HI IM PEARL, WRITING LAST WORDS IN DIARY OF AMANE.
I don't know how to begin this final chapter.
Maybe because some stories are never supposed to have an ending.
Maybe because when you lose the people who were supposed to be standing beside you at the end, even the word goodbye becomes too painful to write. The war is over. Japan has lost. The guns have finally become silent, but somehow, the silence hurts more than the sound of them ever did. The atomic explosion destroyed Hiroshima. So many lives disappeared in a single terrible moment. Homes, families, dreams, memories... everything was taken away.
The war that had already stolen so much from us ended with a destruction that I don't think any human being should ever have to witness. And among all those lives that were lost...
I lost them too.
Amane. Akira. Kento. Three names. Three people. Three lives that once filled my world.
Now they are only memories.
After the explosion, the military came to us carrying what remained of them. Their clothes.
That was all. Clothes.
I remember staring at them and thinking,
This cannot be everything.
How can a person become a few pieces of cloth? How can someone who once laughed beside you, talked to you, touched your hand, and promised to come back suddenly become something you can hold in your arms but never hold the person again? I wanted to scream.
I wanted to tell them they were wrong. I wanted to search through every piece of the destroyed city until I found them.
But somewhere inside my heart, I already knew.
They were gone. Then I found Amane's diary.
It was damaged and covered with dust, but somehow it survived.
I held it against my chest and cried before I even opened it. This was the last thing she had left behind. Her memories. Her fears. Her dreams. Her love. Her Akira. I read every word she had written. And when I reached the final page, I could not close the diary. I simply sat there, staring at her handwriting. It felt as if she had stopped writing only because she was waiting for me to finish the story.
So I decided to write one final chapter for her. Not because I know what happened after her story ended. But because I was there. I know what happened to the people she loved. Akira... He was the man Amane was going to marry. He was the man who gave her a reason to believe that life could be beautiful.
He spent so much of his life protecting the people he loved. Even when protecting them meant sacrificing himself. And Amane...
She had already suffered so much before she met him. She had been hurt by the people who were supposed to protect her.
She had spent years believing that happiness was something meant for other people. Then Akira came into her life. And for the first time, she found a reason to smile. A reason to live.
A reason to dream about tomorrow. And when she finally found him again, she lost him once more. But this time, she was beside him. She held him. She told him that she loved him. And he told her that he loved her too.
Maybe that is the only thing that gives me a little peace. Maybe Amane's ending wasn't completely sad. Maybe it wasn't completely happy either. I don't know. Perhaps happiness is not always about living forever.
Perhaps sometimes happiness is simply being beside the person you love when the world disappears around you. I hope that is what Amane felt.
I hope that in her final moments, she wasn't afraid. I hope she didn't feel alone. Because she wasn't. Akira was there. And she was holding him. Then there was Kento. My little brother. My annoying, loud, childish little brother. The boy who could make everyone laugh even when the world was falling apart.
He always pretended that nothing could hurt him. But I knew him. I knew how much pain he carried inside. When he learned that the cave had completely collapsed... When he realized that Amane and Akira were gone...
He blamed himself. He believed that he should have saved them. He believed that if he had reached them sooner, they would still be alive.
He kept saying that their deaths were his fault. I wish I had been there. I wish I had held him. I wish I had told him that he wasn't responsible.
But I couldn't. And eventually...
Kento took his own life.
When I heard about it, something inside me broke again.
First Akira.
Then Amane. And then Kento.
I lost all three of them. One after another.
I don't know how much a person is supposed to lose before they stop feeling like a person. I used to think I was strong.
I used to believe that I could survive anything.
But now I understand something. Being strong doesn't mean you never break. Sometimes being strong simply means opening your eyes the next morning even when you don't want to. And that is what I am doing now.
Waking up. Breathing. Walking.
Living. Even though I don't know why. I'm all alone now. The man I was going to marry is dead. The girl who became like my little sister is dead. And my youngest brother is dead. The people who made my life feel like a home are gone.
Sometimes I still expect to hear Kento laughing somewhere. Sometimes I expect Amane to walk through the door and complain that I worry too much. Sometimes I expect Akira to look at me with that calm face and tell me that everything will be alright. But nobody comes.
There is only silence. I don't know how long I will live like this. Maybe a month. Maybe a year. Maybe ten years. I don't know.
I don't even know whether I want to know. But I will keep living. For them.
Because somewhere inside me, I believe that is what they would want. I will carry their names with me. I will remember Amane's smile.
I will remember Akira's eyes. I will remember Kento's stupid jokes. I will remember every argument. Every laugh. Every tear.
Every promise. Every moment when they made this broken world feel beautiful. And if there really is a heaven... I hope they are there. I hope Kento found Amane. I hope Amane found Akira. I hope the three of them are together somewhere far away from war. Somewhere there are no guns. No explosions.
No soldiers.
No fear.
Maybe Kento is still annoying Amane. Maybe Amane is still telling him to behave.
Maybe Akira is standing there watching both of them and finally smiling.
Maybe they are happy. I wish I could see them.
I wish I could hear them. I wish I could sit beside them one more time.
I wish I could tell them that I love them.
I wish... I could have... JUST ONE MORE GLANCE.
One more glance at Amane's smile.
One more glance at Akira's eyes.
One more glance at Kento laughing like the world had never hurt him.
Just one more moment.
Just one more chance to hold them.
Just one more chance to say goodbye.
But life doesn't give us everything we ask for. Sometimes it takes people away before we are ready to let them go.
So I will close this diary now.
Not because their story meant nothing. But because their story meant everything. Amane...
You were never just my best friend.
You became my little sister.
And I hope wherever you are, you know how much I loved you. Akira... You were my brother. You were the man who tried to protect everyone, even when nobody asked you to. I hope you finally found peace.
And Kento... My foolish little brother...
I wish I could have saved you too.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect any of you.
I'm sorry the world took you away from me. And if there really is another life after this one... Please wait for me.
Maybe one day, when my own story finally reaches its last page, I will see you again.
Maybe Amane will smile at me. Maybe Kento will make another stupid joke. Maybe Akira will simply look at us and smile. And maybe, just maybe... we will all be together again. Until that day... I will keep your memories alive.
I will keep your names in my heart.
And I will never forget you.
Goodbye, Amane.
Goodbye, Akira.
Goodbye, Kento.
I love you.
And I will always wish for...
JUST ONE MORE GLANCE.
THE END