DISCLAIMER: Omit if you don't want spoilers. Read after the partition.
Seita hurried back to the abandoned bomb shelter, his arms clutching the meager bounty he had desperately managed to secure: a small ration of rice, a few eggs, and a slice of watermelon.
For the first time in days, a faint spark of hope flickered in his chest. He was going to feed Setsuko. He was going to make her better.
But the silence that greeted him at the cave entrance was heavier than the humid, oppressive summer air.
Setsuko was lying on her soiled futon, her frail, skeletal body shivering despite the heat. Her eyes were half-open, glassy and unfocused, staring at a world Seita could no longer see. Scattered around her were small, smooth pebbles and clumps of dirt.
"Setsuko," Seita called out, his voice trembling as he dropped to his knees beside her.
She slowly turned her head. In her small, dirt-stained hands, she held out two round stones.
"Seita," she whispered, her voice barely a dry rasp. "Have a rice ball. I made them just for you. Please, eat."
Seita's breath hitched in his throat. He looked at the mud and rocks she was offering him. He realized she was chewing on something, and with a sickening jolt of panic, he saw a glass marble slipping past her lips. She thought they were fruit drops.
"Setsuko, no!" Seita cried, gently forcing her mouth open to remove the marble. Tears blurred his vision, spilling hot and fast down his hollow cheeks. "Those aren't fruit drops. Those are marbles."
He frantically reached for his bag, his hands shaking as he pulled out the slice of watermelon. He cut a small piece and pressed it against her cracked, blistered lips.
"Look, Setsuko. It's watermelon. Real watermelon. I didn't steal it, I bought it."
She weakly closed her mouth around the fruit, sucking the sweet juice. A faint, ghost of a smile touched her face.
"It's good," she murmured. Her eyes, heavy with exhaustion, slowly drifted shut. "Seita... thank you."
She didn't open her eyes again.
That night, the fireflies returned, dancing their silent, glowing waltz around the cave. But Setsuko did not wake to see them. The next morning, Seita found her completely still, her small body cold. She had quietly slipped away in her sleep, leaving him entirely alone in a world that had forgotten them both.
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"Sniff...sniff...sob...sob...uh huuh huuh," Terry was crying while reading the file Michael sent him with Janet.
"Sob...did my Michael really write this? I should go and see if he is alright," said Janet while wiping her tears.
It was the next day's morning. Terry suddenly came into the kitchen and pulled Janet to a chair, telling her to read some pages written by Michael. Michael had already finished the novel and sent it to Terry via email. After a lot of crying and regretting that he couldn't change the ending because of God's conditions, he went to sleep and was still sleeping like a baby.
"N-no, no, no, l-let him sleep, dear. I w-went to see him last night. He was so engrossed in t-typing that he didn't see me c-coming into his r-room," Terry said, stuttering because of crying.
"But...but...he wrote something so devastating... I can't leave him alone. I need to take him to a therapist. I can't let my baby suffer like this," said Janet.
Just when Terry was going to agree and call a therapist, Michael opened his room door.
"Uff... yesterday, typing took a toll on my body. I was so depressed while writing that I collapsed while crying too. Well, I have copied it properly, but I wanted to change the ending. I wish I could. I wish—" Michael was thinking when suddenly someone jumped on him from the front and started hugging him.
You would think it was Janet...well, she tried to go and hug him, but no. Terry was way faster than her.
"Mikeyyyyy!!!!!!" Terry practically screamed and started sobbing uncontrollably.
"Da-dad? Let me breathe..." Michael said while being squeezed by Terry's big biceps.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Terry said after being hit by Janet on the shoulder.
"It's fine...did you guys read it?" Michael asked with red eyes from crying.
All three of them looked at each other for a while. Then suddenly, all of them started hugging each other like a huddle, but much closer.
All three of them started crying. It was a peculiar scene, but it could be seen that the book had affected their emotions a lot. Terry was also crying while continuously saying, "Setsuko."