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Relic of Eternal Splendor
- Mother
You've gotten so good at the piano!
- Sakiko Togawa
D-Do you think so?
- Mother
I know better than anyone how much you've changed. I'm your mother, after all.
- Mother
I can hear it all—how hard you've been working... I know your job must be so hectic, and yet you've kept up with your piano practice.
- Sakiko Togawa
Huh?
- Mother
It seems you've gone through quite a lot out there...
- Father
Hate to disturb you two while you're practicing! Supper's ready?
- Sakiko Togawa
Mm—this is wonderful!
- Father
What do you think? My cooking's really improved, eh?
- Mother
You don't know the half of it, Sakiko... He had me taste-test so much in order to finally get to this point.
- Father
Hurry and give this salad a try, hm?
- Sakiko Togawa
Mmh! Delicious!
- Father
I've made a lot of minor adjustments so it's more to your liking! Not half bad, eh?
- Father
And there's plenty more dishes you love on the way!
- Sakiko Togawa
Yep!
- Sakiko Togawa
Ngh... Ugh...
- Mother
Sakiko? Sakiko!
- Father
Wh-What's wrong?
- Sakiko Togawa
I think—I've had a little too much to eat...
- Mother
Are you feeling better now...?
- Father
Sorry, I think I overdid it a little...
- Mother
Honestly, your father never changes...
- Mother
But that's his style, I suppose. Honestly, most times it's quite adorable of him.
- Mother
You'll forgive him, won't you?
- Sakiko Togawa
I...
Can I truly forgive him?
When the man who shares his face has broken my heart countless times?
- Mother
He really loves you, you know.
- Sakiko Togawa
—!
- Mother
And so do I.
- Mother
I really love the both of you.
- Sakiko Togawa
Mother, where is this coming from...?
- Mother
I've been going through our photo albums more and more while you were away.
- Mother
I started from when you were born... then when you were one, then two, then three...
- Sakiko Togawa
My childhood memory nearly failed me...
- Mother
Maybe. But there's nothing more important, nothing more special to a parent than their child.
- Mother
When you were born, your palm wasn't even half as big as mine.
- Mother
But look at you now. Yours is even a little bigger.
Sakiko's mother takes her hand and brings their palms together.
For some reason beyond herself, Sakiko grasps her mother's hand and locks fingers with hers.
- Sakiko Togawa
Mother, your hand is so warm...
Was this how warm her palm is?
Is this all real? Is everything I'm enjoying right now rational, reasonable?
How can it be this warm, and yet this heartrending?
- Mother
That's right. I'm right here.
- Sakiko Togawa
Mother...
- Mother
Go on. You can cry all you want. I always comforted you like this when you cried.
- Sakiko Togawa
Huh? Was I... really such a crybaby?
- Mother
When you were very, veeery little. Oh, you would make the biggest fuss over a single sweet.
- Mother
You may be a strong young woman now, but you were a big crybaby back then.
- Sakiko Togawa
R-Really? I don't remember at all...
- Mother
*giggle* Your mother would never lie to you.
- Sakiko Togawa
Then... Do you remember my high school entrance ceremony?
During my last year of middle school, my mother died of illness.
Even if they're nonexistent memories, even if they're things that never happened.
But right now, all I want is the most beautiful answers I can get.
I want to convince myself, to create the most wonderful memories, to believe in the sweetest dream I can.
- Mother
Of course. I remember you in your school uniform. Our whole family took a photo together at the school gate.
- Sakiko Togawa
Yes, that sounds right... Oh, that does bring me back.
- Sakiko Togawa
What else have we done together? Mother... I want you to tell me. Tell me about all the memories we share.
- Mother
Sakiko, just how long have you been away from home? Aren't you the clingy one today?
- Sakiko Togawa
Home...
When did the word 'home' start sounding so foreign to me?
- Mother
Hmm... Well, if you want, I'll reminisce a little more.
- Mother
Now where should I begin?
- Sakiko Togawa
Let's start from when I was born. I want to hear it all.
- Mother
Okay, then we'll start from the day you were born...
And so, down the country path, at a leisurely pace, Sakiko and her mother walk side-by-side, and it feels as if they could walk forever.
Just like that sweet, beautiful stretch of time they shared back when it all began. Unhurried and without end.
Their hands, the umbilical cord that connected them in the very beginning.
- ???
Sakiko—
- Vigna
You found your way home!
- Iris
Miss Vigna, this carriage seems to be out of order. Now let me down!
- Vigna
Let's see... W—Wait, these controls aren't like what I learned at Rhodes Island!
- Vigna
Oh, crap, crap, crap, we can't stop!
- Iris
We're going to crash!
- Bena
Sakiko, out of the way—!
