Chapter 9: The Wilting Flower

Yuki rode the bus to the city by herself, hoping that Sōhei wouldn't take too long with finding Ame and bringing him there. She was in tears the entire ride; even though she knew her mother wasn't making any progress on beating her condition, she didn't actually think that all the fighting would end up being futile. One thing she was definitely concerned about was how Izumi would handle this: having to lose a grandmother at such a young age. Upon arriving at the city, she quickly made her way to her mother's residence. She was greeted by the nurse that had called and told her the news. After trying to calm Yuki down, the nurse then directed her to the bedroom where Hana was lying in an extremely weak state. Yuki approached her with more tears than she could handle.

"Yuki, is that you?" Hana weakly called to her. "Please come over."

Yuki walked over to the side of the bed and knelt down. "Mom!" she cried out. "Why did it have to come to this?!"

Hana woefully smiled as she touched her daughter's face to dry her tears. "I'm afraid I just lost the battle," she replied to her. "Don't worry, I'll be able to finally be with your father again, and the two of us will continue to watch over your entire family together."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything!" Yuki continued to cry. "I desperately wanted you to beat this! I don't know what I will do without you!"

"Yuki, please!" Hana pleaded to her daughter. "There's no need to be sorry; it's just how things ended up for me. Besides, you've already proven yourself to be a perfect mother. Izumi loves her entire family, and she wouldn't have it any other way. I know that just from what I've heard her say about you all."

Yuki remained silent for a few seconds, then she dried her own eyes as she tried to cope with what had been told to her. Hana asked how Izumi has been doing balancing a double life, and Yuki told her all about the amazing job she's been doing with that. Hana reassured her daughter that Izumi will continue to be that way if she continues to be raised like she is, and even if things should change, she will always acknowledge her parents. As they continued talking, they heard the front door open, and footsteps came racing toward the bedroom. They then saw Ame burst through the door looking utterly devastated. Yuki had never seen him cry this many tears before in all the time she's known him; not even the departure of Inari made him tear up this much.

"MOM!" Ame cried out in a broken voice as he came over to the side of the bed, kneeling next to his sister. "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME, MOM!"

Hana looked at her son with the same wistful smile she gave her daughter and replied to him, "Ame, it's alright. I may be leaving this earth, but that doesn't mean I'll ever leave your side." She then proceeded to dry his eyes as well.

"It's just not fair; we never got to have a perfect relationship!" Ame bawled back. "You were right all along: what did you teach me?!"

"Please, Ame," Hana told her son. "You've already done so much more than that. You still managed to acknowledge your family all these years with how you've lived your life. I didn't need to teach you anything more; you managed to find your own way to overcome all the problems you had and become the brave guardian you are now."

Ame still continued to cry out, "I may seem like that, but the truth is down inside I'm still the same crybaby that I've always been."

Hana then sternly looked at both of her children. "Listen! Both of you!" she weakly ordered them. "You're only in denial; there's no need to act like you are right now. My role as your mother was to raise you until you were ready to be on your own, and both of you already proved yourself long ago."

Yuki and Ame both started to calm down, still hyperventilating from all the crying. They then listened closely to what their mother had to say.

"I only have one request left for both of you." Hana told both of her children. "I'm not asking this for me; however, this is for your father. Please take my hand, both of you."

The siblings did as they were told and each grabbed their mother's right hand while continuing to listen closely.

Hana then began to say her final plea: "When he was still alive, your father told me his greatest wish: that someday, the wolves of Japan would return to the world, and that they would be accepted by everybody. When we had the two of you, he began to think that would finally be a reality. The only thing I want now is for both of you to actually make an effort to have that eventually happen so that he can finally know that he had no regrets in life. It doesn't matter how this is accomplished, but please try to do so. He continues to watch all of us from beyond and would love to see all the future generations of people not treat the wolves like they did a century ago. Can you at least promise me this, my precious pups?"

Yuki and Ame continued to hold their mother's hand as they took it all in. Yuki was concerned about how Ame would react to being called the term she herself came to love but was surprised when he simply just gave a tearful smile. Yuki then smiled along with him; then, to show their support further, they both partially changed into wolves. Hana weakly smiled back as she accepted a nuzzle from her children.

Once their private conversation was done, Sōhei stepped inside the bedroom with Izumi at his side. Both Yuki and Ame switched back to fully human as they heard the nurse come in as well. Izumi tearfully said her goodbye to her grandmother as the rest of her family provided her comfort. Sōhei followed with his farewell, thanking Hana for accepting him into her family and letting him start his own family with her daughter. After a while, Sōhei and Izumi left back for home. Yuki and Ame continued to be by their mother's side until, soon after, it was over.

##

Days later, a memorial open house was held at the farm. The neighboring farmers, former classmates, and other acquaintances from town and the city all stopped by to pay tribute to Hana. The guests were told beforehand that while they were all welcome here, the internment would be a private family event for reasons undisclosed. Yuki was greatly moved by everyone's support, and while Ame mostly stayed away from the crowd, he felt the same way as his sister. Ame had previously told Satsu the news but that she should still not attend because of their still-secret relationship; she still showed her sympathy through their conversation. Sōhei was busy preparing for the internment by crafting a grave marker inscribed with Hana's name along with the epitaph "Mother to the Wolf Children.". Yuki and Ame would also provide the marker with their own paw prints placed on it. That evening, the internment was held at the vista point in the mountains overlooking the farm. Sōhei handled all the procedures as Yuki, Ame, and Izumi all attended in their wolf forms. Hana's remains were lowered into the ground, and the marker was placed on site. The three wolves then sent her off with a mournful howl at the conclusion.

Later that night, back at the farm, Yuki and Sōhei just sent Izumi to bed. As Sōhei went to lock everything up, Yuki sat on their bed still tearful about everything that just happened. Sōhei soon came in to join her in bed, and the two began to talk things over.

"Don't worry," Sōhei said to his wife, "we'll all get over this as the days go on."

"I just never thought this day would come so early in my life," Yuki wept as she started to get into bed. "Mom was the only parent I really had in my life since I never got to know my father."

Sōhei comforted her as he tucked himself in too, "I know, it's hard with only one parent. Even though my parents' divorce happened when I was much older, it still felt weird with only my father being the one to take care of me."

"Well still, I always wonder how life would've turned out differently for me and Ame had our father lived to raise us." Yuki stated as they both lay down.

"I suppose the both of you would've learned better how to properly live a double life at a much younger age," Sōhei told her.

Yuki replied with a slight glare, "Are you suggesting that my mother wasn't good at her job?"

"Not at all," answered Sōhei, "she was able to perfectly take care of both of you into adulthood. I'm just saying that since Izumi has had you all her life, she's able to do what you two couldn't do yourself and balance both of her forms. It's much easier for a person to be raised by someone just like them, and your mother really could've used your father then since she wasn't a wolf herself. I mean, imagine what Izi would be like if she only had me."

Yuki remained silent in thought at that statement.

"Is everything alright with that?" asked Sōhei.

"I'm fine," Yuki said back before starting to chuckle. "It's just that you now got me wondering what it would've been like if my mother was also a wolf."

"Well, one thing's definitely for certain," Sōhei mentioned.

"What's that?" questioned Yuki.

Sōhei turned his head toward her and smiled, "She would've been a very beautiful wolf."

Yuki smiled back and lightly chuckled some more as she then reached over to turn off the nightstand light so they could easily fall asleep.

As Yuki began to have a dream, she saw herself in what was still the bedroom. She could tell it was a dream due to the ethereal atmosphere around her and that Sōhei wasn't in bed next to her. Somehow, she knew that this was unlike the dreams she had been having before that had caused her to be sleepless on certain nights. As she walked out of her bedroom and made her way to the living room of this dreamlike version of the house, she suddenly saw the figure of a man sitting at the threshold of the open front door, facing outside. He had navy hair and was in a t-shirt with a stretched-out collar. Yuki knew one person who looked like this, so she assumed at first it must be him.

"Ame?" She called to the man.

The man chuckled and then responded in a voice that was different from her brother's, "I thought you might confuse me with him."

The man then turned his head around, and Yuki saw that he had a much different face than Ame, as it was much scruffier. Yuki suddenly felt chills as she realized that she had in fact seen this man before, but only in a photograph.

"Hello, Yuki," the man said while smiling. "It's certainly been a long time."

Yuki then began to tear up as she finally connected the dots. "DAD!" she exclaimed as she ran toward him.

Her father then stood up and turned around to face his reunited daughter, and they fell into their own embrace. Yuki continued to sob as she was finally properly having a conversation with him for the first time in her life. It was still skeptical in her mind, but maybe her mom had been right all the time.

"Why are you here just now?" Yuki asked him.

"I figured it was time for you to be the one to visit now since your mother would be joining me soon," her father answered.

"Oh Dad," said Yuki., "I'm just so glad to finally be able to talk with you. I'm sorry I couldn't before."

The wolf man's face turned stern, "Yuki, you really need to stop doing that: blaming yourself for things that aren't even your fault," he told his daughter. "This is really the only thing you still need to work on."

"But why did you have to go away before you could raise me and Ame?" Yuki questioned.

Her father then looked sorrowful. "I guess you could say that was my own personal folly," he responded. "I thought I could live a double life as both a human and a wolf in the city, but it turned out to be more dangerous than I expected, and I ended up paying the price. My instincts got the better of me, and I wasn't thinking straight when the vehicle struck me." He then looked content. "Your mom was smart, however; she made the right choice to move the family out here to this remote farm where you and your brother could freely run around without any worries, and you've managed to continue that with how you've raised Izumi."

Yuki then remembered her mom's final plea: "Mom told me that your greatest wish was that the wolves of Japan would return and be accepted by everyone. Is that really true?"

"I guess that was a bit of a pipe dream, if you ask me," her father replied while giving a wistful smile. "However, with how people like your mother and Sōhei have accepted us, I do like to believe that such a thing can be possible in this time. If what we are can easily be explained, and the right people know about it, I think that in time it could happen."

Yuki stood in silence as she took that all in.

Her father continued, "There's another thing I told your mother that I'd like to remind you of: there is no wrong path in life you can take."

"How exactly is that possible?" asked Yuki.

"What I really mean by that is that even in adulthood, life never stops changing direction," her father said back. "The only real thing you can do about these changes is just follow wherever it goes. It doesn't matter whatever comes; just know that if it's what you really want, then pursue it. I hope you will understand that as you continue to live your own life."

Yuki paused for a moment as that message stuck with her, then she replied with a smile, "Thanks Dad, I'll make sure to remember all of this."

Yuki hugged her father again, and as she did, she soon felt a different touch. Letting go of the hug, she then saw her father had changed into his wolf form. Now seeing this for the first time, Yuki was amazed by how even more so he resembled Ame with his grayish coat and navy mane. Her father smiled at his daughter as he then turned around and walked out into the fields.

"Dad!" Yuki called out, remembering something.

Her father paused and turned his head around at her call.

"Can you please also remember to visit Ame?" She pleaded.

"I'll try to," said her father with a smile. He then continued walking in the same direction.

Yuki continued to stand at the threshold as she watched her father go off. Suddenly, walking toward her father from the horizon, Yuki spotted another wolf with a tan coat and a black mane. She then saw the two wolves come up and lovingly look at each other, which was then followed by a nuzzle. Yuki could only smile at what she saw. While this moment made her even more skeptical that this dream was really her visiting the afterlife, it was still a lovely sight to behold.

##

Yuki soon woke up from her dream. She had remembered everything that had happened and what was said in it. She saw that it was still rather dark outside, and Sōhei was still sleeping next to her. For some reason, however, she didn't feel like trying to go back to sleep. She quietly got out of bed and left the bedroom and into the hallway, passing by Izumi in her bedroom, who was also still asleep. She then walked into the kitchen and checked the clock; it was four in the morning. Even though this was way too early for her to be up, Yuki still didn't feel like going back to bed. Something was drawing her to the front door; was it because that was where she was for the majority of her dream? Whatever the case, she went into the living room and opened the door. All that was there was just the great outdoors, still in its misty early morning weather. Yuki got the urge to step further outside, not even bothering to put on her shoes. As she did so, she could hear the calling of birds out in the distance. Something about that made her excited and want to go after those sounds. The whole world outside was just calling to her, and remembering what her father told her in her dream, she should just follow that regardless. She then ran out into the open fields as fast as her two legs could go, which soon changed into four legs.