𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍. ʜᴀɴᴀꜱʜɪʀᴏ

2 8 : ここにいる私に -

To Me, Who Will Stay Here —

—

"All this time, I've been waiting for it," Nene began as her breath hitched, quivering. "But I don't feel like wanting to go now," she clenches her teeth as more tears fell; it hurt him the way he heard her voice cracking again. "Can I just stay here forever with you?"

In all honesty, the boy was tempted to say yes whole-heartedly; but he stopped himself before he could even say it — he didn't want to be selfish. His lips trembled. "No."

She looked at him with wide eyes, unbelieving about the words that just fell out from his own mouth. Nene felt hopeless as she continued to look at him with a crestfallen face. She opened her mouth to say something, but it just stayed like that for a few minutes, until a word finally made it out from her lips — it was almost a squeak, "What?"

"I said, no." He repeated firmly. "You can't stay with me here forever, Nene."

She looked down, trying to stop more tears from falling — but of course, she never succeeded as they fell like waterfalls. "But why not? Do you hate me?" She sobbed and held onto him tighter. "I love you, Hanako-kun."

Me too.

Hanako stayed there, his mouth agape and eyes wide. He felt like crying too.

"No, it's not that I hate you," he shook his head violently and held her shoulders, looking at her in the eye. "It's because I want you to live on."

Nene furrowed her eyebrows, as if also stitching them together, "But. . . it's not like I can reach my dream, even if I were to go back. Auntie hates me."

"But what if it was your aunt who actually prayed for you?"

She looked at him and fell silent for a few seconds before sniffing and wiping her tears away. "But I'm sure I can never write again; it was the sole reason why I even got into this place," she swallowed a large lump in her throat. "But I'm happy because I met you."

"And I'm really, really happy, too," Hanako smiled as he held her hand. "But you have to go back, Nene. You have to fulfill your dream. Isn't that what you wanted from the start?"

"But what if you've also become a part of my dream?" Nene countered, her voice, raising a little bit because of her confusion and sense of righteousness. "You are that one dream I can never let go."

And as she said that, he felt completely the same.

Hanako wanted to cry. But he held back and silently held her soft and small hands in his, holding them affectionately. "Listen," he began, his voice warm and gentle as his hands. "Dreams need sacrifices, okay?" He looked back at her again. "You are not the Nene I knew; the Nene I met was cheerful, a weirdo, and a crybaby — but most of all, she was someone who wanted to reach her dream of writing a novel the most.

She is so soft and pure, and she deserves the whole universe, it always made me intimidated. She made me feel things, and she was my dream, too.

I love her the most, that it made me so afraid because I suddenly began thinking of us, being alive under the heat of the sun, when all I ever wanted from before was to stay here in this cold place. She made me want to also live again — she was a lovely dreamer."

Her lips trembled as she sniffed, "I want to also live with you in the real world."

"Then, when you go back, you can just pray for me."

Nene's mouth was agape for a long time at what he said; her tears momentarily stopped as they fell silent after that, until they fell again, one by one, like petals, as her lips finally curled into the most beautiful thing he has ever seen — yeah, even more than the universe. Nene just won from the whole universe.

Her face turned red as she soon burried her face into her hands, "Tell me, Hanako-kun, why am I so stupid. . .?"

Hanako finally felt a sense of relief in him as he grinned whole-heartedly, "No, you aren't. Ugh, you're so lovely, can I pinch you?"

"Definitely not," she giggled as she let him wipe her tears. "Hanako-kun."

He hummed as a reply.

"Will you wait for me?"

Hanako stared at her and suddenly pinched her cheek, which took her by surprise. She pried his hand away and held the throbbing part of her cheek with furrowed eyebrows. "So? That's not an answer."

"You did not need to ask about that, you know," he smiled. "I will always wait for you, no matter what."

She looked down and fiddled with her fingers, fidgeting, "Even if you were to see a really pretty setting, you won't be tempted to go out, right?"

Hanako snorted, "Do you think I'm such a low person who will trade his life just for some setting? Heck, a place with you is much more fine; you should know better than that."

"Oh, I do kind of think that you're such a slimy pervert, though," he glared at her which made her laugh and smack him lightly. "I'm kidding, jeez!"

And then, the both of them fell silent again as they only stared at each other with smiles on their faces.

"Nene Yashiro, are you willing to accept the ringing of the bell as a sign of good future when you come back?" Hanako straightens himself as he puffs out his chest while talking as if he was a priest who was about to announce matrimony. "If it is an ultimate 'yes', then please, do accept it with all your heart and—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Nene interrupted him as she placed her hands over his mouth, making him sound muffled at the end. "I forgot something!"

"What would that be, though?" He cocked an eyebrow at her, and then grinned maliciously. "Oh, so you want me to kiss you—"

"What's you real name, Hanako-kun?" Nene beamed at him. He felt guilty for a moment there as he sighed heavily. "I need to know."

"Gee, do you really want to know it that bad?" He crossed his arms, grimacing. "It's not that special, you know."

"It is! So that when I pray for you, I'll get the real you," she mimicked him, crossing her arms. "I don't want to meet a girl named 'Hanako'. I want you."

He felt his cheeks burning as he rolled his eyes. Does she even realize that if she keeps on talking like that, he'll want to kiss her? "Okay, fine. Since you're a writer, I'm sure you have a pen in your pocket, right?"

"Yep," she said, hesitantly fishing the thing out from one of her pockets and putting it gingerly on his hand. "Why, though?"

Hanako reached for her hand and opened her palm, writing on it gently. It made her smile again. "I'll write it here. Don't look until you wake up, alright?"

"Meh," she stuck out her tounge. "You can't tell me what to do."

Hanako rolled his eyes again. "Okay, let's do this," he cleared his throat. "Do you, Nene Yashiro, take the ringing of the bell, as a sign of a greater future? If so, then please close your eyes and accept it whole-heartedly."

"Yes," Nene closed her eyes and giggled. She reached for his hands and held them tightly. "I accept it with all my heart and soul."

Hanako couldn't help but look at her with those gentle eyes and hug her tight. He felt her surprise, as she soon melted in it.

It felt as if time stopped as he shut his eyes close.

Unbeknownst to the dark-haired boy, while she gingerly put her chin on his shoulder, she looked and raised her hand open — she giggled quietly as she caught a glimpse of what he wrote.

"I'll wait."

And then, she disappeared.