Just when Ishiguro Hotaru, a ghost of 16 years, was ready to move on and restart a new life, she is reincarnated back to her human form as the 16-year-old student that she was at the time of her death, for 48 days. She crosses paths with the present...
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Yuki waited until both Rai and Ryuji had fallen asleep. She closed the door and walked towards the living room. The house was now dim and empty, with faint sounds of the crickets' shrills coming from outside. She walked towards the window and looked up at the rainy sky.
"Hotaru." She murmured, her voice cracking.
Yuki often thought of her. It has been so long since she had lost her best friend of many years since their adolescent years. In school, Yuki often felt lonely. The death of Hotaru had deprived her of the only companion she had ever had.
She went to school alone. She went to lunch alone. Yuki had tried to strike up a friendship with one or two girls in her class. But not one of them could replace Hotaru. Often Yuki wept when she remembered her and all the places where they had been together, all the secrets they had ever whispered to one another flooding her mind. Then she would feel the pain inside her; the pain wrung dry her heart and no tears would fall. School became an unfamiliar place to Yuki again.
What pained Yuki the most was the fact that they had made a promise together that they would stay as best friends for life. Hotaru and her had eagerly talked about getting married and having children at the same time. This was their dream. But Hotaru had failed to keep that promise.
Yuki recalled her wedding day, when she had gotten married to her husband, Seiji. She could not bring herself to smile, knowing that her friend could never do the same. She wished for Hotaru to be there, to watch her walk down the aisle. Even when she got pregnant with her two children, Yuki wished Hotaru could be there to support her during the journey. It was times like this that made Yuki feel guilty, guilty that she got to experience all this.
"You're still awake?" Yuki heard the footsteps of her husband heading towards her.
She turned around and smiled faintly. "I was just thinking about Hotaru."
Seiji looked at her with sad eyes as he remembered his deceased schoolmate. "Have you been thinking about her a lot?"
Nodding her head, Yuki walked towards the couch and sat down. Seiji took a seat next to his wife and brushed her hair.
"Honey, it's been 16 years. Why haven't you moved on? I'm very sure that even Hotaru would have wanted you to move past this, leave behind the bad memories and move forward."
Yuki felt tears well up in her eyes. Her lips started to tremble as she wiped them away. Maybe it was because Hotaru's death anniversary was coming up that's why Yuki couldn't stop thinking about her friend. Was she doing okay? Is she happy up there? Sometimes Yuki missed Hotaru so much she would find herself hallucinating and speaking to Hotaru, but it was all a vision.
"It's late, let's go to sleep. You have work tomorrow." Seiji reminded his wife gently. "I'm sure that Hotaru is happy, wherever she is, don't worry too much."
Yuki stood up and followed Seiji back to their room. How could anyone feel happiness after dying so suddenly?
~
Hotaru looked around in a panic. She was completely drenched. Her uniform was soaking wet and her strands of hair were dripping. A cold gust of wind blew towards her and she shivered. It has been a long time since she felt this coldness.
"Excuse me, Student...?" Hotaru turned around to see a woman in her thirties staring at her in concern. Her first human interaction. "Do you need an umbrella? You're all drenched!"
Hotaru gulped. So she really was a human again. People could see her.
"Y-yes, that'll be g-good." She stammered nervously, her teeth chattering from the cold. "T-thank you so m-much!"
The lady smiled. "No worries. I had a spare umbrella with me and you look like you could really use one. Make sure to take a hot shower or you'll get a cold. You don't want to fall sick and miss school, do you?"
Hotaru stared at her with her mouth opened ajar. I would've been around the same age as you if I hadn't died...
"Of course not. Thank you again!" Hotaru replied her anyway.
With one last look, the woman turned around and headed off. Hotaru watched her disappear into the clearing and sighed. If only she was able to go somewhere to shower. She was practically homeless!
"What am I going to do?" Hotaru looked around nervously. She was worried. She couldn't go back to the columbarium in this state, neither could she go back to her parents. How could she show up in front of her family, alive and well after 16 years? It was not as if she wanted to see her parents anyway.
"Satoru... Satoru..." Hotaru murmured her brother's name. She knew where he lived, since he got married to his fiancée a few months ago and now they were preparing to welcome their first child together. "No... I can't just show up like that."
Hotaru walked around the streets, the rain still pouring heavily. As she walked, she started forgetting that she wasn't a ghost anymore. She walked into a street lamp, a tree, a dustbin and a sleeping stray cat. The poor cat's tail got busted.
Annoyed with herself, Hotaru smacked her head continuously. "You stupid idiot! You're a human now, stop thinking you can go through objects. It's not possible now."
As she spoke to herself, Hotaru didn't realize that she was jaywalking across the road. She was so deep into her own thoughts that she didn't even realize what she was doing, until an incoming truck starting honking at her.
She turned around, eyes widened. Hotaru suddenly saw flashbacks of what happened 16 years ago, when she got into her accident. Glass pieces cracking everywhere, blood, the sound of ambulances...
Hotaru was ready to let the deities take her life away again until she felt a tight grip on her arm and her entire body swinging back onto the walkway, her umbrella flying out of her hand. Hotaru fell on top of the person and watched the truck drive past. I didn't die!
She turned around her and saw a pair of large eyes staring at her. She hurriedly got up and thanked him. The boy got on his knees and stood up. He was tall, and had a charismatic look. Hotaru was impressed.
"I-I can't thank you enough f-for saving me just now. I-I don't have any money with me b-but—"
"I know you." He said to her.
Hotaru was puzzled. "What?"
The boy stared down at her, both of them getting drenched. It seemed like the rain was never stopping.
To Be Continued...
lol yes i know how similar the whole plot is to hi bye, mama! but too bad i'm writing it my way 😼 hope y'all like it so far!!
