Episode 13: 'Because You Were There' - Words of Heartfelt Gratitude [Novel] 'Kotonoha Washinomiya' Begins Practicing How to Love Herself

After her mother left, Kotonoha remained alone in the gallery.

The visitors had thinned out, and the twilight light streamed through the windows, softly illuminating the colors of the paintings.

Amidst that, Reishi appeared.
He held a bouquet of flowers, still in his usual casual attire.
"I was watching. ...That person was crying, wasn't she?"
"...Is that how it looked to you?"
"Just a little. But you weren't crying."

Kotonoha smiled.
"Yes. I left all my tears inside the paintings."

Reishi handed her the flowers. A small bouquet of gentle pink.

"Congratulations. ...Or rather, I should say 'thank you'."
"Thank you, you say?"
"Yeah. So many people stopped in front of your paintings. Everyone took something away with them. I think that's amazing."

At those words, Kotonoha nodded quietly.

"Reishi-san. I... have something I want to tell you."

Reishi looked a little surprised at her formal tone.
Kotonoha faced him directly and began to speak, choosing her words carefully.

"I lived my life without knowing who I was, bound only by the need to be 'correct'.
But you were the one who told me, 'That smile isn't real.'
That one remark moved me."

Reishi listened in silence.

"Because you were there, I learned how to 'take off the mask' and was saved by 'drawing'.
And now, I feel like I understand, just a little, what it means to 'love myself'."

Her eyes were steady, no longer trembling.

"Thank you, Reishi-san. Because you were there for me, I am who I am today."

Reishi was silent for a while, but then he gave a soft laugh.
"I only provided the spark. You were the one who moved forward. ...But hearing you say that makes me feel a bit shy."

"Hehe..."
For the first time, Kotonoha laughed from the bottom of her heart.
With a smile that needed no nobility, dignity, or etiquette—just the smile of 'myself'.

◆ Kotonoha's Narrative

When I faced my mother and one of the chains that had been weighing heavily in the depths of my heart for so long was broken,
the person I needed to face next immediately came to mind.

Reishi-san.

He had seen through the mask from the very beginning.
More bluntly than anyone else, and more straightforwardly than anyone else.
He was the first person to tell me, 'That's a fake smile.'

I was hurt and confused by those words,
but in the end, I was saved by them.

That day, when he appeared at the gallery with a bouquet, I told him,

"Thank you.
Because you were there, I was able to begin 'practicing how to love myself'."

Those were my own words, without trembling or decoration.

Reishi-san smiled, looking a little embarrassed, and replied,
"I only provided the spark. You were the one who walked the path."

Yet, beneath that humility, I felt a warmth that truly stood by my side.

...Come to think of it, it is thanks to Reishi-san that I was able to 'choose' my own life.

Without his gaze, I would never have been able to take that first step.

That is why being able to express my gratitude is my greatest pride.

"Because you were there, I am here now."

Those words have become one of the essential truths of my life.

◆ Next Episode Preview

Having faced my mother and conveyed my gratitude to Reishi-san,
I have finally been able to stand on 'my own life'.

Not in a luxurious mansion, nor by a title.
With a small room, a sketchbook,
and the time I have chosen for myself.

In that, I quietly affirm.

Final Episode
"Today, too, I am alive."

The end of the story, and a new beginning.
Please, I hope you will see it through to the end✨

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