Chapter 21 Paper Rabbit

　　When Old John finished his last sentence, Sirin was silent.

　　The sentence is short, but the obsession contained in it is moving, and makes people curious about what on earth could make an old man with unclear memories have such a strong desire.

　　"It's quite a hassle, I'm sure."

　　However, they can only choose to go back to Old John's past layer by layer to find out the reason why Old John wanted to go to the moon, or directly help him implant the desire to become an astronaut and go to the moon when he was a child.

　　"We need to go into your childhood, but such a long time cannot be completed in a single memory jump."

　　"Do you have some memory fragments that would help us return to your previous memories?"

　　"Memory fragments..."

　　Old John muttered to himself and slowly took out a paper rabbit from the bench, the one with blue ears and a yellow belly.

　　Then, time began to go back.

　　After a short period of decryption, the scene in Sirin's eyes was once again shrouded in white light.

　　Crash.

　　The fine raindrops turned into sounds and hit Sirin's eardrums, and the quiet background music brought her a little coolness in the summer.

　　Still in front of the lighthouse on the cliff, Sirin saw old John sitting in front of the grave with an umbrella and a sad face. Even the crackling sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella was clearly audible.

　　Although this game is a pixel game, the details are quite exquisite.

　　Then, Old John's deep voice sounded slowly.

　　"It's all over, River."

　　"I can take care of her every day like you."

　　"...She will never be alone again."

　　"Although I may never understand, I will be loyal to your wishes."

　　"Anya must be grateful to you too."

　　"But, after I leave this world."

　　"...Who else will come back to look after us?"

　　At this time, Sirin appeared and walked over.

　　"...Who are you?"

　　"I'm just a doctor passing by. Is this your wife in here?"

　　"Yes, her name is River."

　　“What a unique name.”

　　"Yeah, she shouldn't have been buried here."

　　"Um?"

　　"She...shouldn't have done that."

　　"You won't understand. Even I can't understand her."

　　Then, seeing that Old John was silent and unwilling to say anything more, Sirin left.

　　Just a few words contain quite a lot of information.

　　Who is Anya?

　　What exactly did River do?

　　Why would Old John say that?

　　More fog shrouds the truth of the matter, making everyone more curious about the reasons behind everything.

　　[Hiss, it feels like the old holes haven’t been filled, and new doubts are coming up again]

　　[Anya, River, Old John, the feeling is getting more and more complicated]

　　[It is indeed complicated, but it also feels more interesting. I didn’t expect this pixel game to be so good. It has far exceeded my expectations.]

　　[Ms. Pufferfish, please continue solving the puzzle, it's urgent! ]

　　【Jijijiji, I am King Jiji! 】

　　"Don't rush me, it's almost time~"

　　While responding to the barrage, Sirin controlled the character and quickly found new memory fragments on the lighthouse.

　　That platypus stuffed animal.

　　A white light flashed, and a new scene appeared.

　　This time, they came to an old room.

　　This was when the River was still there.

　　The orange-haired woman lying on the bed in old John's bedroom should be the River that old John was thinking about.

　　The weird platypus doll was placed next to her, and the ground was still covered with paper rabbits.

　　"So, Old John put the rabbit and the platypus in the basement because he missed his deceased wife so much that seeing these things would bring back sad memories?"

　　A sad piano piece slowly sounded, accompanied by a slow heartbeat, as if telling everyone about the little life left in the stream.

　　Looking at this scene, Sirin's throat choked for some unknown reason.

　　At this time, John spoke up: "It's enough."

　　He said to his wife River who was lying on the bed.

　　"Even after paying for the surgery, there will be more than enough money left, so... don't worry about it."

　　But River closed her eyes and stopped looking at John: "A white lie."

　　“That’s what people call it.”

　　As soon as River finished speaking, John interrupted her: "It's not a big deal, I'm sure there's enough money!"

　　"Stop talking."

　　River opened her eyes again and said slowly: "...I don't want to see you lying. I know the financial situation of my family very well. Why can't I stick to my ideals?"

　　"We need this money for your medical bills, River!"

　　"I understand that Anya is very important to you, but...don't you think you've gone too far?"

　　"She, she's not even..."

　　"You know what would make me happy, John?"

　　River suddenly turned around and looked at her husband lying beside the bed.

　　"......What?"

　　"You know what?"

　　“…” John was silent.

　　Seeing that John remained silent for a long time, River seemed to become quite depressed. She lay back down again, no longer looking at John, but staring into the air and slowly spoke.

　　"Okay, I'll do as you say."

　　"I just...want you to help me with this."

　　"River..." John called his wife's name softly.

　　River closed her eyes again, as if she was tired.

　　"When the treatment plan is sent down, I won't sign it."

　　"As for what our money is used for, that's up to you."

　　"But if you can share my ideals, I hope you can use it to build that house, and then take good care of her as long as you can be there for a day."

　　"Spend more time with her, talk to her, and make sure she lives a good life. I hope she won't be lonely anymore."

　　"What about you?" John couldn't help but ask.

　　"Happiness... that's where my happiness lies."

　　After a moment of silence, River suddenly took out a paper rabbit.

　　"John?"

　　"Um?"

　　“I did this.”

　　As if offering a treasure, River handed it to John.

　　This is the special yellow and blue paper rabbit that Sirin found on the top of the lighthouse.

　　"Tell me, what is this?" River said expectantly.

　　"What is it?" John was still confused.

　　"I want you to tell me, what is it?"

　　All John could say in response was, “It’s a rabbit, just like any other paper rabbit you make.”

　　"What else?"

　　"Well...it's made of paper."

　　"What else?"

　　"Its body is yellow and the rest of it is blue."

　　"Exactly. Anything else?"

　　River seemed to become quite excited, and she couldn't wait to ask her husband.

　　But John could no longer see any other special features of the rabbit.

　　So he had to change the subject.

　　He just put the paper rabbit on the floor and walked to the piano.

　　"Take a look at this first, River."

　　"I wrote a song for you."

　　"fine."

　　River's originally excited mood cooled down.

　　"Well, do you want to hear it?"

　　"Okay~"

　　In order not to spoil her husband's interest, River's tone softened.

　　"The name of this piece is, for river."

　　"Why so unfashionable?"

　　"Hmm... this."

　　John was a little embarrassed and explained slowly: "Just think of it as a placeholder."