Bundle 33: The Last Days (Chapters 321-330)

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CHAPTER 321: THE FIRST MORNING

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The first morning of the last days started with a train.

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The same train. The same tracks. The same apartment. The same walk to school.

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But it wasn't the same.

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I woke up knowing something I hadn't known before. Not a fact. Not a secret. A feeling. The feeling that the story was almost over. The feeling that the chapters were running out. The feeling that every moment mattered more than it had before.

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I got up. I got dressed. I ate breakfast. I walked to school.

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Charlotte was at the gate. She was holding two coffees.

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"Thought you might need this," she said.

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I took one.

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We walked into school together.

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And for the first time, I realized that every walk to school was one fewer walk to school. Every lunch on the roof was one fewer lunch on the roof. Every conversation was one fewer conversation.

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I didn't want to waste any of them.

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CHAPTER 322: THE ROOFTOP COUNTDOWN

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At lunch, I counted.

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There were forty-seven days until graduation. Forty-seven lunches on the roof. Forty-seven chances to sit with the group. Forty-seven chances to be present.

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I looked at them. All of them. Hana. Yuki. Mei. Satoru. Charlotte. Sora. Ren was visiting for the day.

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They were talking. Laughing. Eating. Being alive.

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I listened to every word.

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I memorized every face.

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I didn't want to forget.

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"You're quiet," Hana said.

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"Just thinking," I said.

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"About what?"

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"About how many more times we'll sit here."

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She was quiet for a moment.

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"Then let's make them count," she said.

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She picked up her bento.

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She started eating.

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I did too.

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CHAPTER 323: HANA'S COOKING

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Hana cooked for us on Saturday.

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Not at her house. At the community center. She had booked the kitchen. She had planned the menu. She had invited everyone.

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We sat at a long table. Eight of us. Hana stood in the kitchen.

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She cooked for two hours. She didn't let anyone help. She didn't let anyone watch. She just cooked.

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When she was done, she brought out the food.

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Rice. Miso soup. Grilled fish. Tamagoyaki. Pickled vegetables. A small salad. A dessert.

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It was perfect.

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She sat down with us.

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She ate.

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And for the first time, she ate something she had made for herself.

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"It's good," she said.

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"It's the best thing I've ever eaten," Yuki said.

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Hana smiled.

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The real smile.

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And we ate.

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CHAPTER 324: YUKI'S FAREWELL

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Yuki told us on Monday.

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"I'm going to college in Hokkaido," she said.

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Everyone was quiet.

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"It's a sports psychology program. I applied months ago. I got in."

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She looked at us.

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"I'm going to study how to help people who are like me. People who compete because they're trying to prove something. People who feel like they're not enough."

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She paused.

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"I'm going to teach them that winning isn't the point."

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She looked at Sora.

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"I'll be far away. But I'll be back. On holidays. On weekends. Whenever I can."

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Sora took her hand.

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"We'll be here," she said.

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Yuki looked at all of us.

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"Thank you," she said.

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She didn't cry.

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She smiled.

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---

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CHAPTER 325: MEI'S JOURNAL

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Mei showed me her journal again.

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She had been writing every day. For six months. She had filled three notebooks.

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"I want you to read this," she said.

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She handed me the first one.

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I opened it.

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"Day 1. I cut again. I don't know why. I just did."

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"Day 15. I went to therapy. I told her the truth."

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"Day 30. I planted my first sunflower."

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"Day 60. I relapsed. I told the group. They didn't leave."

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"Day 90. I planted tomatoes. They're growing."

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"Day 120. I started writing. Not just in my journal. A story."

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"Day 180. I'm still here. And I'm still growing."

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I closed the notebook.

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"It's beautiful," I said.

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"It's honest," she said.

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She looked at me.

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"I'm going to be a gardener. And I'm going to write. And I'm going to take care of things. And that's enough."

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I looked at her.

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"That's more than enough," I said.

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She smiled.

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---

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CHAPTER 326: SATORU'S VISIT

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Satoru came back on Wednesday.

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He looked different. Not older. Not younger. Just different. Like someone who had been somewhere and come back.

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"I missed this," he said.

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We were on the roof. The group was there. He sat down next to me.

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"How's the program?" I asked.

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"It's hard," he said. "It's the hardest thing I've ever done. But it's also the best thing."

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He looked at the city.

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"I've been learning about people. About how they think. About how they feel. About how they hurt."

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He paused.

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"And I've been learning about myself. About my own patterns. About my own fears."

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He looked at me.

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"I'm not mapping anymore. I'm just... being."

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I didn't say anything.

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He smiled.

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"Thank you," he said.

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"For what?"

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"For showing up."

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CHAPTER 327: REN'S EXHIBITION

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Ren invited us to his exhibition.

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It was at the art school. A student exhibition. He had three pieces in it.

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We all went. Hana. Yuki. Mei. Satoru. Charlotte. Sora. Me.

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The pieces were beautiful.

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The first was a painting of the roof. The water tank. The sky. Us.

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The second was a painting of a door. An ordinary door. In an ordinary wall. With light coming from underneath.

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The third was a painting of a hand. Reaching out. Not touching anything. Just reaching.

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"What's the third one?" Hana asked.

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"It's the hand I wish I had taken," Ren said. "The one I didn't take. The one I was too afraid to take."

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He looked at the painting.

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"I painted it so I could remember. So I could remember what it felt like to be afraid. So I could remember what it felt like to finally reach out."

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He looked at us.

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"You're the hands I finally took," he said.

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CHAPTER 328: THE PROMISE

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We made a promise on Friday.

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Not a new one. The same one. The one we had made before.

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We were at the park. The five of us. Six of us. Seven now, counting Sora.

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And someone said: "We should make a promise."

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And someone else said: "We already did."

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And someone said: "Then let's make it again."

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And we all agreed.

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We promised to stay in touch. To meet up. To not forget each other.

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We didn't write it down. We didn't sign anything. We didn't make a big deal of it.

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We just promised.

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And that was enough.

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Because promises don't have to be dramatic to be real. They just have to be meant.

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And we meant it.

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---

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CHAPTER 329: THE LAST DAY

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The last day of school was on a Friday.

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It was spring. The cherry blossoms were falling. The air was warm. The world was bright.

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We walked to school together. All of us. One last time.

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We sat in our classroom. One last time.

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We ate lunch on the roof. One last time.

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We didn't talk about anything important. We talked about the past. About the first time we met. About the first time we ate lunch together. About the first time we realized we were friends.

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We laughed. We cried. We sat there and watched the sun go down.

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And when it was finally over, we stood up.

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We didn't say goodbye.

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We just said: "See you later."

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Because we would.

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We would see each other later.

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CHAPTER 330: THE FAINT LIGHT

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I opened my notebook when I got home.

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The twenty-nine sentences. The ones that started with the thing about being invisible is—

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And the ones about being seen. The ones about healing. The ones about growth. The ones about the future. The ones about promises. The ones about showing up. The ones about choices. The ones about leaving. The ones about returning. The ones about last days.

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I looked at them all.

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Then I picked up my pen.

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And I wrote a new sentence.

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"The thing about last days is—they're not the end. They're just the next beginning."

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I closed the notebook.

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I put it on the desk.

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And I looked at it for a long time.

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Tomorrow was Saturday.

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The day after that was Sunday.

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The story was continuing.

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And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't just ready for it.

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I was excited for it. 8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4n85JA8So

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