Chapter 96 – The Letter I Never Sent
[Setting: Rika's Apartment – Nightfall]
The evening air carried the faint scent of spring—earthy, nostalgic, and full of soft rain. The city outside her window was calm. A quiet contrast to the storm that had once raged inside her.
Rika sat at her small wooden desk, a single desk lamp illuminating the pages of her journal. The light was warm, the shadows soft.
A blank page stared back at her. Not accusingly, but patiently.
She took a breath, pressed the tip of her pen to the paper.
And began.
---
Dear Naoto,
I never sent you this letter.
I suppose that makes it less of a message to you and more of one to myself.
But I want to believe that somehow, somewhere—
You'll understand it anyway.
---
[Flashback – Chapter 27 Era]
She remembered the sleepover by the riverbank. The way Naoto had laughed—softly, vulnerably—for the first time.
"I don't laugh like that anymore," Rika whispered now.
In her memory, his hand had brushed against hers under the night sky, unintentionally. But she hadn't moved it away.
---
I used to think love was about ending up together.
About winning someone's heart and holding onto it like a trophy.
But love… it's quieter than that.
More tragic. More beautiful.
---
The pen scratched softly as she continued.
Souta peeked through the open door, silently checking on her, but didn't step inside. He saw her curled up at the desk, writing like it hurt—and healed—all at once.
He turned and let her be.
---
[Mini-Inner Monologue: Rika]
If I could rewind time…
Would I still fall for you?
Would I still wait, even when I already knew the ending?
Yes.
I would.
Because those moments with you were the only ones I ever felt whole.
---
She paused, staring at a line for a long time before continuing.
---
You once said, "People are like seasons."
And maybe we were never meant to be each other's forever—
Just each other's spring.
Just a season of growth, of pain, of feeling alive.
---
[Setting Change: Flashback — A Hospital Room]
Her mother had been asleep in the bed, the monitors beeping steadily. Naoto had been sitting beside her, head bowed, eyes red. It was one of the rare times Rika had seen him cry.
"I'm not strong," he'd whispered that night.
She hadn't replied. Only sat beside him and offered her silence as shelter.
---
And now…
I no longer wait for you.
But that doesn't mean I stopped loving you.
It just means I finally understand love doesn't demand possession.
---
Her eyes misted. But she didn't stop.
---
If you're holding someone's hand now…
If your daughter ever asks you about your youth,
I hope you smile.
I hope I'm a good memory.
Not the first. Not the last.
Just… one that mattered.
---
She reached the final lines.
---
I loved you once.
And in a small, quiet way—
I always will.
But it's time.
To close the book.
And begin a new one.
– Yours once,
Rika Hayato
---
She put the pen down. A shaky breath escaped her lips. But her heart felt lighter.
Not free of the past.
But at peace with it.
---
[Final Scene — Living Room, Later That Night]
Rika handed the sealed letter to Souta.
"Don't send it," she said. "Just keep it. For me."
He looked at her quietly, eyes gentle. "Always."
As she leaned her head on his shoulder, a single cherry blossom petal landed on the windowsill.
Outside, the wind moved forward.
And so did she.
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