It's you...

The sky above me was slowly turning the color of bruised lilac, bleeding into navy blue as the sun prepared to disappear for the day. Fitting, I thought. Just the right backdrop for a soul like mine slipping between the seams of time and memory.

I wiped my face with my sleeve. My cheeks were sticky with dried tears, my eyes puffy from crying too damn much today. But I smiled. A real one. Small, but true. I was satisfied. I was happy. Not the kind of happy that makes you laugh till your stomach hurts, but the kind that makes your heart feel just a little lighter—like maybe, just maybe, I've done something right.

And then I saw them.

Horace and Yue.

Walking side by side, close, but not touching. Their steps were heavy, like their shoes carried more than just their weight. I stopped in my tracks.

They didn't see me.

Of course they didn't. Not anymore.

So, I followed them. Quietly. Like a ghost. Which, let's be honest, is kind of my current brand.

We didn't go far. Just around the corner, down that little path lined with ginkgo trees and dying lamp posts. The wind was gentle, cool enough to tug on the edges of my coat.

They sat down on a bench.

And for a moment, nothing happened.

Just silence.

Oddly silent.

Yue was staring down at her hands, fingers intertwined tightly in her lap. Horace had his elbows on his knees, hunched forward like a man trying to keep himself from falling apart.

Then it came.

The sound I didn't expect to hear again in this life.

Horace sobbing.

Muffled at first, like he was trying to bury it into his hands. But then it started slipping through—soft gasps, little shudders, his body trembling. Yue turned to him, immediately wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and I could see she was crying too.

Red eyes. Wet cheeks.

God...

Something twisted inside my chest.

And then he started mumbling.

"Why can't I remember...?"

My stomach dropped.

"Why... why can't I remember?" he said, voice cracking. "Why... can't I—? I know I promised. I promised someone... I promised I'd never forget..."

His voice cracked like breaking glass.

I moved closer, kneeling just a few feet away, invisible but entirely present. That's when I saw it.

His wrist.

Fresh ink. Still a little pink around the edges. A tattoo.

My name.

Or at least... it used to be.

Now it was smudged, blurred like a memory halfway between sleep and waking.

Horace stared at it like it held all the answers, like he could claw the truth out of his own skin.

"I just got this three days ago..." he whispered. "Why the hell is it—why is it already fading...?"

Yue held onto him tighter.

I couldn't stop the tears this time.

I laughed. Quietly. Bitterly.

"Damn you, Horace..." I whispered. "You really do have a knack for keeping your promises, huh? Even when everything's stacked against you. Even when the universe is screaming at you to forget me."

I moved toward them and wrapped my arms around the two of them.

They didn't flinch.

Of course they didn't.

But I held them anyway.

"Thank you... for everything," I murmured. "For being there when I didn't deserve it. For being my friend even when I was a pain in the ass. For laughing with me. Fighting with me. Making me feel alive."

My voice cracked. I didn't care.

"I'm sorry. I really wanted to be your kid's godfather, y'know? I had a speech planned and everything. I was gonna be the cool one. The reckless uncle who lets them eat ice cream before dinner and teaches them how to sneak out of the house without getting caught."

I laughed again, wiping at my stupid face.

"But I can't. Not anymore."

I leaned in, pressing my forehead lightly against Horace's shoulder.

"I can't say goodbye properly... because you won't even remember who I am... But I'll say it anyway. Because I need to."

I stayed there, just for a bit longer.

Letting my arms linger around the two people who never gave up on me.

Then I let go.

I stood, backing away slowly.

But I couldn't resist one last look.

Horace's hand gripped his wrist again, staring at the fading tattoo. "I promised," he said. "I promised him I wouldn't forget. Why can't I remember his name... I know it meant something. I know it was someone important."

Yue held him tighter. "It's okay," she said. "Whoever it was... I think they knew you tried. I think they know you still care."

I smiled through the flood of tears.

"You really are a crybaby when you can't keep your promises, Horace," I whispered. "But hey... even if you forget my name, my face... I'll remember yours. That's enough."

I turned.

Walked away.

Each step heavier than the last.

And as I moved, the wind picked up behind me. Leaves rustled. The sky darkened even more, like it knew.

But I didn't look back again.

Because I couldn't.

Because if I did...

I'd never be able to keep walking.

So I decided to walk into the fading light.

Because some goodbyes aren't spoken.

They're felt.

And this one?

This one is going to echo in my soul forever.

I walked back to my apartment with the kind of exhaustion that doesn't sit on your shoulders—it seeps into your bones, into your soul. It wasn't from walking. It was the weight of everything else.

When I reached the door, I pulled out the key from my coat pocket, flipping it between my fingers before sliding it into the lock. It didn't turn.

I frowned.

I tried again, this time slower. Still nothing.

It was the right key. My key. My home.

But it didn't budge.

I stood there, blinking.

Then I let out a breathy chuckle. "Damn you," I muttered. "Horace paid three months for you. I paid four. Yet you won't even let me in?"

I leaned my forehead gently against the door.

The cold wood felt... distant.

Forgotten.

No—forgetting.

I ran my fingers along the frame. It felt rougher than usual. Or maybe I was just noticing the details more. My touch lingered.

"You saw everything, didn't you?" I whispered.

This apartment... it wasn't just a place to sleep. It was a silent witness.

It saw me when I came home numb, collapsing onto the couch without a word.

It saw me sitting on the floor, questioning every choice that led me here.

It saw me smiling like an idiot after seeing Akari text me about how she managed to not hit anything with her bike for once.

It saw me when I realized I was falling in love with her, completely and irreversibly.

It saw me curled up in bed, crying into my pillow like a child, terrified of disappearing from everyone's life.

It even heard my arguments with my smartphone. Stupid ones. Petty ones. The kind you only have with someone—or something—you weirdly can't let go of.

I reached into my coat and pulled out that old phone. It was cracked in the corner, the screen slightly flickering.

Still here.

Still stubborn.

I smiled.

"In the end, you didn't leave either," I said, voice shaking. "You just had to witness my demise too, huh?"

I clutched it tightly in my hand as the tears came again.

God, I've cried so much today.

But this time... this time it felt like it wasn't just grief.

It was gratitude.

I wiped my eyes, slowly descended the stairs, and with one final look, I turned to the apartment.

And I bowed.

"Thank you," I whispered. "For everything."

***

The streets felt quieter now. Like the city itself knew it was the beginning of the end.

I made my way back to the Ricebowl Haven. A tiny diner at the corner of Maple and 3rd. The place where Akari worked. Laughed. Lived.

She was still there. Overtime today.

Through the window, I could see her bustling between tables, tray in hand, apron slightly crooked.

And then—

She slipped.

My heart jumped.

"As clumsy as ever..." I murmured. "My dear disaster magnet. What would you do if I'm not here anymore?"

I moved before I even realized it. Time slowed. Bent to my will like an old friend answering one final call.

And for a brief moment—

Our eyes met.

She'd caught herself. Regained her balance. But her gaze... it stayed.

Focused.

On me.

I froze.

She could see me?

People passed by. No one reacted. No heads turned. As if I was invisible.

But Akari... she saw me.

And then she ran.

Burst out of the diner, tray forgotten, apron fluttering like a flag in the wind.

And she threw herself into my arms.

I staggered.

I felt it. The warmth. The weight. The desperation.

She clung to me like she was afraid I'd vanish any second.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she whispered against my chest. "It's always been you..."

Her words broke something in me.

She looked up, eyes red, lips trembling.

"I'm always clumsy, you know? I'm aware of that. Yet, I always wondered why I kept slipping over nothing but still kept my balance. Why I'd almost fall but never hit the ground. Why I kept getting out of minor accidents unscathed. It didn't make sense."

She pressed her hand to my cheek.

"But now I know. It was you. You were always there. Saving me. Silently. Every single time."

Tears spilled from her eyes, and I couldn't stop mine either.

I laughed, choked and broken. "You figured it out, huh...?"

"You idiot," she sobbed. "You weren't just watching me, you were protecting me. All this time... even when I didn't know. Even when I thought I was just lucky. It was you."

People stared.

To them, Akari was just a girl, hugging air. Crying into nothing. But she didn't care.

She just held onto me tighter.

"Why are they ignoring you? Are you going to disappear?" She asks in between her sobs.

"Don't go," she whispered. "Please don't go."

I pressed my forehead to hers.

"I wish I could stay," I said. "I wish I had more time."

"Then steal it. You're the time thief, aren't you? Steal more time. For us."

Her voice cracked. My heart did too.

"I've broken so many rules already," I whispered. "If I push any further... the consequences—"

"Let them come," she said, eyes fierce through the tears. "Let them come. I'll fight them. I'll scream at the sky. Just don't disappear without a fight, Shiwei. Don't let time erase you."

I touched her cheek, brushing away a tear.

She was real.

She could see me.

And for this moment—just this moment—we were both here.

I didn't know how. I didn't care.

I just held her.

And time stood still.