When the Rain is Made of Teardrops

ʜɪs ɢʀᴀᴠᴇ.

She stared down at the photo on her hands. She traced his face with her fingertip, trying her best not to cry again. How could she forget about him the moment she woke up? She looked at her brother who has been silent since he arrived there. Does he know? Does he know that she was seeing him? Why do they need to keep those memories from her? For what? For her to completely forget about him and move on without knowing that he has been the love of her life? She wanted to ask Sekai about him. She wanted to confront him for not letting her remember him.

"Aniki, I can't believe that you hid everything from me." She started and he just looked down. He was feeling guilty, of course. But it doesn't mean he wants to see her in pain just like this one. He hid everything from her because he thought she would be better without him, knowing that he is no longer alive.

"Do you know where he is now?" She asked and he shook his head. She stood up from her seat and shook him. She wanted to know if he was still alive. She forced him to tell her about it but he didn't really know.

"We already buried him. We held a funeral for him. If you want to see his grave, I'll drive you there." He finally said and she quickly grabbed her bag to go there. He looked at Taiki who has been there since she arrived at the café.

The cemetery where he was buried was far from the city, so it took them an hour before they could arrive. He led the way and she couldn't believe that his name was imprinted on the gravestone. Her tears fell from her eyes once again and she apologized countless times while telling how much she missed and loved him. Taiki stood there and he couldn't bear to look at her while she was in pain. It started to rain and Sekai urged her to get inside the car but she refused to leave his grave.

"I can't live without him, Aniki. I can't continue my life without him." She cried and he forced her this time to get inside the car. She started struggling until he locked the doors. She kept on shouting at him and then, he drove her back to their parents' home.

"You also knew about it, Nii? How can you hide everything from me?! You all knew what happened to him and no one dared to tell it to me?!" She confronted everyone in the household and Sho had no choice but to put her under sedation. Her mother and Fuyu helped each other to bathe and put clothes on her before bringing her to the bedroom.

"I brought her to his grave. She wanted to know where he was, so I brought her there." Sekai said when he finished changing his clothes. If she would discover that there was no body when they buried him, it would be more complicated. They know that she will search for him. They know that she will not stop until she finds him.

She slowly opened her eyes and realized that it was already morning. She was still feeling weak and her vision was hazy. The door opened and her future sister-in-law walked in with a tray of food and drinks. She placed it on the table before taking the space beside her. She smiled faintly as she was already calm. She rested her head on her lap and heard the faint heartbeat from her growing belly. If that incident didn't happen, she should have been carrying her first child with him.

"I can hear his heartbeat." She whispered while trying to control her tears from spilling. They revealed the gender of the baby and it is a boy. She will have a nephew soon. She closed her eyes and let her tears fall. When will she get tired of crying? When will she get tired of enduring the pain? Fuyu caressed her hair while humming softly. She could remember his voice in her head. She badly missed him.

A whole week had passed and she went to work. Somehow, she already accepted that it was the end. She thought she would not see him again until she went to the storage room and saw him staring at the small wooden box. She remembered that one. It was the item with an unknown owner. She took and and she felt like she already knew how to open it. She slid up the thin cover and it showed a diamond ring. She bit her lips, suppressing her sobs while taking it out from the box.

"You.. you were about to propose to me that night?" She asked and he nodded. She slid the ring to her finger and she covered her face while crying. It fits her finger and her heart is feeling more painful after knowing the truth.

"I'm sorry, love. I'm sorry for forgetting you." She said between her sobs and then, Kenta arrived. He saw her crying alone in the storage room, so he ran to her side and asked her what happened. She calmed herself and shook her head. He saw the ring on her finger.

"I.. my memories came back already. My memories of Sato Taiki came back and.. he is the person I loved. He is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. He is the person I want to marry and build a family with." She confessed and Kenta didn't know what to say. He felt his heart clenching, so he retreated and left her alone in there.

Later that night, she was walking home when she felt his presence. She smiled softly while caressing the ring with her thumb. She looked at him and walked by her side. They both looked up at the skies and found hundreds of stars. She walked inside her house and locked the gates and doors. He was there, sitting on the couch and watching her move around. When she was done changing clothes and eating dinner, she sat beside him and fiddled her fingers together.

"I missed you." She whispered, looking down while feeling shy. She felt like she went back on being a teenager who just confessed to her crush. He smiled while staring at her. If he could just stay by her side forever, even if it means being a ghost, he would do it.

"I feel pathetic for wanting to hear your voice now." She added, sighing softly while leaning on her seat. He can speak but he should not speak to her. He doesn't know what will be the consequence of rekindling his love with a living person.

He gestured to her to go to the bed already and she nodded. She turned the lights off and then, he followed her to the bedroom. She fell asleep with a smile on her lips and he was just there, trying to caress her hair. He stayed there until dawn and then, he disappeared a few minutes before she woke up. She felt a little lonely for not the first person she could see that morning. She noticed her phone on the bedside table and when she turned the screen on, she received nothing from Kenta. Is he mad because she told him about Taiki? She should not feel bad about it. In the first place, they were never in a relationship. She admitted that she was fine with his affection for her but after that, he will leave the Lost and Found Department soon and go back to the Crime Division.