The stunned expression on Ranko and Sousuke-san was priceless.

It wasn’t any day that your daughter came back home with a pair of cool silver arms and covered in dog urine. 

Both of them cowered and looked more afraid than thrilled of her return.

While Yuzuki showered, I had tea with them in the living room. The decorations didn’t seem to age and were exactly the same as they had always been. On the other hand, the human inhabitants had clearly aged. Their faces had more wrinkles and had lost their edges. When I met them last year at the hospital, they looked way younger than they were right now.

Perhaps Yuziki’s impending death did a score on them. On top of the aging, they looked weary.

The couple’s eyebrows dropped sorrowfully.

“Yuzuki said she didn’t want to meet you—”

And then I told them what happened until now. They listened silently.

“Yakumo-kunnn, help me!”

I went to help her put on clothes.

“Whoa, Mom has gotten fat,” she remarked as she fit Ranko-san’s clothes on her. 

I put her in her wheelchair and pushed her into the living room. I parked her across the table and pulled a chair to her side.

“I’ll marry this man, that’s all. Well then, farewell”

Before she could scoot herself away, I stopped her. “Wait! Don’t you have more things to say.”

She sighed. “I—” She avoided their gazes. “Haven’t forgiven you two.”

Ranko and Sousuke san hung their heads, as though they were defendants in court.

From then on, it was a trial. She went on elaborating at lengths of their crimes. “Mother, just because you ended up being a second-rate pianist, you tried to make me a first-rate pianist instead, forcing me to practice and even abuse me, physically and mentally. Do you think forcing your ego and inferiority complex on others achieves anything? Do you think sacrificing me for your own dream is worth it? You almost made me hate piano, and I certainly hate you. It creeps me out that half of my genetics are from you. If I could, I’d love to erase out everything I got from you.”

She turned to her father. She held up her hands to cover her crying.

“Dad—just because you didn’t make it big with piano too doesn’t mean you’ve got no say in this matter. Aren’t you my father? Why won’t you try to protect me? Do you know what I remember most about you? Your footsteps when you pretend to not see what was happening and walk away! Oh, you give me pocket money, so it’s fine, right? I hate it! Don’t you dare put a price on my suffering just for the sake of self-gratifying! You’re a coward. I’m ashamed that another half of me came from you.”

Sousuke-san wept. Ranko-san bit her lip and turned pale.

I was forced to admit again how much she had suffered.

I also saw how different we were. She hated what made her her, while for me, I was made of nothing. My half was a shadow, another turned into salt. Emptiness brings me pain. Her existence was of suffering, mine was of desolation.

“You were supposed to be my family,” she cried, “You’re my mom and dad, how could you…!”

Tears dripped from Agertram’s fingers onto the table.

At that moment, Ranko-san’s expressionless face she had been desperately trying to hold on suddenly shattered.

“I’m sorry!” she wailed, her nose dripping “I’m so, so sorry…”

In the end, ranko-san made the largest puddle on the table.

 　　　５

All preparations for the wedding proceeded at a rapid pace.

The bridal company took sympathy for Yuzuki’s illness and went out of their way to help us. Within three weeks, they promised. We sent out invitations to all our classmates up to middle school.

On August 25, we had our wedding.

She entered to the music of Chopin’s Nocturne No. 2

It was Sosuke-san who pushed her wheelchair. Yuzuki, dressed in a brilliant white wedding dress, was so beautiful that words cannot describe her. The makeup was perfect, with a tiara and veil on her head, earrings in her ears, and a shiny pearl necklace around her neck. Her agertram was polished and shining proudly. The wheelchairs were also dressed up with white ribbons interlacing meticulously.

We sang a chant, read from the Bible, prayed, and said their wedding vows.

Then, the exchange of rings. The smaller ring was mine and the larger one was Yuzuki’s. I took the silver arm and put on the gold ring. The agertram was no longer just a machine, but an interchangeable part of her.

I lifted the veil and kissed her.

Then it was the banquet. One after another, our old friends showed up.

“Yacchan, Yuzuki, congratulations!”

I almost cried when I saw him. “Thank you, Shimizu!”

His suit looked a little awkward on him, but his face was just as I remembered. His head appeared comparatively small on top of his increased girth. He cutely reminded me of the toy “Blackbeard’s Crisis.”

From behind his huge body, the tiny Kobayashi Koyomi appeared.

“ Yuzuki, congratulations on your wedding!”

“Thank you,” Yuzuki said, holding out her hands.

Kobayashi was in awe.

“Wah! It’s moving so smoothly! It’s beautiful～!”

Yuzuki wiggled her fingers. “Right? It can shoot lasers too, you know?”

“What, really?!”

It couldn’t.

Then Aida appeared out of nowhere. Over the years, he had shed out of his flirty attitude and grew into a refreshing man with short hair.

As soon as he saw Yuzuki though, he reverted to his blue snot-nosed boy face, grasped my hand tight, and wept, “Congratulations!”

So he still carried on that little crush until this day… I sympathized with him a little, until I remembered that he already had a girlfriend.

 “Yuzuki～!Congratulations on your marriage!”

A girl group surrounded her. I was a little nervous at the sight of them; they were the same ones that bullied her in grade school. But it seemed my fears were unfounded. Yuzuki and the girls seemed to really enjoy catching up.

Before the wedding was over, she had somehow befriended them.

She was sparkling.

A huge wedding cake arrived.

As we cut the cake, it occurred to me.

Isn’t this what she had called “narrativing”?

To reconcile with old friends and rivals, having a happy wedding. Isn’t this a scene straight out of some TV drama?

Ultimately, when death was almost at her door, hadn’t she been narrativizing her life at an incredible pace? Early foreshadows were collected and spun together, waiting for the approaching finale.

Was she aware of this?

No, she probably was. She was intentionally doing this.

Why would she—?

That was the furthest my thoughts could go. The lively revelry took my mind away.

Suddenly, my eyes met my father’s. He was still there, like a shadow, tucked away at the edge of the ceremony hall. Perhaps that was simply how he was, always looking over me from afar.

At that moment, I might have finally felt some love for him.

 　　　６

That night, we sat side by side on the couch at home and drank cocoa together. I was still feeling a little light-headed from the alcohol from the reception.

“I don’t feel like we need a honeymoon.” She leaned against me. “Can that Warsaw trip count instead?”

“Yeah, I feel the same. Did we do things in the wrong order?” I chuckled.

“What the order is doesn’t matter to me.” She smiled. “Hey, are we really married? Yakumo-kun, what should I call you from now on then?”

“Hmm, I’ve neer thought about it.”

“Is that so, d-a-r-l-i-n-g∼”

I grinned like a fool. “I like the sound of it.”

“That’s embarrassing”

We laughed.

We talked a little more.

“I think it’s time for bed.”

We went to the bathroom and brushed our teeth. I helped her get ready for bed and pushed her wheelchair to her bedroom. I took her in my arms and laid her down.

“Alright, good night.” I pulled the covers over her.

“Wait.” She grabbed my wrist and pouted. “You’re going to just leave…really?”

“I mean, why?”

“‘Why?’ Isn’t this our wedding night?”

Her face was red. I thought about it for a bit, and then it occurred, “Ah,” and then my cheeks got hot, too.

We slept in the same bed.

Her white body was as fragile as it was beautiful. It terrified me to think that one day, she would turn into salt crystals.

In the middle of the night, I had a terrible dream and woke up to her crying. She turned her back to me and cried bitterly.

“Yuzuki, what’s wrong?” Her shoulders jumped when I spoke, but she still continued to cry.

“I remembered…that day…” 

I held her hip and pulled her close comfortingly. In return, she pulled me close white the cold AGATERAM and hugged me tight.

“Why weren’t you there…?”

“There?”

“Third grade, when we were going to run away from home together.”

Ah…

All at once, the memory exploded in sparks. I got afraid. I stood her up back then. 

I could feel her heart throbbing sorrowfully.

Why did I do so? I couldn’t remember any specifics, only a vague memory of feeling uneasy. I got swayed.

“Tell me, tell me why you didn’t come? I packed everything, that Anpanman and a million and five thousand yen. I waited… I waited until night. It was dark. It snowed. It was cold, so cold. So alone, so afraid… Until dawn came, I waited…”

She was trembling. It pained me to think that she was trembling like this too, back then. I was crushed by guilt.

“Sorry…” That was all I could say.

“I really wanted… for you to come. Some part of me died on that day… I still see that day in nightmares. Then I always feel so lonely, so lonely, so scared, so scared. I’ll wake up, and cry, cry until… Do you know how I feel?”

I hugged her.

If possible, I’d have jumped in time to be there for her back then.