Episode 31 – Album

By the time Hanabi and I got home, it was past 6:00 p.m.

I tried to prepare dinner right away, but Hanabi, who was concerned about my health, ordered a delivery……..after dinner, I holed myself up in my room to continue writing my script.

Hanabi had told me to rest……but I was feeling much better now, and I didn’t think I would have any problems with my writing. Besides, my writing is progressing very well today.

Perhaps playing in the pool all day today was a nice change of pace.

After working on it for about an hour, I decided to print it out and read it again to check it.

However, I couldn’t find a printer in the study, so I went upstairs to the storage room to look for one.

“Hmm, what’s this…..?”

Suddenly, he found an old tin box in the back of the storage room that looked like it contained cookies.

I took out the box, which was placed as if hidden, and opened it casually to find a thick album-like thing inside.

“An album, I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

Perhaps because I take pictures of everything with my smartphone these days, I had forgotten about the existence of albums.

Besides, I had probably never looked back at the photos in the album before.

While thinking that, I was about to open the album.

Suddenly, I got a strong headache.

–I won’t cry anymore. I want to save Akkun, too…….

It may have been a memory of a dream I had earlier.

After a while, when the headache subsided…….I became strangely curious about the dream I had earlier and opened the album fearfully to compare it with my dream memory.

As I expected, there were a number of childhood photos of me and Hanabi on the album.

Among them, a photo suddenly caught my eye.

It was a two-shot of me and Hanabi taken in our yard when we were little, and I was struck by the fact that Hanabi was shyly hiding behind my back.

I don’t remember when this picture was taken at all, but it was probably taken when I was five and Hanabi was six.

When I looked at the other photos, all of them showed Hanabi either hiding behind my back or anxiously half-stepping while holding the hem of my shirt.

It was far from today’s Hanabi, who would proudly give a speech in front of the entire school.

Even so, maybe I have a problem with my memory…….but I can’t remember when I took any of the pictures, what I was doing, or even what kind of child I was when I was little and what kind of child Hanabi was.

When I think about it, I don’t remember much about the past, and I guess I simply have a bad memory…….

I looked at the album for a while while thinking about that, and then I suddenly remembered my purpose.

“I was looking for a printer.”

I think it is a common thing for all mankind that when you are looking for something or cleaning up your room, you end up doing something else. Also, when I take a break from studying, I find that an hour or more has passed.

I remembered my original purpose and was about to close the album.

Suddenly, an envelope-like object fell out of the album.

“What is this?”

There was nothing written on the surface of the white envelope, and there seemed to be some kind of paper inside.

I wondered if it was an old letter….and took the paper inside out of the envelope.

But it wasn’t what I expected.

“…..What the hell.”

The paper looked like a medical certificate from the hospital when I had a traffic accident about a year ago.

At the time, I was told that I had a broken leg, bruises all over my body, and a few stitches in my head, but I was taken aback by the string of words on the medical report.

–Long-term memory disorder.

The summary stated that he had partial memory loss…….

But I had no idea what this meant.

I had amnesia…..?

I had never been told such a thing by my parents or by Hanabi, and in fact, I didn’t even know what I remembered and what I had forgotten.

I was aware of my lack of memory.

But I don’t think I have amnesia.

Even though it should be. From the moment I saw the words “memory loss,” the holes in my memory, which I had never been aware of before, became more apparent.

It was as if there was a gaping hole in my mind.

I found that my hands were shaking.

It’s hard to describe, but I was overcome by a feeling of fear akin to loneliness.

I grabbed the medical certificate and staggered downstairs to Hanabi’s place.

In the living room, I found Hanabi sitting on the sofa reading a book.

I slowly approached Hanabi.

My heart was beating uneasily.

“……Hanabi.”

I called out, and Hanabi raised her face and looked back at me.

Then, perhaps thinking I was acting strangely, Hanabi nodded her head.

“What’s wrong?”

I slowly showed her the medical certificate.

“What is this…..?”

“Why are you……..”

As soon as Hanabi saw the certificate, her eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth.

Obviously, I thought, she knows something about this medical certificate.

“:What the hell, do I have amnesia……?”

“…………”

Hanabi shook her shoulders and looked away.

The reaction was no longer any different than an affirmation.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“……Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing…..?”

“………I’m sorry.”

“Stop, stop it……don’t apologize…….”

Every time Hanabi apologized, fear took over my entire body.

“Hanabi, please explain what’s going on……”

“I’m sorry…….”

No matter how many times I asked, all Hanabi did was apologize.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she apologized.

“Asahi, I’m sorry……”

I don’t know how many times Hanabi apologized and she walked out of the living room.

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