Author's note : Upon rereading this last chapter, I kinda feel relieved. Sad, but relieving. I wonder if you will feel the same...

Three months wasn't long enough to spend with each other. It ran very fast.
Kirika passed away one month after they returned from Japan. She died with smile on her face.
Mireille stayed beside her the whole time as she lied weakly on the bed. They didn't speak to each other at all since Kirika had barely power to say anything, but as they saw in each other's eyes, they knew what the other wanted to say.
Holding Kirika's hands the whole time, probably Mireille hoped that if she didn't let go of her hand, Kirika would stay alive.
But fate was cruel. There was no exception. Not even for Kirika. And so she closed her eyes for the last time, after telling Mireille for the last time that she loved her with all her might. Mireille replied her with the same sentence, although her sound was hoarse for crying too much.
Kirika died in smile. Mireille could hardly believe she had left forever. She didn't let go of Kirika until finally her body cooled down and she was sure that the girl was not alive anymore.

The blond assassin kneeled beside the bed where Kirika was lying on. She had expected something would happened. Perhaps a striking thunder. But it was nothing. It just happened. And that's all. Mireille asked herself why she didn't cry. She had been crying many times in the last three months. But just in this moment she didn't cry. Perhaps her heart died together with Kirika.

It was difficult for Mireille to finally stand up and take care for Kirika's burial. She saw her fingers dial a number, she heard her voice come out of her mouth, but she didn't feel anything. Just nothing.

Exactly two days later Kirika was buried in a graveyard of a church. Mireille was sure she would find her peace there. It was the graveyard which the belladonna-lily woman visited long time ago. Here lied her most beloved person, and so did Mireille's most beloved person.
Mireille came everyday to visit Kirika's grave. She brought different kind of flowers each time. Then she would spend some hours sitting there, enjoying the blowing wind under a tree. It felt so peaceful there...

Each time Mireille went back home, she accidentally called after Kirika. Then she realized that Kirika was not there anymore. But today she didn't do it again. Not that she had forgotten the girl, but she had accepted the fact that she was not there. Kirika was gone. She was now in a better place. Lazily she went to the kitchen to make herself a coffee. She grabbed after a pack of coffee, but then stopped halfway.
She put down the coffee and took the tea can instead. Kirika had always made tea this way... she got the recipe from a magazine...

She glanced at the nearly dead plants which stood on the window frames. They had bought new ones as they returned back from Japan. The old ones were already dead of drought. Every day in the month Kirika never forgot to give water to the plants. Now they were dying. Mireille sighed. She took a glass of water and watered the plants one by one. Then she looked at her gun which lied alone on the billard table. Usually Kirika put her Beretta next to her gun. Now her gun lied alone there. Mireille had buried Kirika's Beretta together with her.

Kirika had always liked to stand here, leaning to the window frame and looked outside. And she, Mireille, would type something on her laptop. When she received any job, they would talk about their next job.
Mireille stood there, watching the sun set before she decided to take some sleep. She had never really slept the past few days. She felt so tired, but her eyes just wouldn't obey her. She lied on one side of the bed, then she realized that noone was going to sleep beside her. She would be alone from now on. Kirika was gone.

Awake in the morning, noone was there but Mireille herself. She sat on the edge of her bed for some hours, remembering Kirika. Then she would prepare herself to go to the graveyard again.

That happened every day for a month, or so. Mireille was now just a wandering shadow. She was no longer a person who lived in this world.

And in one day of those days Mireille decided to erase the whole job offers she had been getting for past few days. Then she notice an unknown icon on her desktop. It had a short name : mail. Mireille opened it, but nothing appeared on the screen. Mireille gave a sigh and she moved the cursor to delete the empty message, but then a soft melody played from the laptop. It was a melody from Kirika's pocket watch. The broken pocket watch, which they abandoned in the Manor. The melody played with some words on display.

"Mireille, I love you so much...
I don't know if I have more time to say it to you. But I can die in peace because I know that you will read this mail whatever happened.
Mireille, do you still remember when you heard this melody for the first time? I sent it to you via email, begging you to make a pilgrimage to the past with me.
It has been a long time ever since, Mireille. Isn't it?"

Mireille smiled slightly. Yes, Kirika. It has been quite a long time.

"You must have thought that you wouldn't ever heard this melody again. But I do intend to let you hear it, for the last time. This melody began our pilgrimage together. It will also end our pilgrimage. This is the end, then.
I am so sorry that I have to leave you alone, Mireille. Sorry because I will die soon. If I could choose, I just want to be right beside you. It hurts me so much to say good bye this way.
Don't be sad about my death. I want you to live on after my death.
Mireille, whom I cherish... please don't forget who you are, whatever happened.

Good bye..

Kirika."

"I love you too, Kirika... I love you too.." Mireille whispered softly to the screen. Tears ran down her cheeks.
Please don't forget.. who she was?
She was Mireille Bouquet, the assassin. She was a woman who had a friend whom she loved so much, and whom she had lost a few weeks ago. Her beloved friend was already gone, but... and then she understood--she was still alive.

Mireille laughed ironically to herself. She had forgotten who she was, for some times. She had been a zombie the whole time... A zombie who walked through life.
She went out and visited the graveyard again, this time she brought a bunch of white roses. In front of Kirika's grave she kneeled and put the roses down.

"Hi, Kirika. It's me again, you remember?" she tried to make the whole thing funny.
"I miss you so much... Kirika. It has been one month since you are gone. Everything just felt so strange, you know... I am quite surprised when I realize how much you influenced my life. I have been living alone for quite a long time before you show up... and everything was allright. But now, Kirika, the whole apartment felt empty. Because you are not there."

She laughed again.
"Isn't that funny Kirika? I have lost myself for about one month. I can clearly see how my whole world break down because you are gone. Then I found your last message..."
Mireille stopped a while.

"You knew it, didn't you? You knew what would happen to me after you are gone... because you are the most important part of my life."

Mireille sighed.
"It was hard to accept but you were right. It was the end of our pilgrimage together. You were one of the most important parts in this pilgrimage. And you were no longer here. But actually, you are not really gone. You live in my heart, in my mind. And I know, so long I can still memorize you, you are alive. So, that's why, Kirika..."

Mireille stood up.
"Let's end the pilgrimage and begin a new one from now on. Let's live together again, Kirika."

"I will only visit you once a month from now on. I will try to build up my broken world, based on our sweet memories together. I will never forget you, Kirika. That's why... let's live together again, in my heart."

And Mireille smiled the last time at the gravestone, which was carved with Kirika's name. Her hand caressed the cold stone with much love.
"See you, Kirika..."

At home Mireille started operating her laptop like usual. As shecame to choose a name between "Mireille Bouquet" and "Noir" to use, without doubt she typed 'Noir', instead of Mireille Bouquet. And 'Noir' restarted on business...

End

So, that was the end of this story, quite long, isn't it? I hope you are not too tired... Have you got my message? I hope you did. I like this story so much, I hope everyone who read this story would be able to overcome their problems with the same strength Mireille has shown here, although not without any help. It is very nice to have a helping hand when we are down, even if we don't like the person who is offering it. In this case of course Kirika is not a person whom Mireille dislikes. So, did you like the story?

cherry-ripe