Usually, my little sister Flandre has blushing cheeks and bright cheerful curious eyes, but, this time, she seemed to have a rather somber look and in her hand, she held a folded piece of paper. I took it from her and unfolded it, reading what was inside. I had felt the blood in my veins run cold and myself started to become sick to my stomach. I had read Chen's suicide note, which read:
To who it may concern,
I love you all very much but I just can't go on. I wish Ran-mommie still loved me but she doesn't and she's gone now. I can only how you'll forgive me, especially you, Reimu, assuming you can read, and never forget me. Ran, if you're reading this, I missed you and I wanted my mommy back and for us to be a family and happy again. I love you and I wish you still remembered that. By the time, you wake up and come back to us, I won't be here but promise me you'll take of them for me.
Sincerely,
-橙
Flandre sat next to me and asked me what it is we do with it. "I don't know." I answered her. She blinked her sad eyes and asked, "Should we destroy it, sister?" I shook my head and told her it would be very well pointless cruelty to withhold the truth but, yet, Flandre insisted we destroy it for fear of what it will do to Ran. I made my tone solemn and said, "Flandre, listen to me, we cannot withhold the truth, no matter the sort of damage it may cause." Flandre eyes welled up in tears and she said, "I see." She nodded and started to cry. To my absolute sadness, I do wish I could have withheld the truth but it didn't matter as Ran was standing outside of the door listening to us as we spoke. Actually, she was standing right in the doorway, as I held the note, something she barely glanced at. Her eyes wide and to the brim of tears, she hurried off.
We later found her, later that night, sitting at the table, drinking the sorrows she felt away. In her drunken ramblings, I could hear her questioning why it was she still persisted on living. As she rambled, Yukari walked into the room and, for once coherent and in the longest period of coherence she may ever be in, asked, "Is this it then?" Ran looked up and asked, "What do you want?" Yukari blinked and said, "To talk."
"..."
"You're silent because you're a confused and scared fragile flower, who's so full of guilt, self-loathing, and the pain of yet to be healed wounds and questioning on whether or not she should allow herself to live."
"Well, I-What the-...well."
"You are at a lost for words, my sweet. Listen to me, snap out of it, your children need you."
"She still loves me,... doesn't... she?"
"She always has, why else would she attempt suicide? She wanted her mommy back and couldn't make sense of why you had changed, being devastated by it. What's more to her suicide attempt is that it vaguely mimicked your own, only it was she who attempted suicide while Reimu watched and you've attempted suicide right in front of her, much like she's done right in front of her. The only difference was that Reimu was silent, whereas she cried out. I only fear of what that will do to Reimu, as I can see what witnessing your suicide attempts did to her."
"But...I-"
"She needs you. Go, Ran, go."
As we watched, a tearful Ran hurried to where Chen was and said, "I'm sorry and I love you, Chen." Chen barely opened her eyes and smiled, reaching for her hand. In the end, we all reconciled with her. It seemed she was recovering well.
"Can, Chen tawk yet?"
"No, so far, she hasn't' really started but I like her recovery to be as slow and as steady as it could be.