Heaven's Postman

"... People think that people they love will continue living… without even thinking about it, they can die any day."

Chapter 8 – Broken Down

He noticed a letter written by Ryouji inside the album in the coffee shop earlier. Sasuke fished a brown envelope from his pocket and then he told Ryouji had he was going to drop a letter off in the red, legendary mailbox in the afternoon. The man, in turn, mentioned that he was going to do the same thing.

"I'll save you the trouble and bring it there for you," Sasuke had said.

Passing the letter to him, he knew that Ryouji trusted the envelope in his hands, despite that he was a stranger.

"Here," he said, passing Sakura the envelope.

Sakura carefully unfolded the piece of paper from inside the envelope, running her hands over the page. There were many bumps and holes, indicating that the writer was heavily stressing over writing the letter by puncturing the paper or stabbing the pen too hard against the sheet. It was similar to the way her letters felt after she had written them, too.

My son Kazuma,

Are you not going to forgive your father? I am still taking pictures everyday, because I still hope that you'll appear. I've given up being a doctor. Not only did it not fit me, but it was also hard to get up in mornings. Because my father was a doctor, I've become an optometrist and I've worked day and night. I didn't even notice that your mother's health worsened.

I didn't get to take care of you and your mother because I have always used time as an excuse. I could only tell her to rest at home when she had a headache. If I noticed it a bit earlier, I could have saved her.

Your mother forgave me before she died in the hospital, though you never did. I was scared of your hateful eyes toward me. You probably blamed, and hated me. I was very lonely, you see. But someday I wanted to ask for your forgiveness. I thought someday we could go to your mom's grave together… but you died in the sky. You died without forgiving me. I bet you wanted to die. I still think that.

Your loving father

The pinkette leaned back on her seat, pondering. "You know what? I think we can solve this."

Sasuke looked at her in wonder. "How?" The situation was similar to the letter where a Mother wished to see her daughter again.

~ ღ ~ ღ ~ ღ ~

"Dad! Dad, hurry and come! Mom is… is… Dad!" Kazuma sobbed over the phone as his mother on the couch had a bloody coughing fit. "Dad!"

Ryouji woke up with a fright and realized he had been muttering his son's name while he was asleep. Still dizzy and light-headed from the nightmare, he got up from his seat and folded the blanket up and tossed it on the chair. He glanced at the clock. It was eight in the morning.

"Ryouji-san," someone called from behind him.

Turning around, he saw the familiar face that had come at six in the morning the day before. "It's you! You came again."

Sasuke bowed. "Morning. I brought your letter to the mailbox yesterday. Can I get a cup of tea?"

When three minutes passed, Ryouji came over with two cups of tea and sat down across from Sasuke, just like their first encounter. It had actually been the first time that he had sat down and got acquainted with a costumer before, but it seemed like Sasuke was drawing him closer, as if he could make his son appear before his eyes.

"Thanks."

The old man smiled. "I'm not sure how it will taste today. I did a few things differently to the tea this time. I was tired with the same old procedure."

The postman sipped his tea. "It still tastes good," he told him.

Ryouji grinned. "Really?"

Sasuke silently stared at his cup for a minute, as if trying to find his reflection. "Ryouji-san… to tell you the truth, I'm a ghost," he said without looking up to meet his gaze.

He almost inhaled his coffee. "Pardon?" he questioned.

The corner of his mouth lifted as he smiled half-heartedly. "You're wondering weather I'm crazy, aren't you?" he asked and looked at him this time.

Ryouji chuckled, wondering how to phrase his words properly. "Hmm… not really. Well… kind of."

"I'm telling you the truth," Sasuke stated firmly, daring him to look at his eyes and tell him he was lying.

"But right now I can see you in front of me," he reasoned.

"Normal people can't see me."

He blinked. "So you're saying I'm not normal?"

"Only those who grieve over a loved one's death can see me," he explained, gripping the handle of he cup tightly. He knew he was breaking another rule from the hand book. If he is caught, it would strictly forbid him to see Sakura.

The old man leaned forward, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, pondering and studying the deluded boy in front of him.

"Why… do you keep taking pictures?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

"Why do I?" he shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Where did the topic about being a ghost go?"

"I apologize," he said, exhaling strongly. "For now, let's leave it as that." He would not risk getting sent back to Heaven without completing his two weeks.

Ryouji nodded, pushing the thought of the boy being a ghost as he claimed. "I take pictures of the sky because I feel like it's a way of talking to my son. If you're a spirit, then my son should have come. Why a person I have never met before?"

"I'm sorry then."

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that, I assure you."

Oddly Sasuke paused again and stared at his cup for a minute, just like last time. The pale skin in his cheeks suddenly blended into rosy-pink, obviously feeling awkward and embarrassed. "I found… someone that I liked." He pouted, feeling reluctant and defeated.

Ryouji cleared his throat. "Our conversation is becoming a bit random now."

Sasuke continued. "The girl is a normal person from this world. She is not a soul like me. What am I suppose to do?" The cup's handle struggled underneath his grip. He wanted to admit everything to someone else rather than Sakura so he could speak to them about how he felt, and at the same time understanding his situation.

He decided to go along with it, wondering where their conversation would lead to. "If that girl is still living right now, It'll be a good idea to confess to her as soon as possible. People think that people they love will continue living… without even thinking about it, they can die any day." Ryouji had learned that over the years without his wife being by his side.

The postman raked his hand over his hair and never thought that even a soul could have such strong emotions over something as petty as love.

~ ღ ~ ღ ~ ღ ~

Sakura fiddled with a spoon, trying to balance it on the tissue dispenser. That morning, they had planned to meet at Angel's Coffee Shop, the one in the middle of the busy city as Sakura had asked for. She felt like grabbing a drink with Sasuke, which was impossible to do when staying in the lighthouse's basement next to the ocean.

In the corner of her eyes, Sakura spotted Sasuke walking toward the entrance. Her face lightened up as he watched him enter. "Sasuke! Over here!" she waved over the crowd.

The postman hung his bag over the chair's back and sat down. His expression didn't give anything away as he simply waited until she babbled on about her new project.

"I researched more about that letter. Ryouji-san lost his wife when he was thirty-seven and lived with his son. After his son graduated college, he was hired as a publisher. He got married and had a kid, but he never invited his father to the wedding or show him his grandchild." she said. "How could he do that?"

"And ten years ago, when he was on his way to Uruguay, a flight-seeing accident happened and whack!" She clapped her hands together. "He died!"

Sasuke nodded weakly. "I see."

"I found a way to solve the father's problem, but I need the son's voice. After we have that, we use it to make a fake will!" Sakura explained.

"Will?"

"While his son is about to die, he records a will on a recorder that he had. And he protected that recorder with plenty of clothes inside a strong luggage bag, which saved it."

"But he could have sent a text message through his cell phone," Sasuke challenged.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. That wasn't a time to be carrying a cell phone."

"Then do you think it could be made well?"

"I'm getting the same guy form the Alibi Factory to work on it again! He's a voice specialist too, you know? Since he said it would be competed today or tomorrow—"

He had rudely cut her off. "About that… Isn't that a little too much?"

She blinked twice. "Huh?"

"How are you so sure it will work?"

"Why are you being like this?" Sakura laughed. "It will work!"

Sasuke leaned forward. "Sakura—"

She shifted her attention to the line-up of people behind her. "I better get another cup. You want a drink too right?"

Sakura got up from her seat and joined the line of people on the back, not noticing Sasuke's disappointed expression as he leaned back in irritation. He stared at the chair, where Sakura once was.

She read the menu and decided she would buy an Americano for Sasuke and a Caramel Macchiato for herself. Humming a random tune, she casually glanced at the table where Sasuke sat.

She froze when she saw the empty chair. Her breath caught, suddenly making her dizzy. Her eyes fiercely glanced around the room but could not find the dark-haired boy. For a moment it seemed like something was telling her everything was a dream and that the man named Sasuke she knew was no more than the wind.

Author's Notes: Dun, dun, duhhh! Did Sasuke transport back to Heaven because he got caught disobeying a rule? Did he suddenly decide to leave her because he thought he was only harming Sakura? Haha, yes I fail at making a decent cliff-hanger in a story. Sorry guys! Review what you think is going to happen please! I might consider changing things up if I get good suggestions. Also, because of this short chapter, I'm publishing the next chapter very very soon!