Himegi-san a Bride from the Future Begs Me to Confess My Love to Her Again - Volume 2 Chapter 3.7

The Story Created by Me and the Princess 7

Then the images start flowing on the TV screen.

I never thought the day would come when we’d sit shoulder-to-shoulder to watch a movie again.

On the screen, the characters we once saw are moving around joyfully.

Characters that never age. They live a life where they can always go back in time and return to the same scene.

I found myself envying them just a little.

For a moment, I considered how nice it would be to stay in a closed world forever just like them.

I couldn’t concentrate on the movie’s plot.

Because I have something much more important than watching a movie.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing…”

Nee-san’s hand has gotten so thin.

Nee-san’s shoulders have shrunk so much.

Nee-san’s face never used to look so frail. Even her hair too…

She used to have beautifully black hair that I was envious of… but now…

Still, the sparkle in her eyes as she focuses on the screen has never changed.

Ah, my favorite smile.

That smile has always saved me.

She and I were opposites as sisters.

I wanted to be like you, Natsumi-neesan. I wanted to be a cheerful girl like you.

I wanted to become someone who could make others smile, someone who could easily smile herself.

I wanted to be the sun like you, illuminating others and making them happy.

You told me about the beauty of dreams and taught me hatred.

You taught me to love and fear.

You gave me bonds and birthed an unending pain.

You bestowed blessings and left me sins.

You left me with a gentle smile—and in the end, you returned to the earth.

Just like that, two hours passed by, and the end credits were rolling on the TV screen.

“Hmm, this sequel is mediocre. Yeah, the first part was definitely more interesting.”

“Hehehe… You should lie and say it was wonderful, at least.”

“Sorry-sorry~. I aimed to be a creator, so I’m the type who won’t compromise when it comes to works of art.”

“I see. That’s just like you, Natsumi-neesan…”

“Thank you. Still, I’m glad I got to watch this movie. Yeah, I truly am…”

“…I’m glad too that I got to watch it with Nee-san in the end.”

“Touka, what’s the world like six years from now?”

“…It’s a wonderful world. It’s a really wonderful world. I wish I could show it to Nee-san.”

Yes, the world six years from now is a world where everyone is smiling.

A world where everyone is happy.

“I see…”

…Ah, I wish I could take her with me.

If I could take her just as she is—how happy would that make me?

Surely, it would be even happier and more beautiful than now.

“I also want to see it… but unfortunately, I can’t go there.”

“Yeah. Sorry…I’m sorry… I can’t take Natsumi-neesan with me.”

“Don’t cry, Touka. Onee-chan doesn’t like to see you cry…”

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

Gently, I am embraced, and I know these thin arms well.

When I was suffering, when I was crying, the one who always hugged me was—this sister.

“Really, even though you’ve become older than me… you’re still such a crybaby and spoiled.”

“Ah, uuuu… Nee-san! Don’t die, please don’t die!”

“I’m sorry, Touka. I’m really sorry… I wanted to live longer with you, but I can’t…”

“Uuu… I have something I need to apologize to Nee-san for.”

“What is it? I’ll forgive anything now…”

“…I was scared and couldn’t go. I was so afraid, so terrified to see Nee-san turned into bones, that I ran away from the funeral!”

I didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t admit it.

Because Nee-san could only live for twenty years.

She had a dream of becoming a picture book author.

She even had someone she loved.

She could hardly attend college.

She must have had so many things I wanted to do…

The world took all of that from us, without our permission.

I thought this injustice should not be allowed.

I hated that it was discrimination. I cursed that it was unfair.

That’s why I didn’t attend my sister’s funeral for some absurd reason.

But I was wrong. I convinced myself with silly logic and ran from reality.

I was utterly foolish. Hopelessly foolish.

By the time I realized, it was all too late. I was in a place from which there was no return.

“I see-I see, you’ve been suffering all this time… Onē-chan won’t hate or resent you just because you didn’t attend the funeral.”

“Ah, uuu… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“If you’re going to regret it, you should have just gone. Really, you’ve even made Onē-chan cry.”

“…I’m sorry. Nee-san, I’m sorry.”

My sister gently stroked my head, and I felt nostalgia in that gesture.

It was a warmth that I thought I could no longer feel on my skin.

***

“Here, wipe your nose.”

“Sniff… I’m sorry.”

“How many times are you going to apologize…”

Just as there’s no rain that doesn’t stop, humans can’t keep crying forever.

It’s sad, but it seems like a few hours is the limit for a human to keep crying.

“…It’s the longest ever. At least as far as I know.”

Natsumi-neesan looks at the clock with an amazed face.

It appears that I’d been crying for nearly two hours.

“On the day Natsumi-neesan died, I cried for five hours…”

“I-is that so? I’m starting to feel bad for dying…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Ah! No more self-pity from here on out! Instead, Touka-chan, could you grab the puzzle on the table?”

“Got it.”

I pick up the jigsaw puzzle and hand it to Nee-san.

“Touka, this puzzle is missing a piece, you see.”

“…Yeah.”

“Do you think this puzzle has no value, Touka?”

“…I don’t know.”

“I think it has value. After all, life is like this puzzle. If you’re alive, you’re bound to lose something. Once you lose it, you usually end up with an incomplete puzzle, just like this one. But this puzzle, my comrade-in-arms in this hospital worked hard to make it for me. I think there’s value in that.”

” ….. “

“Your life is the same as this puzzle, Touka. Even if you lose a piece like me, you have to earnestly and honestly keep looking forward. I want you all to do your best.”

Saying that, Nee-san holds out her pinky finger.

“Come on, pinky promise.”

I entwined my pinky with my sister’s.

“Pinky promise!”

“If you lie…”

“I’ll curse Touka’s husband!”

“Eh?”

“Pinky promise!”

“Wait, wait, stop it!”

“No! Next time I appear before you, I’ll become an evil spirit and curse Hakuba-kun!”

“…As expected, Nee-san…I hate it…”

“Hehehe… Come on, Cinderella, you have to go to him before the midnight magic wears off.”

That’s right. I haven’t really thanked the present him.

“Then… Goodbye, Natsumi-neesan.”

“Touka, we won’t meet again, but…”

Nee-san lightly taps my chest with a frail gesture.

“——I’ll always be here, in your heart, even if I’m dead.”

“…okay.”

And then, we exchange smiles.

It’s hard to say goodbye, but my time with Nee-san ends here.

I get up from the sofa and change from my wedding dress into the casual clothes inside my bag.

“Touka.”

“What?”

“Congratulations on your marriage. You looked the most beautiful I’ve ever seen you in that wedding dress.”

My sister smiles warmly again, and I smile back.

That smile was precisely the sun I had loved.

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t fight too much, okay? After all, you’re stubborn, Touka.”

“I’ll take care of it…”

“Bye-bye, Touka.”

…Goodbye, Nee-san.

I’m glad I was born your sister.

And so, I turn my back on my sister.

Knowing that it’s a farewell for eternity…