AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter 3 is up. I hope this one will be less angsty. All texts in italics are (supposed to be) in flashback. I hope my html works this time. This chapter is quite short but it's sweet ^_^ . Toshihiki was the student who went to America and got killed in a car accident.
DISCLAIMER: Slamdunk is mine…in my dreams.
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"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…"
Has it been three days already since Sakuragi died? Has it only been 2 hours since Sakuragi was buried? Time really did move fast. And yet, Anzai wished that time had moved slowly when Sakuragi was still alive.
"Sayonara, Sakuragi-kun," Coach Anzai threw a yellow rose on Sakuragi's coffin as it was being laid down on earth. He could hear stifled sobs around him, a sign that the lively boy was really well loved by his teammates. The team had experienced a rebirth when Sakuragi came into the picture. But in his death, it seemed like the team died as well.
Anzai lay on his bed. He felt a certain numbness that had returned once again.
"Do you remember him again?" Mrs. Anzai sat beside her husband.
"Sakuragi?"
"No, the other one…"
Anzai faced away from his wife. "You know me too well."
"Toshihiko's death was not your fault. How could you prevent his accident from happening?" Mrs. Anzai sighed, "So is Sakuragi's death. You can't prevent it from happening either. So stop blaming yourself,"
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
Mrs. Anzai smiled in spite of the gloomy situation. "Why do the one left behind always ask that question?"
"Why shouldn't they?"
Mrs. Anzai continued, "Maybe it's not about bad things happening to good people,"
"Then what is it? Why do the person I cared for always died at the end?"
Mrs. Anzai gazed at their Japanese garden through the half-open door. "The lotus is in bloom…"
"The lotus…?" Anzai asked.
Mrs. Anzai sighed then said, "Maybe it's not really about bad things happening on good people," she paused, "…. maybe it happen because it is bound to happen."
Anzai was startled. He opened his mouth as if to speak but Mrs. Anzai was not yet finished.
"They died not because some forces wanted to hurt you…to hurt us…maybe they wanted us to learn something."
"But what do I need to learn?"
"I don't know. You'll be the one to find it out. You've been there before and you survive it. In Toshihiki's death you had learned to assess what you've been doing wrong. You survive his death. What makes you think you can't survive this one?" Mrs. Anzai placed a comforting hand on Anzai's shoulder. "There will be pain. But you have to be strong. I don't think Sakuragi-kun wanted you to be grieving for a long time…"
Mrs. Anzai stood up and left her husband in his reverie.
Anzai rose from his bed and went out into their garden. He could almost hear Sakuragi's trademark laugh echoing in their garden. It brought him a peace of mind and it lift the numbness that he was feeling. He could still feel a tinge of pain but it was better than to be numb about his death.
"She's right. The lotus is really in bloom…"