From the direction the grandmother pointed, Mori Tsukisa pulled out a wooden box that had been hidden for many years. She untied the knot, peeled back the oiled paper, and blew away the dust on the surface.
It was the only record of a certain ghost left in this World.
Fujiwara Yuu blankly held the photograph, looking at the four people in the frame... Certain locks that should have been solid suddenly cracked, and memories flowed like water, slowly submerging the girl... People always said...
Fujiwara Yuu was a girl without parents, her grandmother was crazy, and there were demons in her house.
Fujiwara Hikaru didn't think so.
—Back then, the little one was still a baby, right?
A tiny thing with a round face and round eyes. When he leaned over the crib to tease her, she could only make 'ya ya ya' sounds, her chubby little hands grabbing his index finger and constantly stuffing it into her mouth.
She was absolutely adorable!
She was his sister, the crystallization of their father and mother's love.
Moving to Itomori Town to live with Grandmother was something the whole family agreed on—including himself. He liked the natural atmosphere of the countryside, playing balance games on the field ridges, catching butterflies, and listening to the croaking of frogs.
If it happened to be a summer night with many stars, he might even be able to take a nap on a haystack; the quiet night breeze would surely be incredibly comfortable.
His mother was a gentle but stubborn person. His father, though strict, would drop his stern facade in front of his mother and listen to her complaints with a laugh. The two people in the photo sat together like that, very much in love.
As for Yuu, of course, I, her big brother, would be the one to hold her!
It only took me half a day to learn the correct way to hold a baby. Hmm, will I be a good husband in the future?
Father said I was thinking too far ahead, but Mother said it was good—Yuu, do you like being held by Big Brother?
Father drove toward Itomori Town, and everything ended on the way.
We were in a car accident.
A car that was definitely speeding clipped the front of ours. In an instant, the intense impact made me instinctively hug my sister in my arms.
The car flipped.
Later, I saw myself.
My eyes were pierced by shattered glass. Father and mother's faces were covered in blood, their cervical spines soft like boiled noodles, their heads slumped haphazardly against the glass.
Fortunately, I had held onto my sister. I used my body to block the shards and the crushing pressure of the impact—did it crush my internal organs? But Yuu was fine. That's all that matters!
The little one's cries were loud, and she was carried out a moment later—my parents and I were all wrapped in white cloth, so... am I dead?
Am I a ghost now?
I am Fujiwara Hikaru, Yuu's brother, her family. Now that I've become a ghost... I should stay by her side, right?
Day after day, I watched over Grandmother and Yuu. I watched Grandmother grow older day by day and watched Yuu slowly grow up. Gradually, I noticed that Grandmother often dazed off, standing in the room quietly staring at the photos of my parents and me—staring for longer and longer periods.
Grandmother began to tell the now-sensible Yuu about those past events.
'Your brother is dead.'
'Your parents died in a car accident... Yuu, you must live well.'
Don't, don't tell my sister these things! If possible, I don't want to see her cute little face become all wrinkled up, her eyes brimming with tears as she clutches her clothes and cries under the covers.
I didn't want to see Grandmother waste away in sorrow like that, clutching photos of Father and Mother and mumbling to herself all day. Even when cockroaches crawled on the table and insects grew in the pastries, she would only lightly lift her eyes and then go back to staring at the group photo... immersed in memories of the past.
I didn't want it to be like this. I didn't.
I didn't, I didn't, I didn't!
Forget me. If possible, forget Father and Mother too. Forget the accident. Forget it all.
If only it could make Yuu and Grandmother happy again.
—Since I'm a ghost... is making a wish useful?
I don't know, but I found that after the new year, Grandmother and Yuu didn't seem to be immersed in sadness anymore. Whatever, that's great!
I just quietly watched over them until Grandmother began to suffer from dementia, until Yuu started school, and until the always-laughing Yuu finally began to have the little worries of a young girl.
Until... I slowly began to become unclear as well.
By 'unclear', I mean my thoughts... I often couldn't remember what time it was. Was it the day before the accident? How did Yuu get so big?
Grandmother has grown old too?
What day is today? How many years has it been since Father and Mother died? I... where am I now?
I... I...
Who am I?
I can't remember who I am anymore.
But I know the girl in front of me is my sister. It seems... she's family.
Right?
Family, my beloved sister, please keep smiling! Live well with hope for life. Look at the rising Sun every day, and when the warm sunlight falls on you, show a smile toward the sky!
Smile, and live happily.
But... as for now.
I no longer remember who the girl in front of me is.
Now, I remember nothing at all.
There is only a conviction in my heart that even a god could not stop, making me linger in this World, wandering aimlessly—that girl, if she is sad, I will appear.
Just like before... like I seemed to do often before.
I'll make a funny face, let out a 'giggle-giggle' laugh, and make her smile happily.
This is what I must do. When she is sad and sorrowful, I must do it—until she smiles through her tears and happily lifts the corners of her mouth.
At that time, I will be satisfied.
Smile, do not be sad.
But when you are sad, please do not be afraid.
I will reappear and make you laugh again... you girl whom I no longer recognize.
I must be someone important to you, right?
Correct?
...Fujiwara Yuu clutched that thin photograph as tears burst from her eyes. The tearful girl's memories now surged out of their confinement like a flood. In her chaotic thoughts, she couldn't seem to find the once-familiar voice.
Those phrases like 'Blehh, give me a smile' and 'Hey, don't eat my hand.'
No wonder... he would appear whenever she was sad and dejected.
You stupid brother, you scared me to death, you know?
Tears soaked her cheeks, but the girl knelt on the ground and smiled happily. Mori Tsukisa sat to the side, watching as that shadow in the sunlight gradually faded... and faded... He comfortingly patted the top of Fujiwara Yuu's head, but his transparent palm passed right through the girl. Shaking his head, the shadow bowed deeply to the grandmother, who was still incoherent and mumbling to herself...
"Thank you."
He waved to Mori Tsukisa, and when he looked up, he revealed a pair of beautiful eyes. He was still wearing the clothes from the final moments of his life, the tattered fabric now shining with a faint, new-like radiance; his medium-length hair was neatly combed, and he wore a pair of clean sneakers on his feet.
Like a traveler ready to go, about to embark on a long journey.
The Boy gazed at his grandmother and younger sister, smiling as he slowly dissipated into the bright afternoon sun, melting into the scent of hope.
"Thank you."
"Please tell Yuu to live a happy and joyful life!"
"Big brother..."
"Big brother is leaving first..."
Starting from a certain afternoon without the chirping of cicadas, Ms. Fujiwara Yuu would never fear the dark and ghosts again.
She knew she had the best big brother in the World.
Who had once silently protected her.
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