Vol 2 Epilogue (2/2)
But not yet able to accept this reality, I couldn’t look straight at this girl
“I bought a lot today”
The girl was holding a paper bag
“I had lunch already”
“No You have to finish it even if you have to force yourself”
She passed the bag to me
Inside, there were the vanilla flavour, but also strawberry, chocolate reen tea…and all other sorts of ice cream
“Co it when it’s warm is better”
“Of course”
Moving irl’s
Small and tender, her skin was still white as snow, but her rose-coloured cheeks and her glamorous and lively lips coupled with her clear eyes looked prettier
The girl of snow in the cold weather had now transfor
“It’s called a miracle because it doesn’t happen”
“Yeah”
“Did I lie?”
“Yeah”
“But…”
Her voice was tre Her usual mild smile deformed
“It is okay if I cry now?”
“If you don’t, I wouldn’t knohat to do”
“Why?”
“Men cannot cry first, I guess”
“Haha, figures”
At the sa of ice cream fell on the floor She flew into my arms
“shi+ori…”
“Uu, uu…Yuichi…senpai…Yuichi-senpai…Yuichi-senpai…”
shi+ori who had never shed a single tear in front of anyone else now bursted in tears like a child
“Actually, I don’t want to die…I hate saying goodbye…I hate being alone…I hate it”
I eht I wouldn’t ever feel this war had come, certainly
In the serene park, I could hear water
At a corner, shi+ori and I looked at each other, between us an aqua-blue sketchbook
“Say, can I just move a little bit?”
“No”
shi+ori looked serious She used crayons of many colours The new sketchbook and the crayons were my present for her
“When can I move?”
“When I’m finished”
“That’s quite impossible…”
“Uu…”
Lowering her head, she looked ateyes
“I hate people who say those things”
“What you said hurt me, so before I finish the entire portrait, you’ll have to reer
Agreeing reluctantly, I fell into silence with the surroundings
“Yuichi-senpai”
While rubbing the paper with the crayons and looking at the sketchbook, shi+ori said
“Have you thought of this? Like…we’re living in someone else’s dream”
“What?”
I couldn’t give a good reply to this sudden thought
Not really expecting much out of me, shi+ori s, we’re the people appearing in that person’s dream But this is reality to us, so that person is instead in the realm of the dream”
“…”
“That person otten to wake up For a long ti for the chance to wake up, that person fails to find it”
Looking for so…
“But because that person looked for and waited so long, that person got a present That person could make a wish come true in the dream Whatever wish it may be Really, whatever wish…let’s say…”
shi+ori suddenly lifted her head up
“if that person wished, that person could save a girl with a heavy illness”
In that instant, shi+oriat that person in the realm of the dream
“What I said sounded profound and cool, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s cool, though”
“Yuichi-senpai, you’re rude!”
I laughed at shi+ori as irritated
In ave us was shi+ori’s miracle
Could we meet? In a dream, I meant
Perhaps when the season of snow pays us a visit next time…
“We have to make a snow man this winter”
“A big one, right?”
“I hope it’ll be 50 metres wide”
“Let’s do it!”
It was spring
The wind lightly flipped a few pages of the girl’s sketchbook
Both the girl in the drawing and the girl in front offrom the bottom of their hearts
-fin-