Chapter 130 – The Distance Between the Comet and the Sun

 

After three years, the world completely changed for me.

 

Celebrities I knew had passed away and they released new smartphone models. It felt as if I traveled to the future.

 

When I returned back to my home, everything had changed, save from my room that looked the same as I remembered it. It was as if the time was frozen here.

 

“Ugin is a university student already, huh?…”

 

She wasn’t here with me as she had already gone back to Tokyo.

 

Now, what should I do?

 

It was hard to survive in this world as a middle school graduate. I guess I had to take a high school equivalency test so they could treat me as a high school graduate. That way, I wouldn’t need to do something dumb like going back to high school again.

 

University? Well, that would be impossible, wouldn’t it? I felt sorry for my parents for having someone like me as a son. Well, in any case, I had to concentrate on studying for the test.

 

That decided what I should do next. Studying while continuing with my rehabilitation. The doctor told me to take a walk early in the morning every day. I was never a morning person, but I guess I should start becoming one now and go to sleep early for starters.

 

Time passed and both my studies and rehabilitation were going well. Suddenly, Arina called me out of the blue. She said something about wanting to meet me and that she wanted me to know that it was a little urgent, that was why she didn’t text me instead. Turned out she offered her help for the test I would be taking. Honestly, I didn’t really need her help because the problems should be easy enough for me to solve, but she insisted on it, so I had no choice but to agree.

 

“So, how’s your life at the university?”

 

We were currently in a cafe together.

 

“What’s with that question?”

“I mean, you’re seeing me all the time, right? I’m wondering if you have some friends in university.”

“I do. Not many though.”

“I see, glad to hear that. Well, I guess the answer is obvious, huh? I mean, look at you, you seem like you’re having fun. Unlike me, I don’t know what I’m gonna do after this is all over…”

“You said that, but you don’t seem that depressed… Well, it’s good that you aren’t depressed, but normally people would act like that when realizing that they fell asleep for three whole years.”

“I am depressed, but more than that, I’m just glad to be alive. I heard that my heart stopped and if Ugin didn’t give me a first-aid treatment, I would’ve been gone already.”

 

Ugin’s earnestness saved my life. Apparently, she remembered the first aid treatment for heart attack that she learned from school. As expected of my little sister.

 

Hearing my words, Arina looked at me in silence. Based on her expression, it seemed like she wanted to say something, but she was hesitating to. I guess this part of her hasn’t changed, huh?

 

“Oh, by the way, are you free tonight? You are, right? Right?”

“I’m not going to your apartment.”

“My apartment? I’m not talking about that, though~ I guess you’re at the age when you’re starting to think about something like that, huh?~”

 

She hid her mouth behind her hand and sneered at me. What a mature response from her. I guess she is out of my league now, huh? When I think about it, she was a real twenty years old, meanwhile I was pretty much a child in an adult body.

 

“Anyway, I was going to invite you for a drink. I’ve always wanted to have a drink with you, you know? We haven’t celebrated your discharge yet, so it’s the perfect time to do so. It’s my treat, so don’t worry about it.”

“Fine, but I’ll pay for it, okay?”

“No, I’ll pay. I’m not so heartless to let an unemployed person pay for my drinks. Besides, it’s a party for you. You deserve this much at least.”

 

I tried to insist on my standing, but she didn’t even give me the time of the day. Instead, she turned her head away from me and closed her eyes.

 

“Arina… You know, I always thought that you were pretty back in high school, but now, you’ve become even prettier…”

“W-What are you talking about?! Stop that, there are other people here!”

“Since you’re treating me for a drink, I need to tell you something like this at least, no?”

“If those words are just empty words, I’m going to kill you for real, okay?”

“Hold back a little, will you?”

 

*   *   *

 

Arina took me to walk in the city after that. Somehow, this thing became a date without me realizing it. I had a date with her back in high school, but was having a date with a girl that you weren’t in relationship with normal? Surely not, right?

 

I would grunt everytime I took a step forward. I hadn’t regained all my strength yet, so just walking normally was tough. Arina’s normal walking speed felt too quickly for me to follow. In the end, she had to slow her pace down and supported me from the side.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t realize this sooner…”

 

She glanced at me before quickly turning her gaze forward again. Something similar to this happened a long time ago, it was just that back then, she wasn’t holding the hand I offered to her.

 

“…Are you sure you aren’t dating someone currently?”

“Hehe, are you into stealing someone else’s girlfriend now?”

“N-No, it’s just–”

“Don’t worry. I’m not dating anyone currently. Well, not that I’ve ever dated someone in the first place. Hehe, you’re such a worrywart.”

 

She grabbed my hand.

 

I remembered this familiar feeling of her hand. I only touched her hand a handful of times back in high school, but I would never forget this warmth.

 

Suddenly, a wave of regret rushed over my chest. Three years were a long time, more than enough time to create a mountain of memories with her.

 

I made a lot of memories with her in less than a year. I wonder how many memories we could make in three years?

 

I want to go back to that summer day…

 

I was a fool, why did I hold off from answering her confession for so long? Had I known I would be sleeping for three years after that, I would have given her my answer right away.

 

Our feelings were mutual, after all.

 

The thing that held me back was the fact that she lost her memory back then. I was conflicted to accept her feelings because it felt unfair. Also, I was afraid that her feelings back then differed from her feelings before she lost her memories. That was why I decided to wait. If she somehow regained her memories in that summer vacation, maybe I could give her a clear answer. I knew that it was cowardly and I was just trying to run away from both her and my own feelings. I knew that I was a fool back then.

 

And I paid the price for that foolishness. Three years of coma was my just desserts.

 

But somehow, after I woke up, she was still waiting for my answer to her confession. She had regained her memory and she still harbored the same feelings toward me.

 

If we were still high school students, where we were still on equal footing, I wouldn’t be bothered by this situation as much.

 

But we were adults now. We weren’t living in a world where one’s worth was decided by how fast one could run or how high one’s grades were. In this kind of world, what kind of value did someone like me, who was stuck in the dream world for three years, had? No matter how much I tried to think about it, I didn’t think that I was someone worthy of her. This wasn’t a high school romance where you could afford to mess around anymore. I didn’t want to ruin her future.

 

“Arina…”

 

The sun was beginning to set. Arina was leading me into a building, but I stopped her right before she opened the door.

 

“What is it?”

 

Her smile vanished when she saw my face. I wonder what kind of expression I’m making currently?

 

“I… Don’t know what to say… You know, when I first woke up, it was hard for me to believe that three years had passed… But now, I’m feeling the weight of those three years. It feels like it all came down, crushing me all at once.”

“Well, three years is a long time.”

“It doesn’t feel like much time has passed when I’m just walking around the city. Some parts of the city feels new to me, but that’s it, it doesn’t make me feel like so much time has passed. But when I meet the people I know, everything just hits me like a truck. The closer I am to those people, the more I realize how big a three year gap is…”

 

Arina approached me and gently wrapped her hands around mine.

 

“When you were still asleep, I would hold your hands like this… I went to see you so many times, more times than I can count. The people at the hospital had long recognized me and I became quite famous there, you know? Well, I guess that’s a given, I did it for three years after all.”

 

She touched her hair.

 

“I haven’t changed my hairstyle at all. I thought that you’d feel lonely if you see that change in me when you wake up, so I decided to not change it. I know how bad loneliness can feel like and I didn’t want you to experience it.”

“Are you saying that you’re doing that for my sake?…”

“Well, that and I don’t want to change my hairstyle in the first place. In any case, thanks to that, you recognized me right away when you saw me, right? Also, Sui… You might think that the distance between us has widened, but to me, it’s not. In the three years you were sleeping, I’ve always been staying by your side. I grew together with you. The distance between you and I is pretty much nonexistent to me.”

 

I felt tears welling up in my eyes, so I opened them as wide as I could. I didn’t want to cry here. I was pitiful enough as a person, I didn’t want her to pity me any more than this.

 

“Sui, you only have to get used to your situation, okay? You don’t need to rush, just take it slowly. Like I said, the distance between me and you is pretty much nonexistent. You know, you reminded me of a comet. You traveled so far away to the point that everyone started to forget about your existence and when you finally returned, you found yourself confused because everything around you had changed. And when you got to your destination, the sun, me, you couldn’t bear the heat and break down like this…”

“Since when did you become such a romantic person? Back then, you would cringe when I said something similar to this…”

“Akakusa-sensei was the one who made that comparison. Can you believe it? She called me the sun and you’re the comet. I met her at the last school festival, by the way.”

“Akakusa-sensei, huh… I missed her. I wonder how she is doing now…”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Come on, follow me. Everyone is waiting for you.”

 

I didn’t understand what she was talking about. I didn’t have enough composure to try to understand her words in the first place.

 

She pulled my hand and we entered the building. Inside, there was a group of people sitting by the window who were waving at us.

 

‘Welcome home’

 

I saw Makoto holding a banner with that written on it.

 

In that instance, tears started falling from my eyes. Yes. I am finally home.