Chapter 25 He never wanted to go to the moon

　　"Sorry, I lost my composure just now. Let's continue."

　　Pursing her lips and opening her red eyes, Sirin apologized to the audience. The audience naturally understood, after all, she was not the only one who looked like this.

　　The scene restarts and John points to the stars in the sky.

　　"So, what do you think those stars are?"

　　“I’ve never said that to anybody… I’ve always thought they were lighthouses.”

　　River looked at the sky. At this moment, she seemed to have become an ordinary person because of John, and she expressed her inner feelings naturally.

　　"Wow, that must be a lively day!"

　　"No."

　　River shook her head, with a hint of sadness in her eyes: "They can see other lighthouses, and they also want to chat and communicate with each other."

　　"But they can't. They are too far apart to even hear each other."

　　"All they can do is try to shine, and they do so, shining on other lighthouses and on me."

　　"Why you?"

　　"Because one day, I will be friends with him."

　　Stars, lighthouses...Sirin felt her vision blurring again.

　　It seems that River is talking about the stars and the lighthouse, but in fact, what River wants to talk about is itself.

　　Suffering from an illness, she is like a lighthouse on the seashore, standing there quietly, looking at other lighthouses from afar, longing for them but unable to reach them.

　　Until a lighthouse came and tried to emit its light towards her. This light illuminated her, warmed her, and allowed her to be embraced.

　　But due to an unexpected accident, the light became very dim.

　　Not wanting to lose this warmth, River can only try its best to burn itself, to increase its brightness at all costs, in an attempt to reconnect with that light.

　　She succeeded and failed.

　　She did connect to that beam of light, but she could no longer find the warmth that once touched her heart.

　　Therefore, she did not regard Anya as a child, but regarded Anya as herself.

　　Even if she left, even if she was no longer there, she could turn into Anya, burn her last remaining fire, and quietly illuminate and warm the one she loved.

　　Sirin felt that she was holding it back, but her tears still flowed out bit by bit uncontrollably.

　　They thought it was John who had been taking care of River, but it turned out that the person who suddenly got lost and needed care was actually John. This love was too long, so long that they only understood it when the game was about to end.

　　"What's in that bag?"

　　River in the picture asked.

　　"Oh, it's a prize I won from playing whack-a-mole."

　　“Have you ever played whack-a-mole?”

　　"No, I've always been clumsy..."

　　Hearing this, John jumped down from the tree trunk, picked up the schoolbag and opened it.

　　"I got something...but I don't know what's inside it."

　　Then, a platypus doll appeared in their eyes.

　　"Is it some weird duck... or is it a beaver?"

　　John was a little confused, but he picked up the platypus and handed it to River.

　　River took the platypus doll and held it in her arms. She looked at it with some curiosity and said, "It looks really weird, but I really hope I can win one for myself one day."

　　“John!!!”

　　At this time, John's mother's cry came from the foot of the mountain.

　　"Yes, Mom, I have to go."

　　"......for you."

　　River suddenly became silent. She handed the platypus back to John, but John pushed it back to her.

　　"Well...keep it, it's yours."

　　"mine?"

　　"Well, I can definitely win another one!"

　　River didn't say anything, but her clasped hands showed her response.

　　When the platypus first appeared, Sirin had already lived in Bengbu.

　　River treasured the childhood gift like a treasure.

　　Whether in high school, growing up, getting married, maturing, or getting old, this platypus has always been by her side. It contains all her most cherished wishes as a child and is the only direction for her to feel that warmth.

　　The rabbit constellation under the starry sky seemed to be drawn together as if by telepathy, and the wonderful imagination about the lighthouse among the stars, all gathered in this small, ugly platypus, making her not want to be separated from it for a moment.

　　“Will you come here again next year?”

　　River stopped John who was about to leave and asked nervously.

　　"Sure. What about you?"

　　"Yes."

　　“Same place, same time?”

　　"Yes."

　　After making a promise to meet again, just as John was happily leaving to find his mother, River, who was a little worried, caught up with him holding a platypus doll.

　　Under the soft piano music, the moonlight illuminated the two people who had just made a promise. River mustered up the courage and asked John again: "What if you forget... or get lost?"

　　John stopped, turned around and looked at River, who was a little nervous, and suddenly he smiled.

　　The breeze carried the moonlight and took the oath far away.

　　"Then we'll meet on the moon someday, silly!"

　　"It's right in the bunny's belly!"

　　At this moment, Sirin couldn't bear it anymore. She lay on the table. Even if she tried to hold back her sobs, she could still hear them.

　　Everyone recalled the beginning of the game at this time. Old John looked at them and said in a confused but serious voice: "I just... have to go!"

　　If the previous plot was about River's unreserved and deep love for John, this short sentence directly reveals what old John was feeling.

　　He has to go!!!

　　River is still there waiting for him!!!

　　Even if the blocker made him forget his memory, even if time had buried the past, even if he had become another person.

　　But, but, the promise made under the starry sky was blown to his ears by the breeze of the past, and it was deeply engraved in his heart.

　　No matter how the world moves on, no matter how we change, John always remembers that promise, his commitment to River.

　　Time and memory can block almost everything except love.

　　At this point, all the mystery from the beginning of the game to now has been cleared, and the truth that is so touching that it brings tears to their eyes is laid out nakedly in front of them.

　　“Wuwuwuwuwu….”

　　By now, Elysia was crying so hard that she was almost exhausted, so Eden had no choice but to hug her and pat her back gently.

　　Looking at the two children on the screen who believed that they would meet again in the same place next year, Eden sighed silently. If you look closely, even her eyes were a little red.

　　She lowered her head and heard Elysia mumbling to herself amidst her crying.

　　"Oh...it turns out that John never wanted to go to the moon."

　　"He, he always wanted to go to a place with River..."