Part five: Hospital Poem
[?]
"The doctors told me that she woke up a few hours ago and that as of next Monday she will be able to receive visitors..."
[?]
"If you'd like to go see her, of course."
[Kurochi]
"Of course, I want to, Mrs. Rekioga."
[Gashiwaki]
"Please, Kuki..."
[Gashiwaki]
"You don't need to call me madam, we've known each other for a long time."
[Kurochi]
"Yes, I'm sorry."
[Kurochi]
"Back to the topic, on Monday I'll go to see her before school, do you need me to bring you something while I'm passing by?"
[Gashiwaki]
"Could you stop by here before the hospital for some things I want you to bring her, I'm very busy on Monday and I'd like to be able to deliver this to her."
[Kurochi]
"No problem, see you on Monday."
[Kurochi]
"And again thanks for letting me know, I was thinking of calling you to ask about that very thing, hehe."
[Gashiwaki]
"Thanks to you for caring so much about my little girl, Kuki..."
[Gashiwaki]
"I'm so glad you're her friend..."
[Gashiwaki]
"Sayori is lucky to have a friend like you."
Lucky to have a friend like me... Of course.
Sigh.
[Kurochi]
"Yeah, I guess so."
[Gashiwaki]
"See you, Kuki."
[Kurochi]
"See you later."
I hang up the call.
[Natsuki]
"Do you want me to join you on Monday?"
Says Natsuki who is lying on the couch.
[Kurochi]
"No, thanks..."
[Kurochi]
"You don't have to bother, besides you already missed classes and club yesterday because of me..."
[Kurochi]
"You don't have to keep using your time on me."
[Natsuki]
"It doesn't bother me, I like being with you..."
[Natsuki]
"But if you'd rather go by yourself go ahead."
[Natsuki]
"Although I have to go see her anyway, she's my friend too."
[Kurochi]
"I know, but I'd rather go by myself this time..."
[Kurochi]
"You don't mind going another time, do you?"
[Natsuki]
"Not at all, maybe I'll go on Monday after the club if you don't want me to accompany you in the morning."
[Natsuki]
"I guess Monday if you're going to the club, right?"
I doubt it for a second.
[Kurochi]
"I'll be there."
Natsuki gets up from the couch.
[Natsuki]
"I hadn't told you, but we have a new member..."
[Natsuki]
"Although I don't like it..."
[Natsuki]
"He goes in my class and he's a total fucking jerk."
[Natsuki]
"Plus he was stuck on Yuri all week..."
[Natsuki]
"Ishimori I think was his name, I don't care enough to learn it either."
[Kurochi]
"Huh... Looks like I did miss quite a bit this week."
[Natsuki]
"Well..."
[Natsuki]
"I had a good time and all, but I should be going now, see you Monday, Kuki."
[Kurochi]
"Haha, that's funny, Natty."
[Natsuki]
"Don't call me that...]
Everything remains in deep and sepulchral silence for a few seconds.
Natsuki breaks the silence.
[Natsuki]
"Thank you for letting me stay last night, I appreciate it."
She kisses me on the cheek before leaving.
I don't know how to react, other than with a goofy smile as I wave goodbye.
...
[Monday, 6:00 AM]
...
I woke up early since I'm going to visit Sayori today.
Today, after days, I feel excited to leave home early.
I get out of bed and head to the bathroom to wash up, after that, I go back to my room to get dressed.
I end up choosing to go with the uniform, after all, I'm going to the club in the afternoon and it would be better to disguise that I didn't attend classes.
Sigh.
[Kurochi]
"Alright, today is the day..."
[Kurochi]
"Let's go."
I head to Sayori's house to get the things her mom asked me to bring her.
She knocked on the door.
[Gashiwaki]
"I'll be right there!"
A couple of minutes pass before the door opens.
[Gashiwaki]
"Hi Kuki, sorry for the delay, I didn't think you'd be here so early."
[Kurochi]
"No worries mis-"
She stares at me.
[Kurochi]
"Gashiwaki."
She smiles and nods her head in affirmation.
[Gashiwaki]
"Okay, here you go, please see to it that Sayori gets this, yes?"
[Kurochi]
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
[Gashiwaki]
"Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver."
With a smile, he pats my head and closes the door.
I turn around and walk towards the bus stop.
...
[Monday, 6:47 AM]
...
He enters the hospital and at the reception desk, I ask for Sayori.
[Receptionist]
"The doctor who is taking care of her is coming right away, in the meantime sit down and wait for him to call you, okay?"
[Kurochi]
"That's fine, thank you very much."
[Receptionist]
"Please sign here and go sit in the waiting room."
As she asked me she signed my name on the paper and I head to the waiting room.
I sit in one of those cold, hard plastic hospital waiting room chairs.
Suddenly I hear a familiar voice next to me.
[?]
"Kurochi?"
He turned around.
[Kurochi]
"O-Oh... Hi Monika."
Shit, what's she doing here?
[Monika]
"I guess you're here for Sayori, aren't you?"
[Kurochi]
"Emmm... yeah."
How do you know about Sayori?
[Kurochi]
[Kurochi] "What about you, are you-you coming to see a relative or something?"
[Monika]
"I've been waiting for you and Sayori all day..."
[Monika]
"A couple of hours after the festival his mom called me and told me everything."
[Kurochi]
"Ah... Yeah, I guess Gashiwaki felt it would be important to tell you what happened."
[Monika]
"She's lucky to have a friend like you? Isn't she?"
I swallow saliva, she has a terrifying aura.
[Monika]
"It's your fault she's here and you know it well."
[Monika]
"She's not lucky to have you..."
[Monika]
"She would be much better off without you..."
[Monika]
"And you know it."
I'm petrified.
As much as she wants to deny it she's right, she's in this situation because of me.
[Monika]
"I don't know what you're doing here, you should leave before you fuck things up more."
...
[?]
"I guess you guys are Monika Kinoshita and Kurochi Makinami, right?"
[Kurochi Makinami] It's the doctor.
[Kurochi]
"Y-Yes come-"
[Monika]
"Yes, I'm Monika Kinoshita..."
[Monika]
"I'm coming to visit my friend Sayori Rekioga."
The doctor looks at me.
[Doctor]
"You come together?"
I shake my head.
[Doctor]
"Well... Who will stop by to see her first then?"
Before I can say any words Monika replies.
[Monika]
"I'll go first, I just came to deliver something to her."
Monika stares at me with a clear "You better be gone when I come out" in her eyes.
Monika and the doctor walk away while I stay with the bag of stuff Sayori's mom gave me.
A half-hour passes before the doctor returns.
I see Monika leave quietly without turning to look at me.
[Doctor]
"Come, Sayori is excited to see you."
I get up from the chair and follow the doctor to the room Sayori is in, her blue eyes light up as soon as I enter the room and she sees me.
She looks a little pale and thinner than I remember her, but other than that she looks good, I'm glad I get to see her.
[Sayori]
"Kurochi!"
She gives a little jump on the stretcher.
[Kurochi]
"Hello, Sayori."
[Kurochi]
"I'm glad to be able to see you."
[Sayori]
"Me too, this place is boring as hell."
You're still the same Sayori, I'm really glad.
[Kurochi]
"Here, your mom asked me to bring you these things."
He hands the bag to Sayori and she takes a look at it.
A big smile forms on her face and from the bag she takes out a small cow stuffed animal and a portable console.
[Sayori]
"How cool! Mr. Cow Jr.!"
Sayori hugs the stuffed animal tightly.
[Kurochi]
"I brought you this too..."
From my pocket, I take out a folded sheet of paper and hand it to her.
[Kurochi]
"I wrote a poem for you."
Sayori looks at me with a small smile as she takes the poem.
[Sayori]
"Thank you, Kurochi..."
[Sayori]
"I'll save it to read later."
I spent the whole morning with Sayori talking about random things until visiting time was over.
I had to leave, but before that Sayori handed me a folded sheet of paper.
[Sayori]
"This is for you, I also wrote a poem for you..."
[Sayori]
"Thank you so much for coming, I hope I can see you again soon."
[Kurochi]
"Me too."
...
On the bus ride home I read Sayori's poem.
[Promises]
"Promises are easy to break
They are fragile like glass
Promises are a graceful thing
They will always break just like that
At least that's what I thought before I met you
I still remember that promise you made that summer
"We'll be friends forever until we die."
And that promise seemed like just a distant memory
But you showed me how strong a promise is
Promises are strong and eternal
And with you, I have and always will have the certainty
That promises are stronger than steel
That last one didn't rhyme, but you get my point.
Thank you for keeping your promise, that's why I love you with all my soul."