Volume 2 - CH 33

On-screen, the film finally reaches its climax.

The two graduated from high school and became college students, but because they went to different universities, they became distant from each other and almost no longer interacted with each other.

Time passes and the two celebrate their coming-of-age ceremony at a local gymnasium.

On the night after the coming-of-age ceremony, a reunion was held for their high school classmates.

Most of the gathered members were over 20 years old.

Alcohol was served to some extent in the restaurant, which was reserved for a private party, and everyone was getting excited.

The two were alone on the terrace, wine in hand, and talking.

“Have you got a boyfriend yet?”

“Eh? Uh, no, I don’t have one yet.”

“I see. I don’t have a girlfriend either.”

“As for me. There is someone I like, but I am afraid to tell him how I feel.”

“I see. I also have a girl I like right now, but I can’t seem to find the right opportunity…”

On the top floor of a high-rise building. The terrace is just the two of them.

Everyone else is indoors, making noise.

“What’s the reason? Then why don’t you call her right here, right now?”

“Call her here? Then you should call the guy you like, too!”

“Okay. I’ll call him right here, right now, right in front of you.”

“Are you serious?…”

The heroine picks up her phone and makes a call.

At the same time, a ringtone rings and the screen of the phone in the man’s hand shows the heroine’s name.

“Answer it. Answer the phone!”

The man who answers the phone, upset, is putting on an impassioned act.

I can feel my hands shaking like his.

“Hello?”

“I made up my mind to call you.”

This heroine’s determined eyes make my heart tremble even though I know it’s an act.

Somehow, I get the image of her being similar to Anri.

For just a few seconds, a moment of silence passes.

The man, too, has made up his mind, and his hands stop shaking.

“I’ve always, always, always liked you! I still do, and I always will! I’ve never forgotten you, not even for one day! I love you more than anything in the world!”

“I’ve always loved you too! I’ve loved you longer than you’ve loved me! You’re late! You should have told me sooner! I’ve been waiting for you!”

The man holding the phone and shouting at the heroine in front of him also says it.

They hug each other and shed tears. Behind them, the illumination of the high-rise tower glows beautifully.

“You took way too long. I’ve been waiting a long time!”

“Congratulations!”

“Explode! Goddamn it!”

“Kiss! Kiss!”

The two classmates who had been indoors come out onto the terrace, crackers clanging in the air.

“You guys are too slow! The whole class was worried about you!”

“But I’m so happy for you! I hope you’ll be happy!”

The classmates congratulated her, and she was back in the store, completely in celebration mode.

And that brings us to the epilogue.

Despite the distance between them, they continued to date, and upon graduation from college, they moved into the same apartment together.

They have already greeted each other’s parents and have begun living together.

At this point, the music that was also played at the opening plays quietly, and wedding photos appear on the screen.

The pictures are then placed in an album, and next a picture of a baby appears.

The photo of the young couple and the baby is placed under the wedding photo.

The photos that appear one after another overlap with the credits roll, and the time goes by with a thump.

A photo of the second child. Photos when the family of four grew up. A photo of a trip.

Photos of going to festivals together. Photos of getting older and getting together for a reunion.

Photos of the birth of a grandchild. Photos of grandparents who have grown old and become grandfathers and grandmothers.

The screen stops at the scene of the photo of the elderly couple, and then the credits roll is cut.

On the screen is an elderly man and woman. They are probably the hero and heroine.

The elderly couple in the picture started to move and began to talk to each other on the porch, holding hands.

“You’re getting all old.”

“Yes, I am. We’ve both reached a good age.”

“Have you been happy?”

“Yes, I’ve been happy.”

“I was happy, too. If possible, I would like to be with you for a few more decades, but it seems impossible.”

“That’s not true. I am sure we will be together in the next life.”

“I love you now and forever.”

“I love you too. I love you too, now and forever…”

A screen that is getting darker and darker. The elderly couple leaned toward each other, motion stopped, and became a photograph.

Then the picture was slowly placed in an album, and finally, the album was slowly closed.

The screen became darker and darker, and white letters appeared in the center of the screen.

“Are you conveying your feelings to your loved ones? Are your feelings being conveyed?”

I love you. What is love?

Is it different from liking? I still don’t know.

But it doesn’t change the fact that I want to be with Anri forever, just like the old couple in this movie.

Yes, there is no change… My feelings now, my heart is with Anri.

The theater gradually brightens.

I hear sniffling coming from everywhere.

“Achoo~”

Who’s that? Who sniffs that loud?

“Well, that made me cry more than I thought it would!”

I am very sorry. It was my friend.

Both Anri and Sugimoto’s eyes are red.

Takayama’s are red too. Could it be that they have quite sensitive hearts?

From the brightly-lit theater, the number of people gradually decreased and we were the last ones to leave our seats.