Chapter 79: Lingering Echoes
The days that followed were quieter, gentler, as if the storm that had wrapped itself around Naoto's world had begun to fade into a silent mist. But the scars were still there, beneath the surface. Himari had returned to her usual self on the outside, offering calm smiles and thoughtful glances, but Naoto could still feel the heaviness in her heart, just as he could feel the weariness in his own.
Rika, though still bright and warm around the group, had started pulling away ever so subtly. Her laughter still filled the room, but it no longer reached her eyes like it used to. And Souta—perhaps the only one who truly noticed—began to linger beside her more often. He didn't ask questions. He just stayed.
One particularly calm evening, the group found themselves back at the riverside, the spot that had once held so many memories. The wind was light, the sky painted in fading strokes of lavender and gold.
Naoto sat between Himari and Rika, though a subtle space now separated them. Aiko, Shun, Souta, and Haruka were a short distance away, tossing stones into the river and talking in low, mellow voices.
"It feels different now," Rika murmured, pulling her knees to her chest. "Like something's ending."
Naoto turned to her, unsure of how to respond. She wasn't wrong. Something was ending—their youth, their certainty, perhaps even the illusion that everything would always stay the same.
"Not ending," Himari said gently, brushing her hair back as the breeze caught it. "Just changing."
Rika looked toward the horizon. "Change hurts."
Naoto's heart tightened. He wanted to reach out, to say something that would ease that quiet sadness in her voice, but he didn't. Because he wasn't the one who could do that anymore.
It was Souta who moved beside Rika soon after. He didn't speak. He just handed her a juice box with a goofy grin. "Strawberry," he said. "Your favorite."
She blinked, caught off-guard, and let out a soft laugh. "You remembered."
"Of course I did," Souta replied. "You always said it tastes like childhood."
Naoto watched them from a short distance, something inside him loosening. Maybe this, too, was a kind of healing.
Later that night, as the stars stretched across the sky, Naoto walked with Himari along the quiet path leading away from the river.
"Are you scared?" she asked.
"Of what?"
"The future."
He paused. "Yeah," he admitted. "But not because I don't want it. I'm scared because I don't want to hurt anyone getting there."
Himari nodded, her fingers brushing his. "Then let's walk carefully. Together."
Back at home, Rika sat on her balcony, her journal resting on her lap. Her pen moved slowly across the page.
_"Dear Naoto,
Even now, I can still remember the sound of your laughter echoing down the school halls. I still remember the day we first became friends, and how you always tried to hide your pain behind those quiet eyes. I fell in love with your strength, Naoto, but I knew deep down you were always walking toward someone else.
It hurts. It will always hurt. But I also understand now that loving someone doesn't mean you get to keep them. Sometimes, loving means letting go and wishing them the happiness they found in someone else.
Thank you for being my first love. And thank you for breaking my heart gently.
-Rika_"
She closed the book, wiped away a tear, and turned to where Souta sat beside her, sipping soda and pretending not to notice she was crying.
"You know," she said, her voice hoarse, "I think I'm finally ready to stop chasing something that was never mine."
Souta didn't look at her. He just nodded and said, "Then let's start walking toward what is."
The stars watched in silence as the night settled, and the echoes of what once was began to fade into what could still be.