Final Chapter — The End of the Adventure: Now I Can Rest in Peace

It was the end; everything seemed to be over. The Demon Queen and her entire army were dead. At last we had completed our mission in this world. Cleer and I lay on the ground before dying, side by side, in intense pain but with smiles on our faces. Ranma, Teto, Lilit, Akane, Mizuki, Rem and the others came close to say goodbye to the two of us.

“I can’t believe you did all this for the kingdom. What will your parents in this world say? How will we explain that you sacrificed yourselves to save this world?” Rem said, crying hard as she realized we were about to die; the others were crying too.

Snow began to fall — like the world itself offering a farewell for the path we had walked, as if it were our time to go. I could see the angel I’d seen years ago watching us with a face that said it was time to depart.

“I can’t believe this is the end… well, I suppose there’s nothing more we can do. In the end it’s your decision. We don’t hate you for taking it; we know you did it for the good of the kingdom. You have been the best friends we could have…” Mizuki said, crying as though she could not accept that we would no longer be with them.

“To be honest I feel this can’t be the end; we could have spent much more time together, but it won’t be possible now. Thank you both for being honest. I don’t know what I’ll do without you,” Akane tried to say, fighting tears.

“I thought we’d be friends until we were old, but it won’t be possible. Those were almost four of the best years of my life with you two. I don’t know why I can’t cry or let go — it doesn’t feel real — but deep down I know it’s true and I can’t change it. I wish this didn’t have to end like this, but life is like that: sometimes you have to accept it, though I wish it were kinder.” Rem said, trying to stop crying.

Ranma and her friends tried to hold themselves together, but then Ranma spoke words that filled our hearts with love.

“I see this is farewell. I hope that when you go to paradise you can rest in peace. I think your loved ones from your other life will be reunited with you and will understand your sacrifice. I am sure they will continue loving you as they did the people who left that world. Honestly, such things are hard to accept; we often don’t appreciate the few happy moments with the people we love. My heart tells me we should value what we have better. Even when times are bad or frustrating, we must treasure our moments of happiness. I don’t know why I can’t stop crying. Knowing your past, I still cannot see you as anything but what you became here. These snowflakes feel like the tears of your loved ones in your previous world, calling you back home to have dinner with them every night. Truly—you were the best friends a girl could have.”

Her words were exactly what we needed to hear, like my family speaking to me.

I could feel that we would soon leave this world; the angel signaled that only one minute remained.

Cleer spoke with pain:

“To tell the truth, I feel this is something I won’t live through again. At first I was afraid — my life ended when I left it behind. I had so many things to do in my previous life, and now I know I won’t accomplish them. Still, at least I can rest in peace with Franco. We valued you like more than friends; more like daughters. After all, we were much older than you mentally and spiritually. I hope that when you die we can meet again in the beyond.”

Cleer began coughing and spitting blood; I knew it was time to say goodbye.

With tears streaming down my face, I could only say, calmly though it was hard to explain:

“Truly, I feel I did a good job with you. I feel like, instead of friends, I was a second father to you. If I could stay alive, I would care for you as daughters, even though I am not your real father. Those years of joy were many, and I would not change them or wish them away. The past is the past — it doesn’t have to define us. Only a weak person would be defined by their past. It’s been a pleasure to have done this mission with you. Tell Tatsuki to find someone his own age; well, Cleer, it’s time to go.”

“I know, Franco. I think this is goodbye,” Cleer answered.

Then I lost consciousness. Cleer and I were again in the same garden where it all began. The Goddess appeared and said:

“I see your mission was a complete success, but now it is time to rest. Follow me; your loved ones are here waiting for you. They are waiting to hear everything you went through.”

And so we followed Goddess Aqua into our eternal rest. I suppose this would be the end of this story.