act45side

Sakiko, the worst outcome has never been the inability to wake up. Rather, it is when you accept everything in your dream as the truth, and <i>then</i> you wake, only to find that all you have experienced was a fleeting mirage.

After living a lifetime of happiness in the dream, you find yourself back in reality, back at the very beginning again.

Your body is young, but your soul is old. Your dream is well beyond your grasp. You are left with no choice but to carry on in life, utterly alone.

Can you really call that a good dream?

If it is doomed to fail, it should not be fled from in dreams; if they are destined to be missed, you must bid them farewell properly.

Sakiko looks back again.

Oh, I appear to have gone on a little long... Am I interrupting your reunion with your mother?

...No, nothing of the sort!

I apologize. Someone very important to me asked me the same question, once upon a time.

Because of my inability to give a firm answer then, things turned irrecoverable.

Hence, I now lend such concern to this...

Heeey—!

The car's all fixed up!

Vigna, no more touching! No touching ever!

Guh...

C'mon, girls, get on—

Miss Sakiko, will you be coming back with us?

I...

Sakiko turns once more to look at her 'mother'.

She's still standing there, as though she's awaiting something.

Is she awaiting Sakiko's promise? Or perhaps Sakiko's verdict?

She simply stands there, looking on at her daughter with the warmest smile.

I...

It's okay, Sakiko. You can stay here a little longer. You've been worn out lately, yeah? You're due for a vacation anyway. I'll let HR know.

Okay... Thank you.

Let me try again—

Sakiko, let's stop here for now.

Aren't you tired? I'll make us some tea, then we can take our time—

I'm just nervous, that's all—

How about a little chat, then?

Were those girls just now friends of yours?

Yes. They are my coworkers at Rhodes Island, and very good friends of mine.

Rhodes Island...

Correct. A pharmaceutical company, boasting a landship of tremendous scale.

Aboard the ship, we live and work, sailing anywhere and everywhere in the world.

The... 'world'?

...Terra.

What an interesting word for it!

Does Rhodes Island have a piano room you can use?

It does. There isn't too much entertainment while the ship is sailing. Many operators while away the time by playing instruments.

At times, I'll play a few songs on the keyboard in my dormitory room. Vigna has even formed her own band—

And have you formed your own band, too?

I have.

Is that with Miss Vigna?

No. It's with others...

Well, now I'm curious, Sakiko. What are these fellow band members of yours like?

I have a drummer who constantly clashes with me over just about everything, though her ambition and hardworking nature are second to none. We resemble sisters-in-arms more than we do friends.

I have a bassist whose technique is superb. She handles all our behind-the-scenes work, schedules included, with great diligence. As a colleague, there could be no one more trustworthy.

I have a guitarist-vocalist who excels at songwriting. She has her own work as an idol to take care of, but in spite of how busy it makes her, she never ceases to support me.

And I have another guitarist—we've been friends since childhood. She... she was always there for me, even when I left home and was all alone...

By the sound of it, you're quite the close-knit band.

No, the reality is we constantly argue. We even disbanded before.

Have you all made up since?

I got separated from everyone.

They are somewhere far, far away. Somewhere I cannot reach.

How far away? From Victoria to Ursus? Or even farther than that?

I...

Why the hesitation?

Because... Because...

...Because I'm afraid that finding them means leaving you behind.

I'm scared I won't be able to see you again—

Silly girl. I'll always be here.

But—didn't you leave me behind?!

'Ma... Mama...'

'Look, dear, Sakiko is calling out to me...'

'Mama... Mama...'

'Sakiko, Sakiko! Call for Daddy too!'

'Pa... Mama...'

'Aaaaaaagghhhh!'

'Good. This key first, then this key...'

'Wow! Now I can play the same sounds as you, Mother!'

'That's right! You're so amazing, Sakiko!'

'I want to keep learning the piano with you, Mother! I want to be with you all the time!'

'...Yes. We'll always be together.'

'Mizuho-chan... she left us too soon...'

'With a condition like hers, we'd be lucky to last as long as she did.'

'Mother...'

'Sakiko, I'll do everything I can for you.'

'Father... why do you drink so much?'

'Sakiko... I'll do everything I can...'

'I can't... do this anymore.'

'Father, Mother would be so sad if she saw you like this!'

'Didn't she tell you how...'

'Shut up!'

'Sakiko, I'm begging you... Just leave me be.'

Mother, I know... I've always known.

I shouldn't be here. This is not my world.

The sweetest dreams cannot last forever. The day will come when I have to leave you.

And yet—and yet—

How I wish—the time for farewell would come a little later...

The warmth of her body... The realness of her breathing.

Sakiko's mother gazes warmly upon her.

I'm sorry, Sakiko... Mother lied to you.

Huh...?

You knew, didn't you? That I wasn't your real mother.

I'm sorry. I've been so careful to keep this little white lie going.

I wasn't there at your high school entrance ceremony. Before you asked me that question, my memory of you was still in middle school.

And I don't know why it is, but when I see you smile these days, there are dark clouds hanging above you...

Sakiko. When did you start making this kind of face?

Just what suffering have you been through, in this stretch of time I know nothing about?