I’m Betrayed by My Childhood Friend Who is Also My Lover, but My Other Childhood Friend Healed Me, So I Feel Like I Can Recover and Be Happy ~Is it True That Friendship Between a Man and Woman is Impossible? - Chapter 14

Airi in Wonderland

Airi’s POV

I messed up.

I just wanted to tell Akito about Chitose’s decision and discuss about our future.

Actually, I was planning to take things more slowly to heal Akito’s heart.

However, when I saw that painful expression on Akito’s face, I couldn’t just leave him be, I couldn’t hold myself back.

So, I clumsily started healing Akito’s heart and ended up making him suffer more.

I was carried away by my emotions.

As a result, I indeed healed Akito’s heart, but it ended up being a rough treatment.

I even exposed my true self in the end.

Just thinking about it makes me feel embarrassed.

Well, I mean, the situation itself is embarrassing enough…

The atmosphere in the handicraft club room after we both cried it out is filled with awkwardness and embarrassment.

“What should we do?”

“I guess it’s going to be hard to go back to the classroom.”

With red eyes, Akito says so awkwardly.

“Yeah, in that case, let’s go rest in the infirmary.”

I suggest so, regaining my composure.

Immediately, Akito asks.

“What are we going to tell the school nurse?”

“Don’t worry, student mental health care is also important.”

“Huh, you think it’ll be okay?”

“Well then, why don’t you go back to the classroom alone, Akito?”

I tease him so and smile mischievously.

Akito seems embarrassed and looks away from me.

“I’m sorry. I fully support Airi’s opinion.”

“Thank you. Then let’s go.”

With that, both me and Akito rush to the infirmary just before lunch break ends.

We managed to convince the school nurse and get her permission to rest in bed together.

“Hey, Akito. We’ll continue talking about it when we get back home.”

“Yeah, sure.”

With that, seeming tired from everything, Akito closes his eyes and sleep soundly.

I take a brief moment to admire his sleeping face.

Then, I also close my eyes to rest.

It seems I’m more tired than I thought.

I fall asleep in no time.

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—I have a nostalgic dream.

Fragments of memories from before and after meeting Akito when I was a child.

The first scene that appears in my dream is a sea of fire.

In the midst of the flames and smoke, I was being held by my mother.

It was really hot and scary.

I called out to my mother over and over again, but she didn’t give me her usual kind response.

It made me even sadder and I started crying even more.

I found it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Then, a stranger found us.

Despite covered in injuries, he rushed to help us.

That’s when I lost consciousness.

The next thing I knew, I was lying in a hospital bed.

When I regained consciousness, my father came rushing over to my side, but my mother wasn’t there.

I had to stay in the hospital for a while due to a large burn on my back.

Still, my mother didn’t come, so I asked my father where Mom is.

“No matter how far away she is, she’s always watching over you, Airi.”

My father told me so.

He said so with a sad smile on his face.

Finally, I was discharged from the hospital and able to return home.

But, as expected, my mother wasn’t home.

Only the photo of her was smiling at me.

My father hugged me and told me that my mother has passed away.

At that time, amidst the raging fire, Mom had been shielding and protecting me the whole time.

I learned that it was beyond the firefighters’ ability to save anyone else but me when they arrived.

At that moment, I harboured a feeling I should never have entertained.

‘Why didn’t you save my mother!?’

I found myself resenting the firefighter who rescued me.

Without understanding how sinful such feelings were…

From then on, I spent my days in apathy.

Even though my father must had been grieving the loss of my mother, he tried so hard for my sake…

Amidst those days, my father suddenly told me that we were going to move.

I didn’t want to leave the house where I lived with Mom, so I cried and protested.

My father gently reasoned with me, saying,

‘Remember what I told you before? Your mother is always watching over you, Airi. That’s why, this place doesn’t matter. Look, even in the photo, your mother is smiling and watching over you.’

With those words, he continued to pat my head gently.

Reluctantly, I agreed to move.

I learned about our new place from my father.

It turns out we’ll be living in one of the homes owned by someone who helped us a lot after the fire, and they’ll be our neighbours.

It seemed that they were very worried about me too.

The new house we moved into was bigger than the previous one.

It felt a bit too spacious for just the two of us.

To show our gratitude and introduce ourselves to our new neighbours, my father and I went to visit the landlord next door.

A woman about the same age as my mother came out from the entrance.

She was dressed in a kimono and looked very beautiful.

My father greeted the woman and introduced me.

“Yes, this child is…”

When my father said so, the woman got down on her knees to look at me.

She smiled sadly, just like my father.

“I’m glad…I’m really glad…”

With that, she gently embraced me.

Somehow, she smelled just like my mother, and I couldn’t help but burst into tears.

Seeing me suddenly burst into tears like that, the woman mistakenly thought that I was surprised and hurriedly apologized.

“I’m sorry. I startled you, didn’t I?”

“No, it’s not that…it’s just that…my mother…my mother…”

I was reminded of my mother again.

Unable to hold back any longer, tears began to flow uncontrollably.

The woman looked at me kindly as cried, then she hugged me tightly.

“It’s okay, let it all out. You don’t need to hold back your sadness anymore.”

The woman said so.

Her voice was really gentle, and her scent reminded me of my mother.

Unable to stop my tears, I cried myself to sleep while she held me in her arms.

When I woke up, I found myself in bed.

My father noticed that I had woken up.

He gently stroked my head, apologizing.

“I’m sorry, Airi. I’ve been pushing you too hard.”

“It’s okay, I’m glad I came here.”

I replied, feeling quite fond of our neighbour.

I later learned from my father that her name is Mitsuki Asahina-san.

On the day when Mitsuki-san embraced me, I felt like I was able to remember my mother a little bit.

The next day, Mitsuki-san visited us, she brought along a boy about my age—