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He had helped Reo with her homework, played games together with her, and accompanied her outside…
Seiji may have been partially acting when he spent so much time with Reo, but he also truly wanted to help her out.
“Brother Harano…” The red in Reo’s eyes slowly subsided after hearing his gentle and sincere persuasion.
The shadowy figures vanished, the mouths and eyes disappeared, and the black mist dissipated as everything returned to normal.
“I… don’t know…” Reo muttered.
“If you don’t remember, then take your time.” Seiji smiled faintly. “By the way, are you hungry? How about I cook something delicious for you?”
Reo was rather confused.
‘Why did Brother Harano say that to me? Did I… really do something terrible to Mommy?’
She couldn’t recall anything at all, but it didn’t seem like Brother Harano was lying to her.
He didn’t say anything else in response to her denial. He treated her just as gently as always, just… he seemed sadder than usual.
Time continued to pass by.
Her mother’s illness kept getting worse and worse, and apparently she would have to go overseas… to another country in order to receive treatment.
The way Reo understood it, that was a very, very far away place.
She didn’t want this, and she wasn’t willing to accept it!
Her mother smiled gently in response to her willful selfishness.
“If Reo doesn’t want me to leave, then I’ll just stay here,” her mother told her.
“But if you stay here, your illness won’t be cured, and you’ll end up dying,” Brother Harano said.
Death… Reo felt a chill from this.
It was as if she was looking into a deep, icy-cold, pitch-black abyss. In that abyss was something scary that she definitely didn’t want to know about.
‘Mommy… will die? No… I don’t want this…’
Her mother was still smiling gently and looking at her.
However, Brother Harano was looking at her mother with an expression filled with sadness.
‘…Is it my fault? Am I in the wrong to not want Mommy to leave?’
“Brother Harano… if Mommy goes overseas… will she be able to get better?”
“I don’t know… it’s just that if she stays behind here, she definitely won’t get better.”
Why were things like this?
Reo felt like this was all so wrong.
Even going overseas might not cure her mother, and staying behind meant that her mother definitely wouldn’t get better… this was wrong!
She felt discomfort and confusion…
After they finished visiting her mother, left the hospital, and returned home, she was still in a state of confusion.
Brother Harano finished cooking dinner for them.
She had zero appetite. He didn’t eat anything either and simply sat across from her, watching her in silence.
“Brother Harano…”
“Yes?”
“What… should I do?”
“That’s something that you have to decide for yourself, Reo-chan,” Seiji told her gently. “Perhaps it’s a bit difficult for you, but since you’ve met with such a situation, you should face it head on.”
The little girl remained silent.
“Everyone is like this. After meeting with something painful, even if they don’t want to, they still have to face and bear it before surpassing it. It’s just like if you were walking on a road: if you suddenly fell into a pit and injured yourself, it would definitely hurt.
“But even if it hurts so much that you don’t want to move, you can’t stay down in the pit forever—that’s no good.
“Telling yourself that you actually didn’t fall down is no good either.
“Moving will hurt, but not moving at all will also be painful. And, as time passes, your situation will just become worse.
“You must climb out of the pit. If you can’t do it by yourself, then you should call for help, and someone will come help you… such as me.” Seiji looked directly into Reo’s eyes. “I will help you. However, Reo-chan, first you must recognize the situation and make a decision by yourself. Do you prefer to continue on in your state of pain, or bravely face the pain?”
Reo didn’t answer him. That night, she didn’t say another word.
She only spoke again on the next day after visiting her mother in the hospital again.
“Mommy… you should go overseas for treatment.”
“…Is that alright?”
“Only by going overseas will Mommy be able to get better, which is why…” Reo sniffled. “…I’ll do my best.”
Her mother had a gentle look in her eyes.
“Reo, you’ve matured.” She smiled softly and gently as she patted the little girl’s head.
Reo glanced at Brother Harano beside her as she felt this warmth.
She saw that he was also smiling faintly.
“You’ve become braver. That’s excellent, Reo-chan,” Seiji praised her sincerely.
Reo was delighted to hear this. She felt that she had done the correct thing.
Her mother had left. There would be a very long time where she wouldn’t be able to see her mother, but that was fine.
‘Brother Harano will accompany me, all the way until Mommy returns. Mommy’s illness will definitely get better. I’ll fold paper cranes every day and pray for Mommy.’
Reo withstood her loneliness with those feelings within her.
Time passed day by day. Many days ended up passing.
Her mother stopped calling back home.
Brother Harano almost never mentioned her mother.
Whenever Reo asked him, she noticed that the sadness on his face seemed to grow heavier and heavier.
She had an ominous premonition.
She wanted to speak to her mother again. She wanted to see her mother again. But…
“Why can’t I!?” Reo shouted out loudly after her request to call her mother was denied once again.
Brother Harano didn’t answer and simply looked at her in silence.
“I want to talk to Mommy… I haven’t heard her voice in so long. I’ve endured for so long without Mommy; I always waited! But… why…” The little girl revealed a pained expression. “Why can’t I even talk to her!!?”
The surroundings changed again. Fearsome things appeared from every corner of the room, and black mist swirled around her.
Seiji sighed. “You do have reason to be angry, but this isn’t right, Reo-chan. As long as you don’t act like this, I’ll tell you everything that you want to know. Is that alright?”
Reo looked at him levelly. Everything around them gradually returned to normal.
“Let us sit down and have a good discussion.”
The two of them sat down in the living room.
“Reo-chan, do you remember what your mother looks like?”
Brother Harano asked what Reo perceived to be a strange question.
“Of course I do!”
“Then please try your best to remember as clearly as possible. The last time that you saw your mother, Hinako Tachibana, what did she look like?” Seiji asked calmly, looking directly at Reo.
The last time that she saw her mother…
Reo tried to recall. Then, she noticed that something was wrong.
The way her mother looked… she was unable to recall it!
‘Why!? Even though I’ve missed her so much and was able to remember her so clearly!’
Reo did her best to remember, but her mother’s face remained hazy.
‘Why is it like this? Why are things like this!?’ Reo sunk into a state of confusion.
“Is it that… you can’t recall?” Seiji asked softly. “In that case, let me ask a different question. Do you still remember what your ‘mother’ that lived here looked like?”
Reo felt that this was another strange question.
“Mommy that lived here… is just Mommy.”
“She’s indeed who you call ‘mommy,’ but do you remember what her ‘real appearance’ is?”
Real appearance…
Reo reflexively tried thinking about it, but discovered that, once again, she couldn’t remember!
‘What’s going on!?’ Not only was she confused, she was now scared as well.
“Why…”
“You can’t remember again, right?” Seiji kept looking at her.
“Brother Harano…”
Reo seemed like she was on the verge of tears, and fear showed in her eyes.
“Be courageous, Reo-chan. I know that it’s very painful, but just like before, you can surpass it,” Seiji told her gently. “Don’t be defeated by pain and sadness, and face them properly so that you can see the truth.”