OKOSHI | JOJOLION

026 | one true love.

★ . . . AS THE SUN ROSE ON your last day, you finally called your family.

You didn't know what to say to them. Even if you could have said goodbye, you wouldn't have known how to. You knew it was cowardly to keep your failure a secret. Likely Karera or Norisuke would be calling them tomorrow to inform them of your passing and you could hardly bear to imagine what would happen afterward.

But this was all you could stand. You just wanted to hear their voices one last time, while they were relatively comfortable and oblivious. You hoped they would know how sorry you were. You had tried to end the curse for them. You hoped they would be able to see that.

You didn't say much during the call. You just sat there, nodding and smiling absently, waving everyone off when they asked whether you were alright. You were fine. Everything was going well. Please don't worry.

You did your best to drink everyone in. To remember their faces and the tone of their voices. They would only suffer more once you were gone, and that, more than your death, tore you up inside.

I'm sorry I wasn't good enough.

I'm sorry I didn't try hard enough.

I'm sorry.

Eventually, the call passed over to your uncle. He was sitting upright, no longer in his bed, and despite everything, you were relieved.

"Hey, uncle. You're looking a lot better."

"I feel a lot better. The doctors don't want to get ahead of themselves, but they said I'm recovering. By next week, I'll be as good as new."

"That's great. Everyone has been so worried."

"Yes, well, by next week, everything will be different, won't it?"

Yes. Everything will be different.

"I'm proud of you," your uncle said. "You've done so well. We've all missed you terribly back here. It'll take some getting used to, being the fortune's inheritor, but you've gotten the hardest part out of the way. And we look forward to meeting your special someone in person."

You feigned a groan. "Please don't embarrass me. It was hard enough to convince them to love me."

"It'll be alright. You've kept our family safe for that much longer."

You hadn't known it was possible to want something so badly. Why couldn't this call be real? Why couldn't you have fallen in love? Why couldn't you be preparing to go home? Why couldn't you be excited instead of ... this?

"I won't keep you any longer. You should enjoy Morioh while you still can. Make sure you call again on your birthday."

"Yeah. Of course." You swallowed past the lump in your throat. "Bye, Uncle. Tell everyone I love them."

Your uncle hung up. You couldn't help wondering if you should have said more.

"Oi, you ready to get breakfast?" Karera asked, poking her head through your door.

"Yeah. Are we still going to that café from last time?"

Even though you shouldn't have, you began making a list of "lasts" as you went out the door with Karera. The last time you would see this villa. The last time you would walk down this street. The last time you would see this section of Morioh.

You hadn't realized until now the myriad ways there were to die. It was a morbid line of thought that you didn't want to entertain, but it seemed like everything and anything could have ended you today.

Which way would the mountain gods decide for you?

"So, it's your last week here. Any grand plans before we're out of Morioh?"