26
“I’m so sorry, Kou-kun! I’ll fix it right away!”
I apologized to him, even though he wasn’t there, and hurriedly crouched down to gather the shards scattered at my feet.
“Why, why me…”
The picture frame was made of brown wood and was simple and unadorned, but it was still a favorite of mine, something I treasured.
But what about now?
The stand was snapped in two at the base.
The glass part of the frame that held the picture was shattered into a thousand pieces.
The few remaining transparent pieces were cracked.
It was so beat up that it was barely recognizable, its original form lost.
Worst of all, the picture had been scratched by the shards when it broke and was now in tatters.
“Whyyyy…!”
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It was broken.
Broken beyond repair.
I would never be able to fix it. Even a small child would know that, and the picture frame that held such precious memories was completely ruined.
“That can’t be…!”
But I didn’t stop.
I found the scattered shards of glass and gathered them together in one place.
—Why are you doing something so pointless?
“Shut up…!”
I’ll fix it.
I absolutely, positively will fix it.
I can fix it, I can.
“It has to be fixable…!”
That’s right.
I can definitely fix it.
Because I’m trying to fix it. It has to be fixable.
As if something were pushing me forward, I desperately prayed.
I scanned my surroundings and reached out to an especially large piece of glass――
“Ouch!”
A sharp pain shot through me in an instant.
Next came a throbbing sensation running through my fingertips.
Something warm dripped down from my index finger, drop by drop.
“I cut my finger…”
It was obvious, really.
If you handle sharp shards with your bare hands, this is what happens――――
—That’s right, it can’t be helped. Anyone would get hurt if they realized something was broken. It must have been the same for Kou-kun, too.
I hear it again.
A voice whispering in my ear. A voice chuckling.
The voice that I’ve been hearing all this time started whispering to me again.
“You’re so noisy, always… What’s wrong with you!”
I looked around the room, but there was no one there.
Of course not. This is my room, after all, and there’s no one here but me――――
–That’s right, I’m the only one here.
“Ouch!”
This time, I heard it more clearly.
Clearly enough to know whose voice it was.
—It’s your fault, Mio. It’s all your fault.
It was a voice I knew all too well.
“What… What’s wrong with you…”
—You broke everything. You can’t take it back now.
“Stop it, stop it…”
I covered my ears, but the voice wouldn’t stop.
――――Even Kou-kun…
“Stop it, I said!”
I couldn’t take it anymore and echoed, and the voice finally stopped.
—Sorry. I didn’t mean to.
A voice that made it clear it didn’t feel bad at all.
That voice, I knew it too. No, it was a voice I had been listening to for a long time.
—If things get tough, I’ll always switch places with you.
The voice left with just one last word, disappearing slowly.
—‘I’
It was definitely my own voice.