Kimi no Na Wa Afterstory

Her Name: Taki's POV

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NOTE: CONTAINS SPOILERS PLEASE BE AWARE AND WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE VIEWING THIS STORY. SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

"What's your name?"

I was keenly aware of the hammering inside my ribcage, the sudden dryness of my throat, and even the way my hands seemed to sweat a hundredfold more. Something odd was happening to my body, as if getting ready to brace for impact. All for one stranger's name and a vague impression of deja vu the moment I saw her face and that red ribbon on the train.

     I honestly could not begin to explain the urge to cry as I had in that instant, nor what drove me to scramble off the train and run ten minutes down the nearest street in order to catch a glimpse of her face once more. My feet just tugged me towards a certain direction and did all the thinking for my blank mind.

     She was here. She was here too, eyes slightly wide and hesitant. It was in this moment that I realized she too had asked the same question that bursted from my mouth.

     "Oh, my name?" She suddenly smoothed her hair consciously. "My name is....Mitsuha."

     Mitsuha.

     Mitsuha.

     Mitsuha.

     The wind blowing in the trees suddenly ceased to exist and I no longer saw the world like before. It was as if a new color suddenly became visible to me, only it had been there all along and I merely lacked the ability to see and appreciate its beauty.

     Her name hit me like a hot torrent of bath water and then enveloped me in a sweet sorrowful reminiscence of the past. Slowly, scattered memories that were gray and forgotten surged back and pieced themselves together and I felt a tear fall on my face.

     It was her. It was her. Her, all along. How could I have forgotten?

     My knees sank beneath me and I gripped the railway along the stairs as I slid down, crying. I had forgotten. I had, despite my best efforts that night - as all the memories poured back in - forgotten the one who I had grown to love. Mitsuha.

     "Are you okay? Mister? Would you like a tissue?" Mitsuha's concerned voice just made me cry even harder. How had I simply forgotten her existence when her voice had been so sweet? Why had fate been so cruel?

     "I remember now, Mitsuha." My voice cracked. "My name is Taki."

      Even through tear blurred eyes I sensed a sudden change in her demeanor as she stilled completely and audibly floundered for words. I wondered if she would ever remember when minutes passed by and still she lacked a single word of response.

     I closed my eyes. She did not remember. Perhaps eight years of complete unawareness stifled possibilities of forgotten memories. Perhaps from the very beginning she had been a figment of my imagination in a bountifully creative dream from long ago.

     I found my balance well enough to climb back on my feet and wipe away the tears on my face. Mitsuha rigidly stood there, statuesque as a Greek goddess in a museum. It was only now that I stood in mute awe at how beautiful she had become.

     "Taki....?" She asked, voice trembling and brittle as a leaf. I blinked. "Is it really you? Is it really?" Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. The polite mask she had on visibly slid away and I could nearly feel the intensity of her hopefulness.