See you tomorrow, Mafuyu!

See you tomorrow.

Ugh...

(My headache hasn't gotten any better.)

(As much as I want to get ready for cram school tomorrow, it really might be best if I just rested today.)

Go home, take some medicine and sleep...

I'm home.

(Let's see. The medicine should be in the kitchen...)

And that time, Mafuyu just...

Really...? She did that...?

...?

Ah, it's just mom and dad talking...

Oh, Mafuyu, welcome home.

Yes, hello...
Oh, that's right. Dad didn't have work today.

What are you two looking at?
Is that an album...?

Hehe. Look, Mafuyu.
They're pictures of you when you were little.

Your mother suggested that we look at them after all this time and we ended up chatting for hours.

Hehe. Really...?
I feel a little embarrassed.

Honey, look. This was when Mafuyu won a prize for that essay contest she entered in to during the first grade.

Yes, I still remember.
And the one next to it is of her as the heroine of a play.

I made this Snow White dress just for you after seeing how dreadfully dull that costume your classmate initially gave you was.

...

Mafuyu?

Uh, it's nothing...
I didn't know that. Thank you, mom.

Hehe. It was my pleasure. I mean, you were supposed to be the star of the show. It would've been a shame to see you wear such a thing.

And you'll be getting ready for entrance exams next year. How do you feel? Do you think you're ready?

Since you're aiming for medical school, you'll need to be perfect across the board. If things aren't going well at cram school, just tell me and we can find a new one.

...

(Medical school...)

I appreciate your support.

I promise to do my best.

And we'll be expecting nothing short of great success.

...

(What is this...?)

(Seeing those photos...
It's making my chest hurt...)

I should take this medicine and go to bed right away. Oh, I need to tell everyone that I can't make it today...

...

But I think I have time to listen to Kanade's song...

Hm...?

(Was I dreaming...?
What was that I just saw...?)

Oh, Kanade's song is still on...
I must've fallen asleep while it was playing...

(11:30 pm...)

(My head feels much better after taking that medicine...)

...

(But that pain I felt when I saw those photos of me when I was little still bothers me...)

(My chest definitely hurt...
But it also reminded me of how I feel when I listen to Kanade's song.)

(Mom and dad should be asleep now too, so maybe I can go look through that album.)

(Okay, it should be in the back of this cupboard...)

Oh, here it is...

(I think I was about five when these were taken...)

Mafuyu? What are you doing up?

...!

M-Mom...?

Oh, you decided to look at that album too? Hehe. Did I make you want to reminisce a little more? Nostalgia does have a way of getting the better of us.

Yes, I suppose so...
I don't remember much from back then, so I wanted to see for myself...

Oh, but don't you have to get up early tomorrow?

Sleep deprivation will take away from your studies. Not only will you not be able to focus during class, your grades may even begin to slip...

Of course, you don't need me to tell you that.

Yes, I'll head off to bed...

Good night, mom.
I'll take this up to my room and look at it tomorrow.

Okay. Good night, Mafuyu.

(*Sigh*
I managed to get it up here...)

(But there are too many distractions here.)

(I need to go somewhere that's quiet... Like SEKAI...)