My Sun and Your Star - Episode 5

The sky was as beautiful as always.

However, there was someone at the edge of the rooftop today. Moreover, one of their feet was lifted, and if they went any further, they would fall.

It didn’t look to me like that person was playing around at all.

That girl, with her hair a dark blue-black deeper than the sky, clearly looked like she was about to jump.

I didn’t want to witness the scene of someone’s death. I never wanted to see someone lying in a hospital bed with their face hidden again.

My body moved on its own. I headed towards the girl and instinctively raised my voice.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

A voice louder than I thought I could make came out.

The girl looked surprised, and her lifted foot returned to the rooftop floor. Since she looked like she might still fall if she stayed there, I pulled her with all my strength to a safe spot.

It was then, seeing her face for the first time, that I was startled.

It’s Takizawa-san.

Why was she doing something like that? Why was she here?

Was it because of that bullying-like treatment she was getting before? As these thoughts swirled in my head, I forgot to keep up my usual facade and ended up asking.

“What were you trying to do just now…?”

—Trying to die.

I grew anxious, thinking that might be the answer I’d get.

“I like walking along the edge of the rooftop.”

Without even looking at me, Takizawa-san spoke.

That’s definitely a lie.

Why would she lie like that? Maybe there’s a reason she doesn’t want me to know. I thought it would be better to settle things amicably by voicing my current doubt rather than prying deeper and hurting her.

“What did you think would happen if you died?”

Anyone who’s alive has family, at least. They might have friends too. If you die, the people around you will be sad. I know that better than anyone.

The people left behind have to carry the sadness of that person being gone for the rest of their lives.

It might be called a platitude, but I believed that no matter how hard things get, you must never choose death as an option.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

Takizawa-san, who always seemed so cool and calm, had raised her voice slightly. I was the one who got angry, thinking, ‘I was worried about you, is that attitude really necessary?’ But tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Even though I shouldn’t be thinking this at a time like this, her tears were so beautiful, and I found myself drawn to her.

Unconsciously, my hand reached out to her cheek and wiped her tears.

“Are you okay…?”

A voice of genuine worry escaped me. Usually, these are words I say while playing the nice person so people won’t dislike me, but right now, I feel like I’m speaking from the heart.

The next instant, that hand was slapped away.

“Don’t touch me!”

It was definitely wrong of me to touch her face and wipe her tears without permission while she was crying. But, the positions were reversed from that time; I felt like I was about to be swallowed up by her tears.

She didn’t remember me, but there was a time when Takizawa-san had saved me.

“Tears…”

Hearing that, Takizawa-san became flustered and tried to run away from the spot. I unconsciously grabbed her hand. I couldn’t just let her be.

Even though her harsh words—”Let go,” “Don’t touch me”—hurt me, I thought I mustn’t let go of this hand now.

I felt that if I let go of this hand now, I’d probably never be able to talk to Takizawa-san again.

Even though I grabbed her arm tightly to stop her, I couldn’t think of a good solution, so I searched for something to wipe her tears. The only thing in my pocket was a handkerchief.

Moreover, it was an important handkerchief.

It was something I didn’t want Takizawa-san to see.

But it wasn’t like I had anything else, so I handed the handkerchief to her.

“If you stay like that, you’ll worry all sorts of people. For now, it’s just me here, so why don’t you stay until you’ve stopped crying? If I’m bothering you, I’ll leave.”

Takizawa-san looked surprised when she saw the handkerchief. Of course she would. It’s because I got it from Takizawa-san herself.

“Return that to me next time, okay?”

After saying that, I left the spot.