Chapter 40
"Mieko-chan... why...?"
Enduring the pain and standing up, Ryosaku sees Mieko getting further and further away from him... Yes, right there, near the bridge over the U River, he sees a familiar figure just like Mieko...
"Ah…Teacher Suzuki!?"
(Ryosaku-kun...)
...In Ryosaku's head, the teacher's gentle voice echoes.
And Mieko goes to the teacher...
The teacher's expression looked somewhat lonely.
Mieko, who had been holding hands with the teacher, looked at Ryosaku with a sad...and forlorn face just like the teacher's, and the two of them exchanged glances and slowly and silently walked away from Ryosaku.
(Ryosaku-kun...Ryosaku-kun, I'm sorry...I'm really sorry...I...)
As Ryosaku stands stunned, the echo of his teacher's voice echoes once again in his head.
The lonesome figures of the two disappeared from Ryosaku's field of vision.
"...Teacher!! Mieko-chan!!...Where are you going!? Why...why..."
The next time he woke up, he was in a hospital bed.
