Professor Layton: Love In All Adversities

14. This Is Our Cycle

The second woman frowned and then turned quickly and left the room. It had worried the first woman. How could she have upset her friend like that?

The woman was back and in her hand was a photo. It was a bit crumpled and had a few tears, but it was still in good shape.

"I... I always keep this. How can I not think of our time together?"

She handed the first woman the photo and then she gripped her hands together tightly as she tried to contain herself.

The photo showed them in front of a large fountain and the first woman had fallen into the fountain and was trying to pull the second one in.

Their faces showed such joy and both women recalled fondly the memories of that time. They had been given a fierce eye by the first woman's father, but then he released a big smile and they all laughed and soon he was pulled in.

The woman's mother had taken the photo and a few others, except they were back in the other house. The second woman kept this photo to always remember that time with great fondness.

"Do you remember this moment?" the second woman grinned, trying to keep back her tears.

"O-of course. I will never forget this... Thank you..."

"For what?"

"For showing me that happiness can still be found in this troubled world."

"Well, of course! We just need to recall our memories. I can never stop thinking back to my fondest memories. I live them every day. Sometimes I get lost in them..."

The first woman frowned and then stared deeply into her friend's eyes.

"I think that way too. When I am not thinking about this dreary existence..."

"What's gotten into you?! You need to stay with those memories like I do. And from living them again, we can find happiness and inspiration. You rarely smile anymore!

"What is there to smile about... anymore?"

“People can't live without their memories. But they can't live on their memories alone, either. They have to wake up from their dreams. Those dreams will turn into sadness if they don't....Even if you wake up from your dream, your memories will still be there. So please smile. I want our memories to be happy to the very end....I wish everyone would keep smiling so that everyone could be happy and everybody could be warmer.”

"What a noble sentiment..."

The second woman called out her friend's name and then scolded her.

"Please! Snap out of this horrible daze! For me, importantly, but also for yourself. I need you or I will go insane. I have no one else to talk to here except you and you are so downcast and distant. You are hurting yourself just as much as you are hurting me, though. If you lose sight of who you are, then you risk losing your soul!'

"Such a mellow existence surely..."

The second woman stamped her feet and went to storm out of the room. She knew to leave her friend when she started talking this way.

"Wait..." The first woman called.

She turned her head hopefully, and found herself grinning once more.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Can you say for certain the point of all this?'

'Huh?"

"Of life. Death. Of life, the universe and everything!"

"No you're sounding like a philosopher!"