Where He Weeps

Ren trembled. His small hands clutched at his sides. His lips parted, but no sound came.

His eyes were wide open with something beyond shock. A hollow, distant look. Denial.

“…Aoi…”

It was barely a whisper, yet the weight of that single word crushed the space around them.

He collapsed, his frail body wracked with silent, heaving sobs. No more words – just the desperate gasps of a child struggling to understand and accept the irreversible.

Asahi was by his side.

He placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders, steadying him and holding him close. “Ren…” His voice was calm with a hint of a rare, fragile gentleness and softness. He knew that words wouldn’t be enough. Nothing could bring Aoi back. Nothing could erase the horror Ren had seen.

Haruto, who was standing a step away, hesitated before lowering himself down as well. For a moment, he simply watched – watching Ren grieve and Asahi trying to comfort him.

Then, remembering Aoi’s final words, he reached forward and placed a hand on Ren’s head, ruffling his hair gently. “She wanted you to be safe.” His voice was quiet, almost inaudible. “She wanted you to live.”

Ren sobbed harder.

The night dragged on like that. Ren wept until exhaustion claimed him. Asahi carefully lifted him and laid him down on their makeshift bedding. Even in sleep, his face was still wet with tears.

They couldn’t do anything more for him. Not yet.

But the least they could do – was give him something to hold onto.

The next morning, when Ren woke up, the air was still cold. He barely had the strength to push himself up.

Then, Asahi called out to him. “Ren, come with us.”

Ren followed them outside. The early morning sunlight barely reached the ground, casting long shadows across the ruined cityscape.

In the midst of it, he saw a small makeshift grave.

A simple mound of stones, carefully arranged, with two flowers already placed atop it. There was nothing buried beneath – no body to mourn, no remains to hold onto. But still, it stood, as a memoir. A place for her to rest.

Asahi and Haruto turned to him, holding out another flower.

Ren’s fingers barely had the strength to take it. He stared down at it, unblinking. His throat felt tight.

Haruto knelt beside him. “We can’t bring her back,” he said. “But what we can do… is keep moving forward.”

Ren said nothing.

Asahi crouched down beside him; his tone gentler. “It’s okay If you can’t let go yet,” he said. “You don’t have to. Not now. Not ever, if you don’t want to. It’s okay if you don’t understand why. But this…” He gestured to the grave. “This is for her. So that she can rest in peace.”

The flower suddenly crumpled in Ren’s grasp.

Haruto knelt beside him and reached into his pocket, pulling out something small – Aoi’s necklace. The chain was slightly broken and the pendant was smeared with dried blood, but it was still intact. He held it out to Ren.

“You should be the one to keep this,” Haruto said quietly.

Ren’s fingers trembled as he took it.

Haruto, sensing the moment was too much, stood up and lightly tugged on Asahi’s sleeve. “Let’s give him some time.”

Asahi glanced at Ren, but nodded.

Without another word, they stepped back and made their way back to their hideout, leaving Ren alone with his sister.

Ren stood there, unmoving.

His mind was a storm – a haze of broken images, jumbled memories, and the horrifying last sight of her.

He wanted to cry, but his body had already run out of tears.

He kneeled, staring at the mound of stones in silence.

The wind was silent. His stomach was empty. His chest felt hollow.

Ultimately, he reached a breaking point. He couldn’t hold it anymore. But he was powerless. He couldn’t do anything. How was he supposed to accept this? How was he supposed to let go?

The world around him felt wrong and unfair. Aoi was gone. And yet, time refused to stop for him.

His legs trembled as he stood.

Then, he reached out and placed the flower gently atop the others.

And he turned back towards Asahi and Haruto.

They had already started packing by the time Ren returned.

When they saw him, standing in the doorway with a pale face, they exchanged a glance.

Asahi walked up to him and ruffled his hair. “You hungry?”

Ren hesitated before nodding.

They handed him a protein bar, and the three of them sat down for a quiet breakfast.

Ren still hadn’t recovered. The weight of Aoi’s death still pressed down on him, heavy and suffocating. He hadn’t let go. He didn’t know if he ever could.

But Asahi and Haruto explained to him, that there was still a world out there – a world beyond pain, beyond loss. A world worth seeing.

And if he wanted to truly say goodbye to Aoi, if he wanted to avenge her –

He had to go out there and see it for himself.

They packed the last of their supplies.

The ruined city stretched before them, endless and uncertain.

And with slow and steady steps –

Ren followed them, the only people he could trust and rely on, into the unknown.