Would you like a cup of tea? || Shigeo Kageyama

Wish

Hotaru looked out the window in a listless manner, despite how blurry her vision was. The sky remained bright and blue - just as she remembered when she was in the cafe with Mob. From the side of her bed, her aunt poured her favorite Rooibos tea into a cup.

"Rooibos?" Her voice cracked. Despite how weak she sounded, there was a hint of melancholic joy. "I can smell it... So calming..." Since she was not allowed to drink tea, her aunt could only let her smell the teas that she loves. Usually, this was when tears would sprout in the corner of her eyes, but today, it was not the time to do so.

"Do you like it?" Her aunt tried to smile brightly at Hotaru, but she found that the younger girl continued to look outside the window - perhaps, as a way to stop herself from crying in front of her aunt.

"...Auntie." Hotaru called out to her in a firm voice.

Her aunt stayed silent for a full minute. She could not find it in her heart to smile. It hurt so much. It hurt so bad that her beloved niece had to go through this. It did not help that her parents were so heartless, wanting to no longer be by her side when they learned that she had a terminal illness - such monsters. Her aunt bit her bottom lip and then smiled normally again. "Yes, darling?"

"In the drawer of the table next to my bed at home... There's a letter for Hope. Can you give it to him?" Subtle pain burst into her expression as she then slowly grabbed her shirt with her hand over her heart. She realized again as to how foolish she had been - so foolish. She believed that she would have more time with him and with her aunt, but when was life that kind to her? She took a deep breath, stopping herself from crying. "His name is Shigeo Kageyama."

"Hotaru, when you recover, you can give it to-"

"I can't." Hotaru shook her head and then stared at her hands. Her breath hitched in her throat as she could feel the slight burning behind her eyes. "I... You know, auntie? I wanted to be friends with him a bit longer..."

"Ho-Hotaru, I-" Her aunt could no longer hold back her tears. Her voice shook and she trembled, clearly overwhelmed by her sadness.

"I wanted to introduce him to more of my favorite tea...as...my first friend..." She bit her bottom lip. Tears dropped down onto her blanket as she looked to the side towards her aunt. "But... Ngh..." She tried to grasp onto the blankets hard. "But it seems like it's too late!" She smiled painfully at her aunt as tears streamed down her face. "In the end... I couldn't say anything to him. I..."

"..." Her aunt, crying softly to herself, looked down at the red liquid of the tea. On the surface of the tea, she could see the reflection of her tired and despaired gaze looking at herself. '...No, Hotaru... I am the one who should have told him. I am the one who should suffer for making the wrong choice. Even now, I didn't make the right choice. Haven't I swore to myself that I would never let her get hurt again? I'm pathetic.'

"Auntie, I'm scared of dying-" Hotaru almost choked before continuing, "-and yet, now that the time has come, I need to let go... I need to let go of my tea, my parents, you-"

This made her aunt stand up from her seat, tears streaming down her face as her heart turned painfully. "No! Hotaru, I..."

"-my dreams, and my life. But most of all, I need to let go of hope." Both Hope's, the hope of her living and Hope or Shigeo Kageyama, but perhaps, they weren't that different to her, after all - because in the end, he really was her hope. "And that's what hurts me the most." She whispered to herself.

"I really wanted to see... I wanted to be the witness - the one to see him become the person he wanted to be." Her voice started to weaken. She used most of her strength to gaze out of the window - to see the bright blue sky, to see the typical sunny day that Mob loves. She could no longer smile as she did not have the strength to do so.

However, she looked at her aunt again with difficulty. "You know, auntie... I really love you. And I really love everyone. I just wish... I had more time to show that, but...in the end, there's not much I can do in a broken family, can I?"

At this moment, her aunt held her niece's hand tightly, sobbing a little louder than before.

Hotaru's vision started to darken and it took more effort to breathe, each breath becoming shallower by the second. "And...thank you, auntie...for being......by my side-" She squeezed her aunt's hand with as much strength as possible. "-when it counted...the...most....."

"I love you too, Hotaru, so please..." Her aunt grasped her hand tighter. "Please... I..." Noticing how listless Hotaru was and how she had closed her eyes, she pulled her niece into her arms, sobbing harder. "No! Don't leave me... Hotaru! Sweetheart... Please don't go! I still... I have yet to tell... Ngh, Hotaru, don't leave me like this... Please... I... I'm so sorry, my darling... I have failed you..."

Hotaru's aunt felt like she was falling into a stormy sea, all black and suffocating.

You know, auntie... I really love you.

The sincerity in her voice - her aunt could remember it all.

She finally placed her niece down onto the comfortable bed gently. She wiped her tears roughly.

"You would get mad if I felt guilty and became depressed over your death, wouldn't you?" She smiled sadly at her. "But just for a little bit, let me feel that way, so that I can properly grieve over you. And then after that, I'll try to live a life that you approve of." She moved a piece of hair that was on her niece's face to the side. "Even though you're younger than me, you truly were like a beacon of light to me. Was it not you who showed me the beauty and pleasure of tea? Isn't that why I opened Keika Cafe in the first place?"

She placed a light kiss on her niece's forehead and then gazed out the window towards the sky. "If you're watching over me, then this time, I will show you the beauty of the world through my eyes." She then closed her eyes, feeling the soft embrace of the warm wind entering the room.