Chapter 25
His thoughts sank into memories his mind had once filtered out, now returning with crystal clarity. Kanzaki Tomomu finally understood the source of that strangely familiar warmth.
It was his mother's embrace from when he was a child.
No worries. No anxieties. He could fall asleep in perfect peace.
Kanzaki Tomomu's entire body relaxed. The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile he had not worn in 157 years.
The memories that had been sealed away for so long flooded back like a tide.
So that was how it was.
Let it be, then.
Only pity that joy and sorrow go unseen, only sigh that love's threads pull us apart. The north wind swirls snow and scatters petals, the past tangles in broken heartstrings. Endless words left unsaid, only memories remain in empty longing. In the end, a lone plum endures the cold years, unable to find the boy I once was.
The instant Kanzaki Tomomu's eyes were about to close, a single tear slipped from the corner of his eye and silently soaked into the ground.
"Clarisse… thank you for staying with me until the very end…"
I should go now.
Take care.
[Remaining Lifespan: 25 minutes 34 seconds → 0]
Clarisse's attention was still on the poem Kanzaki Tomomu had recited. The moment she heard his quiet thanks, she felt the breath leave his body in her arms.
Her arms trembled as she gently laid his head on her lap.
His face wore a clean, peaceful smile, like a child who had finally let go of every burden and fallen into a deep sleep.
He left the world so calmly.
Clarisse's vision blurred. Large tears rolled down her cheeks and fell onto Kanzaki Tomomu's face.
Her fingers gently traced the lines of his features as she spoke in a hoarse, choked voice.
"…You almost tricked me again…"
You said you knew exactly when you would die. You said there was no need to celebrate your birthday early.
And yet…
In the end, you couldn't even reach 175 years.
Why… why couldn't you stay just a little longer? Why couldn't you feel a little more of the warmth I tried to give you?
Clarisse leaned down, pressing her forehead gently against his.
The night was completely silent.
A long time passed. Clarisse's lips moved softly as she left a kiss on his cold ones.
Her fingertips brushed over his closed eyelids before she slowly straightened up.
At that moment, Kanzaki Tomomu's youthful face began to fade, gradually returning to the appearance of an old man with white hair and a peaceful expression.
The night was still long.
Clarisse took off her own coat and gently covered him with it, then looked up at the starry sky.
How much she wished Kanzaki Tomomu had told her just a little while ago that after death, people become stars and watch over those they leave behind from the night sky.
At least a lie like that could offer some comfort, couldn't it…?
Clarisse held Kanzaki Tomomu in her arms like that until dawn.
The rising sun chased away the long night, bringing warm light to everything that had endured the frost.
Morning rays fell on the two figures in front of the bamboo house, yet neither could feel their warmth.
"Life is a winding labyrinth. Aside from memory, we have nothing."
A figure whose face could not be seen appeared quietly, stopping a few meters away.
Hearing the familiar words spoken in an unfamiliar female voice, Clarisse slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were dim, but she showed no surprise, only silence.
She had known this moment would come.
The ability to see those translucent afterimages of the past had already been the clearest sign.
"Do you wish to remember him? To remember his entire life?"
"What price will I have to pay?" Clarisse asked.
"Until you choose to reveal yourself, others will have no way of knowing you exist."
"Like how people never knew swans could be any color other than white until they saw a black swan?"
"Just like that."
"I understand."
"Are you willing to spend your entire life collecting memories?"
"I am."
"Are you willing to give up your physical body and accept a change in your very self?"
"I am."
"If one day you cease to exist, what will you leave behind for the world?"
"My memories. They contain the seeds of the past, and they will be reborn in the future." Clarisse answered.
In that instant, a gaze crossed the sea of stars and fell upon her.
"Welcome to the Garden of Recollection, Miss Clarisse."
Some memories are small and warm. Some are vast and grand.
Some memories are as gentle as pets, while others are as fierce as wild beasts.
The moment Clarisse became a Memokeeper, her memories grew quiet and peaceful, like turbulent waves that had finally found their harbor.
"Call me Black Swan."
Until the day they meet again, people always believe the past means farewell forever.
But swans are not only white, and farewell is not always forever.
The Memokeeper who had guided her gave a small nod. Her figure faded and quietly disappeared.
Clarisse… no…
Black Swan's eyes held a gentleness reserved only for Kanzaki Tomomu, and it grew even deeper now.
Countless memory fragments swirled around her before vanishing.
They did not disappear. They became a single seed.
People always think they are facing the present and the future, yet none of them realize that everyone is actually walking toward the past.
"Kanzaki Tomomu… I can finally keep you in my heart… for all of eternity."
Black Swan lifted Kanzaki Tomomu into her arms. Her feet left the ground as she floated back toward the bamboo house to do one last thing for him.
To bury him beneath the plum blossoms and return him to the earth.
It was his final wish.
The entrance to the folding space inside the bamboo house was still hidden, but Black Swan could enter without any hindrance.
Inside was the eternal resting place Kanzaki Tomomu had prepared for himself.
"Meow…"
Seeing Little Orange, a flash of sorrow crossed Black Swan's face.
"…You're here too…"
She carefully laid Kanzaki Tomomu's body down. Little Orange jumped up and rubbed its head against his cold cheek.
"Meow…"
Its voice trembled. It was grieving.
Black Swan took a deep breath and brought out Kanzaki Tomomu's belongings: his white coat and his stringed instrument.
She folded the coat neatly and placed it beside him along with the instrument.
When she was done, she stared at his aged face in silence.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't accept fate as calmly as you did…"
"I'm sorry… I took your memories, all so I could selfishly keep you with me forever…"
"If there is a next life and we meet again, I hope you'll say to me… 'It's been a long time.'"
No one knew how much time passed. Black Swan's finger finally came down on the activation key.
The entrance opened, revealing the dark space within.
She watched as Kanzaki Tomomu's body was slowly carried inside, then closed her eyes.
The gate sealed shut. Flames ignited within, completely consuming his remains.
Sending off the person you love with your own hands is perhaps the most painful thing in the world.
But no matter how painful it was, she would finish it all.
…Because she now carried every part of him inside her.
For Kanzaki Tomomu, today was his birthday.
And also the day of his passing.
...
Several hours later, Black Swan stood at the top of the back mountain in front of the old plum tree, holding an urn of ashes.
It was midday. Sunlight bathed the entire plum grove, turning the scene into something out of a dream.
"You were planning to harvest plum blossoms today, weren't you…"
In the end, they had missed it.
After laying Kanzaki Tomomu to rest, Black Swan placed a simple stone marker for him.
She thought for a long time before letting out a sigh filled with complicated emotion.
Her finger traced through the air, and five words appeared on the stone.
[Kanzaki Tomomu's Grave]
The wind grew stronger, carrying falling plum petals that drifted down in front of the marker.
An orange figure darted out from behind and lay down at the base of the stone.
One person and one cat stayed there together, bathed in the warm sunlight.
For a long, long time…
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