me that day Even if she would reject s for her to overcome myself and trust her

Snow piled up on irl, coht?”

“Okay, don’t worry This is only a little punishame”

I sirl said, and left subsequently

The punish said on the whiht answer

What I had done to Nayuki couldn’t possibly be compensated by seven strawberry parfaits

I wouldn’t say anything like staying strong, Nayuki

Neither would I say work had and try to smile

But I hope you could trust me

That you could trust me that I treasure you, Nayuki

If I really wished for a miracle to happen, then it would That hat Nayuki said

As such, I would wait for you in the sas for you for this miracle

If I win, and you come, then a miracle will happen

Pedestrians passing the station gradually decreased

The bus with its destination lighted red came out from the rotary

It was the last bus today

The shops had long closed

It was so cold

At last, the last train had gone off, and the lights of the railway station turned off

When I checked the time, it had already been the next day

Has she not come yet?

I had thought that it would have been better if I had not come, and disappointment was natural

In that winter, Nayuki

When I closed my eyes, Nayuki’s childhood face appeared

She was sitting on the bench alone, worried, looking at the falling snowflakes

She waited many, many hours for me who didn’t come

Probably sheherself to freeze into an ice cube

As this was I thought at this moment

It’s called a miracle because it doesn’t happen

Indeed

I couldn’t really pull it off I certainly had no privilege for Nayuki to believe in me

At this moment…

“The snow…is piling up”

All of an instant I thought I had returned to the dream I first had

“Yuichi, the snow is piling up”

It was reality In the snow, the girl with snow covered on her body stood, panting

“We’re even”

The young girl’s long hair and clothes were covered hite snowflakes

“You look cold”

“You’re about the same”

“Yeah…”

The young girl ser

On her face was a s time

“Yuichi”

With a slowed

“I still have no way to be strong~”

“…”

“…so,” Nayuki put her hands ondead on the bench, “Can I rely on you, Yuichi? Can you be my pillar?”

I maintained my posture and answered simply, “Sure”

“Is it okay to believe in it?”

“It’s okay”

“I won’t delete it I’ll keep it as evidence Even so, can you do it? Can you promise me?”

“Yeah”

“Yuichi, you’re just saying okay and yeah”

“I promise you”

If I could put it into words, I would say a lot to Nayuki to expressI wanted to hold her and respond to her with my body warmth

But because of the overflowing ee

Also…also, it is e to say, but because my mouth was numb, my body cold, I couldn’t really move

I regret a bit for working so hard to say what I wanted to, and I endeavoured to move my lips

“If I break the promise, I’ll treat you a strawberry parfait at the hundred flower house!”

“No I won’t forgive you even if it’s a strawberry parfait”

“Um”

How harsh Then that meant I couldn’t break it

“Yuichi…”

Nayuki’s face closed in to me

“This is the present for being late~”

Nayuki closed her eyes

“Also…”

I closed my eyes as well

“About s…”

My numb lips armed by Nayuki’s lips

“I had always…”

She could finally make it

In irl with braids who had a snow rabbit in her hand was s

“always loved you, Yuichi~”