Morning broke in silence.
The town was gone.
No wind, no sea, no birdsong—just white, endless space stretching in every direction like a blank page.
Yuki stood in the middle of it, barefoot, the notebook in his hands.
Ami stood a few steps away, her sundress glowing faintly.
"It's time," she said.
He opened the notebook.
Only one box left.
12. Wake up.
His hands trembled.
"If I go… I'll lose all of this. You. Everything."
Ami nodded. "That's what makes it beautiful."
"I don't want to forget you."
"You won't," she said softly, stepping closer. "Not really. Maybe not by name. Maybe not by face. But somewhere—deep in your heart—you'll remember how this felt."
She touched his chest.
"You'll wake up one day and see the world differently. You'll pause at the sound of waves. You'll cry when you laugh. You'll meet someone, and feel like you've known them forever."
Tears slipped down his cheeks. "Will I see you again?"
"If this was made from your heart," she whispered, "then I'll always be there."
Yuki looked down at the final checkbox.
He picked up the pencil.
Drew a slow, trembling line through the box.
And then—everything dissolved.
---
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
The world returned in hospital white.
Machines humming. Soft footsteps. A hand holding his.
Yuki blinked slowly.
His mother gasped.
"Nurse! He's—he's awake!"
Voices flooded the room. Warmth. Movement. Tears.
But through it all, he held onto one thing.
Not a memory. Not a picture.
A feeling.
Of stars. Of laughter. Of a girl in a sundress dancing under the sky.
Later, when he was strong enough to walk, Yuki asked to sit outside. He stared up at the summer sky, quiet and blue.
A breeze passed by.
It smelled like peaches.
He didn't understand why he smiled… but he did.
And somewhere, on the other side of memory, a girl crossed off the last box in a notebook, and quietly disappeared with the wind.
---
The End.