Free

"Wait, Sumire! Don't cry! I'm sorry!" Claude reassured. He placed Sumire back on a wooden stool as she kept crying, turning around to grab his coffee mixing tools and gadgets. "Please, it's okay! Alright, you can have another drink! I'll make you some decaffeinated coffee. It tastes quite bitter, but you'll get used to it as you get older!"

"Coffee... okay." Sumire grinned in joy with her eyes closed. She savored the pure feeling of freedom and joy. For once, she accepted her role in a world where she guided one man's belief in a future destined to be right.

She thought about her mother and how much she wanted to tell her that she loved her.

"Hey, wait, you can't be in-" Claude's voice trailed off as the front door of the Mountains Jazz Club opened suddenly. Ichijo and Hinazumi Nakai sprinted towards the entrance as their young son, Ryo Nakai, pointed at Sumire laughing uncontrollably with dimples scanned directly on his plump chubby cheeks.

"Dummy sister!" Ryo was insulted as he rushed through the bar stools in the Jazz Club. He crawled underneath them as Claude dropped everything to catch him. Ichijo and Hinazumi entered the establishment and desperately called for his name for him to stop.

"Hey kid, get back here!" Claude roared, missing Ryo's leg by a mere inch.

"Ryo, you stop it this instant!" Ichijo hounded.

"Listen to your father, Ryo!" Hinazumi cried, clutching onto her velvet red purse as she jerked her head back to watch for every single one of Ryo's movements.

Sumire was like the audience in a movie theater; the spectacular action of watching her new brother rampage through the jazz club almost made her burst into tears. She watched how Ryo crawled through the stools and latched onto the jazz club's instruments set up for live entertainment for midnight action. He circulated the drum set as Claude swiped at him, missing by a single hair. Ichijo missed catching his son after he leaped on the top of the piano.

Another massive gulp of orange juice satiated Sumire's appetite. She began laughing uncontrollably as pure happiness struck her heart and tingled her senses. The feeling of pure laughter was something she hadn't experienced in forever, and it only aroused her spirits even further.

"Kid, you are seriously getting on my nerves!" Claude shouted as he missed another quick swipe towards Ryo. "Get back here before I have your parents ground your ass!"

Sumire could not stop laughing. She wanted to be part of the action. She kicked herself off of the stool and joined the chase after Ryo. A wet floor sign became apparent near the corner of the jazz club. Claude, Ichijo, and Hinazumi both stopped in their tracks after witnessing young Sumire chasing after her brother.

"S-Sumire!" Hinazumi called. "Be careful! Stay away from Ryo!"

No matter how many orders were hounded at her, Sumire could not stop chasing after Ryo. "Dummy brother!" She cried in her high-pitched voice, sliding through the floors and getting her children's clothing stained in mop water. Ryo giggled and rushed towards the bartender's table where the drinks were being made.

"Dummy sister!" Ryo chanted again. "Can't catch me, Sumire!"

"I'll catch you!" Sumire cried. She clenched her fists and pumped them in the air after storming towards the table to cut Ryo off. As he leaped off of the edge of the table, Claude, Ichijo, and Hinazumi witnessed Sumire tackling Ryo in midair. The two of them rolled around play fighting with water splashing across their bodies.

Before Claude and Hinazumi dove in to save their respective responsibilities, Ichijo stopped them to observe.

Sumire and Ryo both smiled as bright as the sunlight, giggling at each other's ticklish behavior. Sumire clamped her teeth onto Ryo's arm as Ryo tugged at her leg to pry off her shoe. Both of them rolled around with each other hounding playful insults at each other. Tears of joy sprawled between both of their eye ducts as they cheerfully tickled each other in anticipation and unknown excitement.

If I could hurl the stars, I would relive it all over again.

Claude eventually caught both Sumire and Ryo, placing them on the barstools to reprimand them because of their uncouth behavior in public. He situated Sumire on a left bar stool and Ryo to her right. Ryo tickled Sumire's back and wrapped both of his arms around as Sumire extended her hands to the side.

Before Claude, Ichijo, and Hinazumi's voice could bellow out their reprimands, gravity pressed down against Sumire and Ryo underneath the ocean where tropical fish and a serene mellow orange sunset reflected upon their eyes. Ryo's eyes remained shut as their stools merged into one, transforming into a motorcycle seat. Sumire and Ryo's bodies both matured into their twenties, driving down the highway the day they had reunited with each other. The massive sunset shined immense light towards the expansive mountains supporting the range of Japan, and the scent of the ocean captivated both Sumire and Ryo as they sped through the streets by motorcycle.

The quintessence of sanity, Ryo called her.

As she sped by the sunset vista, Sumire turned her head to the right catching an empty beach with ocean waves tickling the sand with its delicate waters. Instead of directly heading towards her home apartment, Sumire took a detour and exited the street, taking the path leading towards the beach without hesitation. Nothing in her mind seemed to want to go there, considering how she wanted to return home. But the marvel of the beach seemed to entice her invisible spirit into journeying there, believing it was a home for herself and her brother.

With no bystanders there, Sumire parked her motorcycle on the sand as Ryo continued resting his cheek on her back. With all of her might, she lifted Ryo off of his seat and carried him towards the shore where the ocean crashed and kissed the sands. She placed him on the sand, letting him bathe in the sunset's rays.

With not a single care in the world, Sumire rolled up her black leggings and removed her shoes. She dipped her toes in the delicate waves and admired the watered texture of the ocean tickling her feet. The scent of the ocean became stronger, and she pressed on until her shins were coated in the ocean. She removed her motorcycle glove and tossed it behind her. She unbuttoned her leather jacket and motorcycle gear and held her breath before diving into the deep end of the ocean.

The crystalline waters surged through her head as she witnessed an amalgamation of sea creatures underneath her toes. Sea turtles, manta rays, and schools of tropical fish swam around her. She revealed her teeth as she smiled, pushing herself forward even further. Her eyes gazed upwards at the surface of the afternoon ocean, watching the circular sunset reflected upon her eyes.

Voices began echoing past her, all unable to be distinguished with her ears' sound in the water.

Eventually, she felt a light tug on her back that pulled her up from the waters. She turned around and coughed out water that entered her lungs. Ryo yanked her up from below and chuckled at her unusual actions.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ryo asked. "Going for a swim?"

Sumire smiled. "Couldn't help myself." She said. She flipped her jet-black hair back and squeezed it to release water-soaked inside. Her eyes increased in size as she peeked to Ryo's side, seeing her friends from Sunlight standing behind him playing and conducting beach activities. Others, including her mother and father, waited for her near an umbrella stand for shade. In the distance, Maven stood near the highway with his hands in his pockets.

"Well then," Ryo said, raising his right hand out. "Ready to go?"

Sumire looked back towards the sunset to soak in the galvanic sunset. The puffy clouds reflected upon the waters, and she imagined herself walking on heaven itself. With a resolute nod, she turned around and gently touched his hand.

"Yeah," She said. "Let's go. Together."

If I could hurl the stars...