She's gone. And the worst part is, I never got to tell her that I love her.
Nami Sawatari was the most amazing girl I had ever met. She was an honour student, an amazing singer, and a friend to all. The truth is, I've loved Nami for a long time...since middle school, actually. Doesn't it suck that the world's greatest people die so young? Poor Nami was only sixteen.
It's hard to believe that I'm really here...at the funeral of the girl I love.
"Nami...my little girl..." I could hear Hikaru Sawatari saying tearfully to his friend. "I thought losing Yuki was bad enough..." That's right...Nami's mother, Yuki Sawatari, died last year in a car crash. I really had to pity Mr. Sawatari, especially when you consider the cause of Nami's death.
See, Mr. Sawatari is the head scientist of a research lab in Tokyo. They're working on some research involving animal DNA. Last week, we had a Bring Your Child To Work Day at school, and of course, Nami went with her father. At some point during the day, Mr. Sawatari had to attend a quick meeting with his colleagues, and left Nami alone in the lab...not the best idea.
What I'm trying to say is, it's not a great idea to leave Nami alone in a room full of fragile objects...her clumsiness was probably her only flaw. And if her little flaw hadn't chosen that one moment to kick in...well, maybe we wouldn't be here today.
At exactly the wrong moment, Nami had tripped on the backpack that she had put down for just a moment while she tied her shoe. She fell...and landed in the path of a beaker full of a chemical that Dr. Sawatari has yet to identify.
However, based on the broken glass, the spilled chemical and the bones that remained...Dr. Sawatari and his colleagues came to the conclusion that her body had burned away in whatever mystery liquid had been in that container.
So here we are, five days later, at dear Nami's funeral. There were so many people surrounding the area I didn't even try to count them all. Not surprising, considering how popular and involved in the community she was. When I looked around, I saw everyone huddled in small circles...Nami's best friends crying to each other, family members looking tearful as well. There were even teachers there and some fellow students who didn't even know Nami. All of them were here for the same reason...to say goodbye to one of the greatest young people that the world had ever known.
Everyone had a turn to kneel by the casket and offer a prayer to Nami's spirit. When it was my turn, I could only think of five words to say:
"Goodbye, Nami. I love you."
