Graduation Ceremony

“Good morning, Aoi-kun.”

“…Yeah, good morning, Marin-chan.”

“Hehe, you look so disheveled. You worked really hard yesterday, didn’t you?”

“…Yeah.”

“You’re going to be late if you don’t get up soon. Being late to graduation is unheard of!”

“…Right. Yeah. Just five more minutes…” I said, only to be flicked on the forehead.

“Ow…”

“I don’t like lazy people. Come on, get up!” Marin-chan forcibly pulled the covers off me and began smacking me like a Taiko drum, while I curled up like a caterpillar.

As we played around, time slipped by unnoticed. While scratching my messy hair and taking a shower, Marin-chan barged in.

“Hey!?”

“Seriously, we don’t have time! Stop being embarrassed now!”

“I-I’m not…”

We ended up showering together and hurriedly getting ready before dashing out of the house.

“Should we take a taxi!?”

“No… we should be able to make it on foot!”

“At the very last moment! Ugh!!” We ran desperately and barely made it in time.

Panting heavily, we arrived and were greeted with laughter from our classmates.

“Cutting it close at the last minute, huh? You two are really something!”

“Well, it’s because… Aoi-kun turned into a caterpillar!”

“Ah… sorry… I’m really sorry…”

“Get to the classroom quickly, you two!” Kuniooka urged us as we stumbled into the classroom, out of breath.

When it was time, everyone headed to the gymnasium. With a small flower pinned to our chests and a bit of nervousness, we waited.

Looking at the parents’ waiting area, I saw Kanade-san, the director, the café owner, and Marin-chan’s parents among others.

But there was another group of familiar faces.

They were my real father, the new wife, and my two younger sisters.

They seemed not to notice us, but my mother was her usual social self, chatting with someone else’s parents.

However, my two sisters and father had unhappy expressions on their faces.

“I invited them,” Marin-chan said.

“…I see.”

“I didn’t force them to come or anything. I just told them they could come if they wanted to.”

“…Got it.”

When my mother showed up, I couldn’t help but suspect there might be some ulterior motive. I mean, there had to be something. There was no way she would come here without a reason.

I clenched my fists in silence. “If something happens, I’ll help too,” Kiyohito said with a smile.

“Yeah, we’re all in this together,” added Honjo-san.

“I’ll… help too,” Umi-chan said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I really… really had some great friends.

But it all started with Marin-chan.

“Let’s go. Let’s all smile at the end, okay?” I said with a smile.

◇

Marin-chan stood on the stage as the representative of the graduating class.

She looked just as she did at the entrance ceremony.

A genius admired by everyone, with a bit of an absent-minded charm, yet the kindest angel of all.

But she was more than that.

Even though we had been together since elementary school, there were many things I didn’t know about her. She was earnest, forward-looking, sometimes vulnerable, and incredibly cute. I got to know so many faces of Marin-chan.

And I made countless irreplaceable friends.

I could never have imagined such a graduation ceremony when I was younger.

From now on… forever… forever.

“Graduation representative… Marin Shiozaki,” she said, bowing deeply.

Her classmates were in tears.

Seeing them like that almost made me cry too, but I held back my tears, saving them for the end.

◇

“Uwaaaaaa!!! I don’t want to graduate!!! Let’s come to school tomorrow too!!!”

“Ah, graduation, huh. Man, that went by so fast.”

“Hey! Let’s take some pictures!”

Amidst such conversations, I stood alone a little apart, looking at the cherry blossom tree.

Then, a voice called out from behind.

When I turned around, it was my father.

“…It’s been a while, Aoi.”

It had been years since he called me by my name.

“…Dad.”

“Congratulations on your graduation.”

“…Thanks.”

“…I’m sorry,” my father said, bowing his head slightly.

“…It’s fine. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I knew it wasn’t your fault. But… but…”

“It’s really okay now.”

The days of the past… there will come no day when I’ll truly forgive them.

Saying that time heals all wounds is a line only applicable to situations that time can actually resolve.

I know that not everything is so simple.

“…I hate who you are now. I’ll never come to like you again.”

“…”

“But I still love Mom. Since I loved Mom, I also loved you, who loved her.”

So…

“Goodbye, Dad. I loved you.”

As I said this, tears flowed from my father.

Tears he hadn’t shown in public since that day.