Leo looked at his phone and sighed. He had been to all the hospitals in his district, and even travelled to the hospitals at the nearby districts.
'Are you really dead, Suki?' He thought to himself and sighed.
He reluctantly went back to his apartment.
He was about to unlock his apartment door when he heard someone yell out his name.
'LEO!'
He turned around to see Suki's father in the corridor. Suki's mother, Lisa, was standing beside him. Immediately after Lisa saw Leo, she ran over to where he was and slapped him.
'You son of a bitch! You KNEW she was dead, and you didn't have the audacity to tell us! WHY didn't you tell us?! Why didn't you tell us Suki's dead?!' Lisa screamed.
'I-I...' Leo stammered.
'Lisa, calm down.' Suki's father said. He wheeled himself over to where they were standing and looked Leo dead in the eye.
'Tell us what happened.' Mr Yamamoto said.
'Yes, sir...'
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Mr Yamamoto looked quite grim as he sat on his wheelchair. Lisa had the urge to slap Leo again, but she knew she had to compose herself. They all sat in silence for a long time, until Mr Yamamoto finally spoke.
'Listen, Leo. I get that you were shocked and scared about what you saw, but the fact is you decided not to come to us. You didn't tell us anything about what happened, and it's been two days. Even after the police came to deliver the news we still didn't know the details of Suki's passing, and yet we expected you to come and visit us soon. We-'
'B-but sir!' Leo interrupted Mr Yamamoto. 'We're still not completely sure she's dead. I checked all the hospitals in the district, maybe if we search hard we could-'
'WE SAW HER BODY IN THE MORTUARY!' Lisa screamed. She had had enough of Leo's delusion. She believed that it was his fault that she had died anyways.
Leo did a double take. So she really is dead??
'O-oh....' Leo inhaled hard, trying to get as much air into his lungs as possible. A huge lump had formed in his throat which made it impossible for him to speak or breathe properly.
'Listen, kid. We're having a memorial service then a burial in a few weeks for Suki... I'll send you an invitation when the time comes. We must be on our way now.' Mr Yamamoto said.
Leo looked away.
As Lisa got up to wheel Mr Yamamoto out the door, she muttered 'You sick bastard' under her breath, and of course Leo heard. She glared at him as they left the apartment.
Leo slumped down his seat, clutching his chest tightly. Suki was really dead. As far as the universe goes, Suki doesn't exist anymore. She's only a memory.
Leo blinked hard, but it was no use. He couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face. He felt like such an idiot. He watched Suki die right in front of his face... and yet he deluded himself into thinking that Suki was still alive somewhere. Instead of going to the police or Suki's parents, he roamed endlessly from district to district, checking hospitals, still hoping that Suki was alive. But he knew, deep down, as he was checking those hospitals, that Suki would never come back to him.
——————————————————————————————————————
Two weeks later
Leo was wearing his best black tuxedo with some new shoes which he had just bought for an outrageous price. A rose dyed black was tucked in to the tuxedo's chest pocket and his outfit was completed with dark sunglasses. He stood near the entrance of the altar, looking down at his feet, not acknowledging anyone who greeted him.
'May the service now begin' the priest said.
Leo stood quietly as the procession commenced. He stared at the open casket in front of the room and felt himself sway with dizziness.
'This isn't the time for that, Leo' He thought. 'You've done this too many times. You've cried too many times... be a guy, no, be a man just this once, a man Suki could be proud of.'
Eventually it was time for people to walk up to the casket and say goodbye. Leo stood at the end of the line, waiting patiently as the queue moved slowly. Surely enough, it was his turn. He took a deep breath and looked inside the casket.
Suki was wearing a black dress, with her hair untied and spread all over the casket like a mat. Her hands were placed on her chest, Snow White style, and her eyes were closed. Leo took a deep breath.
'Hey, Suki, now would be a good time for you to wake up.' He muttered and smiled weakly. He took another glance at her and burst into tears.
'I'm so sorry Suki. I said I wouldn't cry. I said- I- I-'
'Hey, it's okay.' A middle aged lady wrapped her arms around his shoulder. 'Here, come outside. Would you like some water?'
He found out later that that lady was called Kimi and was Mr Yamamoto's mother, Suki's grandmother.
She sat by him as Leo took a few sips of his water. He tried as hard as he could to gulp his tears away, but they just wouldn't seem to stop.
'It's okay dear, you don't have to force yourself. It's good to release your emotions and cry when you're in grief.' Kimi said, rubbing his back.
'I-I'm sorry, I just- it's just so hard- I've been alone throughout all of this- and it's all my fault-'
'It's not your fault.' Kimi assured him. 'We found out the driver of the vehicle which hit Suki did not have a drivers license. He was not supposed to be driving, Leo, and yet he disobeyed the law and it ended up affecting Suki.'
'B-but still. If I hadn't yelled out her name- if I hadn't waved at her-'
Kimi then put Leo's head on her chest and wrapped her arms around him.
'Leo, like I said, it's okay to cry. Give yourself time to heal.'
With this small, kind gesture, Leo broke down. He clung to Kimi tightly as he sobbed and weeped, ignoring his runny nose. Throughout those painful two weeks, nobody had come to visit him nor did anybody console him. Hekd become depressed, suddenly finding no meaning in many little things and considered ending it all to stop his pain more than once. The fact that this kind, old lady, who was even a relative of Suki, was hugging him and telling him that it was not his fault meant the world to him. After a long, long time of crying, he composed himself and sat up straight.
'T-thank you, Miss Yamamoto. You have no idea how much what you just did meant to me.'
'It's alright, child. And remember, things will eventually get better.' She smiled.
With that, Leo got up, thanked Miss Yamamoto again, and left the premises.
From that day onwards, Leo's world changed completely. He began to live a new life full of determination, a life dedicated to carrying on both his father's and Suki's legacy. He began to live a life without Suki.