“Can I.. say something?”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “Permission granted.”
She fiddled with her fingers.
“I was wondering…” She paused momentarily. “What does Aoi-chan think right now?”
I remained silent, puzzled. “What?”
“You’re always there by her side. But she wants to say something doesn’t she?”
“What?” I said again. This was remarkably familiar to the lyrics I’ve listened to earlier.
“What I’m saying is, if I were her,” She went on, speaking faster and more confident now. “I would want to say, become stronger. Without me, you can still be strong by yourself and fight on.”
The words of the song echoed through my head vaguely. “Even if you’re soaking wet, smile, because I’ll always be by your side…” “Be stronger, don’t give up…” “There’s no need to change your destination, I believe…” “You’ve had your heart set on it, haven’t you? You’ve stuck it out this far, haven’t you?”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything. Because she was right.
What I knew I was trying to do was to stay depressed, and pitiful. I was drowning in my own self-pity and sorrow. And I was pitying Aoi’s condition. But what would Aoi want me to do right now? The exact opposite. She always was strong. Stronger than me perhaps.
I decided not to cry for her anymore and look ahead. But my life had become aimless. My destination was something I forgot about a long time ago.
Where am I going?
[...] Next Chapter [...]