Chapter 2: Revived Memories

There you go.

(I've been so caught up in composing my next song that I completely forgot...)

(We always go to visit Mom's grave to take care of it around this time...)

...I'm sorry, Mom.

I'll talk to you a lot today to make up for it, okay?

I even brought your favorite carnations. ...I hope you'll like them.

...They're so pretty.

Kanade-chan, are you all done tidying up here?

Oh, yeah... I even offered the flowers.

Thank you, they look very lovely.

They do, don't they...?

I'll offer some fruits and sweets. Here you go, dango and rakugan.¹

And then your mother's absolute favorite: usukawa manjuu.²

When she was staying in the hospital, she often ate these with you, didn't she?

Yeah, I guess we did...

There was a shop near the hospital that always sold fresh batches of them, so I'd often go there to buy some for her.

Hehe, that's right. I remember now.

Oh, yes, have you eaten yet, Kanade-chan? I still have plenty of manjuu to go around.

Oh... I'm all right. I want you to give it to my mother.

Your mother already has enough, I think. And besides...

I think she'd be happy to eat with you again, just like old times.

Oh...

...Then, I'll take one.

All right, here you are.

Thank you.

...It tastes so good.

(...Together, huh...)

(I wonder if Mom is eating right now, too.)

...Ahaha...

Why are you laughing?

Ah... Excuse me. ...your face just looked so kind, Kanade-chan.

Kind...?

Mmhm. Before, whenever you came here, you looked like you were in such pain when you looked at your mother's grave... Like you were blaming yourself for something.

...If you need to talk, don't hesitate to come to me, okay?

Ah...

But, right now, you can smile because of your mother's memory, right?

So... I'm happy.

Grandma...

...I'm sorry for worrying you.

...I'm sure I've changed thanks to all of my friends.

You mean your friends from that music-making group, right?

Mmhm... They don't just help me when it comes to making music, but they support me in other ways too.

So whenever I push myself too hard, sometimes they scold me for that...

Ohoho, sounds like you've made some good friends.

Why don't you tell your mother what you've been up to recently?

Sure.

(...Mom...)

(...I wonder what it's like where you are now.)

(I've been doing well. ...Though I pushed myself a bit too far a little bit ago.)

(I've been taking care of myself since then, though. Especially since everyone's so worried about me.)

(So I hope you can rest easy, Mom.)

(...A long time ago...)

(A long time ago... I used to avoid thinking about you.)

(Those precious memories were so bittersweet and weighed so heavily on me sometimes that I felt like I couldn't move.)

(But now... I can remember you, bit by bit.)

(Like that time we threw a surprise party for Dad. The cake you made that day was delicious.)

(And then... I really liked it when you would read picture books to me. I loved your kind voice.)

(And when you taught me how to cook... I still remember the warm scents from that day.)

(and...)

Kanade...

I hope you'll always be happy.

I'll be going on ahead of you, but...even if you can't see me, I'll always be right by your side.

So...don't feel like you're alone.

I'll always and forever be thinking of you, okay...?

Mama...?

(...You were always wishing for my happiness, even until the very end.)

(So that even after you were gone, I could be happy.)

(What you said to me back then is still...my greatest treasure...)

...Well, I suppose we'd better head on home.

Kanade-chan, why don't we split some of these sweets? Which would you like?

Oh, well... I'll have some of the manjuu.

Hehe, then why don't you take all of them? You should share them with your friends.

...Okay.

..I'm glad I came here today.

Thanks for inviting, grandma.

I'm happy you came with me too.

...I'm sorry you have to live all by your lonesome. If I was in better health, we could live together...

It's okay, I promise. You always call me, so I'm not lonely.

...Thank you.

When you get home, are you going right back to working on your music?

Yes.

(...Though it's not going very well...)

...Is something wrong, Kanade-chan?

Why?

Well, your face turned quite sour just now. ...Is something bothering you?

Well ... ...

... ...It's about one of my friends.