Mebius World Online – Mari’s VRMMO Diary, Embarking on a Laid-back Adventure as a Novice - Chapter 147
147. Audio drama: Mari-nee and the feelings entrusted to her in a letter (first letter)
https://youtu.be/cXpgvn_eDVE
(Note) The timeline goes back a little, right after the official event.
Please be aware of this in advance.
As the vibrant new greenery of early summer became more pronounced, gentle rain fell, nurturing its growth. From my window, I could see the drops of rain tracing paths down the glass, reminding me of something on my bed.
I reached out and grabbed the pile of letters.
“Three today,” I murmured, adjusting the backrest of my bed with the remote control to make reading easier.
The letters were from the hospital where I had been a patient, sent by children who were currently hospitalized. Originally addressed to my younger brother Masato, most of them were now meant for me.
“How did it come to this?” I wondered aloud.
Six years ago, I had fallen down the stairs after a late-night shift and hit my head, falling into a coma. Though I was fortunate to survive, I lost five years of my life and the freedom of my body.
During my coma, Masato visited the hospital daily to care for me, often spending time with the children there. However, when I moved to home care under the advice of my successful younger sister Maki, things changed drastically. Masato stopped visiting the hospital, causing some of the children to become distraught, as a nurse told me.
When I woke up, Masato took me to the hospital for a check-up, and he was soon surrounded by the children again.
“Masato-nii-chan!”
“You came to play with us again!!”
“Don’t disappear without telling us next time!!!”
Seeing the children treat him like their older brother warmed my heart, though the seriousness in the eyes of the last girl made her look like a jealous girlfriend scolding her boyfriend.
While Masato was explaining that he couldn’t visit as frequently, he promised to exchange letters with the children. Since then, he had been receiving and responding to letters regularly.
Most letters were light-hearted, but some contained the children’s struggles with their illnesses. Seeing Masato struggle to respond to those, I began helping him find the right words. What started as occasional assistance turned into receiving letters addressed directly to me.
Apparently, Masato had told the children that some of the words in his replies were mine.
“You didn’t have to tell them everything was from me,” I had said to him once.
“Do you think I could pretend to be you?” he had replied, angry at the idea.
Even Maki, who wasn’t in the room at the time, had joined in his indignation. My siblings were strangely in sync when it came to things like this.
“Now, first up… it’s a letter from Koshi-kun,” I said aloud as I unfolded the neatly folded letter.
Inside, it read:
“Alone in my hospital room, I’m always alone. No one ever comes… It’s lonely, so lonely…”
The repeated words of loneliness struck a chord. Despite the brevity, the emotion conveyed pierced my heart.
“Lonely, huh…” I murmured.
Suddenly, memories flooded back—memories of the day my mother passed away. Beside my siblings, who were crying inconsolably, I struggled with an overwhelming sense of loss.
I felt a duty to be strong… or so I told myself. But in truth, I was far from strong.
In my weakness, I simply escaped into the role of an elder sister, avoiding the loneliness… avoiding confronting it head-on.
Without telling anyone, I buried my feelings deep inside.
Now, relying on those memories, I turned to my smartphone, which I had started recording, and spoke aloud the thoughts that surfaced.
“Your loneliness must run deep. Deep enough to write me these letters.”
I paused briefly, holding my breath, then continued.
“Thank you for sharing your feelings with me. Thank you for choosing me as someone to confide in.”
Gratefulness filled my voice as I embraced the letter.
“It takes courage to express your heart. It’s something I couldn’t do myself.”
I spoke somewhat self-deprecatingly before returning to a reassuring tone.
“Loneliness may always be with you. It’s like a shadow… But just like a shadow, everyone carries it. Yes, you’re just like everyone else.”
What mattered wasn’t comfort, but acknowledging the truth.
“When the sun sets, the night will dissolve that shadow. Yours and everyone else’s.”
I placed my own feelings into these words of truth.
“When you’re feeling lonely and hurting, remember this. Your loneliness might connect you with someone. At least, it connected me with you. Always… and forever.”
I stopped the recording and carefully folded Koshi-kun’s letter back into its envelope.
May his loneliness ease, and may he find strength in confronting it… That’s my hope.