What Will Happen Going Forward

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Celicia and I are sitting in the living room, with the old man and Ms. Clairene sitting on the opposing side.

Two months have passed since we decided to start our relationship. We have been doing really well and I’ve never felt happier than before. However, we both agreed to keep it a secret for now since we wanted to be sure that this relationship would work going forward.

And we decided that it’d be best to announce it first to the people closest to Celica.

“…Hey kid.” The old man leans forward.

“Yes?” I swallowed my saliva and clenched my hands on my thighs.

“You finally grew some backbone kid!” The old man cackles and slaps my left shoulder from across the desk.

“T-Thanks…”

Ow…

“I thought you would argue about it a bit more…” Celicia said while looking at the old man.

“If it’s him, I wouldn’t mind at all!” The old man smiled with his brow twitching as he continued to slap my shoulder.

“Ow…”

“Oh. My bad, my bad…” The old man raised both his arms.

My left shoulder is coloured red added with an uncomfortable sting.

Not that I could blame him about it I guess…

“On a serious note, I don’t really mind both of you dating,” The old man added, “Although…” The old man then looks to his left.

“…”

Ms. Clairene has been silent this entire time, looking downwards the entire conversation so I can’t discern her face.

“Are you okay with this?” Ms. Clairene muttered, her face still looking downwards.

“W-What do you mean Mom?” Celicia winced.

“…” I tighten my fist.

“Do you not know… the difference the two of you have?” Ms. Clairene raises her head, her face devoid of expression.

“Huh?” Celicia mutters, “Hey Yuuma, can you say something?” Celicia shakes my right shoulder.

“…Sorry.”

“…Huh?” Celicia tightens her grip on my right shoulder.

“Celicia…” I look over to her, putting my left hand over her, “Do you know… the difference in our age?”

“O-Of course I do. Are you telling me you have a problem with our age?” Celicia’s eyes are welling up.

“That’s not it!” I accidentally yelled out. I composed myself and continued, “It’s just—”

“He’ll inevitably pass away earlier than you.” Ms. Clairene interjects.

“S-So what?” Celicia let go of my shoulder and clasped her left hand with my right, her hand slightly trembling. She continues, “I would rather stay with him until that day comes rather than live without him!”

“Can you really say that?” Ms. Clairene calmly answered.

“…!”

Ms. Clairene looks straight at Celicia as if she’s gouging out her heart.

“Can you really endure months, or years, or centuries without him?”

“I-I—”

“Look, I’m really happy if you want to date Yuuma,” Ms. Clairene straightens her back and continues, “However, I don’t want you to be sad when the day comes when he’ll pass away!”

“…!”

“…”

I tighten my grip on Celicia’s hand.

“I… I—!”

“It’s okay Celicia…”

I look to my right, in which Celicia's brows are raised, with her eyes shaking. 

“You don’t have to decide now…” I quickly hugged her.

“…!”

“No matter what your answer is, I’ll respect it.”

“…”

“But…” I tighten my grip on her, “If possible, I want you to choose to stay by my side…”

“…!”

I’m so pathetic.

What is it that I want at the end of the day? Heck, I don’t even want to see what kind of face she’s making right now. It feels like if I see them, the end result will be decided. What I hate the most is the fact that there’s nothing I can do about this.

It’s true that I can’t make Celicia happy forever.

To her, one hundred years would probably feel like ten years have passed for her. If say I managed to live till my seventies, how would she feel within those years?

Will she feel happy? Will she feel sad? Or will it be treated as nothing more than a passing memory?

Whatever her answer is, can I really accept it as it is?

“…Okay.” Celicia hugged me back, “I’ll think about it…”

“Thank you…”

“Why are you thanking me?” Celicia asks.

“It’s nothing…” I let out a chuckle.

Thank you for complying with my selfish wish.

Thank you for allowing yourself more time to think.

I just… don’t want to hear what your answer is right now.

---

“Where are we going, old man?” I ask as I follow along.

“Just someplace that I used to visit.” The old man said without looking back.

“But why now though?”

“You think I want to be involved in mitigating your problems? I don’t know what you guys are going through, and anything I say will be completely useless…” The old man picks up his pace.

“Then why do I have to follow you?” I ran to catch up to him, “I am involved in this issue, you know?”

“Of course, I know that…” The old man suddenly stopped, “It’s because I want to show you this.” The old man puts his hands on his hips.

“…”

What lays before me is a slide that’s completely rusted, two sets of swings with one of the chains broken off, and a merry-go-round that has its paint peeled.

“It’s an abandoned playground,” I muttered.

“That’s right…” The old man walks towards a nearby bench that has all of its paint eroded, showing its metals with vines surrounding it. He then sat down on them and motioned me to come over.

“…”

I reluctantly walked towards him and sat next to him, feeling the wet vines on my butt.

The old man leans forward, placed his arms on his thighs,

“…Back then, there was a guy named Haru that came to this forest…” The old man then clasps his hands, “He was an Otherworlder just like you…” The old man said whilst still keeping his gaze on the abandoned playground.

“…?”

Have I heard that name somewhere before?

“He’s a wonderful guy that is really good at talking to people… He was really well known back when he was alive…”

“…”

“At some point, he decided to make this playground, and it was a popular place. Heck, even Celicia begged me over and over to play in this place…” A gentle smile appeared on his face.

“…Do you know who this Haru person is?” I ask.

“Nah. I talked to him once, and I immediately knew that there was something off about him.” The old man shrugs.

“Off?”

“Ahh, it’s just a me thing. It always felt like he’s doing all of that for show…” The old burrowed his eyebrows.

“…”

“Well, it was in the past and he no longer exists in this world, so it’s fine I guess,” The old man leans on the bench, “And whether my intuition is correct or not, it didn’t change the fact that he made my daughter happy…” The old man brings out something like a rubber and ties his hair in a ponytail.

“…”

“By the way…” The old man brings himself up. He sat in a straight position and looked at me, “What do you think about all of this?”

“…Hmm…” I gather my thoughts and continue, “I’m just… worried is all…”

“Worried?” The old man asks.

‘I just… don’t want my daughter to be sad…’

“…I’m worried that… Celicia might leave me…” I bring my legs up and sit in a crossing position, “Because being with me will do nothing but make her sad in the long run…”

“…”

“But…” I straighten my sitting position, “I still want to be with her…”

“…That so,” The old man gave a smile, “You gotta fight for her after all…” The old man slaps my shoulder.

“…”

“You don’t need to worry kid,” The old man flashes a grin and a thumbs up, “If you pass away first, I’ll be the first one to condemn you to hell.”

“Ahaha…” I let out an exasperated laugh, “Fair enough…”

“But seriously, the reason why I brought you here is because the guy that made this is the stem of the problem you’re currently facing.”

“What do you mean?” I tilt my head.

“This might not help you that much, but I might as well tell you..."