>Shiori tells you it'll be fine, it's just a routine checkup, nothing out of the ordinary, she'll go in on Friday night and see you again at school on Monday.
>You hug and kiss her goodbye, she promises to stay in contact with you via your mobile phone. You text and call a lot over the weekends anyway.
>You've known Shiori for a while now, and every time she goes to the hospital your heart sinks, preparing for the worst, but it never happens, so you start to believe that it's going to be alright.
>You call her on Friday night, she's in her hospital bed, the nurses are roaming around and she's supposed to have gone to sleep, but she wanted to talk to you badly, and deep down you also wanted to hear her voice.
>Saturday comes and rolls around, you text Shiori, but she doesn't reply. That's a little odd, but she might just be in a procedure, it happened before, and she laughed at your endless voicemails and concerned text messages. Shiori has always come out of the hospital just fine.
>Sunday arrives and it's midday, you haven't heard from Shiori, you're starting to worry. But she did say she'll see you on Monday. So you decide to wait patiently, everything's going to be just fine.
>Monday morning you head to school, you can't wait to see Shiori, you have a meeting place where you would see each other before class begins, it's a little secluded so you can get away with hugging and holding hands and kissing without anyone interrupting you.
>But she doesn't come, she hasn't answered any of your messages either. She hasn't called you. That's when you see one of Shiori's friends. She's walking toward you. Her facial expression tells you all you need to know. You don't want her to speak but she says it anyway.
>"Anon, about Shiori. She's..." Your mind doesn't process the words you just heard. She's, what? No, that can't be true. That's a lie. Shiori wouldn't. She promised she'd see you on Monday. She promised.
>You get angry at the messenger and walk away, you're starting to tear up. It was always a possibility, but you didn't think it would happen, not to Shiori. Not now. You turn on your phone and listen to the voicemails she had left. These records were a precious reminder that Shiori existed, and was, for a time, yours.
>Time passes, you didn't go to her funeral, her parents didn't know you were dating. It'd just make things awkward. You stopped going to school. You spent most of your time in bed, in your dreams you could escape to a world where Shiori still lived. Her embrace felt just as real as you remembered it, you question whether that was reality and this was a nightmare.
>More time passes, you're unable to accept this world that would cruely take away the most important thing to you. You keep exploring in your mind what you should have done. What you should have said. Maybe if you went to the hospital you would have made it to say goodbye. You think of Shiori's departure, leaving this world without you, she may have been alone, scared and frightened as her demise drew close. Despair and depression sets in.
>More time passes, your friends have all graduated and moved on without you. Your parents, not knowing what truly afflicts you give up any hope that you'll fulfill your dreams of becoming a teacher. Shiori always cheered you on. She wanted to become one too, but her parents wouldn't let her. It was a funny coincidence, but you'd inherit her dream.
>More time passes, you've let yourself go. You'll never hold another woman close again. But it's okay, Shiori was yours for the time she was on earth. She passed loving only you, and you'll pass loving only her.
>More time passes, you consider suicide. But you decide not to, it's something you've thought of a lot, but Shiori's life was ruthlessly stolen from her. To give up yours willingly would make a mockery of the sacrifice she made. You wonder if there's a god, and how he could allow such a thing to happen.
>More time passes.... more time passes.... more time passes... you're still alive, but are you really living? More time passes... More time passes... it's been 10 years.... More time passes.... it's been 15 years. You still love Shiori, with all your heart. Nobody can ever replace her. It never stops hurting.
