Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
AN: This is for Ba-chan, who is sadly no longer with us. Kristine-sama, we will miss you greatly.
"Memories"
oo
oo
Kagome was sitting in her room, circled by many photographs, hand-made pictures and some other scraps of papers when Souta passed by. All would be well, if only Kagome wasn't in the same position she was two hours ago when he last saw her.
It seemed as if she was somewhere far of, her eyes unseeing to her surroundings, instead focused on some spot on the wall across from her. Souta, a bit worried entered her room and slowly approached her from behind.
"Nee-chan?" He called out and Kagome blinked, shaking her head before turning around and raising her head to look at her little brother.
"What is it Souta, do you need me?" She asked with a gentle tone, but Souta couldn't help not to notice the underlying sadness in her question, nor the deep pools of pain her eyes were.
"I just wanted to see if you're all right." He half whispered, half sighed. His eyes wandered down to the picture Kagome was holding. The group was on it, and if he recalled clearly it was taken on their last day together. It was Kagome's favorite, because even Inuyasha flashed a grin at the camera.
They were all close, hugged together, in such a way you almost didn't now where one began and the other ended. Miroku on the left with his hands around Sango, hugging her gently around her waist, and Inuyasha on the right with one of his hands over Kagome's shoulder, with little Shippou perched on his right shoulder. They looked - happy.
That was it, they looked happy and carefree because then they didn't know how the day would end, in such tragedy and great loss.
"You really love that picture, don't you?" Souta asked, care-full of his tone. Kagome looked down at it, and he could see the way her lips lifted up a little.
"Yes, it brings back many memories and that's the best thing I love about it." Souta kneeled down beside her and took the photograph away from her, bringing it close to his eyes.
"Why is that nee-chan?"
Kagome gently cupped his cheek, turning his face to her. "You see Souta, sometimes when certain people are gone from out lives we keep mementos like this of them that will serve as a reminder of the times we shared. This picture is the best that was ever taken in the Feudal Era, because we were all so free-spirited on that day..." She paused here, her eyes closing and Souta knew that she was once again there, if only in her mind.
Then her voice poured out again, like a sweet melody. "People we care about, love them, leave us precious little things called memories. And by remembering them we also in some strange way allow them to live on through us. That's why I want to remember them as long as I live, and never forget what they meant to me, never to forget how much love we had shared."
Souta watched his sister and before his very own eyes Kagome was growing up. It was strange to see it in that way, at least to him, but she sounded very much like their mother and Souta couldn't help but feel a touch of regret because of that.
He wanted to grow up too, but also knew that he should cherish his childhood and live it to it's fullest. Maybe he wanted that partially because Kagome couldn't do that herself, so he wanted to do it instead of her, but he was also aware that Kagome wouldn't change what happened in the past three years for anything in her life.
When his sister opened her eyes again, they were clear like a cloudless sky on a sunny day, but there were some sparks of oldness in her orb's that weren't there before. He leaned forward, and although he was a bit too old for that kind of things, he pressed one small kiss to her temple, smiling.
"You know what, Kagome? I'll try to remember everything about you so I could one day let you live through me, okay?" He announced with a proud voice, trying to ignore that he just implied that she won't live as long as he will.
Kagome blinked, obviously stunned by his promise, and nodded once, smiling. "You do that Souta. Sometimes that's the best way to honor the dead."
And they both lowered their eyes to the picture Souta was holding, each one of them remembering something about someone in the picture... And if such magic existed, when a memory was brought up, the people in the photograph winked at the siblings, as if they heard them and wanted them to know how grateful they are.
The End
An: I hope you liked it. It's short and almost straight to the point, written just to remind us of some things that may have or may not have importnace to any of us, depending on the person. Thanks for reading.
Chiisana Anisa