Ch 18. The letter to Tomorrow

The moment they found him was exactly as one could imagine. Some cried, some tried not to, but they all felt the pain of having someone dear go away.

Yet, two reactions were maybe different from what he would have thought.

Andra ran to him the second she saw he was on the ground. In her heart, she already knew he was going to do something nobody would wish him to do. She ran next to him and sat there, holding the cold body of her hard-headed brother.

Andra: "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?"

Mori: "Andra...

Andra: "Oh wow... You won. Isn't that great? ISN'T THAT FUCKING GREAT? Then why? Why don't you say anything? Why do you just lay here? WHY DON'T YOU REAP WHAT YOU'VE WORKED SO HARD FOR?

Tears were falling on the cheeks of her brother, mixing with the ash on his face. All she could do was wipe them while talking to him. Almost as if the one crying was him, not her.

Andra: "Of course, we know why. Because you gave up. You did what you wanted and got scared. Scared that even this may not be enough for you. So you went and did it, now you don't have to be sad, or happy, or feel anything. That's great, isn't it? Leaving us all behind. You think this is what Mom and Dad wanted? How are you going to fix this one, huh? OH, MY BROTHER WHO ACTS LIKE HE KNOWS IT ALL! TELL ME! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COME BACK TO US NOW?"

Mori: "ANDRA!"

She hugged her sister-in-law, lending her a shoulder she could cry on.

The other unexpected reaction came from Mori. She didn't cry nearly as much as expected. It was almost as if she knew what he was going to do.

Mori: "This is what you wanted, right? Congratulations, you did it, Akira."

She hugged her husband. This was the first and probably last time she could call him by his new name.

In the end, Mori has always been like this. She had always been there for him in whatever he chose, and she was not going to change that now.

The two brothers didn't say anything to their chief, they went up to him and turned their faces to the resistance army.

Kellan: "All of you! Stand and thank the leader!"

Resistance: "THANK YOU, CHIEF!"

Kellan: "Listen here! From today, you are free! I don't know what future awaits you, and it is not my problem anymore. Go! Create your own damn life! Live the tomorrow that our leader gave you!"

Those were their goodbyes. At least, this is what was shown to the public. How they took his passing in private is none of our business.

...

They each built a life for themselves, always having this hero, now called Akira, in their heart, but not speaking about him. He was already a legend, they just didn't want to take any of his fame for themselves.

Until months later, when Andra, on her trip around the world, received a letter from Mori.

"Hello, Andra!

How is the trip going? I hope you are having fun!

I finally heard from Kellan and Ossas. It is pretty hard to get in contact with people now that The Hub collapsed. I guess life is much simpler now. A lot of people say that everything has returned to normal, but I have never lived the normal before the disaster, so I don't know how to feel. Haha

Either way, I wanted to let you know what is going on with our old little group.

The brothers couldn't give up the army life. They are now in the inner area, cleaning the parasites left behind by that thing. They said that the area is actually really creepy, but they feel way better than they ever felt during the war. They are happy that they can clean up what was left behind. I guess this is a form of revenge for them.

The day you left felt pretty weird. I know you said you wouldn't tell anybody, but I was still surprised to see one day you were gone. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to find out where you are to send this letter? Next time, at least leave a note or something.

And yes, I said next time. That means I expect you to come visit your nephew.

We are doing pretty well. We moved back to the hut in his forest. Your father comes to visit us from time to time. Despite his age, he is still doing great.

As for me personally. I still miss him. I think of him every day. But that's ok. I am sure he was also worried about us when he died, so I will show him that we are able to live on our own. His grave is here, in the forest. Akira said he doesn't believe in spirits, but if they somehow happen to exist, his will for sure be here.

I am sure he was happy in those last moments, so I stopped crying after I got here. If he really is around, that would change his mood for the worse.

Oh, I almost forgot. I mentioned my son, right? He is finally here. He is surprisingly quiet, except when he is hungry. Reminds me a lot of Akira.

We couldn't decide together on a name, so I had to come up with one on my own.

It was hard to decide, but you know how he hated his last name because it reminded him of a past he failed to protect? I thought that I should wish for this kid to have the happy life he had while carrying that old name.

I had almost never called Akira by his old name, and I am happy I didn't. Now I can call our son that name without regrets.

Me and Tiberiu are waiting for your reply. Safe travels."

...

Andra: "Tiberiu... hah. Where did that come from?"

Andra found that name funny. It reminded her of her brother, but...

Andra: "That has never been your name... Idiot."

As it can be seen, Andra also kept that sisterly hard hove for her brother. She didn't ever tell Mori the truth, but she made sure to do as asked, she visited the forest where her brother kept taking her as a kid.

And there, in that forest, you can find a stone grave. There is nobody buried there, but on the stone, there is a beautifully sculpted name that was picked on an important day and two initials below that supposedly represented an old name forgotten to time.

On the same stone, there is also another letter sculpted in a sloppy manner. Nobody questioned why it was there, but somehow everyone understood that it was not a mistake.

AKIRA

T(V)S

THANK YOU!