The car entered Inatori.

  Beyond a long tunnel, a small parking lot came into view.

  We climbed a gentle slope, and then the car came to a quiet stop.

  When the engine cut off, the sound of distant waves drifted into our ears.

  A breeze stirred the grass; its leaves swayed softly.

  Grandpa slowly opened the door.

  “…Here we are.”

  I got out of the driver’s seat, grabbing our things.

  The faint scent of wild grass brushed against my nose.

  “From here on, you’ll need to walk the rest of the way.”

  “What? Just when it was getting good.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “Got it.”

  Grandpa adjusted his hat with a smile.

  “We’ll talk while we walk.”

  We stepped into the grass together.

  Leaves rustled beneath our feet.

  Now and then, a bird called out.

  Though it was only early summer, the Izu sun was already hot.

  Sweat began to gather quietly between my shoulder blades as we walked the slow road back toward the main road.

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  “…It hasn’t changed a bit.”

  Grandpa murmured, eyes fixed ahead.

  After a few silent steps, he continued.

  “The last time I came here… it was when Mary called for me and Natsu.”

  The wind pushed gently at our backs.

  “‘Next week,’ she said,

  ‘Take Natsu home. The illness is gone. No sign of relapse. I’m glad for you.’”

  The scene rose in my mind with Grandpa’s voice—

  The scent of the grass,

  The feel of wooden floorboards beneath tired feet.

  “We got ready to move.

  I even went to her family’s house to tell them.

  Natsu was… relieved. You could see it.”

  A gust of wind blew past.

  I looked back. From the top of the hill, the sea sparkled below.

  “Her father bowed deeply, facing Inatori.

  He was a quiet man, but I saw tears in his eyes that day.

  And her mother… said nothing. Just pressed her apron to her face and wept.”

  The next week, Natsu refused to leave.

  “I want to stay with her… until the end.”

  Her voice held no hesitation.

  But Dr. Mary slowly shook her head.

  “There’s nothing left for me to teach you.

  My time as a doctor… is over.”

  Her tone was calm.

  And that calmness made it all the more painful.

  She turned to me, standing by her bed.

  “Kenta.

  Thank you—for staying with me all this time.”

  I couldn’t answer.

  I simply nodded.

  The wind drifted in through the hospital window.

  A small wind chime let out a delicate chiri...

  Then, over that faint note, she spoke again.

  “…Would you grant me one last selfish request?”

  Outside, the breeze grew slightly stronger.

  “Would you… take Natsu?”

  No one spoke.

  Only the curtains moved, stirred gently by the wind.

  “The world is still unkind to those who’ve been sick.

  If she’s going to be left behind here,

  I want to entrust her to you.”

  I turned to look at Natsu.

  She had her eyes downcast, but then slowly looked straight at me.

  “…Natsu. Are you okay with this?”

  “Yes.”

  No hesitation.

  Her voice was certain.

  “I’d already decided.”

  And at that moment, I understood everything.

  That from the very beginning of the conversation,

  her heart had already said yes.

  The chime rang again. Chiri...

  Dr. Mary turned her eyes to the window and spoke slowly.

  “…Raise good children. You two will be fine.

  They’ll grow up well, I’m sure.”

  Then she turned back to us.

  “And if one of them…

  one of your children… could carry on my work,

  continue my will—”

  It wasn’t a command.

  It wasn’t even a hope.

  It was the quiet wish of someone who believed in the future.

  “If that happens…

  then all of this—my time,

  this meeting—will have borne fruit.”

  A breeze swept across the plateau.

  The wind chime rang longer this time, clear and bright.

  Within that sound…

  Dr. Mary’s breath seemed to fade and melt into the air.

  Natsu and I said nothing.

  We simply let the wind pass over us—

  and held still in its embrace.