re:Happiness | Cell Phone Novel

worthless cycle | xxi - xxiv

・・・ xxi ・・・

The Christmas tree arrived at ten in the morning together with Leo.

When Ao opened the door, his childhood friend was back to his usual upbeat personality.

"Hey. I have the tree!" he grinned widely, standing in front on the doorway.

"Rie will get here around noon to set up the decorations. Until then, we'll be assembling this thing in the living room."

Ao looked at him.
He was beginning to get used to Leo's sudden appearances by now.

Unable to do anything else, he nodded.

Leo acted as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Ao, on the other hand, felt somehow relieved.

"...Because you believe that it's better this way, don't you?"

...

In the living room, the book was missing from the table.

Leo didn't say anything.

・・・ xxii ・・・

By the time Rie arrived around twelve, the tree was almost finished.

It was mostly Leo who did most of the work, though.

"It's so tall."

Rie noted in awe as she looked at it.

She was right. It certainly looked impressive.

It reached high up the ceiling and almost even looked like a real tree.

"I definitely feel the Christmas vibe..." she said. "Oh, I also brought some cake. Would you two like to eat some?"

Leo's head popped up behind the couch.

He had been working on attaching the leaves.

"Hm... Is it chocolate?"

"Yes, it is."

A wide grin suddenly appeared on his face. "Thank you, mama Rie!"

In return, Rie laughed.

Then, she turned to Ao who was silently working with the lower branches.

She gave him a small smile.

"Ao-kun... May I use your kitchen?"

・・・ xxiii ・・・

"What a large apartment..." Rie said quietly, looking around.

"You... live here alone?"

They were all sitting on the kitchen table.

Beside Ao, Leo was helping himself to the cake.

He nodded slightly to Rie,
slicing off a portion of his own.

As he did, something felt strange to him.

His hands seemed too light.

Everything seemed too distant.

The walls seemed to be shrinking.

Rie and Leo were inside his apartment,
eating cake together.

It seemed too unreal.

He had never imagined this scene to happen before.

"... How nostalgic."

Almost like... from before—

He shook his head.

Rie and Leo continued to exchange words, joking and talking loudly.

As Ao sat there and listened to them, he suddenly realized something.

After all the time that he had been living here,
this was the first time that his apartment had ever held the noise of laughter.

He blinked.

... How weird.

・・・ xxiv ・・・

If this really is all a dream, would it be wrong to pray for this to never end?

Underneath the table,
he lightly clenched his fist.

I... already know the answer.

Leo tilted his head.

"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve... but before that, we should finish everything by then."

Rie nodded in agreement.

"We still have lots of time, Leo-kun," she said, her eyes bright. "We should visit the cafe tomorrow, too. We're having a Christmas special for the regulars."

In that moment she turned to Ao.
There was an expectant look on her face.

"Ao-kun... you're going right?"

He looked at her.

Before he could say anything, Leo had spoken up and answered for him.

"What are you saying? Of course Ao's going," he said.

Leo glanced at his friend, making a small smile.

For a moment, it almost looked strained.

"... Right?" Leo's tone was hesitant.

Slowly, Ao blinked.

Then without thinking,
he made a small, single nod.