Her words shook me to the core.
I never expected to see her again, but Sayu had the opposite idea.
She was telling me that even after she became an adult and had all the freedom that entailed, she still wanted to come and see me.
The moment I opened my mouth to reply, the airport intercom sounded.
It was a warning that the flight I’d booked was boarding soon.
The time had come for us to say good-bye.
“Okay,” I told Sayu, nodding firmly. “I won’t wait for you. But…” I placed my hand on her head again and rustled her hair. “If there’s a chance we’ll meet again…I guess I’ll look forward to that.”
Sayu’s eyes overflowed with emotion. This time, I saw the tears that had welled up in her eyes stream down her cheeks. She was a true crybaby, right to the bitter end.
“Okay… See you, then.”
I raised a hand to wave good-bye.
Sayu wiped her tears on the sleeve of her uniform and gave me a great big smile.
“Okay… See you!”
She waved back at me, fresh tears pouring from her eyes.
I turned my back to her, then started walking toward the terminal.
We’d finally bid farewell to our life together.
I could feel the loneliness swirling in my chest.
But I was sure this feeling was only temporary. Once I got home and went to work the next day—just like I always did—things would begin to go back to the way they were before.
All of us were trying our best to deal with what was happening right now. Over time, though, those powerful emotions would fade and become only sweet memories.
Sayu’s feelings for me were probably the same.
Once she restarted her life as a high schooler, she’d meet other people, and maybe she’d even have a full-fledged relationship with one of them. She’d have a lot more in common with someone like that—someone closer to home.
I seriously doubted she’d come back to visit me to pursue a romantic relationship. And even if she did, I might be involved with someone else at that point.
And yet…
I had a brief urge to turn back. But I squashed it and kept moving forward.
I wanted to see the adult Sayu would become. That, at least, I knew for sure. I wanted to see her again once she’d grown up…when she’d taken control of her life and found her own answers.
As much as I hoped it would happen, I knew that, realistically, it wouldn’t. These two feelings were mixing together inside me to produce the helpless sense of loneliness I was experiencing.
I remembered how I’d said “See you” to Sayu.
She had said the same thing back to me. We’d parted with the mutual hope that one day we’d see each other again. Maybe it wouldn’t be so strange if, by some coincidence, we really did reunite.
With that optimistic thought in mind, I finished checking in and headed toward the gate.
But just before I went through it, I found myself looking back over my shoulder. The airport was full of people rushing to and fro, but Sayu was nowhere to be seen.
With a mix of relief and disappointment, I chuckled softly, though I wasn’t entirely sure why.
Stomping my feet loudly as I walked, I proceeded toward the plane.
It was time to go home—back to a life without Sayu.
“Welcome back.”
“…Hi.”
When Sayu reached the car, she was weirdly calm.
“Are you ready to go, then?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“You can wait until the plane takes off if you want.”
“Nah.”
She sat in the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.
“…Should we go straight home? Did you want to stop anywhere?”
“Home’s fine.”
“…Okay, then.”
With that, I started the engine.
She’d called it “home.” That meant she recognized the house where she lived with our mother as her own home.
This brought me great relief. And yet, at the same time, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was mostly thanks to the person she’d just said good-bye to.
I pulled the car out of the airport parking lot and onto the road, which felt strangely wide and open.
Glancing at Sayu out of the corner of my eye, I saw she was leaning her head against the window, the right side of her face covered by her hair.
But I could see her reflection clearly in the glass. It was obvious she’d been crying a lot.
“…You’ll miss him, won’t you?” I whispered, and her head dipped in a nod.
“Did you get to tell him everything you wanted to in the end?” I asked.
I realized this probably wasn’t the best time to make conversation, but I couldn’t help it.
For a long while, Sayu simply carried on sniffling to herself, not saying a word.
I wasn’t going to force her to answer, so I just focused on driving. But then…
“…It’s not the end,” she said at last.
Somehow, that answer told me all I needed to know about the strength of her feelings for him.
“…I see,” I said, blowing a puff of air through my nose. “Well…you’d better work hard, then.”
Once again, her head bent forward in a nod.
I really was envious of this Mr. Yoshida. He’d carefully healed my sister’s wounds—the ones I’d struggled for years to fix—and now he’d even become the goal she was working toward.
I gripped the steering wheel and snorted.
Sayu seemed like a quiet person, but she was actually quite stubborn. Once she decided to do something, she always found the strength to see it through. I didn’t know where that strength came from. But as long as that momentum drove her forward, I knew she’d be okay.
“…I can’t wait to see how things turn out in a few years,” I murmured to myself under the sound of the engine.
Now it was time to think through everything I could do to help my little sister when she inevitably announced she’d be going to Tokyo.
Thinking about my family’s future had never felt so fun.