“I’ll walk you home.”

Your whole life, Satoru had been by your side, and you had been by his. You couldn’t imagine life without him, and perhaps you both were a bit too clingy with each other.

The first time you left was for that family vacation to the Bahamas. You would be gone for four weeks, and Satoru wasn’t happy about it.

“Stay!”

Of course, being not even ten years old, four weeks sounded an awful lot like an eternity to young Satoru. He whined and begged and pleaded, thinking you might like the Bahamas too much and end up not returning to Japan.

The second time was when your parents received an excellent temporary job opportunity in Kyoto, meaning you would be attending the sister school for a while.

“Stay.”

You didn’t have a choice, but you and Satoru made sure to keep in touch every day, visiting each other every weekend. If you so much as missed a call from him, Satoru would go ballistic, claiming you were going to forget about him.

After a year, you moved back, and Satoru was relieved, becoming even more clingy (if possible) after that.

The third time was when your parents had set up an arranged marriage for you with a guy overseas. You didn’t have the heart to say no.

Satoru watched as you packed your things, your plane tickets hanging off your nightstand.

“Stay with me. Please.”

He wanted to say something, ask you to reconsider, plead with you, beg you.

But he didn’t. He stayed quiet, knelt next to you as he helped you pack.

Satoru didn’t speak a word until everything was packed and ready. He forced a smile on his face before looking at you.

“I’ll take you to the airport.”

And so, on that bittersweet day, Satoru walked you to the departure gate. The familiar words echoed, reminiscent of childhood, but now with a different kind of longing.

“I’ll walk you home, no matter where it is.”