Thank you

Sachi, Himari, and Itsuki just took a moment between the three of them to breathe and enjoy the fruits of their effort.

Then Sachi blinked.

She was no longer looking at the sky with Himari and Itsuki.

She was alone. 

A faint bell rung.

A chill began to form.

A thin fog floated about.

She turned around to see a familiar sight.

The white messenger deer from before was standing before her yet again.

"Why have you called me again?"

The deer turned its head to the left.

To the left was the same large lake from last time. Sachi approached the lake

But it was different. It was no longer frozen over with thick ice. 

It was still frozen but not completely. Some ice had thawed.

As Sachi looked past the surface, she saw her memories.

The memories of being bullied by peers. By being yelled at by parents. By being abandoned by her older sister. But the sight of her painful past didn't strike Sachi's heart the way it used to. Her heart still ached for what she went through, but she didn't feel the need to punish herself for it. She had been through so much, why must she punish herself on top of it? 

Sachi turned back to the deer who turned its head to the right.

To the right was the same large lake from before. Sachi carefully approached it.

This lake was also different. The thick ice from before was cracked all over, making it unrecognizable, almost as if it were a different lake entirely. 

Sachi tried to look past the surface of the lake. But the ice of the lake shattered completely. Echoing a cracking sound, she was all too familiar with.

There was no more ice now. Fresh water filled the once frozen lake.

Sachi tried again to look within the water, but there were no images or scenes to play before her. It was empty. 

She turned to the deer. "Why is this one empty now?"

The deer did not respond.

"Is it because I'm dead in my world? That lake represents my past, but this one represents the future I no longer have because I died...?"

The deer lowered its head, its nose touching the ground.

The ground opened beneath Sachi. 

Sachi fell. That same sickening feeling taking over her stomach.

When she looked down, there was no body of water this time. Dread filled Sachi's heart. She prepared for an impact that never came.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back with Himari and Itsuki as if nothing happened.

Itsuki sighed. "Well, we should get back to work, it'll be dark soon."

Himari nodded. "Sachi, will you help me treat the injured?"

Sachi snapped back to her surroundings. "Of course."

"Don't you want to help me repair the buildings?" Itsuki whined.

Sachi chuckled. "I don't think I would be much help there."

The three girls went to help the rest of the people.

-

Night snuck up of them before they realized. Soon only the moon and the stars provided light.

The girls walked back to the tavern, but before they reached the village, Sachi's breath got caught in her lungs.

Sachi stopped in her tracks. The light around her suddenly dimmed and then brightened too much. Her stomach turned, her chest ached, and a strange pressure pulsed in her head.

Then. Pain.

Deep and unexplainable.

Sachi stumbled forward, but she caught herself.

"Sachi?" Concern lacing Himari's voice.

Sachi's mouth opened, but no words came out. Her body felt numb and way too heavy. Her insides prickled with cold, but her heart raced like she'd run a mile. Her knees buckled beneath her.

"Sachi!" Himari was at her side in seconds to catch her.

Itsuki dropped to her knees beside them. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Sachi gasped clutching her chest. "I don't know... I'm not injured. But I feel so weak..."

Then, a soft white light began to glow from within her chest. Faint at first as it shimmered around her body as if she was becoming light itself.

Sachi looked at her glowing body. Her outline began to fade like mist in the morning sun.

Itsuki stared wide eyed. "She's disappearing..."

"No..." Himari whispered, grabbing Sachi's hand. "Whatever this is we'll fix it..."

The glow was no longer faint. It pulsed from within her, warm and soft like the moonlight.

Sachi's breath steadied. A deep, unshakable certainty bloomed in her chest.

She was leaving.

She didn't understand how she knew - only that she did. She knew she wasn't from this world, but she didn't think she would have to leave it.

There wasn't pain anymore, but rather a gentle calling.

"No..." Sachi whispered as her voice broke. "I don't want to go..."

A wave of sadness so heavy she thought she'd break under the weight of it. She didn't want this. Not now. not after everything. Not after she had finally her place, a family, a reason.

"You're not going anywhere." Himari's voice cracked with desperation. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure this out."

"Don't worry Sachi, we're here. You're not alone. Whatever this is, we'll face it together." Itsuki encouraged.

Sachi looked at both of them, their faces blurred through her tears. She tried to memorize them, every line, every scar, every flicker of light in their eyes. 

Sachi shook her head, her lips trembling. "There's nothing to figure out... I can feel it. I'm leaving this world..."

"What? What are you talking about?" Itsuki asked.

Sachi gathered her courage and smiled bittersweetly. "I never told you, but I'm dead in my world... And I think this world is trying to send me to where I belong. I'm an otherworlder after all..."

"But if it's trying to send you back and you're dead in your world...?" Itsuki's voice wavered.

Himari's tears fell. "No... No, you're not dying Sachi... That can't be it..." 

"I'm scared..." Sachi whispered as her voice cracked. "I don't know what's going to happen or where I'm going. I just know... This is the last time I'll see you..."

The white light concentrated now. A single sphere of white light began to form, pulsing gently like a heartbeat.

Himari shook her head, tears streaming. "No. No, we're not done yet. You're not done yet. There's still so much left of us. Still so much for you."

Itsuki swallowed her tears, watching Sachi's body glow stronger and become one with the sphere of light. There was nothing she could do to stop it. All she could do was helplessly watch her friend fade away. "Sachi... Thank you for coming to this world... You saved this world, and you saved both Himari and I in ways you probably don't even realize. More than anything I want you to know how grateful we are and how much we care for you."

Himari's breath became heavy, her voice low. "Don't talk to her like she's leaving... She's not leaving..."

Itsuki's dewy eyes stared into Himari's teary ones. Her voice gentle but strong. "Himari." 

That was all Himari needed to face the reality. This was it. This was the last time she would see Sachi. No amount of denial or running away would change it.

"Sachi..." Himari started but her voice broke. She bit her lip and blinked the tears away, forcing a smile. "I hope you know how much we care for you and how important you are to us. Even if this is the last time we see each other, you will still forever hold a special place in our hearts. You've been such a great friend. Ever since I met you, every day was filled with wonder and adventure. I was never bored with you. I couldn't have asked for a better friend... Thank you for coming into our lives. I wish we had more time..."

Sachi's lips trembled into a small smile. "I learned so much from the both of you... You gave me a reason to keep going after I gave up. You gave me a life worth living when I thought I didn't deserve one. I don't know what I did to deserve such amazing friends, but I'm so glad I met you both. Thank you. Thank you for everything..."

Sachi's voice was soft, but it carried - the way the last note lingers after a song has ended.

Sachi let out a shaky breath as her form gave way completely, collapsing inward until there was nothing left but a small, trembling orb of white light where her soul had been.

Sachi's last tear slid down, catching the glow of the light before it fell to the ground.

It was the last thing her friends saw before the orb of light shot up into the sky. Forever disappearing.