[It’s November, and it’s snowing in Yoshida-cho. Nakajima Reina is not a lively person, but she should be full of energy and anticipation. In fact, the opposite is true. The girl’s spirit is sluggish. ]
[She began to get sleepy, and even when she was awake she was listless, like a flower that had drooped its petals after a night of drizzling rain.]
[The attending doctor gave her a detailed examination, erected a stainless steel rack next to her bed, and hung a palm-sized bag of medicine on it. The medicine dripping from the bag flowed along the transparent thin tube to the girl's slender wrist, passed through the sharp needle, and flowed into the girl's blue veins.]
[When one bag of medicine was empty and shriveled, it was replaced with another full one. The nurse came every once in a while, and the intravenous retention needle in Nakajima Reina's arm endured bag after bag of medicine.]
[The girl often falls asleep. You have no intention of doing anything else. You sit by her bed and watch the transparent potion being poured into her delicate body. Can the potion, which is the result of human wisdom and exploration in medicine, become the essence of the girl's life? You don't know.]
[You and Nakajima Yohei asked the attending physician, and the doctor only said that further observation is needed.]
[After five days of changing the potion, the girl's spirit gradually improved. You raised the head of the bed so that she could look out the window at the garden and the tall building that blocked the blue sky. She had lost interest in those things.]
[Like you, her eyes unconsciously moved to the hanging bag of medicine. The sound of the medicine dripping was very light, but in your and her minds, there was always a clear sound of water drops falling.]
[You look devoutly at the picture of the potion flowing, and pray that the clear potion can bring the magic of life.]
[Seven days later, the medicine rack was removed, but the girl's health did not improve. She could not even walk in the ward.]
Memory scenes emerge.
In the ward filled with the smell of medicine, Minami Yuki sat on the edge of the bed, while Nakajima Reina leaned against the raised headboard and looked at the garden outside the window.
It is winter now. There are fewer flowers in the garden and more green shrubs. The colorful flowers have turned into a green of varying shades. When I am calm, I don’t feel anything. But when I feel sad and nostalgic, I feel that the changes in the garden seem to be a hint of fate.
"Why don't you continue the infusion?" Nakajima Reina turned her head to look at Minami Yuki.
Her face was pale and snow-white, which only highlighted her elegant temperament, as if she had put on light makeup for a grand ceremony. Her weak and contemptuous voice seemed even more ethereal and noble. The weaker she was, the more she looked like the imperial concubine standing in the Golden Pavilion.
She glanced at where the shelf had been. "I think after another week of infusion, I'll be almost well."
"Yes, with another two weeks of infusion, Princess Reina will be able to live forever." Minami Youxi deliberately made some witty remarks.
The girl chuckled, her smile only made the corners of her mouth curl up slightly and her eyelashes tremble gently. There was no crisp laughter, no bending forward and backward, and she no longer had the energy to laugh so ostentatiously.
After the faint smile on her lips faded, she looked at Minami Yuki and asked, "Is it snowing in Yoshida Town?"
"No."
"You lied to me. I asked my mom yesterday and she said it happened."
“Next year’s snow hasn’t fallen yet.”
“Will I still be able to see the snow next year?”
Nakajima Reina's question made Minami Yuxi hesitate, he didn't know the answer to this question.
But, without hesitation, he replied, “Yes.”
The girl turned her face back towards the window and remained silent for a long time.
Nan Youxi wanted to find some light-hearted topics, but with an uneasy and anxious heart, it took a lot of time to adjust herself to think of and speak light-hearted words.
Before he could adjust himself, Reina Nakajima spoke first.
Nan Youxi looked at her in surprise.
"My father, mother and I went to Hokkaido. There are so many mountains there. We stayed in a Showa-style town just like in TV dramas and waited for the first snow."
The girl spoke slowly, and after each sentence she would rest for a moment before gathering strength for the next sentence.
"The weather forecast said snow was coming soon, but I couldn't remember if it was tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or next week. I didn't wait. That morning I felt so cold and weak, so my dad and mom took me to the hospital. I didn't see the snow in Yoshida-cho that year. It must have fallen quietly when I was lying in bed."
“Just like now.”
[Is the girl complaining or feeling sad? Or is she just sharing this story that suddenly came to her mind? You can't tell. The girl's words make you feel heartbroken. You kiss her lips, and her heart beats under your palm, but it can no longer beat as passionately as before.]
[This brief kiss soon broke up, and you caressed her face. The light blush on her cheeks made you feel relieved.]
[In March of the following year, Nakajima Reina's health still did not improve, and the attending doctor called you and Nakajima Yohei, and she needed you to make a decision.]
[Nakajima Reina's health has not recovered to the state it was a year ago, and it is likely to continue to deteriorate. The surgery must be performed in advance, while Nakajima Reina's health is not too bad. Of course, you have another choice - give up the surgery. With Nakajima Reina's current physical condition, the success rate of the surgery is not high, and there is even less hope. ]
[Nakajima Yohei will leave the decision to you.]
[You didn't hesitate. Just like a year ago, you chose surgery.]
[The surgery is scheduled for May.]
[The day before the operation, you sat by the girl's bed, holding her hand.]
A short memory scene appears.
"The operation will definitely be successful." Minami Yuxi sat beside Reina Nakajima's bed, holding her hand.
"You're obviously not the kind of person who believes in 'certainty'." Nakajima Reina laughed at him.
"Because we agreed to go to Yoshida Town together to see the snow and the lake that you always miss." Minami Yuxi put his other hand on the girl's hand.
Yes, he does not believe in "certainty", just as he does not believe in gods and Buddhas, but if faith has become his only hope, his only possibility, he is willing to change his beliefs.
"Why don't you set some conditions and let me work hard instead of making such vague promises." The girl looked into Nan Youxi's eyes.
"After the operation is successful, let's get married." Nan Youxi held her hand tightly. "I'm not old enough to get a marriage certificate, but it doesn't matter. We can hold the wedding first."
"Yeah." The girl blushed.
[The operation lasted for five hours. You and Nakajima Youping waited anxiously outside the operating room. You prayed to all the gods you knew.]
[The door of the operating room opened, and the girl, still under anesthesia, was pushed out. You anxiously asked about the result.]
[The surgeon's face is solemn. She tells you that the operation was successful.]
(End of this chapter)