My love index is at its maximum.

【Ha ha!】

Are you scared by what I wrote?

[How about it? My imitation of Sakura's style is pretty good, isn't it? Please give me your feedback when you reply; it has a bit of Sakura's charm in it.]

【Okay, the ducklings have finished their feed. That's all for now.】

After feeding the ducks, on her way home, Shiori Ninomiya bought a bottle of yogurt from the village's only vending machine. Leaning against a lamppost, she drank the sweet liquid in one gulp.

Back home, I put on my helmet and rode my dad's Honda scooter.

The village is located halfway up the mountain. It takes about twenty minutes by motorcycle to get to the town at the foot of the mountain. Along the way, you will pass a dilapidated shrine where an old shrine maiden and a Shiba Inu live.

Driving along the winding mountain road, the town below is laid out in full view, with vast fields empty after the rice harvest. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see the coastline and the area where the Northern Territories are located.

At 8:30 a.m., Shiori Ninomiya arrived at the hospital where her mother was temporarily staying.

It's a very small hospital, separated from the sea by a highway, with a row of windbreak pine trees in the courtyard. It used to be the house of a wealthy family, but after they moved to a big city, the house was donated and converted into a public hospital.

The mix of antique wooden structures and brand-new three-story reinforced concrete buildings creates a somewhat chaotic impression. However, the air is fresh, and apart from the sound of the waves, it remains remarkably quiet.

On sunny days, patients can even take a walk on the beach.

After parking her motorcycle, Shiori Ninomiya went to the hospital reception desk. Inside sat a middle-aged female nurse, petite in stature, wearing metal-framed glasses, with long hair, and a name tag that read "Sato".

“Aunt Sato,” she asked, “where’s my mother?”

"Oh, Shiori, all right." Nurse Sato looked up and smiled kindly. "After Mr. Ninomiya went home to cook for you this morning, Mrs. Ninomiya took a walk and is having a check-up now. Please wait a moment, it will be over soon."

"Thank you, Aunt Sato." Shiori Ninomiya smiled sweetly and went to wait on the sofa.

Early in the morning, the hospital lobby was deserted and quiet, with hardly anyone around.

Every now and then, a breeze carrying the scent of the sea would blow in, and the pine branches would make a dry, rustling sound.

She stared at the shimmering particles of light floating in the tranquil space, trying her best to maintain an energetic and optimistic expression.

Looking back now, the time I spent living in Tokyo was truly a wonderful experience.

Everything revolved around the boy, his face appearing before her eyes repeatedly. The girl reached out to the floating particles of light several times, but could not touch anything.

Behind the counter, Nurse Sato held a ballpoint pen in one hand and gently pressed her temple with her index finger in the other, her eyes occasionally glancing from the registration form in her hand to the girl on the sofa.

What a wonderful girl, the nurse thought to herself. She was kind and optimistic, attentive and strong, and beautiful. It was truly heartbreaking to see her in such a situation…

Not long after, Nurse Sato, who wore glasses, came over and told the girl that the examination was over and she could go in.

"Thank you, Aunt Sato." Shiori Ninomiya nodded and smiled.

“Little careless one…” Nurse Sato gently patted her back and bottom.

"Huh?" Shiori Ninomiya tilted her head, looking at her in confusion.

That puzzled look was incredibly endearing. With each blink, it was as if a mischievous little deer had leaped out of the forest, its round eyes curiously surveying the world.

"Grass clippings~" Nurse Sato picked up the grass clippings she had brushed off her and asked with amusement, "You were just sitting by the pond daydreaming again while feeding the ducks, weren't you?"

"Hmm~ Haha."

blushed slightly and Shiori Ninomiya quickly waved her hand, "I'm going to see my mom now. Aunt Sato can tease me later~!"

Before she could finish speaking, she had already run up to the second floor of the hospital and arrived at her mother's ward.

I pushed open the door and saw my mother sitting in a chair by the window, gazing out at the sea through the open window, her hands resting on her knees. On the table beside her sat a potted plant with a few tiny yellow flowers in bloom.

Compared to springtime, my mother looks smaller than I remember.

Her beautiful long hair was cut short, her face became increasingly pale, her cheeks were thin, and the corners of her mouth drooped.

My mother was always hardworking when I was little; she was a very strong woman. Although she wasn't gentle or elegant, she was still very loving towards her family. Although she was simple-minded, she had a strong will, and I never heard her complain or whine.

But the person sitting in front of me now seems more and more like an empty shell, a house with all the furniture removed.

"Mom~"

Shiori Ninomiya walked over and hugged her mother from behind: "What were the results of the examination? Did the doctor talk nonsense?"

“It’s alright…” Ninomiya’s mother looked up at her daughter, her mouth slightly open, revealing her uneven teeth as she smiled: “We’ve been doing this for over ten years, so of course it’ll be fine this time too.”

They often speak very softly, so softly that even a slight sea breeze could blow their voice away.

"Go back to bed and rest, it's windy here." With that, Shiori Ninomiya closed the window slightly and helped her mother back to bed.

Ninomiya's mother looked at her daughter quietly, a satisfied smile on her lips: "Shiori, tell your mother about Tazaki-kun and you again."

“It just so happens that he’s been making headlines lately, so I’ll tell Mom about it.” Ninomiya Shiori reached out her hand in front of the statue and placed it on the back of her mother’s hand.

With a sweet smile on her face, she put on a chair and began to recount what happened at the school festival.

"Can you do everything except give birth?"

"Of course, Kiki is very smart, she can learn anything very quickly."

"The watch you gave your dad was very expensive. Is his family very wealthy?"

"It's not that I'm rich, it's just that I happened to catch a bluefin tuna, so I can afford to give it away."

"Why don't you go back to Tokyo? Your dad can look after Mom here."

"What nonsense are you talking about..." Shiori Ninomiya grabbed her hand and placed it against her cheek, gently pressing it: "He's just a womanizer, nothing is more important than staying by Mom's side."

"Silly child," Ninomiya's mother simply smiled in response to her daughter.

"Mom, would you like some water?"

"No need, I'm going to take a nap. There's some fruit your dad bought over there, have some."

"Ok."

Shiori Ninomiya's gaze fell upon the bedside table, where a water bottle, teacup, saucer, and small clock sat. A basket contained fruit: two melons, some apples, and several cucumbers.

"Cucumber?" she exclaimed in surprise. "Dad is so silly, why would he buy cucumbers to eat?"

“Cough cough…” Ninomiya’s mother coughed a few times, then suddenly remembered something and said, “When you were chatting with your dad before, didn’t you say that Tazaki-kun likes cucumbers in May? So your dad bought some and ate them raw, wanting to experience the taste of the champion, Tamaki.”

“Those are cucumbers from May,” Shiori Ninomiya said, holding the cucumber and laughing and crying at the same time. “It’s October now.”

"You know your dad's stupid."

The mother and daughter exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time, showing no disagreement on the matter.

At noon, Ninomiya's father brought over lunch, and the three of them ate lunch around a small table.

Shiori Ninomiya brought up the matter of killing the duck and told her father very seriously that she must make it taste good.

After lunch, Dad left the hospital to continue his morning work, and would return home before dark to kill a duck, prepare dinner, and then take over the care of his daughter.

Ninomiya's mother was not in good mental condition and soon fell asleep.

Shiori Ninomiya took a half-hour walk around the three-story hospital building.

The hospital was noticeably more crowded at noon, and the air was filled with the distinctive smell of the hospital.

The smells of disinfectant, bouquets of flowers for visiting patients, and stinky quilts mingled together, enveloping the entire hospital. Nurses ran around the room, their shoes creaking and groaning.

Back in her hospital room, Shiori Ninomiya took out her textbooks from the drawer and began studying on her own.

A breeze blew in through the cracks in the window, stirring the sun-darkened curtains and swaying the tiny petals of the potted plants. The long day slowly passed, and in the sound of the wind whistling past the pine treetops as dusk approached, she seemed to hear the school bell ringing.

It could just be an illusion.

Before six o'clock, the family finished their dinner, which consisted of duck, and Ninomiya's father took his daughter to the hospital parking lot.

Neither of them spoke.

They walked one after the other, like strangers.

Shiori Ninomiya was lost in her own thoughts, while her father, with a serious expression, gazed at the sky with his head slightly tilted back. The sun was already setting in the west, and the pale blue sky was slowly shifting towards a deeper shade of blue.

I have many questions in my mind.

But no matter what you ask, there will probably be no response; just looking at Dad's tightly closed lips makes it clear.

He seemed to have made up his mind not to say a word.

Arriving at the parking lot, the Honda Civic stopped under the pine forest bathed in the vast twilight.

Dad remained silent, gazing at the distant scenery from the same angle. Like a sentry, he was afraid of missing any enemy activity that might suddenly appear on the distant mountains.

When it was time to leave, Shiori Ninomiya said, "Well then, I'll head back now."

"Get some rest." Ninomiya's father seemed relieved and smiled. "It's getting dark, let's hurry up and go, or it will get very cold."

There must be something wrong with the fact that they're in such a hurry for me to leave...

"Ok."

Shiori Ninomiya nodded, lit the fire, and rode away on her motorcycle.

As he watched his daughter leave, the smile on Ninomiya's father's face slowly faded, disappearing as if it had sunk to the bottom of the water.

terribly sorry……

There's almost nothing I can do for you and your mother.

Now, besides praying for you and your mother, I hope the process of getting the result won't cause you too much pain, but thinking about it, it's difficult; this is a kind of pain you've never experienced before...

As her father's weary figure re-entered the hospital, Honda Kosaku returned. Ninomiya Shiori quietly returned to the ward, opening the door a crack and peeking inside.

The people inside were speaking very softly; you could only make out the general idea.

"The results of the examination were not very optimistic."

What did the doctor say?

"In the late stages of diabetes, the complications become very serious..."

"So, given how badly this leg has festered, it's probably beyond saving..."

"Amputation is the only option."

"I don't really want to..."

"There's no other way but amputation, otherwise the infection will spread and they'll die."

“If she has her leg amputated now, Shiori definitely won’t go back to Tokyo to go to school. Do you want her to be stuck here for the rest of her life like you?”

"I……"