[Black Basket] Shooting a Lover

The horizon shines because something is hiding you.

The reason why I miss countless lights is because you are among them.

"I am used to the road that two people walked, and I am the only one left to walk alone. 』

At [-]:[-] in the morning, the gray sky outside the window faintly shone with white light, and the young man with a thin figure hiding in the dark corner of the room left the room silently amidst the still dim skylight.

Akashi Seijuro, 28 years old, had a sleepless night last night.

The reason for not sleeping is extremely simple: his childhood sweetheart, his wife passed away last night.

Akashi knows that such a day will come sooner or later, and he has been working hard to postpone the deadline for this day, but it is obvious that man and heaven cannot fight against each other.

This day has come.

When Akashi walked down the stairs, the first thing he saw was the mourning hall composed of white and black. White tassels hung down from the ceiling above. People in black suits with serious faces took their seats one by one, and Akashi The cold and unwavering eyes stared at the photo that was colder than his eyes for a long time.

To preserve the years of the dead forever, but the fresh breath of life cannot be preserved statically. This is a photo.

The person in the photo still looks like a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, with long black hair, a somewhat pale complexion, and the small dimples at the corners of her mouth when she smiles and the small canine teeth that are exposed.

"Well, if one day I die, the photos displayed in the mourning hall must be the photos of me when I was twelve or thirteen years old, even if it will cause others to discuss, I don't care. 』

The childhood sweetheart in my memory said this to herself with a smile. She has never shy away from talking about the topic of "death". In fact, since she was sensible, she has mentioned this topic to Akashi more than once.

"Is it strange?I don't think so. 』Being noncommittal to Akashi's reply, she rested her chin with one hand and continued.

"Human changes are very big. I have thought so many times, the me of yesterday is not the me of the present; the me of the present is not the me of tomorrow; the me of tomorrow will not be the me of the future." 』

"One day I will be unable to control my changes. Instead of letting you face me who may become extremely bad in character, it is better to let you face me when I am twelve or thirteen years old." 』

At that time, her childhood sweetheart did not expect that her prophecy would become a reality. Over the years, she has become unrecognizable. The thing she fears most is looking in the mirror. Looking at the face in the mirror, she will feel fear, trembling, and fear from the bottom of her heart.

She is becoming another person day by day, becoming another person uncontrollably.

Even though she had fought hard, the result...

But the result was tragic, as evidenced by her death.

"This is me!This is not her me at all, do you still think I am your childhood sweetheart?Do you still think I'm your wife?She died a long time ago, and what remains here is her completely replaced!And I, too, will die! 』

The last few days of her life were spent at Akashi's grandfather's house. When Akashi visited her for the last time, she was already described as haggard, and the hands exposed outside the quilt were really skinny, but Akashi saw her. I saw the she who I thought I would never see again in my life, the one who had not been completely replaced.

"Good evening, Akashi. 』Rejecting anyone's help, she stood up and half sat up alone with a slight smile on her side, her eyes were as quiet and peaceful as ever, and the temperature of the hands stretched out to him was cold, but her eyes But it is warm.

"I wonder if you have time to play a game of shogi with me? 』

She asked, the familiar feeling made Akashi, who had grown into an excellent young man, curl up his lips slightly, and put the suit he took off on the corner of the table, Akashi nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Akashi couldn't tell what he was feeling in his heart.

But, the long-lost feeling can't be faked, this is her, the childhood sweetheart whom Akashi likes, the quiet and elegant childhood sweetheart.

The result of the game was that Akashi won, and she looked at the pieces on the chessboard carefully for a long time with her eyes calm, then slowly raised her head and smiled.

"I, I haven't improved at all.Every time, because of hesitating in this place, one move is wrong, and the whole game is lost. 』

Akashi, who was tidying up the chess pieces on the chessboard, raised his eyes to look at her when he heard the words, and this raising of his eyes coincided with her smiling eyes looking at him. Under the eyes of each other, the two of them couldn't help laughing in the end.

"Looking at it this way, I have a feeling that I have returned to the past. ”The other party gestured with his fingers, his tone was excited, his eyebrows were curved, “I remember when I saw you for the first time, you said to me please give me more advice, I was thinking that this person must be very serious and boring. Say hello to me in the old-fashioned way, although I also say hello to you in the old-fashioned way. 』

"I'm terrified of being alone, I've always been terrified of being alone.Every time I go to bed, I want to sleep with you, because I think Akashi, you are someone who can give me a sense of reliability and stability, but my father said that men and women have different seats at the age of seven, and girls should cherish themselves.But even so, I will still sneak into your bed when I go to your grandfather's house with you in summer.You always persuaded me to go back, but you agreed to my request under my coquetry. 』

"Even if the people around you don't understand you and think you are superior, I know that you are a talkative person; you are a gentle person; you are a calm person; you are a very good person. 』

"No matter what happens, whenever I turn around, I can see you behind me looking at me encouragingly.And when I stopped and was afraid of the front, it was you who turned around and stretched out your hands in front of me.I have always known that you have tolerated too much of my waywardness. 』

"Thank you very much, Akashi. 』

She wasn't a talkative person, but she talked a lot tonight, and from that moment on, Akashi had figured it out.

She couldn't bear it any longer, and tonight would be the last night of her life.

Thinking of this, Akashi unconsciously clenched his hands as he packed the chess pieces, and his red bangs hung down to block his beautiful eyes.The other party noticed his mood, and then she smiled and opened his fingers one by one, her long hair fell on the back of his hand, and she made a silent sound while smiling.

"Don't make such an expression, Akashi.do you know?I have lived for 28 years, one-third of my life, and for me, this is enough.But you are different from me, your life is still very long, so please smile and go on. 』

——And you are different from me, your life is still very long, so please smile and go on.

Growing up together, she participated in his past, but now she can no longer accompany him and participate in his future.

"You are still very young, you don't need to tell me, you can understand, find someone else." 』

She didn't shed tears when she said this sentence, her eyes, mouth, and heart were full of smiles.

After all, she is just a passer-by in Akashi's life.

That night, Akashi didn't speak any more, and stayed with her in silence until he was about to fall asleep.The moment he was about to leave the room, she suddenly grabbed his wrist.She had been tortured to the point where she almost lost the strength to eat, and she pulled him with all her strength. At the moment when Akashi looked sideways at her, she smiled vigorously at him while lying on the bed, and her slender eyebrows also picked up.

"You haven't said good night to me yet, and you haven't said good night all the way, so you just left?Akashi. 』

Her pupils were sparkling, shining with the moving youthful light of her girlhood.

So, under her gaze, Akashi finally spoke out slowly.

"Good dream, Qianqiu, and... have a good journey. 』

"Um! 』

After receiving Akashi's words, she closed her eyes contentedly and happily, her long eyelashes cast a thick shadow under her eyes.Knowing that the other party didn't want him to stay here any longer, Akashi left the room.

The night outside the door was heavy with dew, Akashi stood silently in the corridor with his head bowed, his whole body was shrouded in a layer of shadow, he didn't know how long he stood here until——

He heard the sound of something falling heavily from inside the room.

He couldn't see, couldn't see anything, couldn't see the other party hiding in bed and crying after he left the room, she wasn't not afraid of impending death, but Akashi was beside her, how could she say that I am so afraid of death, so afraid of death, that will make Akashi immersed in this sentence for the rest of his life and cannot extricate himself.

In the beginning, the tears in the corners of the eyes were frozen.

Then the upward arc of the corner of the mouth was frozen.

Then--

His hands fell heavily to the ground.

With a shaking sound, the sound of the ring on his finger hitting the floor was extremely ear-piercing in the lonely space.

Silence, endless silence, all warmth in the room disappeared, as if it didn't exist in the first place.

……

"Hello, I'm Akashi Seijuro, please give me your advice. 』

"Hello, please give me your advice. My name is Chiaki Sugawara. 』

"Chiaki likes Akashi the most, the number one favorite in the world. 』

"I like you too. 』

"I……"

"do not Cry. 』

……

The nanny who worked in this family was sleeping next door. When she heard the movement, she rushed into the room to check the situation. Akashi heard her gasp, panicked and wanted to call an ambulance, but found that it was too late.

——You haven't said good night to me yet, and you haven't said good night, did you just leave like this?Akashi.

——Sweet dream, Qianqiu, and... have a good journey.

"Aka, Aka, Akashi—" The nanny ran out of the room at a loss to ask him for advice, but unexpectedly, Akashi didn't answer the nanny's words. Instead, he was stunned for a moment and then suddenly left the house .

The night was very dark, the road was very long, and Akashi was walking alone under the dim light.

He has walked this road countless times, and since they met, she has accompanied him every time, but this is the first time that Akashi has walked this road alone.

The amount of time it takes to walk the road has not changed without her accompanying.

The calm and calm young man was thinking as he walked.

The phone was vibrating constantly, and Akashi didn't answer the call, nor did he turn off the phone.The cell phone rang again and again, as if it was tirelessly ringing on this quiet road, Akashi continued to walk step by step.

When Akashi stopped, it was also when the man stopped in front of him.

He lost his wife when he was young, and lost his daughter when he was old. The middle-aged man with white hair and black hair is in his prime, but his hair has turned gray.Standing in front of Akashi, the man who was facing Akashi looked at him with complicated eyes.

"Did I ever say I hate you? 』

Akashi was silent.

"That's right, I've been saying that all the time. It doesn't matter if Akashi didn't answer, the man said to himself, "I always said that I hate you, but I forgot to tell you, and I am also very grateful to you, although it is too late to say it now. 』

What happened to his daughter is the clearest. Sugawara Futo is not surprised that he is still willing to marry his daughter when Akashi knows the truth.

No one would be willing, not even a normal family would be willing.

"Akashi, you know that, right?That child is very afraid of the dark, and afraid of being alone, so go back and be with her, don't leave her there alone, I beg you. 』

His words calmed the surface, but Akashi's gloomy heart was slightly moved. Sugawara Futo also experienced the pain of the other party's sudden departure when the husband and wife were happy and happy. He understood that what Akashi should do most at this time is to be with his daughter Walk the last stretch.If Akashi is not allowed to go back at this time, he will regret it one day.

"Then, you understand too. 』

When Akashi turned around and walked back, Sugawara Futo sighed inwardly and made a soft sound.

"You still have a long way to go, so let's start your new life now."Your life is not yours alone, but is closely related to all the people around you. 』

With his back to the man with gray temples, under the vast night sky, the handsome young man heard the other person's words clearly.

"I understand. 』

Finally, he replied.

Withdrawing his retrospective thoughts, Akashi slowly took his own seat at the family table.

There was an endless stream of people who came to the funeral, and everyone had a sincere or fake expression on their faces, and Akashi didn't care.Sitting in the huge mourning hall, there are so many people around, but Akashi feels that he is alone.

She is no longer here.

Covering his eyes with his right hand, Akashi narrowed his eyes slightly, and through the gap between his five fingers slightly spread, the peaceful smile of the girl in the photo penetrated into Akashi's eyes indistinctly.

She loves to laugh, Akashi knows, even in the last moments of her life, she is still smiling.Akashi hadn't seen this long-lost smile since she was twelve or thirteen years old, but no matter how smart Akashi was, he would never have thought that he saw this smile again when the other party was dying.

"Akashi-kun, my condolences. 』

"My condolences, Akashi-kun. 』

People around kept saying such things, and Akashi responded sentence by sentence. In the process of constantly responding to these "sorrows", Akashi suddenly felt at a loss.

Yes, be at a loss, such a bewilderment is extremely rare in Akashi's life, but it is not impossible.

"..." But in the photo, she was smiling at him. Seeing such a smile, Akashi's momentary bewilderment disappeared.

It is not terrible for a person to die. What is terrible is that everyone who knows her has forgotten her. Then, this is the real death.

She has been with him for more than 20 years, and she will always accompany Akashi in the future.

use--

The temperature of the smile that is forever frozen in the photos accompanied Akashi to go on.

Years have passed, and decades have passed since then, and Akashi has a new family.

He also thought that he would not like other people, but Akashi did like his current wife.Unlike her childhood sweetheart who is gentle and introverted, his wife is a slightly lively and outgoing person, but she also has a very gentle side.

——You are still very young, you don’t need to tell me, you can understand, find someone else.

——You still have a long way to go, so start your new life now.Your life is not yours alone, but is closely related to everyone around you.

Akashi and his wife went on like this, and later, his wife also passed away.

"Actually, I'm very glad that you are not looking for someone's shadow in me.Well, although I also want to tell you to find someone else like my predecessor, but no matter how handsome and attractive Akashi you were when you were young, you are an old man now, so you should still be alone! 』

The moment he was about to close his eyes, his wife said this to him.

Akashi, who was sitting by the hospital bed holding his wife's hands, felt that the originally solemn atmosphere was made funny by her after hearing such words.

Then, the wife who got a satisfactory answer pursed her lips and smiled, closing her eyes forever.

The people around me are gradually leaving, the memories of the basketball club when I was young;

"Mmmmmmmmmm!Impossible, how could I lose to you again? ! ”Midorima Shintaro, who lost the game with Akashi, pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose with his hands angrily: “I brought the lucky thing, ummm, I have done my best...”

It was a sunny day with no clouds, and the sky was infinite. Against the backdrop of the vast sky, Akashi smiled and said, "You lost. 』

"Akashi, come again. 』

"Even so, the result will not change. 』

……

The scenery is really beautiful.