When I think back on our childhood now, how we used to run and play through the fields together with you following closely, no matter where we went, it all feels like a lifetime ago. Satoshi, I pray you’ll grow up to be the very picture of a Japanese gentleman.
Take care of Mother for me.
Dear Keiko,
While I know I didn’t really get the chance to watch over and protect you like an older brother should have, know that not a day has passed in which you haven’t crossed my mind, and in which I haven’t worried for you and your future. I know you said you wanted nothing more than to go back to school; rest assured that the war is nearing its end, and soon enough, you’ll be able to return to the classroom and be reunited with your friends. When that day comes, I ask only that you devote yourself wholeheartedly to your studies. There is still so much about this world I wish to know but will never get the chance to—so please do your brother proud and learn as much as you possibly can. There is nothing that would make me happier.
And if I might ask one final favor: Do look after Mother and Father once I’m gone.
He’d written each letter in such a different tone of voice, and yet I could truly feel the emotion lingering behind each and every word. They were by no means sappy letters, but I could still certainly tell that he’d cared for his siblings more than anything else in the world.
I blinked a few times, as my lips curled into the gentlest of smiles. There was something deeply gratifying about finding this here, in my own time—like it was tangible proof that Akira really had existed, that he wasn’t just a figment of my imagination.
Then I walked a few steps forward, and my eyes landed on the next letter in the display case. This one was in surprisingly good shape compared to the others—almost as if it had remained sealed in its envelope until only recently, never having been read by its original recipient. Finding this a bit odd, I leaned closer to get a better look.
And then I let out a silent gasp.
The first two words of the letter were: “Dear Yuri.”
No way… Is this that letter? The one I left behind at Tsuru’s?
My fingers trembled against the glass display case.
What were the chances I’d find his letter to me here, of all places?
I leaned my upper body over the glass and pored over the words.
Immediately, I got so absorbed in the letter, I forgot to even blink.
Dear Yuri.
I know that writing you a letter like this might be a cruel thing for me to do, since it will probably only make it harder for you to say goodbye.
But I can’t bear the thought of letting these feelings go forever unsaid—of letting them simply fizzle into nothing as though they were never there at all, like tiny bubbles in the sea. So let this letter be my final testament to you, in which I confess to you my truest emotions. If you would at least hear me out and read this letter to the end, I would greatly appreciate it.
I know I told you before that I think of you like a little sister.
But I’m sorry to say that that was a bold-faced lie.
The truth is, I was in love with you. You were the most earnest, sincere, and gentle soul I ever had the pleasure of meeting—and I loved you from the bottom of my heart.
If only we had been born in a different time, I would have loved nothing more than to live out my days with you and spend the rest of our lives together.
But alas, that is a dream that will never come true. Because come half past one tomorrow, I will be heading off—never to return—to do my duty to our country.
As I write this letter to you now, I am gazing up at the same sky that will soon serve as my grave—sitting upon that very hill you loved so much. The one where lilies bloom.
With every breath, the sweet fragrance of your namesake flower fills my lungs.
Like these beautiful flowers, there is a simple pureness to you. The way you wear your heart on your sleeve was so magnetic, so endearing that I couldn’t help falling head over heels for you.
The sky tonight is so gorgeous and vast—the stars are shining brightly overhead, just like they did the last time I was here with you.
I’m content to entrust my life to a sky like that.
To protect this world, where lilies like you can bloom.
I pray only that you find happiness in this life. That your smile can shine on forever.
Yuri… What I wouldn’t give to see you again—just one last time, before I go.
But I know that sounds silly, when we only said goodbye less than an hour ago.
I’m still not sure what it is about you that makes it so hard for me to let go.
You must live on, Yuri. I can’t tell how much it’s pained me to watch you suffer and struggle for simply being born in the wrong place at the wrong time.
You can rest easy, because this war will soon be over.
Perhaps even much sooner than you even think. I promise you that much.
So please: You must do whatever it takes to survive until then.
That is the only thing I find myself wishing for—on this, my last night on Earth.
May you live to see a better world than this one.
So long, Yuri. And farewell.
I was sobbing.
Before I’d even made it halfway through the letter, my eyes were so blurry with tears that I could barely read it. No matter how hard I tried to wipe them away, they just kept on coming—streaming down my cheeks and dripping down onto the glass.
Oh, Akira… What I wouldn’t give to see you just one more time…
My legs gave out from under me, and I collapsed in a heap on the floor.
My classmates looked over at me in shock and concern, but I couldn’t stop. I just kept sobbing convulsively, my whimpering voice the only sound echoing through the otherwise silent exhibition hall.
“…Akira… Akira…”
Sniffling, I turned my head to look at the opposite wall.
The one lined with rows upon rows of black-and-white portraits.
I found him in an instant. Even among dozens and dozens of others, his photo stuck out to me immediately, almost as if his was the only face I could see in color.
I staggered to my feet, then stumbled as fast as I could over to it, practically throwing myself against the wall. There, in a tiny rectangular frame, was Akira’s smiling face—the same gentle smile I knew so well. And sticking out from his chest pocket, there were two lily flowers lying side by side, nestled right up against his heart.
Oh my god… He really loved me, didn’t he?
He was the first person I’d ever loved. Although I wouldn’t find out until seventy years later, he loved me deeply, in his own quiet way. From both his letter and this photo, his true feelings were all too painfully clear.
I fell to the floor again, no longer able to keep myself from bawling.
“…Are you okay, Kano-san…?” asked Hashiguchi, rushing over to kneel by my side.
No… Ugh… Now everyone’s looking at me like I’m some freak…
But try as I might, there was nothing I could do to stop the tears.
In the end, I just kept wailing and crying like a toddler until eventually the teachers came to collect me and carried me out of the building.