The Unregretful Friends Outing

It was unusually cold today — even though summer is just right around the corner.
As we reached the bridge, we saw a girl standing there, eyes focused on the river water.
"Is she the supernatural we're supposed to meet?" I asked Haruki-kun.
"Yup! Disappointed it’s not a spooky and scary ghost?" Haruki-kun said teasingly.
"I sure am," I mumbled to myself.Sure, I was hoping for more of a cool, spooky, and eerie creature. But saying that out loud feels a bit embarrassing for some reason.
"Hehe, don't get too disappointed, Hikari-san. You’ll surely like what we’re gonna do!"
As he said that, he walked past us to the girl standing by the river. We followed him.
"Hello! Are you Yui-san?"Akira-kun asked the girl to confirm if she was the one we were supposed to meet.
The girl looked toward us.She is… really pretty! It’s hard to believe she’s not a human. But again, her pale and see-through skin makes it clear she really is a ghost.
"Ah—yeah. I'm Yui. Are you Haruki-kun and Akira-kun? I was told that you people can help me."
"Yeah. I'm Akira and he is Haruki. Oh, and this person is Hikari-san. She's also going to help us."
"I'm really glad! You people came to help me. Really, thank you very much!"
"It's okay. Then start by telling us your trouble. We'll be sure to do our best to help!"Haruki-kun joined the conversation too.
"As you can see, I'm one of the dead, and I can't pass on. I'm stuck here. Can you help me pass on peacefully?"
It’s really common in ghost stories — the ghost can’t pass on, and the main characters help them find their way to the afterlife. And I sure do like those stories.But seeing it in real life… I don’t know if it’s that cool?
"Do you know why you’re stuck here? Like, some kind of lingering regrets?"Haruki-kun speaks as if he has experience doing this job.
"I'm not sure… but I might know the reason…"
"You can share whatever comes to mind,"Akira-kun said gently, trying to ease her nerves.
"Sure. You see, from childhood, I had a weak body. So naturally, I missed out on all the fun things a child could do."
Everyone kept listening without saying anything. She got a bit nervous seeing everyone so serious, but she continued anyway.
"Maybe it was when I was 10 that I was getting a bit better, and the doctors allowed me to attend school like everyone else."
She peeked at us to see if we were still listening.A chill ran through my veins again.Today is rather chilly.I looked at the others — no one seemed to be bothered by the cold.Yui-san started again.
"It was fun at the beginning. I had made a few friends. I tried my best to keep up with them, but I always felt like I was being left out. There were a lot of things everyone knew that I didn’t. Also, because of my health issues, I wasn’t fully allowed to hang out with others much. Bit by bit, I started getting anxious and ended up losing my social skills."
She looked at the flowing water in the river. She seemed taken aback by her own story.
"And not long after, even before I could graduate from middle school, I died in an car accident."
Everyone stayed silent and listened until the end.Haruki-kun broke the silence and asked,"Then your lingering regret must be something like enjoying youth, right?"
"I'm not sure… but maybe this is what it must be. But if it’s really something like that, it can’t be helped anymore, right? After all, I’m dead and all…"
"You can still do something! You can still enjoy your youth! Even if it's just for a little while!"
I spoke up without realizing it.For some reason, I could understand her feelings.It somehow reminded me of myself — even though my story is not exactly like hers.
"Huh? What are you saying? There’s no way I could do anything — after all, I'm already dead."
"Being dead doesn’t end anything here! If you’ve got another chance, you should take it! If you're afraid that you can't have friends 'cause you're dead — we'll hang out with you! After all, that’s why we’re here!"
"Hikari…"
"Amazing, Hikari-san~ It’s a magnificent idea!"Haruki-kun stepped in, clapping his hands."We’ll happily hang out with you if that’s what you want, Yui-san! Right, Akira?"
"Yeah. We can have a lot of fun together, and then you’ll be able to pass on peacefully."
"Thank you… thank you very much. I really can't thank you all enough for this."Yui-san looks really greatful. It's not like we did much. We just offered to hang out and still it made her this happy.

"There shouldn’t be any thanking between friends. Let’s go and do whatever fun things you wanna do today. Even if it’s just for a little while, we’ll still have fun to the fullest."

It feels great to be able to help someone who has the same trouble as you.It’s as if you’re helping yourself in the sidelines.
I should make it the most fun friends outing.