There is something about life, caring for a small one, nurturing it just as much as that life nurtures you, feeling something rather than the numbness that sinks in so very easily when death slips in. And right now, there is so much life that it is it's own kind of wonder.
Not only Haru is here to remind Subaru that he is loved and also to remind him to live, but right now there is a hand in his, a small, glistening silver ring, metal warmed by touch. And from those fingers curled so securely around his, an arm extends up to the woman that it belongs to. A smile rests gingerly on her face as if this is where she's always called home.
Instead of it merely being Subaru's home, the very one that he has for the first time opened up to someone to live with him. It's surreal to realize that where there is still sadness and grief, where there is still missing and longing, that there is someone here that brings an extra layer to home, a new layer, a delicate and gentle one.
Subaru doesn't have words for this, hasn't, and he is a writer, one who crafts words so delicately that they come to hold great beauty. And he doesn't have words for the abundance of life that seems to flow from her presence, from her very first I love yous, the ones that weren't vocalized, the ones that grew from actions without emphasis, and from the other I love yous, the ones spoken so softly from her lips, the ones that were the emphasis.
And now, she has brought life where there was staleness, where suddenly, there's more energy throughout the house, as Haru, Roku, and Hachi bound throughout the house, full of energy, first from realizing that this is permanent, that they'll live together and be a fuller family, now from the abundance of joy and playfulness, mixed with familiarity.
Nana's hand is warm in Subaru's, and her other hand rests gently on her stomach; it's too soon to be showing, but even so, new life is growing within her womb as well. It feels almost like a new beginning has slipped into Subaru's life, one step at a time, until finally there is hope once more, until finally joy fills up the home once again.