Chapter 22. At Least at This Moment, They Were Happy
"She seems to have something she wants to tell her husband."
The break happened to coincide with the start of the Mini-Game Festival, so Elysia excitedly pulled Eden along to open the game made by Xander.
According to Elysia, it even contained a piece the two of them created together, so of course they had to share it.
So, even though Eden had no interest in games, she ultimately couldn't resist Elysia's pleading and sat down with her at the computer.
As it turned out, a small game quickly drew them both in.
Seeing the conversation by John and River's bedside, Eden frowned a little and voiced her doubt.
"Right, whether it's that 'her' or that origami rabbit, it seems like they're both quietly reminding John of something, but John looks completely unaware."
Elysia also furrowed her pretty face, sounding troubled.
"Why not just say it directly?"
"Yeah, if you have something on your mind, just say it outright. Candid communication between people is the way to—"
Elysia's words suddenly trailed off.
She immediately turned her head to look at Eden, and Eden looked back at her at the very same moment.
"It's River's illness!"
With a hypothesis in mind, they hurried to keep watching, not even caring about John starting to play their composition.
Sure enough, the subsequent memory-jump sequence quickly answered their doubts.
"Asperger's syndrome" was the name of River's illness.
It is a pervasive developmental disorder, typically marked by social difficulties along with narrow interests and repetitive, specific behaviors.
As Elysia read out the entry on the Schicksal Encyclopedia, the answer was ready to emerge.
Why John and River's communication looked so awkward.
Why River kept folding origami rabbits again and again.
Why she kept asking John the same question over and over.
At this moment, everything had an answer.
Only, after learning it, Elysia wasn't happy and instead grew even more silent.
Especially when, after John confessed to River that he had pursued her at the time only because she felt special, River cut her long hair and silently sat at the table.
Origami rabbits were scattered all over the floor, and in her hands, she kept folding still.
"Did you see the rabbit I left for you?
Tell me about it."
"Uh, it's yellow."
"And what else?"
"It's a little chubby."
"And what else?"
"…"
Those "and what else?" full of expectation finally made Elysia's eyes grow red.
One time, two times, three times.
One day, two days, three days.
Asking and asking, half a lifetime passed.
Even after experiencing disappointment again and again, even in the final moments before death, River still stubbornly asked John the same question.
"And what else?"
"And what else?"
"…"
Sadly, what she got was always John's silence or a change of subject.
She was like a lone boat sailing in the dark, unable to find the lighthouse that could light her way.
In the end, she could only sink into endless darkness with eternal regret.
"This is too much, Eden.
This is too much…"
Knowing her best friend's temperament, Eden gently embraced the softly sobbing Elysia.
She patted Elysia's shoulder lightly, her voice warm and soft.
"The torment of illness isn't something human effort can overcome.
Although John couldn't understand River's questions, he loved her so deeply all the same.
Isn't that also moving?"
"But River—she shouldn't have had to die."
In his last days, John had wanted to use their savings to treat River's illness, but River refused.
Why did this house feel more important to River than life itself?
Elysia and Eden didn't know, nor did Seele and the viewers.
What did the origami rabbits mean?
What did River want to tell John?
The mist still shrouded everyone's eyes, yet the story did not pause.
Next, they saw a lively wedding, and a newlywed couple infinitely happy before the lighthouse.
They saw River leaning against the lighthouse, saying, "Do you like the name Anya?"
"Would you… be willing to call her Anya?"
In an instant, a bit of the mist dispersed.
"So the lighthouse is named 'Anya.'
Then, is River's attachment to Anya because the lighthouse was their proof of love?"
Covering her lips, Eden was a little surprised.
"But no matter how important a proof of love is, it can't be happier than two people holding hands and strolling under the sunset."
Still carrying the emotions from before, Elysia's spirits were a little low.
Until she watched John take River's hand and watched them walk all the way to the top of the lighthouse.
She watched them, beneath a full moon scattering silver sands and in the bright beacon's glow, begin to dance slowly to the accompaniment of the waves.
In that moment, they had no worries about illness and no anxieties about the future.
There was only the warmth of palms touching, breaths pressing close, and happiness within reach.
"How wonderful~"
Elysia whispered her sigh of admiration.
Eden, too, lifted a faint smile.
She knew that scenes like this were her best friend's favorite.
"But…"
Because the memories were being viewed from back to front, the easier the present seemed, the more the future's regret hurt.
Eden interrupted Elysia's murmuring.
She looked at Elysia and spoke a little more seriously.
"The ending will never be more important than the journey.
At least at this moment, they were happy, weren't they?"
Eden's comfort had an obvious effect, and Elysia visibly brightened.
"Mm, Eden, you're right."
She looked at the two of them embracing as they danced and slowly said, "Although illness separated their minds, love would not.
They loved each other so deeply, all the way to life's end."
To help John understand her feelings, River tirelessly folded the origami rabbits over and over, and the same question filled the latter half of their lives.
John was even more so.
Although he couldn't grasp River's intent, even when River asked the same question for decades, he answered her patiently without haste.
Even if every time he could not obtain River's approval, he never grew discouraged.
As for the lighthouse River loved, John never voiced any doubts.
He simply guarded it quietly for her, and even after River was gone, he remained the same.
Because he loved her, he also loved everything she loved.
Because she loved him, she didn't want a gap between them and hoped to awaken her husband's memory.
Such unreserved love between them warms the heart, moves the soul, and intoxicates one to tears.
As the story advanced step by step, smiles also grew on everyone's faces.
At the grand wedding, the world witnessed their vow to spend a lifetime together.
Relatives and friends offered sincere blessings, and his mother said excitedly, "Oh, Joey, you are the pride of my life."
Joey was John's nickname, and his mother always liked to call him that.
In the wide riding arena, laughter flowed as they galloped on horseback.
They watched the two of them meet, get to know each other, and fall in love.
They watched them paint a youthful picture in the cinema that made people smile knowingly.
Everything was so beautiful—so beautiful that it made one wish to keep it forever.
And the platypus by River's side became their prop for pressing ever forward, turning into the most profound fragment of memory and leading them all the way toward John's childhood.
But just then, a white flash passed, and between them and John's memories there opened up a bottomless darkness.
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