There was one last place Miyuki had to visit. Hikaru had often spoken of it in his letters—a quiet spot by a small river on the edge of town, where he would spend long afternoons in silence, writing in his journal. It was a place he had promised to take her one day, a place where the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the peace of nature. And now, with Hikaru gone, Miyuki knew she had to go there alone, to honor his memory and to find some semblance of closure.
When she reached the spot, it felt almost surreal. The place was exactly as Hikaru had described it: a tranquil river winding through the lush greenery, with the soft murmur of water flowing gently by, the rustle of the leaves in the breeze. The sun, low in the sky, cast a warm glow over the landscape, and for a moment, everything seemed to slow down. The world felt like it had paused, as if allowing her to hold on to this final moment with Hikaru, even if only in her mind.
Miyuki had been given Hikaru's favorite shirt by his parents, a soft, faded piece of clothing that had once been a part of him. She wrapped herself in it now, the fabric clinging to her like a memory. The faint scent of him still lingered in the material, an echo of the boy she had never truly known, but had loved all the same. She could almost feel his presence beside her, his quiet nature, his love, all wrapped up in the simple piece of clothing. It was as if he was with her in some way, even though he was gone.
Sitting by the river, Miyuki hugged the shirt tightly to her chest, as if holding on to the only thing left of him. She opened the stack of letters she had been carrying with her, the ones Hikaru had written over the years. The words he had written felt like they had come from a lifetime ago, yet they were still so clear in her mind, as if they had been written only yesterday. As she read, every sentence, every carefully chosen word seemed to carry Hikaru's quiet longing, his hopes, and the love he had never fully been able to express. It was a love that had always been present, even in the silences between them.
Miyuki stayed there for hours, reading and remembering, as the day faded into evening. She watched the sunset, the sky turning vibrant hues of pink and gold, and with each passing moment, she felt closer to Hikaru, as if his love had been a constant companion, even when she hadn't recognized it. The silence of the river, the rustle of the leaves, and the whisper of the wind seemed to speak of all the things they had never said to each other, and all the things she now wished she could tell him.
As the last light of day began to fade, Miyuki whispered softly into the wind, the words escaping her lips like a prayer, "I love you too, Hikaru. I always have." She closed her eyes, letting the words hang in the air, hoping, somehow, that he could hear her. There, by the river, surrounded by the quiet of nature, it felt like a final goodbye and a quiet reunion all at once.
The final piece of Hikaru's legacy had been left for her in the quietest of ways. He had known all along that she would come. He had known, deep down, that someday, she would find her way to the truth of his love. His feelings for her had always been unspoken, but they had never been untrue. It was as though his love had always been waiting for her to realize it, to understand the depth of what he had felt, even in the moments when they were apart.
And as Miyuki made her way back from the river, returning to her life without him, she no longer carried the heavy weight of regret. Hikaru had given her everything—his love, his memories, and his quiet hope that, even in death, they would somehow find a way back to each other. She no longer felt the void that had once seemed impossible to fill, for in her heart, Hikaru's love remained—etched into every corner of her soul, a part of her for as long as she lived.
Though Hikaru was gone, his love was not. It lingered in the places they had shared, in the letters he had written, in the memories he had left behind. It would stay with her, a quiet presence that would guide her through the rest of her life, a love that would never fade, as enduring as the river that flowed beside her, always moving, always constant.