“Do you have anything you want to tell your family, Kaoru?” Even in my dreams, Reiko kept herself calm and collected.
“Oh, it’s all good. I already made sure to say my goodbyes to them. See ya, you two, and farewell!”
Kaoru vanished into thin air, leaving only Reiko and I left. After making sure that I had finally stopped crying first, Reiko burst into tears herself.
“Ahh... Aaaaaahhhhhh!” She bawled her eyes out as she clung to me. “Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”
As I watched Reiko cry, I finally understood. She was just that type of girl, always holding herself back, putting others before her...
“I’m sorry, Reiko... Even though I knew we didn’t have much time, I went and wasted it... Even though this should have been valuable time for you to talk with Kaoru more...”
I held Reiko tight, and the two of us just kept on crying...
...Morning. My alarm clock was ringing at the usual time, waking me up just like always. As I got up, I noticed my pillow was soaking wet with a mixture of tears, drool, and snot. Even in my dreams, Kaoru was Kaoru, and Reiko was Reiko. My best friends...
Then my phone began ringing on the side table next to my bed. My closest friends knew I would wake up at 5 a.m. on the dot on weekdays, and if they needed to get a hold of me first thing in the morning, they would call between 5 and 5:01 a.m. Anytime after that and I’d be busy going to the bathroom, washing my face, or cooking or something. It wasn’t like anyone would call me that early more than a few times a year anyway. Today just happened to be one of those few times. But who could it be this early in the morning?
Reaching for my phone, I had a feeling I knew who it was. Even though I thought it couldn’t be possible, part of me was still half-convinced I was right.
Picking up my phone, I pressed the call button and placed it against my ear.
“Hey... Yeah. Huh? Settle things with God? How though? Wait, punch them? Like, but how? No, I’m totally on board! Do you wanna go to a shrine and kick around their donation box? Yeah? Got it. We’ll head over to Kaoru’s place for a bit of information gathering then. Yeah, sounds good! See you Saturday!”
Pressing the end call button on my phone, I sat myself down on my bed.
Heh...
My face broke into a grin.
Ehe, eheheh. Eheheheheh...
I hugged my pillow tight. Eugh, it’s all sticky...
Kaoru didn’t tell her friends about the whole “being younger again” thing. Somehow, just imagining what their reactions would be like was a terrifying prospect for her...