The bell above the café door rang, a soft, clear chime that echoed just enough to settle into the warmth of the room. It was a sound I had heard countless times, yet somehow it felt sharper today, like it was cutting through something I hadn't noticed before.
Kei tilted her head, her eyes filled with quiet curiosity as she looked at me.
"What's Nikki?"
For a moment, I hesitated. Not because the question was difficult, but because answering it meant reaching back into a part of my life I hadn't thought about in years.
"Right… I guess you wouldn't know about it," I said, glancing at my phone. The screen's light felt strangely cold. "It's a social media site. Back when I was in High scool school, it was really popular. Pretty much everyone used it."
Even as I explained, it felt distant. Like I was describing something that no longer belonged to this world.
"Did you use it?" Kei asked.
"I made an account," I answered. "But I never really used it."
That was the truth. At least on the surface.
Because while I didn't use it, there was someone who did.
Uguisu-san.
She used it constantly, not to talk to people or share her life openly, but to write. A diary. Something quiet, something private. Something no one else was meant to see.
Before I could drift any deeper into that thought, the bell rang again.
Ding ding…
Kei straightened immediately. "Ah, welcome."
I looked up just as Hiro and Kousuke walked in, bringing with them a familiar kind of energy that made the café feel more alive.
"Hey there," Hiro said casually. "Haven't seen you since the live reading."
"Oh, Hiro," I replied. "Thanks for what you guys did back then."
Kousuke waved it off with a grin. "Nah, it was nothing. I had fun."
"Good to hear," I said, gesturing toward the menu. "Help yourselves to whatever you like. My treat."
"Wow, lucky us," Kousuke said immediately.
Hiro glanced at him. "Don't go overboard, dude."
"I'm not," he shot back without hesitation. "I'm full of energy now."
The usual back-and-forth started up, the kind of conversation that didn't need thinking. It just flowed. Normally, I would have relaxed into it.
But today, something felt off.
Maybe it was because my phone was still in my hand.
Maybe it was because of what was on the screen.
Hiro's eyes drifted toward it.
"Oh," he said. "Nikki is shutting down."
I blinked. "It is?"
"Yeah. Looks like it."
I looked down again, really noticing the notification this time. "I didn't know until just now."
Then, almost without thinking, I added, "Uguisu-san used to always use it."
The moment I said her name, the atmosphere shifted.
Kei looked at me. "Uguisu-nee did social media?"
Kousuke tilted her head. "She didn't seem like the type."
"All she did was keep a diary," I said. "It wasn't public. I never saw it either."
Hiro nodded. "There were a lot of people like that. At one point, they even had a service that could turn those diaries into books."
"Huh… I didn't know that," I murmured.
Most people probably used it that way. Not to connect, but to record. To leave something behind.
I found myself staring at the screen without really seeing it.
I wonder what her diary looks like.
Did she keep writing… all the way until the end?
"I'll try logging in one last time before it's gone," Hiro said, already pulling out his phone.
"Then I will too," Kousuke added.
"Show me too," Kei said, leaning in with interest.
"Sure," Kousuke said, then paused. "…Except I don't remember my password."
"So much for that... Nii-san?" Kei replied immediately.
"I'll take a look too," I said.
I didn't even think about it. My fingers were already moving.
The login screen appeared, but it looked different.
"Did it always look like this?" I muttered.
"It's changed a lot," Hiro said. "Hard to feel nostalgic like this."
"Let me see," Kousuke leaned over. "Oh… yeah, it is different."
But I wasn't really paying attention anymore.
A notification caught my eye.
Unread messages.
Most of them were about the shutdown.
Except one.
"A… friend acceptance?" I whispered.
That didn't make sense. I hadn't sent any requests recently.
Then it hit me.
"Ah…"
Kei looked at me. "What is it?"
"N-Nothing," I said quickly.
But I remembered.
A long time ago, back when we were still in school, I had sent a friend request to Uguisu-san. It was such a small thing that I had completely forgotten about it.
Until now.
I looked at the date.
The day she accepted it.
It was the same day she finished writing her novel.
My chest tightened.
If I accepted it now, I would be able to see her diary.
Everything she wrote.
Everything she felt.
Was this intentional?
Was this her way of leaving something behind?
Of entrusting it to me?
"Nii-san?" Kei's voice pulled me back.
"It's nothing," I said again, forcing my expression to stay steady.
But I could feel it.
The sting behind my eyes.
This wasn't good. Lately, it didn't take much for me to start tearing up.
I wanted to read it right away.
I really did.
But I stopped myself.
Not here.
Not in front of everyone.
I'll wait until tonight.
When I'm alone.
…
By the time I got home, the world felt quieter than usual.
I sat down, turned on my phone, and opened Nikki again.
The login process felt heavier now, like each step carried weight.
When my profile page loaded, I saw it immediately.
Her name.
Uguisu.
Listed as a friend.
For a few seconds, I just stared at it.
Then I tapped.
Her page opened.
And the first thing I did was go to her diary.
"She really kept writing…" I muttered.
There were so many entries.
They stretched back through the years, far beyond when I first met her.
According to the timeline, she had been writing even before that.
The earliest entry was from eight years ago.
I hesitated for a moment.
Then I opened it.
I've decided to keep a diary.
The hospital told me I wouldn't have long to live.
They don't think I'll make it another ten years.
My breath caught.
The words were simple.
Too simple.
It took a while for that to sink in.
Even now, I have trouble believing it.
But death comes without warning for most people.
A car accident.
Something sudden.
Everything could end before they're ready.
I kept reading, my eyes fixed on the screen.
So maybe I'm lucky.
I still have time.
If nothing else, I want to leave my mark on the world.
"…What were you thinking when you wrote this?" I whispered.
A teenage girl.
Writing something like this so calmly.
She once told me she had to be strong.
This must have been what she meant.
I moved to the next entry.
And the next.
At first, it was just a normal diary.
What she ate.
What she read.
The weather.
Simple, everyday things.
But as I kept going, something started to change.
The tone shifted.
And then, during her second year…
My name appeared.
The first time, it was just a small mention.
A coincidence.
But then it showed up again.
And again.
Until it became something that couldn't be ignored.
I stopped scrolling for a moment, staring at one particular entry.
April 12
The Literature Club got new members.
Now I have juniors.
I'm a second-year now, so I need to be a good senpai.
My fingers tightened slightly around my phone.
Back then, I didn't think anything of it.
It was just another day.
Just another moment.
But to her…
It was something worth writing down.
Something worth remembering.
Something worth keeping.
And as I sat there, reading the traces of her life left behind in quiet lines of text, I began to realize something I had never understood before.
While I had been living my days without thinking too much about them…
She had been recording hers as if each one mattered.
As if each one was something she might lose.
As if each one was proof that she was still here.
Still alive.
Still existing.
And for the first time, I felt it clearly.
The weight of the time she had carried.
And the meaning behind every word she left behind.
I kept scrolling.
At some point, I stopped thinking of it as "reading."
It felt closer to listening.
Like she was speaking to me from somewhere I could never reach again.
April 20
I'm always the first to arrive at the clubroom.
Getting here first is something I secretly take pride in.
It would be nice if the new members see me reading by the window and think I look cool.
Although I am worried of them thinking I don't have anything better to do.
I couldn't help it.
A small laugh slipped out.
"…You were thinking about that?"
That quiet, composed senpai image she always had… it wasn't effortless after all. She was building it. Carefully. Deliberately. Hoping someone would notice.
April 28
I've noticed that the same student always comes into the clubroom after me.
He's an underclassman called Shin-kun.
He's always the second one here.
I wonder if he's after my title as the first one in the clubroom.
I'd better watch out for him...
I leaned back slightly, staring at the ceiling for a moment.
"So that's what you thought of me?"
A rival for something as trivial as arriving first.
I didn't even know.
To me, it had just been routine. Just habit.
But to her, it was something worth noticing. Something worth writing down.
Something… worth caring about.
June 3
I dropped the book I was reading onto the floor.
The corner got creased.
How depressing.
I smiled again, softer this time.
This side of her… I had never seen it.
Not the calm, reliable senpai.
Not the girl who always spoke with quiet strength.
Just a girl.
A normal girl who got upset over a bent page.
"…You really were trying your best, weren't you…"
July 7
It's my birthday.
Everyone in the club threw me a party.
It was such a happy event.
But I'm scared to think about how many more birthdays I will have.
I felt it especially badly today.
That's probably why I told the members something that happened in my past.
It was about a shooting star I saw when I was in elementary school.
I remember Shin-kun was listening very intently.
I don't write novels myself, but I might have a knack for telling stories.
Maybe I'll volunteer to do the live reading at this year's Culture Festival.
My chest tightened.
That line.
"I'm scared to think about how many more birthdays I will have."
She wrote it so calmly.
Like she had already accepted it.
But that calmness made it worse.
Because I knew she hadn't.
Not completely.
"…I was listening," I murmured.
I remembered that day.
Her voice.
Soft, but clear.
The way the room had gone quiet without anyone noticing.
And me, sitting there, completely drawn in.
I didn't realize back then how much it meant to her.
August 3
I've been reading books since the start of summer break.
Does this make me a shut-in?
August 5
I went outside.
It was hot.
I went back in after 5 minutes.
A quiet laugh escaped me again.
"You didn't even try."
August 16
I went to the convenience store and ran into a classmate.
She said a bunch of them are going to the pool.
I wasn't invited.
Or rather, they couldn't invite me.
The pool has been crowded lately, so there's a high risk of me bumping into things.
That would be bad, given my condition.
My classmates know that, so I don't blame them.
I could tell that she felt bad for not being able to invite me.
But…
I would like to have fun with everyone at the pool like a normal person
My hand stopped moving.
The screen blurred for a second.
"…Idiot…"
The word slipped out, but it wasn't directed at her.
It was at myself.
All of this… she had been carrying it alone.
The things she could think about.
The things she could never say.
Every small frustration.
Every quiet longing.
All of it was here.
Laid bare.
And I had never noticed.
Not once.
I clicked "Next Entry."
And kept going.
Because stopping felt impossible.
The more I read, the more real she became again.
Not the version I remembered.
Not the version I lost.
But the version that had always been there.
Just out of reach.
"I thought I knew everything about you…"
My voice felt hollow in the quiet room.
"But I didn't know anything at all."
There were so many sides of her I had never seen.
So many thoughts she had never shown.
And learning them now…
It made me happy.
That I could still discover her.
That she wasn't completely gone.
But at the same time…
"I wish…"
The words caught in my throat.
"I wish I could have known all this back then…"
I gripped my phone a little tighter.
"I wish I could have held you again…"
The screen didn't answer.
It never would.
Still, I kept reading.
Because that was the only way I could stay close to her now.
And then…
The tone changed.
I could feel it immediately.
The entries became different.
More focused.
More… aware.
It was around the time she became a senior.
And I became a sophomore.
July 7
It's my birthday.
I was so happy last year when everyone in the club threw me a party.
It's on Sunday this year, so they all sent me a bunch of birthday messages on LIME instead.
I got a strange message from Shin-kun that night.
He asked if I could see the lighthouse.
So, I went to look and saw a small light flashing from the lighthouse.
Judging by the patterns, it was probably a message in Morse code.
And unless I was mistaken, it said "Happy Birthday".
Could that have been Shin-kun's doing?
Small as it was, that light was like a beacon guiding my way.
It made me happy.
"…Yeah," I whispered.
"That was me."
The memory came back clearly.
The awkwardness.
The hesitation.
Standing there, wondering if she would even notice.
If she would understand.
I wanted to give her something.
Something she could remember.
Something that would stay with her.
Even if everything else didn't.
"This is where it started…"
I scrolled a little more, my thoughts drifting back to that day.
To the clubroom.
To her standing in front of me.
"Umm, yeah. I finished writing it," I had said, trying to sound casual.
"But please read the others first."
"Awards and submissions have deadlines, and I don't have any plans like those, so you can read mine anytime."
"I want to read it."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
I knew.
Even back then, somewhere deep down, I knew.
"The girl in the lighthouse observatory novel…"
My voice was barely a whisper.
"…was Me."
And yet, I still wrote it anyway.
As if putting it into words would make it real.
As if writing it down would make it last.
Just like her.
Just like this diary.
We were both trying to leave something behind.
The only difference was…
She actually succeeded.
I stared at the screen, my fingers hovering as if even the slightest movement might break whatever fragile connection I still had with her. Then I kept reading.
He expressed his feelings for me through his book. It made me feel incredibly happy, but I can't reciprocate his feelings. I had to turn him down. I've rejected confessions before, but this was the first time my chest hurt so much after doing so.
My chest tightened the moment I finished reading it. Back then, all I could think about was my own feelings, my own awkwardness, the sting of being rejected. I convinced myself I understood, that I had accepted it. But I didn't know this part. I didn't know she was hurting too.
"…You really are unfair," I muttered quietly, my gaze dropping slightly.
She had looked so composed when she said it, so calm, like she had already made peace with her decision. I never imagined that behind that calm voice, she had been carrying something just as heavy.
I scrolled further, and the memory shifted into something lighter.
"You drink yours black, senpai?" I asked.
"Does it suit me?" she replied, tilting her head slightly, that faint smile on her lips.
"Yeah, it's mature like you."
"Hehe, really? But I don't much care for coffee."
"Huh, seriously? Then why did you order it?"
"To be precise, I like the taste of coffee, but… I'm bad with hot foods and beverages."
"You have a sensitive tongue?"
"It's quite a hassle."
At the time, it was just a normal conversation, something so trivial I didn't think twice about it. But now, reading it again, it felt different.
"…You never told me that," I whispered.
Something so small, something so easy to overlook, and yet it was still a part of her I never truly saw.
I continued...
I invited him on a shopping trip despite rejecting him just the other day. It was a terrible thing for me to do. But I'll be leaving Japan soon. I don't want Shin-kun to suffer on my account. All I want is to make some memories before I go. Though I'm certain this is just my ego talking.
My grip tightened around my phone.
"Leaving… you already knew." While I was still fumbling through my feelings, unsure of what to do next, she had already been thinking about the end.
And even so, she chose to spend that time with me. Not out of obligation, not out of pity, but because she wanted something to hold onto.
"S-Shin-kun, this is too embarrassing…" her voice echoed in my memory.
"Don't worry. School's over so there's hardly anyone around," I had replied.
"A-Are you sure? That's… better."
"Ah…"
"What is it?"
"Nothing you have to worry about."
"…?"
I could see it clearly, the quiet hallway, the way she hesitated with every step, the way even the smallest moment felt strangely significant.
Then that memory shifted again, and I couldn't help the breath that escaped me.
"…?? Huh? A bridal carry?"
"??!"
"S-Shin-kun! You said nobody was around!"
"I said there was 'hardly' anyone around!"
I let out a quiet, almost helpless laugh. "Why does that stand out so much…" Out of everything, that was the moment she chose to highlight.
Shin-kun found out about my condition. Though personally, being given a bridal carry was a bigger deal to me.
I froze for a moment. "…Seriously?" Out of everything she had been going through, that was what stayed with her. That moment, that feeling, something so simple and fleeting, yet it meant that much to her.
I didn't fall for him then and there. I'm sure I've been drawn to his honesty for as long as I've known him.
My chest tightened again, slower this time, deeper. If she had said that to me back then, I wouldn't have known how to react. I might have been happy, or confused, or maybe I would have just stood there, unable to say anything at all.
"Would you ring this with me?" she asked.
"Huh…?"
"I always thought about it… and longed for it. For the day I could ring this bell with somebody. If you are truly fine with someone such as myself…"
"Let's ring it, together," I answered.
"Shin-kun…"
"Umm… I won't hesitate anymore. I won't be overly considerate either. So please tell me everything you want to do."
That moment felt distant, yet vivid at the same time, like something preserved in glass. Back then, I thought I understood what I was saying. I thought I knew what it meant to stand beside her like that.
He told me I could be normal. He told me to be selfish. I was so happy.
"…You really were," I whispered softly. But she never told me that. Not once. All of that happiness, all of that meaning, she kept it to herself, storing it here instead.
"…Ah, there you are."
"Umm, Senpai, is something the matter?"
"I came to get you."
"Huh? Get me? I was just about to head to club."
"Yes. I wanted us to walk there together."
"I would like for us to walk to school together. Isn't that something that lovers do?"
"Sure, but… isn't your house in the opposite direction from school?"
"Yes. That's why I woke up an hour earlier to get here."
I stared at those words, unmoving. An hour earlier, just for something like that. Something so simple, something I never thought twice about. "…You really went that far," I murmured, feeling a quiet weight settle deep inside my chest.
"Likewise. Pardon the intrusion."
"Senpai, what brings you here over the break?"
"To ask if we could eat lunch together."
The simplicity of it made it hurt even more. Because back then, I treated it like nothing special. Just another day, just another conversation. But to her, each of those moments meant something. Each one was chosen, held onto, written down so it wouldn't disappear.
I lowered my gaze, my reflection faintly visible on the edge of the screen. "I really didn't understand you at all… did I?" I thought I knew her. I thought I had seen everything there was to see. But this version of her, the one speaking through these quiet lines of text, was deeper than anything I had ever reached.
And now, all I could do was keep reading, tracing the pieces she left behind, trying to understand her little by little, even if it was far too late.
My eyes moved again, almost hesitantly now, as if I already knew that whatever came next would hurt more than anything before it.
"Aaah."
"Huh? Err, umm…"
"…Hm? What's the matter? Isn't this what you were going for?"
I could picture it so clearly that it almost felt real again, the awkward distance between us disappearing in an instant, the warmth, the confusion, the way my mind completely failed to keep up with what was happening. Back then, I didn't know how to react, didn't know where to look, didn't know what to say.
I was over the moon. And I did some embarrassing things. But Shin-kun taught me something. That I didn't need to rush our relationship. We would enjoy our scenery at our own pace. What a wonderful philosophy.
My chest tightened quietly. "…I said something like that, huh…" I didn't even remember choosing those words carefully.
To me, it had just been instinct, something I blurted out because I didn't want to mess things up. And yet, to her, it became something worth writing down, something worth holding onto.
I scrolled further.
"Speaking of the Moon, have you heard of a blue moon?"
"Blue moon? Does it turn blue?"
"There are several theories concerning it, but the generally accepted notion is that a blue moon is when two full moons occur in a single month."
"It's nothing special as far as astrological phenomenon go. It's just an uncommon event."
"But it is said that seeing it will bring happiness."
"With the right timing, a supermoon can occur at the same time as a blue moon."
"Huh… that sounds like it would give a lot of happiness."
"So do I."
"Let's watch a super blue moon together sometime."
The words felt distant, like something from a dream I had forgotten until now. I remembered saying it so casually, like it was something that would naturally happen someday.
It would be great if I could see with him someday. I hope my body lasts until that day comes.
My breath caught.
"…Don't say that."
I stared at the screen, my vision blurring slightly. To me, it had been a simple promise, something light, something we could look forward to. But to her… it was a wish tied to time she wasn't sure she even had.
"I'm so grateful to you."
"You were normal around me even after learning about my condition."
"For the short time we were together, you treated me like a normal girl."
"It was a precious, happy experience that I'll never forget."
"Thank you for everything."
Each line felt heavier than the last. My fingers tightened slightly around the phone, as if holding onto it would somehow keep her from slipping further away.
"I don't want to cause him any more grief."
"Unlike myself, he has a long life ahead of him."
"Time will heal his pain."
"So… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"…Idiot."
My voice cracked.
"You don't get to decide that."
The words came out quietly, but they wouldn't reach her. They never would. She had already made that decision on her own, carrying everything by herself until the very end.
I swallowed, forcing my eyes back onto the screen.
"On this warm spring day, we seniors have succeeded in making it to our graduation ceremony."
"The seasons change like the cycles of the Moon, and through them we have spent irreplaceable days at our academy."
I didn't think it would happen, but I graduated. Himeya-kun helped me pull it off. Such a normal event for others was something incredible for me. I'm grateful to him beyond words. I'm so glad that he was by my side.
My vision blurred again, and this time I couldn't stop it.
"…You really did it."
Graduation.
Something so ordinary.
Something I barely thought about.
But for her, it was a miracle.
And I was there.
I was part of it.
That realization hurt more than I expected.
I blinked, trying to steady my breathing, then scrolled further.
It's been one month since I've left Japan. I already want to see Himeya-kun. We talked over a video call. But it's not enough. I want more of him. I don't think it's possible for me to live apart from him. I want to see him. I want to see Himeya-kun so much.
"…Then why didn't you say it?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
"If you felt that way… why didn't you just say it to me?"
My voice sounded hollow in the quiet room.
All this time, I thought I was the one holding onto something.
But she was too.
Maybe even more than I was.
And yet, she never let it show.
She wrote it here instead.
Where I could only find it after everything was already over.
I lowered my gaze, gripping my phone a little tighter.
"…You're really unfair."
Because even now, even after all this time, she was still making my chest feel like this.
And all I could do…
Was keep reading what she left behind.
My fingers trembled as I continued reading, but I didn't stop.
That's why… That's why…
The words cut off there, but I already understood what came after. I didn't need her to finish it.
"She chose… that?"
The realization settled in slowly, heavily, like something my mind refused to accept all at once.
She made the choice to end her treatment early in order to be with me. She picked a short life of certainty with me over an uncertain future. She made that choice… because of me.
"…Uguisu-san…"
Her name slipped out, barely a sound.
For a moment, I almost said it. The words that rose instinctively to my throat.
I'm sorry.
But I stopped myself.
"…No."
That wasn't what she wanted.
If I said it now, it would only deny everything she chose. Everything she believed in. Everything she left behind.
My vision blurred, and this time I didn't try to hold it back. The tears came quietly, falling onto the screen, distorting the words she had written so carefully.
"…Thank you… Uguisu-san."
The words felt small compared to everything she had given me. But they were the only ones I could say without betraying her.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and kept going.
There weren't many entries left.
She had continued writing after returning to Japan. About the day we started Bibliothek. About the day we began living together. Even after she was hospitalized, she kept writing. About her condition. About the treatments. About the pain.
There were things she told me directly.
Things I noticed on my own.
And things… I never knew at all.
Each entry felt heavier than the last, like I was walking toward something I couldn't stop.
Until finally, I reached it.
The last entry.
The date matched the day I finished my novel.
The night we looked up at the moon together for the last time.
My chest tightened as I opened it.
This will probably be my final diary. I'm not really sure what to write. I knew my diary would come to an end at some point. Himeya-kun taught me that it's difficult to end a story. He was absolutely right.
I let out a quiet, shaky breath.
"…You remembered that."
But I want to think that ending my diary will complete the final chapter of my life.
Himeya-kun, this diary is a story of our love.
Like the girl at the lighthouse observatory, you expressed your feelings through. Like the many novels you wrote for me. This diary bears the proof of my feelings.
My grip tightened.
"You accepted all of me, and you are the only one I will show this story to."
The words felt like they were being pressed directly into my chest.
I was as selfish as you wanted me to be. Which is why I want to thank you. I had less time to live than others, and you showed me such special sceneries.
"…Stop…"
I whispered it, but my eyes kept moving.
I wish I could find the words to convey how wonderful my life has been. So much for being the former Literature Club president. I have no talent for writing. But it was wonderful nonetheless. No other words come to mind.
A weak laugh escaped me, mixed with something that hurt far more.
"You wrote all of this… and you say you have no talent?"
You gave me your love and warmth. Before I met you, I only smiled as a formality. I wore a mask as 'Kanemoto Uguisu' so I could stay strong. After so many years, it became my face as I deceived myself.
My chest felt tight, like it was being squeezed from the inside.
But you peeled it off of me. You saw my true face and struck me with your feelings. Being with you is what saved me.
"…No."
My voice shook.
"That was you."
You were the one who kept going. The one who chose to live. I just… happened to be there.
In the coming years, I'm certain you will remember me and grieve many times over. It pains me that I can't be with you for those times. I can't return the kindness and warmth you've given me.
I clenched my teeth, my vision blurring again.
"I only request that you don't allow yourself to suffer. Don't let your heart turn to ice. Remain the sun you've always been."
"…That's not fair."
How was I supposed to do that?
How was I supposed to stay the same after all of this?
Huh, now I can't stop writing. My feelings are too grand for me to express through words. But I have to give this an end. I struggled to decide how to end my first novel as well.
So, I want to wrap this up using simple words. And there are no better words to bring my story to a conclusion than these.
My breath caught.
I truly was happy.
Up until the very end, I loved you dearly.
Thank you.
To Shin Himeya, from Shin Uguisu.
"…Uguisu-san."
Her name left my lips again, softer this time.
The screen stayed still.
The words didn't change.
There was nothing left to scroll.
No next entry.
No continuation.
Just the end.
I sat there in silence, staring at the final line she left behind, feeling the weight of everything she had given me settle deep inside my chest.
"…You really…"
My voice broke.
"…went all the way to the end, didn't you?"
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
And for the first time since I started reading…
I didn't move.