Epilogue – A Life That Was Enough

Spring came again. The cherry blossoms bloomed like pale pink clouds drifting over the little town. The unnamed café stood on its corner, sunlight spilling over its windows, laughter and warm smells drifting out onto the street.

Yui sat at one of the tables, her tiny legs swinging as she drew crayon flowers on paper. Aya wiped the counter while Haru arranged freshly baked bread in the display. It was just another morning—but for them, it was everything.

Once, they’d been girls who thought love was something the world could take away with a single word. Once, they’d been told they weren’t allowed to dream. But here, in this little place, they’d made a dream no one could break.

A regular customer, an old woman who came every Sunday, waved goodbye with a paper bag of pastries in hand. Haru locked the door after her, turning the sign to “Closed” for the afternoon. Yui ran to her, clutching her drawing.

> “Look! I drew us! Mama, Mamu, and me!”

Aya crouched down, taking the picture. The stick figures had big smiles and were holding hands under a bright yellow sun. She felt something tighten in her chest—not sadness, but the ache of knowing that this was happiness, and that they’d fought for it.

Later, the three of them walked by the river. The petals swirled in the water like slow-moving snow. Haru leaned her head against Aya’s shoulder.

> “Do you think we’ll always have this?” she asked quietly.

Aya’s fingers tightened around hers.

> “I don’t know what ‘always’ means. But I know we’ll keep choosing each other. Every day. That’s more than enough.”

Haru smiled, her eyes glistening. Yui laughed ahead of them, chasing petals, calling for them to hurry.

The future wasn’t certain, the world still had its shadows—but here, there was light. And that was all they needed.

As they reached the bridge, Aya looked at Haru and Yui, her family—not the one given to her, but the one she had built. She knew, without a doubt, that this was the ending she had wanted all along.

The river flowed on, the blossoms kept falling, and the three of them walked home together.