A Story About a Girl Who Took Life for Granted and Fell in Love With a Kind and Introverted Boy - Chapter 41

…That day, snow was falling.

The snow fell soundlessly, so delicate it seemed like it would melt away the moment you blew on it.

Today, Kenji was at work, and Kaoru was at elementary school, so it was just me and Tadashi at home.

Although I worked at a food company, they let me leave at three to pick Tadashi up from daycare.

Now, it was 4:30 in the evening. Tadashi was sitting upright in front of the TV, quietly watching Hanpenman, a cartoon for young children.

While Tadashi sat quietly, I followed my daily routine of doing laundry and preparing dinner.

Ding-dong.

As I went about my usual day, the doorbell rang. Putting away the laundry I had just folded, I called out, “Coming!”

When I opened the door, there stood Miyuki. Snow dusted her hair and shoulders, slowly melting and leaving her looking slightly damp.

“What!? Miyuki! It’s been so long!”

“…………………”

Miyuki looked uneasy. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her eyes were downcast as if in pain.

“Miyuki? What’s wrong?”

“…Sister, do you have a moment?”

“A moment?”

“Yeah. I’d like to talk about something.”

“Of course, I don’t mind, but…”

I had no issue listening to her, but I was curious about what kind of problem she wanted to discuss.

I brought her into the living room and had her sit down in a chair. Then, I placed a mug of warm cocoa in front of her.

“Thanks, sis.”

“No problem at all.”

I sat across from her, holding my own mug of cocoa with both hands and resting my elbows on the table.

“So, what’s going on?”

“…………………”

“What kind of issue is it? Work? Money?”

“…No.”

“Huh?”

“It’s about… love. I need some advice.”

“…………………”

“Recently, someone at work confessed to me. They asked me to go out with them.”

“Wow! That’s great! As expected of you, Miyuki—you’re so popular.”

“…………………”

“You don’t seem very happy, though. Is it someone you don’t like?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…”

“Do you… like them?”

“…………………”

Miyuki didn’t answer my question. Instead, she took out her phone from her pocket and placed it on the table.

The screen showed a picture of two girls. One was Miyuki, and the other was a girl with very short, boyish hair.

Both of them had dazzling smiles, flashing peace signs at the camera.

“…………………”

Could it be…?

I had a feeling Miyuki was confessed to by this boyish-looking girl.

From the context, it seemed likely. Otherwise, she wouldn’t show me this photo now.

“…Is this the person who confessed to you?”

When I asked, as I had suspected, Miyuki nodded.

“Her name is Ninomiya Rei. She’s a friend from my university days.”

“…………………”

“I’ve always thought of her as a good friend, but it seems she felt differently…”

“…………………”

“She said, ‘I’m sorry for falling for you,’ and cried. She told me it’s okay to reject her if I find it disgusting.”

“…………………”

“Sis… what should I do?”

Miyuki looked down, on the verge of tears. Her lips quivered faintly as they formed a frown.

“Let’s go! Hanpen Punch!”

From afar, I could hear the bright, cheerful voice of Hanpenman, which Tadashi was still watching. Its cheerfulness felt oddly out of place.

“Miyuki, do you like her?”

“…………………”

“I think that’s the most important question.”

“…Yes.”

“…………………”

“I do…”

“…………………”

“But it’s as a friend. I never thought about her that way romantically, so I was completely shocked…”

“…………………”

“Still, being with Ninomiya is really fun, and I don’t want to ruin our relationship. I want us to stay close…”

“…………………”

“Ahh… what should I do?”

The cocoa in front of Miyuki remained untouched, sitting there as faint wisps of steam rose and swayed silently.

“Okay, Miyuki, let me ask you one more question.”

“…………”

“What would you feel if this person, Ninomiya-san, passed away in an accident or something at this very moment?”

“What?”

“What kind of emotions would you have?”

“…………”

“Miyuki, listen carefully, okay? I might have said this before, but you can’t assume that the people you care about will always be by your side. There’s always a chance that you could be separated.”

“…………”

Miyuki shut her eyes tightly, looking pained.

“But I… I don’t know if I can see her as a romantic partner.”

“…………”

“Even though Ninomiya-san sees me as someone she likes in that way, I can’t see her like that, and it makes me feel guilty toward her.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“…………”

“Whether you see someone as a romantic partner or not is just a detail. You know, at first, I didn’t even think about Kenji in that way. Honestly, we started with the worst kind of relationship. I made a fake confession to him just to mess with him. It was horrible.”

“…………”

“But now, how do I feel?”

“Nee-san…”

“The most important thing is whether you want to be together or not. That’s it.”

“…………”

“It’s okay if you both have different reasons for wanting to be together. Maybe Ninomiya-san wants to be together as romantic partners, and you want to stay together as friends. There might be some awkwardness because of that difference, but the desire to be together is the same, right?”

“Well… yeah…”

“Love has so many forms—friendship, family love, mentorship, romance. The reasons for loving someone can vary so much, but the feeling of wanting to be together is the same. I think it’s fine to trust just that. Love is like planting a seed. What kind of flower grows from it might differ, but it’s still love. And even the flower might change. Friendship could turn into romance, and romance could shift to familial love. You don’t have to stick to just one type.”

“…………”

“What do you think, Miyuki?”

“…………”

Miyuki covered her face with both hands. Then, in a slightly trembling voice, she said, “Nee-san, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“I’ll be completely honest.”

“Honest?”

“I don’t have romantic feelings for Ninomiya-san right now, but… I was planning to accept her confession anyway. I didn’t feel any negativity toward the idea of becoming her partner.”

“Well, then, isn’t that totally fine?”

“But I… I’m scared.”

“Scared?”

“…………”

“Scared of what? The fact that it’s a same-sex relationship?”

“…Yeah. I keep worrying about how people might judge us. It scares me.”

“…………”

“I know I shouldn’t care about things like that, but I just can’t help it. I’m scared.”

“I see. Well, it’s true that, compared to the past, things have gotten a lot better, but there’s still some discrimination out there.”

“…………”

“But Miyuki, do you think you’d regret turning down her confession?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then, you already know the answer, don’t you?”

“…………”

“I think loving someone always requires courage, regardless of whether it’s a same-sex relationship or not.”

“Courage?”

Miyuki removed her hands from her face and looked at me.

“Yeah. When Kenji was in a coma, I really came to realize that.”

“…………”

“There’s always a chance your love might not reach them. Your feelings could end up meaning nothing. But even so, that’s okay. Even if it’s meaningless, it’s still worth loving them.”

“…………”

“To love anyone, you need courage. Whether it’s Ninomiya-san or someone else, the core of it is the same. So, if there’s someone you’re willing to get hurt for, you should love them with everything you’ve got.”

“…………”

After a brief pause, she gave a small nod. Then she picked up the cup of cocoa in front of her and took a sip.

“Thank you, Nee-san.”

“Hm?”

“For giving me the push I needed.”

“…………”

“Now I feel like I can move on from Kenji-san, too.”

Miyuki placed the cocoa back on the table and looked out the window. Watching the snow fall quietly, she smiled wistfully and murmured:

“You know, I actually confessed to Kenji-san once.”

“What?”

“On the day of the school festival… I told him how I felt. But he turned me down, saying he liked you.”

“…………”

“I was so foolish, wasn’t I? Even though he clearly rejected me, I kept holding on to him.”

“Miyuki…”

“But I’ll put an end to it today. I’ll bury my feelings beneath this deep snow, keeping them safe and precious. And then, I’ll try building a new love.”

Miyuki’s tears were transparent. They didn’t seem to be out of sadness. Her lips held a gentle smile.

It looked like she was shedding those tears to preserve something warm inside her.

Two months passed since the day Miyuki came to see me. The New Year had arrived.

I received a New Year’s card from Miyuki. It was adorned with a photo of her and Ninomiya-san together.

Unlike the earlier photo Miyuki had shown me, the two looked a bit awkward, their smiles slightly tense.

But their hands were firmly clasped together, fingers interwoven like true lovers.

Seeing that made me happy, and I’ve kept that New Year’s card safely in my album ever since.