[Aika Crisis] Day 20: And So, I Shall Undo the Day I Met My Ex-Girlfriend

"How...how did this happen?" Izanami pondered.

Izanami checked Aika's pulse both on her neck and wrists. She had to be certain that she was dead.

"No pulse. Your soul has already left this world. I know where I need to go."

Izanami left the body where she found it. When her corpse was discovered, she would most likely be examined by a coroner to determine the cause of death. It wouldn't help the authorities if they find sea water in her lungs, but discover the body far away from the shore. Besides, there was much to be done. 

As the goddess of death, Izanami had a responsibility to see to it that Aika's soul was taken care of until it was properly judged. She opened a vortex to a special place in the underworld; The House of Souls. It was a beautiful place despite its desolate, almost desert-like surroundings.

The house looked small from the outside, but once Izanami entered, seemed as massive as a castle. There was just one, long hallway that never seemed to end, and each side of the hallway was lined with rows of sliding doors. Those doors led to rooms where the souls of the recently deceased were kept. 

Aika's door was easy to find. Radiant, stained glass windows covered every inch of the interior of Aika’s room, the patterns depicting some of the last moments of Aika's life. In the center of the room was a small, indoor pool.

 Aika floated atop the water, her eyes shut and the tiara of flowers still around her head. About a dozen multi-colored, lotus flower lanterns floated on top of the water with her. Looking at the stained glass, Izanami was able to determine what happened. It was clear as day.

"You found a cat in the bowling alley...then you saw Osamu...you left to return the cat...the owners thanked you...you didn't come home...you sat on the beach...and you walked into the water and drowned yourself. You killed yourself. You really took your own life..."

Izanami clasped her hands, opening a small, pitch-black vortex. Out of it came a pale figure shrouded in the shadow of his black cloak, bowing to Izanami.

"You summoned me, Izanami-no-Mikoto?" he humbly asked.

"As a shinigami, you've peered into the minds of all who have died. I'm curious about this one." Izanami replied, her tone much more rigid and commanding than usual.

The shinigami looked around him to confirm where he was. "Ah, yes. Aika Mihara, aged twenty, died committing suicide. What is it you would like to know?"

"I would like to know her reason for choosing to die. Why would she do this? She had friends in the world of the living. People loved her..."

The shinigami stood up from his bow. “You should see for yourself.”

"Very well. Show me."

While Izanami was in an entirely different dimension, Osamu couldn't sleep that night. He sat up in bed for a while, Isabella still sleeping beside him.

(Has Aika still not come home? I didn't see Izanami either. Maybe she went out to get Aika.)
Osamu slipped out of the house to get some fresh air, taking a walk around the neighborhood.
(Double suicide...maybe if she'd asked me before I left this city, I would've actually agreed.)

He thought of Aika's smiling face as he walked, which ran in stark contrast to her bold request. Now that he really thought about it with unyielding attention, he realized how much Aika was telegraphing her emotions. All he could do was kick himself for not being considerate enough to realize that fact. Aika was as delicate as always, not the impenetrable fortress he had mistakenly perceived her as. People are usually far weaker than they let on.

As if fate was trying to tell him something, his long walk landed him right by the bridge where he found Aika playing guitar in a far away August, lost across a sea of years.

(This bridge again...I ended up here without even realizing it.)

It was here that Izanami appeared in front of Osamu, nearly scaring him to death. She came out breathing heavily, too heavily to talk right away.

"Damn it, Izanami! Warn somebody before you just open a vortex in front of them! It's horrible manners to just—”

"Listen!" Izanami interrupted.

(That yell was serious...she doesn't look like she's in a light-hearted mood...)

"Are you okay? Is something going on?" he asked with frightened concern.

"I'm going to tell you a lot right now, but I need you to stay calm. There is good news and bad news to all of this."

"All of what?" Osamu questioned.

"Osamu..."

Izanami looked Osamu in the eyes, knowing he deserved at least that much respect. "Aika is dead."

There was silence between them. At first, he wanted to laugh it off and commend Izanami for her ability to scare people, but the look painful look in her eye told Osamu that this was no joke.

"You...but Aika was...she was just fine a few...that can't be right! Izanami, please tell me you're just joking! Pulling a fast one on old Osamu, right?"

"I'm sorry Osa."

"Don't look at me like that! Tell me you're just joking!” he begged.

"Osa..."

"She can't be dead! I don't..." he whimpered.

"I'm sorry, Osamu."

“How? How did she die? She was smiling just a few hours ago!” Osamu said.

"She drowned herself at the beach. I found her washed up on the shore.”

"Then bring her back! You're the goddess of death, aren't you? If she's dead, then bring her back!”

Osamu cried with a burning rage in his heart. The anger wasn’t directed at Izanami, but at himself. He could almost feel Aika's blood warming over his cold hands.

"That...that's something we can actually do." whispered Izanami.

"What? How? If we can bring her back that why aren't we doing it?” Osamu asked.

"That's part of the bad news. We can bring her back, but Aika won't be the same. In order to explain this to you, you need to see it for yourself. You're coming with me to where her soul is being kept. Prepare yourself."

(Is she taking me to the world of the dead?)

Izanami extended her hand, silently inviting Osamu to take hold of it. As soon as he did, the two vanished from the city, from the world itself, and arrived in Aika’s room within the House of Souls. He was overwhelmed by his surroundings at first, as well as the fact that he wasn’t even on Earth anymore. The stained glass caught his attention until his eyes turned to the center of the room, where Aika and the lotus flower lanterns were floating on the water.

"Aika!" he called out, hoping she would hear him.

Osamu rushed to the side of the pool, trying to reach out to her. His hand passed right through her body, no matter how hard he tried to grab her.

"It's useless." Izanami put bluntly. "You can't touch her while she's in those waters. What you're seeing here is her soul. It will be stuck in a mode of stasis until she can be properly judged and sent to where she needs to be. Normally, souls are either reincarnated or sent into a void of nonexistence."

"What's going to happen to her? You said we can bring her back, right?” Osamu impatiently inquired.

"I've spoken with the shinigami about this.” Izanami said. “We don't usually bring people back to the world of the living, but for Aika, they're making this an exception. Her body is still in good condition since her death was recent, and she's a young soul that has not lived out her life yet. Under these circumstances, they were merciful enough to allow her another chance. This is a very rare occurrence.”

The rough voice of the loyal Shinigami interjected, "Indeed."

The cloaked shinigami appeared in front of Osamu, nearly scaring him to death. He backed up against the stained glass and caught his breath, wondering when the cloaked being had even entered the room.

"Who are you?” he hollered in fright.

"This is one of the shinigami." Izanami said.

The shinigami had come to offer his own explanation. "As Izanami-no-Mikoto said, we don't usually do this. It is a very rare case and the procedure differs from person to person, depending on how they died. For suicide victims, the body must still be in good condition, first and foremost. We can't return a soul to a rotten vessel. The procedure itself includes going back through the person's memories and altering them to erase a certain incident."

"What kind of incident?" Osamu asked.

The shinigami readily clarified the matter. “When bringing back those who took their own lives, we must trace the origin of their suffering and erase it from their memories. Otherwise, they'd be doomed to repeat their attempt, and they would just end up back here. In such an event, both the shinigami and Izanami-no-Mikoto herself would've all failed in their duties to protect and judge the dead."

"So, we just need to do that? We do that, and Aika will return?" Osamu asked.

The shinigami almost felt sorry for the mortal before him. There was a growing optimism within Osamu that the shinigami knew shouldn't be there. "Mortal, you make it sound so simple. Don’t mistake this girl’s revival as a happy ending for either of you. In the end, neither of you will get what you truly wanted. You especially will have to shoulder most of the ensuing misery.”

"Enough." Izanami interrupted. "I will be the one to show him. Please perform the mudra and mantra. Osamu, take my hand. When he's done, we're going to jump in the pool."

Overwhelmed, Osamu backed away. ”What? But…”

"Just follow my instructions! It was irresponsible of me to even take you here for this, but this is something you need to see.” Izanami hissed.

Osamu reluctantly took Izanami's hand as the shinigami chanted under his breath, turning the waters of respite that Aika's body floated on into a portal in of itself.

“Now.” Izanami said.

Izanami and Osamu jumped into the pool where Aika lied. Though Osamu expected them to pass through Aika's body and simply end up soaked in the body of water, he opened his eyes and found that he and Izanami were just a few blocks away from the bridge they had just left.

"What is this? We're right back in the neighborhood? Why are we back here?” Osamu asked.

"It is true that this is the same place, but it is not the same time. We are in Aika's memory, her root of suffering. The root of it all is apparently this specific night." Izanami explained.

"What happened on this night? Just how far back did we go?"

Osamu’s ears immediately caught the sound of a hasty set of footsteps blazing down the sidewalk of the quiet neighborhood. He turned his head to his left, spotting Aika rushing down the street. Moths fluttered beneath the dainty street lamps hanging overhead, the light stretching out Aika’s shadow as she marched beneath them. 

She was almost unchanged from her present self, except this Aika was younger. Fifteen years of age, to be exact. Her leather jacket shielded her from the cold while her long, brown hair bounced with her every step.

Osamu followed Aika down the street, deathly curious to see where she was going on this fateful night. He stopped for a moment as Aika passed through the small, wooden gate of a local church. Continuing on, he followed in Aika’s footsteps as she marched through the church’s cloister, spears of moonlight piercing through the spaces in between the stone columns. 

Beyond the columns, he surveyed the church’s courtyard, which was split into four squares by two, intersecting stone paths. Aika stopped just shy of the door to the church sanctuary, the symphony of holy hymns bleeding through the walls. 

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the doors open, her ears now drowning in the song of dozens of worshipers. The high ceilings and wide open space of the sanctuary allowed the harmonious voices of the choir and worshipers to reverberate and echo around the room, amplifying the hymn.

The hands of the worshipers were raised skywards, as if they were all reaching for God himself. They stood in the aisles of pews, all of them facing the golden cross hung high on apse. The apse housed the church altar dedicated to Jesus Christ, where the priest stood before a bowing woman, her hands raised in supplication. Flowers and melting candles adorned the altar. Osamu looked around at the men and women shutting their eyes as they worshiped their lord.

“And we must never forget, that our lord always has a plan.” sang the priest. “Kiyomi, the lord has a plan for you. You don’t need to fear or fret. He has already taken care of everything.”

The congregation hollered in agreement, some of them cheering and whistling.

“Hold true to your faith, Kiyomi. Hold true to your love for the lord. Hold true to your prayers and don the armor of faith. No illness on this earth can triumph over your devotion to God.”

Aika’s voice shattered the hymn. “Mom!”

Silence befell the sanctuary as the fifteen year old Aika drew the gaze of everyone in the room. Kiyomi arose from her pleading bow, her long, brown hair stretching over the breast of her cream, knit sweater.

“Aika? Why are you here so late?” Kiyomi asked, her soft voice more reminiscent of a child than a woman in her thirties.

“Mom, we’re going home. Enough of this” Aika said. “This isn’t going to make you better.”

“Aika!” Kiyomi recoiled.

The priest stepped forth. “Aika, we’ve talked about this. The best way to help your mother is to strengthen your faith alongside her. Faith has healed many of the people standing with us today.”

The crowd hollered again, much to Aika’s anger. “My mother has had more faith than anyone in this room could ever muster in their lives. And yet, she hasn’t gotten any better. She needs to go to a hospital. She needs to take proper medicine. She needs to see a doctor before she dies waiting for something that isn’t going to happen!”

“That’s all right, Aika.” Kiyomi said.

“What…what did you just say, Mom?”

The priest descended the steps of the altar, slowly walking towards Aika. “Faith is not about saving lives, Aika. It’s about saving souls. Kiyomi is already prepared to find her true healing in the hereafter. She’s prepared for whatever lies in wait, as ordained by the sovereign will of God. I know that this is hard on you. You’re so young, and you’ve already had to go through so much.”

Aika slowly stepped back, her eyes darting across the faces of the worshipers.

“The sovereign will of God?” Aika repeated. “What about the will of your own child, Mom? What about your own? Do you want to die? Are you really okay with that?”

Kiyomi’s eyes glistened with tears. “Aika…it’s not that simple, my love.”

“It is.” Aika whispered, her enraged voice hushed by her flow of tears. “I don’t want you to go. It’s just that simple.”

Aika rushed out of the sanctuary door, covering her tear-soaked face with the sleeve of her leather jacket. Kiyomi stood there with her eyes wide open and her heart shattered into pieces. The priest laid an assuring hand on Kiyomi’s shoulder, but it did nothing to console the pain bubbling in her chest.

Osamu and Izanami watched it all unfold in stunned silence.

(Kiyomi…tried faith healing? These people convinced her to abstain from getting actual, medical help. Whatever chance she had of beating her illness was crushed. Izanami said that Aika had stopped going to church after her mother died. I thought it was just because she was grieving. It’s worse than that. It was because the church had taken Kiyomi away from Aika long before she actually died. In the eyes of everyone here, faith healing didn’t even have to save her life to be considered successful.)

Osamu and Izanami followed after Aika, only to realize they had already lost her. She ran as soon as she was out of view. Osamu could only surmise that she could stomach the dissonance of the holy hymns no longer. Walking again through the taciturn streets of the neighborhood, Osamu and Izanami stopped beneath the fading light of a street lamp.

“I didn’t know…” Osamu muttered, shivering. “How could they have thought that was right thing to do? How could they convince a mother to gamble her life away like that? Aika was the one that had the most to lose.”

“It’s no wonder why she stopped going to church. They were willing to orphan her to justify their doctrine. But…it’s not all their fault.” Izanami said.

“What do you mean? Of course it’s their fault.” Osamu replied.

“Osa, Kiyomi chose to partake in faith healing. She chose to refuse medical help when it could’ve saved her life. As we just saw, she did this with the full knowledge that she would most likely die.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Izanami bowed her head, already regretting the words she was about to say. “Kiyomi’s death was considered a suicide by the shinigami. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she had the resources to go get treatment, if she so pleased. In the human world, people have the right to refuse medical treatment, even if that treatment would’ve saved their lives.”

“Does that still apply to diseases that are largely curable? Does a parent have the right to refuse treatment for themselves if their deaths will orphan their child?” Osamu asked.

“In the Underworld, Kiyomi’s case was an informed decision to refuse medical help in spite of her knowing that her condition was curable, and her death would impact Aika. To us, it was suicide. Aika saw it the same way.”

(In Aika’s mind, her mother chose to leave her behind. Now I see. I understand why she was so angry when I visited Kiyomi’s grave.)

Osamu’s clenched his fist until his nails dug into his palm. “I’m a hypocrite. Aika wasn’t just angry at me for visiting Kiyomi’s grave years after she actually died. She was angry with me because I also…tried to commit suicide.”

“Osa, please don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“No, it’s the truth, Izanami. I was the second most important person in her life. It remained that way even after we stopped seeing each other. And yet, I made the same choice Kiyomi made. How cruel can you get? The only difference is that Kiyomi succeeded in abandoning everyone around her. I just failed and ran away.”

“Do you…regret your failure?” Izanami asked.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that!” Osamu assured. “I’ll always be grateful for what you did for me. I just wish I had thought about anyone other than myself back then.”

“Osa, I know we just learned a lot about Kiyomi, but I have a feeling that’s not really Aika’s origin of suffering here.”

“Huh? That’s not it? What makes you think that?”

“Kiyomi’s death was traumatic, sure. She was still grieving when you returned. However, it wasn’t until after you returned that any of this happened. Aika went four years during your absence, during a time where she would the most saddened, without attempting suicide.”

Osamu stood there stunned as he too came to the same realization. “But…why?”

Suddenly, a young boy, about thirteen years old, walked right by Osamu. He instantly recognized the boy from his backpack and shoulder-length hair, his heart quickening upon realizing the boy's identity.

"Is that…me?" Osamu asked.

"Yes. You recognize this night, don't you? The clear moon, the autumn air, even the very clothes you wore.” Izanami said.

(She's right! This was the night I met Aika.)

It seemed the more Osamu learned, the less he truly knew. "Izanami! Why is this night the root of Aika's suffering? Didn't she love me?”

It was with a heavy heart that Izanami laid the truth on Osamu, knowing it would live with him for the rest of his life. “Sometimes, it’s best to have never loved at all than to have loved and lost. The love you two shared is dead, Osamu.”

(When I returned, Aika struggled to sort through four years of pent up emotions. She was angry with me, but the more time we spent together, the more she felt we could rekindle what was lost. I felt the same way, but we had different ideas of what that actually entailed. To Aika, that meant dying together. To me, that meant living together. It was a hopeless love, where our affection was mutual, but our wills were diametrically opposed to one another. I abandoned her a second time in choosing to live when she wanted us to die.)

“So that’s why Yoko was so adamant I stay out of it.” Osamu said. “That’s why she had a change of heart and let Aika stay here. Aika and I never could’ve come to a healthy reconciliation until after she found a reason to live. Her love was so deep that I was beyond a reason to live. I was a reason to die.”

Izanami bowed her head and shut her eyes. Osamu had finally figured it out for himself.

"In order to prevent her from doing anything that could put her back in this kind of despair, we have to undo her love for me..." Osamu muttered, finally understanding the cost of saving Aika's life.

(I see now. Aika, you lost so much that you didn't believe there was anything left worth living for. But you loved me so much that you thought I was worthy dying for. Me, pathetic little Osamu Ashikaga. What a joke.)

"Do you understand what you have to do?” Izanami asked, looking Osamu dead in his eyes.

Osamu nodded and took a deep breath. “I'll be back, Izanami. It won't take long."

As Little Osamu walked the streets alone, Osamu caught up with him through the alleyways. Perhaps it wasn't the best way to tail a child, but it wasn't like the police were a threat in Aika's memories.

(I remember needing to take this route to get home. He's going to pass by the bridge soon and hear Aika's guitar. Which means...)

Osamu walked out of the alleyway, cutting off Little Osamu's path. The two looked at each other for a moment, both of them startled and bereft of words.

“Hello..." the younger Osamu nervously greeted.

"Hey. You by yourself?" Osamu asked.

With his arms crossed in a guarded position, the younger one asked, "You're not a pervy kiddie diddler are you?"

(Of course he thinks I'm pedophile, coming out the alleyway like that!) 

"No!" Osamu shouted in his own defense. I'm assuming you live in the residential area just up from the bridge, right? That route has been cordoned off so that maintenance can be done on the bridge. You won't be able to cross there, unless you want to track fresh cement into your house and upset your mother."

"Really? So I have to go around? Man...that's the fastest route too." the younger one bemoaned.

"Yeah, bummed me out as well. I live in that area too and I use the same route when I go out for late night snacks."

"Oh, really? Well, if you aren't a creepy kiddie diddler, we could walk home together.” proposed the younger one.

"Are you worried about being nabbed by a pedophile? The crime rate here is too low to be worried about that. Lighten up, man." Osamu assured.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well? Shall we?"

Osamu and Little Osamu walked home the long way, turning away from the bridge where Aika was playing guitar that night. Osamu's heart ached greater with every step that was taken, pulling them farther from the faint echo of Aika's guitar. Still, he did not look back.

“Hey." the younger one called out.

"Hmm?"

"You've got long hair like me. Well, yours is way longer…" the younger said, his last few words sinking in a disgusted inflection.

"Yep! I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this style." Osamu replied.

"Me too. My friends say I look like a girl at school though. One of them stole one of the girls' uniforms and stuck it in my locker and left a note saying I'd look cute in the dress."

Osamu had to contain his laughter as the memory of that event resurfaced. "Seriously? What a dumb prank!" Osamu chuckled.

"You're laughing at this, aren't you? Whatever. Dick.” The younger one scoffed.

"Don't let the opinions of others bring you down. You're gonna look back at all of this and laugh someday. I promise you." Osamu assured.

"Yeah? When will that be?" the younger asked.

"It'll take some time. Until then, just laugh it all off. It's important to keep a clean heart and mind, you know?"

“Hmm. That’s actually some good advice, for a stranger.”

(Strangers…)

Finally, they were far away from the bridge Little Osamu would’ve met Aika under. Moths flew around the bulbs of the light posts and crickets chirped all around the benighted neighborhood. Realizing this was his stop, Little Osamu said his farewells.

"My house is just around this turn here. I can make it there by myself. I don't want my mom freaking out because I walked home with a stranger."

"Yeah, you're right. My house is close too." Osamu said, saddened his walk with himself was already over.

Little Osamu bowed. "Thank you for walking with me. I probably would've gotten lost without you. I'm very grateful."

"Of course, it's no big deal. You get home safely, all right?"

"I will!” the younger one cheered. "Goodbye!"

Osamu waved as his younger self walked the rest of the way alone. As soon as he turned the corner, Osamu broke down and let out all of the heartbreak that was nesting inside of him during that walk. 

He knew exactly what would result from all of this, how much it would change Aika, and how the other girls might react. The words of the shinigami continued to ring true in his head. Although they had found a solution, no one would truly walk away with everything they wanted.

(At least with this, Aika will still live...)

Izanami appeared and sat down on the sidewalk with him as he cried. "It's done. Aika will have another chance at life." she said with a gentle, empathetic tone.

Osamu wiped his tears away with his wrist. “Aika...she's not going to remember me, is she? The shinigami said that the root of suffering needs to be erased."

Izanami nodded. “Yes. Aika will have no recollection of you, me, Yoko, or Isabella. But because she's no longer tied to you, she can have a fresh start. She'll have a much greater chance of finding happiness if she only remembers one half of her trauma.”

"The others are going to find out about this. I'm going to be in deep shit. But I guess that's the price I have to pay. For now...I'd just like to go back and rest.” Osamu said with tired breath.

"We can go back now. You did a good job, Osa. Hold onto my arm."

The silent streets and dainty lamp posts all began to fade away like dust being swept up by the wind. Aika’s memories had been successfully altered so that she never met Osamu. When everything had been reduced to nothing, Osamu and Izanami reawakened in Aika’s pool of water. Izanami climbed out first, extending a hand to help Osamu climb out as well. The skin between Osamu’s eyebrows scrunched up, his lips drooping in an agonized frown.

The shinigami stood to the side with his head bowed and skeletal hands clasped together. “I told you there would be a price. Such is the way of the supernatural world.”

Osamu reached out to caress the sleeping Aika’s cheek, but forgot that he could not physically touch her here. His fingers went right through her intangible body as if she were a phantom. That one moment encapsulated this entire experience for Osamu, from the night of his return to Kyoto to this very moment. He had been reaching out for something that was no longer there. For all of the love he had for Aika, none of it mattered in the end. None of it mattered because he acted far too late.

Osamu clenched his fist. “All of my possessions for a moment of time…”

He stood and wiped the tears from his eyes before they could roll down his cheeks. Izanami inched herself closer to him with slow, cautious steps, as though she were approaching a hornet’s nest.

“When she awakes, Osamu, she won’t remember any of us. It’ll be as though she never met you, me, Izzy, or Yoko. At the same time, it’ll be a fresh slate for her. You saved her, Osa.”

Osamu shook his head. “I didn’t save her. I doomed her because I was careless, because I wasn’t attentive. I took her for granted all of this time, and now we’re here. The pain will last forever. This can never happen again. I’d rather die alongside you all than live and watch another one of you go out like this.”

The shinigami interjected. “As long as you involve yourself in the world of the supernatural, you will always suffer, boy.”

“I did not give you permission to speak.” Izanami growled.

“Forgive my arrogance, Izanami-no-Mikoto, but the boy at least deserves to be warned. You know it just as well as I do.”

“Izanami is dear to me.” Osamu said. “I won’t ever leave her. None of this is her fault, anyway. The blame is mine and mine alone. I want Aika to live a full and joyful life. If that means she has to do that without any memory of me or the girls, I’m all right with that. It’s the closest I can possibly get to laying down my life for her.”

“Very well, then.” The Shinigami sighed. “If you’re so sure you can live with the consequences, you can make that decision for yourself.”

Izanami took Osamu hand into her own, flashing her usual, cheerful smile at him. “It’s not just a fresh start for Aika. You’ll learn to be at peace with this outcome as well.”

“I don’t know about that, Izanami. How can you be so sure?” Osamu asked.

“I have faith in you. I have faith that Aika will be able to live the life she always wanted to live, free from the baggage of the past.”

Recalling a memory from the night of his return, Osamu smiled. “Yoko told me that both characters in the word for ‘faith’ have the ‘human’ radical in them. I’m still not quite sure why she pointed that out. Did she have a point, or was she just trying nail a pointless detail in my head?”

“Maybe she was just trying to tell you that faith has nothing to do with gods or higher powers. It has everything to do with your resolve as a human.” Izanami said.

“Well then…I suppose that I have faith that you’re right, Izanami.” Osamu sighed, feeling just a bit better.

“Ready to go? We’ll get to see where Aika ends up after all of this.” Izanami said.

Osamu nodded, stealing one final glance at Aika. It would be the last time he would see her as he knew her. His heart shuddered inside of chest just from the sight of her. In a way, it all felt poetic. He had left behind the people who loved him without a word to anyone. 

In return, he would have to say goodbye to someone he loved with no parting words between them, no final celebration of the times and memories Aika was about to forget forever. And so, with a bittersweet lump in his throat, Osamu left the world of the dead with Izanami, and went back to the world of the living.

(After that, Izanami and I went to the beach to see if Aika's body was still there. It appeared her body was discovered while we were gone, and she was taken to the hospital. Izanami didn't feel her life fade when she returned, so we were able to assume that she was recovering. Over the next few days at the house, Yoko and Isabella kept wondering where Aika was.)

(I knew I'd be found out, but I kept a lie going for the course of those few days, just long enough for her to be discharged from the hospital and returned home. Aika was able to live with her cousins until she could afford to get her own place. The next time I saw her was after she had been discharged and began living with her cousins. It was down there...by the beach we used to go to.)

Osamu stood with his arms resting on top of the stone wall along the edge of the sidewalk, just shy of the beach ahead. He was simply watching the people, birds, and the sparkle of the waves kissing the shore.

(I'm not going to be able to keep the lie going for much longer. When they find out about what I did, they'll probably get mad at me in their initial reaction. They might even blame themselves. I'll need to be very careful.)

The wind really picked up, prompting Osamu to cover his eyes to avoid any stray grains of sand irritating him. A crochet Spring hat landed by Osamu's foot, blown towards him by the wind. He picked it up and heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Hey!" the voice rang. How could he ever forget who that sweet voice belonged to? It was Aika, her tone brighter than the sun sitting above the ocean.

It was like he had fallen for her all over again. Aika wore a bright, teal dress, sandals, and a golden ice cream cone necklace. She had cut her hair short, about shoulder length. It remained thick and elegantly wavy, like a lion's mane. She looked beautifully different, like a flower that finally bloomed. Her cousin and some of her friends followed behind her with towels, a beach ball, and various other items.

"I'm sorry!” she proclaimed with closed eyes and a sunlit smile. "May I have my hat back?"

"Oh, yeah. Here.” Osamu mumbled.

Aika took her hat and held it tightly against her head. "Thank you! Sorry about that!"

"No, it's all right.” Osamu replied with a smile.

And just like that, Aika and the others passed right by him, as that moment was now just a normal, daily interaction between strangers. Still, he watched her as she walked on, smiling and laughing with her new set of friends. That was enough for him.

Osamu embarked on a solemn walk home, a melancholic smile on his face.

(Aika really doesn't remember me. I'd just be lying if I said I wasn't sad. But still... I want her to go farther in life than she thought she ever could've gone. Love Song, make us proud.)


End of You and I

End of Day 20