Chapter 19
The Promise to Yuto.
Aira couldn't speak.
She stared at Ren.
“You were there?”
Ren nodded slowly.
“I didn't remember until now.”
The station around them seemed to disappear.
Aira could only hear his voice.
“What happened?”
Ren looked toward the train.
“Yuto found out what the station was doing. He knew people were being erased. He wanted to stop it.”
Aira waited.
“I was with him.”
“You were a child.”
“I know.”
Ren looked down at his hands.
“I was scared. Yuto told me to take you and run.”
Aira's eyes filled with tears.
“But you didn't.”
“I tried.”
His voice broke.
“The man found us.”
Aira remembered the figure standing across the tracks.
The same face.
The same eyes.
“He took Yuto.”
Ren nodded.
“Yuto pushed me away and told me to protect you.”
Aira whispered,
“And you?”
“I made him a promise.”
Ren looked at her.
“I promised I would bring him home.”
Aira stepped closer.
“You tried.”
“But I failed.”
“No.”
Aira shook her head.
“You were a child.”
Ren's eyes filled with tears.
“I remembered every part of it just now.”
Aira reached for his hand.
“You don't have to carry it alone anymore.”
The train began to shake.
Haru looked toward the tracks.
“We don't have much time.”
Aira turned.
“What happens now?”
“The last memory has to be restored.”
“How?”
Haru looked at Ren.
“He has to remember what he promised.”
Ren closed his eyes.
The memory returned.
A small platform.
Rain.
Yuto standing in front of him.
The mysterious man is approaching.
Aira crying behind them.
Yuto had looked at Ren and smiled.
“Don't be afraid.”
Then he had handed Ren something.
A small silver key.
Ren opened his eyes.
He reached into his pocket.
The key was still there.
Aira stared at it.
“You kept it all this time.”
“I didn't know why.”
Haru smiled.
“Because you were waiting for this moment.”
Ren walked toward the train.
He held the key tightly.
“I promised I would bring you home.”
The train doors opened.
A boy stood inside.
Yuto.
He looked exactly as he had in Aira's memory.
Young.
Smiling.
Waiting.
Aira's breath caught.
“Yuto…”
He stepped onto the platform.
Ren froze.
Yuto looked at him.
“You came back.”
Ren began crying.
“I told you I would.”
Yuto smiled.
“You took your time.”
Ren laughed through his tears.
“I know.”
Yuto turned toward Aira.
She couldn't move.
He opened his arms.
Aira ran to him.
She held him tightly.
“I remember you.”
Yuto closed his eyes.
“That's all I wanted.”
Aira cried against his shoulder.
“You should have come home.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Someone had to stay until you remembered.”
Aira pulled away.
“Who?”
Yuto looked toward the Keeper.
The Keeper lowered her head.
“I did.”
Aira stared at her.
“You?”
The Keeper nodded.
“I made the original promise.”
Aira finally understood.
The Keeper hadn't been their enemy.
She had been protecting the forgotten for generations.
The mysterious man had tried to break the rules for his own reasons.
The Keeper had kept the balance.
Yuto looked at Aira.
“Now you can change it.”
“How?”
“Give the forgotten their names.”
Aira turned toward the train.
Hundreds of faces looked back at her.
She understood.
She didn't need magic.
She only needed to remember.
She began speaking the names she knew.
“Yuto.”
“Haru.”
Then more names came.
Names from photographs.
Names from memories.
Names whispered by people who had waited too long.
The train filled with light.
One by one, the passengers stepped onto the platform.
The forgotten were returning.
But Ren suddenly looked at his hand.
The silver key was disappearing.
Aira noticed.
“Ren?”
He looked at her.
“I think the promise is finished.”
“What does that mean?”
The Keeper answered.
“Every promise has a price.”
Aira's heart stopped.
“What price?”
The Keeper looked at Ren.
“He must give up the memory that brought him here.”
Aira shook her head.
“No.”
Ren looked at her.
“It's okay.”
“No, it isn't.”
“If I forget the pain, I can finally move forward.”
“But you'll forget Yuto.”
Ren smiled sadly.
“No.”
He looked at Aira.
“I'll remember you.”
The silver key disappeared completely.
The train began to fade.
Yuto stepped backward.
Aira reached for him.
“Wait!”
He smiled.
“I'm home.”
Then he disappeared into the light.
Aira stood in silence.
Ren came beside her.
She took his hand.
For once, she wasn't afraid.
The station became quiet.
The Keeper looked at them.
“The last door is open.”
Aira looked toward the empty tracks.
“What happens now?”
The Keeper smiled.
“Now you decide what the world remembers.”