EPILOGUE - Curtains, Closing

Accompanied with cicadas' loud singing noises, I made my way towards Yukibana no Kottouhinya—The Snowflake Antique Shop. Some people had also started calling us as Omoideya, something along the lines of being a "Memory Shop". We were quite the center of attention, despite no names or faces being shown on the news—the locals had noticed the events taking place, and well, everyone in the school knew me as "that one famous glasses boy" now. The attention was a bit weird at times, after all, weren't these the same people that completely ignored my existence before…? Oh well, now that my destiny had taken on this turn, all I could do was to accept it as it was.

It was not half bad, actually—as Rena would put it.

I finally entered the shop, and let out a sigh of relief. Inside the shop was all cool and nice, unlike the hell that was late August outside. "Hello, Seiten-san. Has Rena come before me? It's her hat over there." The busy owner of the shop raised her head from her profit calculations. "Oh, hello Yuujin-kun. Yes, she's downstairs already. It hasn't been too long, don't worry."

Things have changed for the shop a lot after those certain events, and of course, someone else had to take over the antique items—and that person was none other than Seiten-san, yes, my senpai's older sister! She was such a nice person, just a bit anxious; but that was most understandable.

Their parents had raised them to be "picture perfect" kids, and while she was very bright and talented, the pressure had taken a big toll on her, and after a certain age… She had collapsed, unable to study or work. This made her parents abuse her even more, calling her all kinds of insults, ranging from "useless idiot" to "disgrace of the family".

Yeah, awful stuff.

However, after the events, this shop and its many valuable items needed a new owner, and Seiten-senpai had offered for her to take over. Despite her protests, saying that she wouldn't be able to do it? She was the perfect person for the role. She had excellent memory and strategy skills; she just had trouble with people a little, but it wasn't anything her cheerful and cute assistant wouldn't be able to help with!

"Oh, and Micchan will arrive after lunch today."

I notified my boss about her volleyball training of the day and she nodded, lost in calculations still. She managed to mumble something. "That poor girl… Training in this heat…"

I made way for the secret downstairs room, moving away a row of items. "It's particularly hot today, but she will be fine, it's Micchan after all. Oh, and I think your brother will drop by for a visit this afternoon as well."

I didn't get a response. I chuckled, she tended to get lost in her tasks a lot, but that was precisely why she was an excellent, capable boss. She took her duties most seriously.

So… Yeah, Micchan was the new sales assistant over here. Whenever she had time to spare, she would drop by and lend her help with various things. It was a good way to distract herself too…

As Seiten-senpai had actually rejected her love confession.

Well, they were still getting along just fine, though. Senpai just wanted to focus on his studies, plus, he was practicing music very passionately on the side. It was kinda bitter because poor Micchan had gathered her entire courage for the confession but… It's not like senpai had said anything about his feelings in particular, so there was still hope…? Or not? I didn't know. It was difficult to figure him out. But at the least, they were close friends—and his older sister and my cute friend were getting along very well, too! Things were all swell on their side of things.

So, what about me, you ask? What were Yuujin Seira's current life matters?

I greeted Rena, who was sitting on top of the table in the secret room, texting away on her phone. She happily waved the phone in front of me. "Yuujin! Look at these photos Reo sent me just now!" Oh, I guess before me, we were going to learn about Reo Kajimaru's life matters. I leaned forward to see the photos. He had sent some cute selfies with his two sisters, plus the drawings they had made together. Their smiles were so bright that me and Rena couldn't help it and smile wide as well.

Reo had gone back to his hometown in Nara for the summer break and boy—was it obvious he was totally in his element. Together with his dear sisters and amazingly talented parents, his days were filled with nature, art and lots of laughter. He kept us updated often, so despite missing him a lot, we were quite satisfied with watching over his happiness as well!

"Alright, now that we had our share of Kajimaru family news today, what's on our menu today?" Rena took out her childhood photo album. "I was thinking, the spring of this year. It seems I broke my arm there, I want to know what the deal about that was." I searched for my tools in the cupboards and then turned back to inspect her expression. "Ya sure? That sounds like a bit of an ouch memory." She laughed, and replied with "At this point, I know that life is better with its ups and downs. Let's go! Let's give it a shot."

After the incident, there was serious research conducted on Memory-Power and the notebooks of Tsukumo, which happened to contain all his years of research fully documented—perhaps in case he'd have an Amnesia related accident himself, one day…? Well, whatever it was, it worked just well for us, as we could use it for the good.

His studies were revolutionary for many areas of professions; history, psychology, criminology, just to name a few… But in order for such knowledge to be used in the correct hands, a lot of laws had to be written and put into practice—which is where my dear friend Ria, who was studying to be an apprentice under the professional crew assembled by officials, came in. We felt most thankful, as honestly… We didn't understand all those law related mumbo jumbo, and she made things easier for us to understand!

Research permit was only given to people who had proven to be trustworthy, and well, me and Rena had qualified plenty by being the first people to be able to defy Tsukumo! Seriously, it was crazy, the amount of people he had under his curse! Even some police officers and lawyers were in the scheme, but none of them were able to risk losing their memories (however, rumor has it that some people were mysteriously killed once they showed signs of rebellion against Tsukumo, so… True or not, I guess we were lucky to make it out in one piece!).

Me and Rena studied Tsukumo's notebooks and were able to see into the past of many objects, uncovering some unknown history, and even solving some minor crimes—though, understandably so, the adults wanted us to focus on other areas for now.

So we did! We were focusing all our energy and brainpower on creating the ultimate item: a Memory Watch!

It was a most ambitious project, a watch that not only would be able to show the past, but one you could even control which time in the past to land over…!

It goes without saying, but—it was too ambitious for now, so we just focused on restoring Rena's memories, using photos as reference points. The bad news about Rena was that her memories weren't able to come back even with medical assistance. The good news, though? We were able to take most of them back by showing her the past, with the help of her household items and various photos! Oh and, no worries, we were maintaining good mental health thanks to Tsukumo's notes as well! Turns out, there were ways to use such items often and not grow a dependance on them, methods which he (understandably…?) kept to himself.

Really, just how villainous could he be? To have such deep knowledge, but to use it for his own twisted need of immortality…? Us with the Memory-Power permits weren't allowed to see the parts about preserving vitality and age in the notebooks, and frankly? We didn't need such a thing. We were just simple people who wanted to enjoy their limited time on this beautiful planet to the fullest, with their loved ones…

'Simple' is an understatement, when me and Rena have such abilities with Memories, you say? Oh no, we are the most simple there is. We have no grand ambitions, well, except for helping every person in need, maybe? We both had a streak for being softies who wanted the best for everyone… For each other, too. Who knows, maybe our research together would end up in amazing contributions to the entire world? For now, we took it step by step, and the first priority was to enjoy some Memory Adventures together!

I held her hand in mine. "You ready?" She squeezed my hand. "Stop asking me everytime… You know I'm always ready, if it's with you!"

—

This is the ending of this Recollection… But perhaps, we shall meet again soon…?

Remember to cherish the people in your life, and most importantly: yourself. And for the love of god, don't just accept free things from a suspicious old man you just met…!

Or, do just that? Who knows, maybe every bad event has a flipside…

Before I start rambling again, I'll take myself out from the scene. Let the curtains close, for this edition of the Theater of Life has come to an end. No need for a round of applause... Just, take care.

Yuujin Seira, out.