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Hey, Rin?
What is it?
Can I ask you something?
The wind picked up, brushing the leaves above their heads. The two girls rested in the trees, high above the woods below. Rin laid flat on her back, hands rested on her chest, her head pressed up against Nozomi, who sat, legs crossed, on the sturdy branch.
“We’ve traveled to so many places, met many people, lived many happy experiences. Yet, when I return to this landscape, I can’t help but feel hollow once more.”
Rin tilted her head up. “Your homeland?”
Some silence. “No, it’s never quite felt that way. No matter how much I’ve tried.” Nozomi dropped her chin a little. Rin looked out to the rolling mountains of great oaks.
“Could never quite get over it, huh?” The wind died down. “I don’t blame you. It took several years for me to get used to it as well. Of course, those were several youthful years. I suppose it was harder for you.”
Nozomi laughed a little. “We’re not that old, ya know?”
“I knowww— But still old enough to remember it all so clearly. It’s easier to adapt when there’s not much to reminisce about.”
“To remember it all, huh..?” Her voice trailed off.
“Ah… sorry, I misspoke.”
“No, it’s fine.” Nozomi let her elbows slack to her knees. “It’s the truth, no matter how you look at it.”
From the time of birth, she knew she was special. A child of boundless energy, confined to the floating world in which she was not to leave. She had been told countless stories of those who wielded powers just like hers, and then reminded she had the potential to become something much greater than them all.
“Sen… no, Chiyoko. I wonder where she is now?”
Rin let out a sound of hesitation upon these words, looking up to reaffirm her state of mind. Upon seeing her calm expression, Rin settled back down.
“Who knows? Hopefully in a better place.”
“Ah, I hope so too.”
The wind picked up again, brushing the leaves above their heads. It softly caressed the two girls who rested in the trees, high above the woods below. Nozomi’s growing, vibrant hair waved in front of her face, licking the breeze. Rin closed her eyes and took a deep breath and sighed, taking in the summer air. Across the hills, the sun crept towards the mountains, engulfing the sky with a fiery orange.
“Hey, Rin?”
“Mm? What is it?”
“Can I ask you something?”
She opened her eyes and looked with curiosity. “Of course.”
“Why do you think people die?”
The wind softened to a whisper. Rin hesitated once more. The two of them did not speak for some time.
Finally, Nozomi smiled with embarrassment, her eyes falling down. “Well, I guess that was a pretty stupid question.” Clasping her hands together, she gently wrestled them back and forth on her lap.
Rin observed her from where she had laid down, her head still pressed against Nozomi’s thighs, contemplating how to respond.
“Even I can’t answer that,” she finally admitted. Nozomi broke her gloom and glanced at Rin in surprise. “They say there’s an afterlife. But they’re most likely folklore and fairytales.”
Nozomi giggled a little. “Really, I didn’t expect you to take me seriously.”
Rin breathed a smile, rolling over towards the mountains, resting her head on her palm. “On a whim, perhaps.”
Nozomi gazed out beyond the leaves, becoming somber once more. “I don’t understand. Why is it that, in a world blessed by this wondrous life, there comes a time when you have to leave it all? For what reason, does such a system exist?”
Some silence.
You’ve grown up a lot, Rin thought. “A system, huh? I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“Eh?” Nozomi uttered, turning towards her.
“Would that mean there’s a systematic way the world takes away life?”
Nozomi’s eyes widened. She gazed down. “That would be horrible.”
“Indeed, I would hope that isn’t the way it works.” Rin narrowed her eyes. “All those wars, to be justified by such a foolish structure.”
“And if they didn’t die? Would they still wage war on each other? Perhaps they would battle for all of eternally?”
“Whether or not lives are lost, would it make a difference? The people and resources lost in war. Humanity has already been waging war on each other for centuries. All it’s ever done is to harbor vengeance to fight once more.”
Nozomi sighed, uncrossing her legs to let them dangle beneath. They rested in silence.
“Life is really too easy to destroy. Even now, from this height, if I were to jump off, I would probably die.”
Rin gripped her by the arm. “Oi oi, don’t do anything rash, now.”
“I’m not planning to do it!” Retorting, Nozomi ripped her arm out of her grip. Upon seeing Rin’s dead-serious face, she calmed down. “It is… too early for me to leave.”
Rin sighed, straightening up to sit next to her. “Jeez, to worry me like that.”
Nozomi smiled. “You’ve always been an overprotective sister.”
“It can’t be helped. I never had any siblings to fret about.” She looked over, smiling. “So please bear with me.”
“All the more reason to protect it, huh?”
“Ah.” Rin agreed as the sun dipped below the mountains. “Tomorrow, we’ll be boarding the ship that’ll take us to the summit. For everyone’s sake, we must not fail.”
Nozomi grinned. “Everyone. I wonder what they were able to accomplish in the past few years.”