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“Splash!”
That’s the word written on the dolphin poster hanging on Haru’s bedroom wall. Even though it’s dark in his room, he can picture the blue letters underneath the simple image of two dolphins clearly in his mind. And a little less clearly, he can remember the first time he saw the poster.
Makoto had just celebrated his eighth birthday, so Haru’s parents take them to the aquarium in celebration. They’re just about to leave when Haru spots the dolphin poster. He stops and stares at it, his hand tensing around his mom’s, while his dad stands at the register helping Makoto buy a bookmark. Haru even remembers the bookmark and its holographic image of the ugliest fish he has ever seen. He can still see Makoto’s worried face, explaining that he feels sorry for it and is afraid that no one else will buy it.
Haru’s not sure why he’s entranced by the two dolphins on the poster, but when he wakes up the next morning, there it is, framed and hung behind his bed. Like magic, he briefly considers.
He hears his dad in the doorway and glances up at the poster. Smiling, his dad tells him to come downstairs for breakfast. Haru realizes he must have gone back after they got home to buy it for him. How did he even know he liked it? Why was that enough for him to go out of his way to get it?
The Haru in his memory doesn’t know the answers. And the Haru now never figured them out.
He sits up in his bed and smiles a little. The memory itself is a fond one. But without it, the poster is just a poster. Meaningless, impersonal. No different from the ones left sitting in the store. Even though he doesn’t quite understand the deeper meaning, Haru's heart still flutters a little every time he looks at the image of the dolphins. He feels a little guilty leaving it here.
Splash.
Ah, memories are a bit like water, Haru realizes. They flow and ebb at the edges of your mind, threatening to spill over if shaken just right and just enough. And objects, like a poster, can act as the vessels that hold the memories, keeping them whole and intact. But leave them alone long enough, and they slowly evaporate, disappearing into thin air and leaving no traces behind.
Without that poster, Haru questions if he would still have access to the memory. If that container were gone, what would become of the water inside?
Haru sits on the bed he should be lying down in, thinking about pointless things like that. He looks around his dark room and can make out shapes. It doesn’t look much different from how it always looks – some books on the shelf, that poster on the wall. All of his necessary things are in a few moving boxes stacked neatly in his Tokyo apartment.
Haru starts to wonder if he’s leaving too much behind.
Or that he’s not leaving enough.
Or maybe he just doesn’t have many things that are important enough to take with him.
His mind wanders, strangely he thinks, to Makoto. Haru glances at his window and wonders if Makoto is asleep right now. They’re not leaving for Tokyo until the afternoon, which will give Makoto a chance to sleep in and spend some time with the twins. He probably shares some of the same feelings that Haru is trying to ignore, thoughts about leaving Iwatobi, about the future, about the past.
Haru thinks about Makoto and can’t help but think about the past.
They've known each other for as long as Haru can remember. In a way, Makoto himself is a vessel for many of Haru’s memories. And right now, for some reason, the one that comes to his mind is their first time together at the beach as little kids. He wonders what he would be able to remember if he went there right now and felt the sand beneath his feet.
Haru rubs his face at that final thought before standing up and walking out of his room.
* * *
Makoto knew sleep would be impossible. He knew he’d feel anxious and excited about leaving Iwatobi. But he wasn’t expecting to feel this sad. He curls up in his bed and looks around the empty room. It’s a little upsetting that his entire life could fit in some boxes. The desk, the shelves, the walls – everything is bare. He smiles a little, realizing that his walls always lacked decoration. It gives him a strange bit of comfort, knowing that much is the same.
He thinks of Haru’s room and the single poster on his own wall. The two dolphins. That’s right; he got it after Makoto’s eighth birthday. The memory floats back to him, becoming clearer the more he concentrates on it.
They’re just leaving the aquarium. Haru’s parents tell him he can get a souvenir from the shop as part of his birthday gift, so he settles on a bookmark. As Haru’s dad helps him with the transaction, Makoto notices Haru smiling, just a little, at the poster of two dolphins. Makoto brings it to the attention of Haru’s dad. Haru’s dad nods, and Makoto can’t help but think he also looks happy.
The next time Makoto is over at Haru’s, he notices the poster hanging on his wall. He never asks about it, but he can only assume his dad went out to get it for him at some point.
Makoto wonders just how many different memories he has with Haru. He sits up in bed and looks at his window. His memories are some of the most important things he has. Some may have gotten lost along the way, but he’s sure that all of the best ones are still with him.
Like that time at the beach. The first time. With Haru.
His heartbeat quickens at the memory. His room may be empty, but his heart feels full. He laughs as he gets out of bed and quietly opens his bedroom door.
* * *
Haru steps out into the cold night and immediately regrets not changing out of his shorts. The breath from his sigh of annoyance hangs in the air, which only annoys him more. He considers turning around and changing, but this has already gotten too troublesome. The best he can do is zip his jacket up all the way before starting a light run. A jog should help warm him up, so he decides to circle around backwards and then head toward the beach, saving it for last.
Every step that hits the ground echoes through his mind calling him stupid. He should be in bed right now, not jogging toward the sea. But he feels drawn to it. And for once, it’s not because of the water. He knows that much, but he doesn’t know why he absolutely needs to be there in the middle of the night less than a day before he leaves for Tokyo.
When he finally gets to the beach, Haru slows to a walk and looks out to the water. It’s still and dark, beautifully reflecting the moon and stars. He could easily get lost in this view, but out of the corner of his eye he sees a person sitting on the sand. He knows instantly that it’s Makoto. Did he know Haru would be out here? It’s impossible, and yet there he is, as though waiting for Haru to arrive.
Haru shivers as a quick and sudden warmth spreads through his frigid body. His heartbeat has had plenty of time to return to its normal pace, but right now it’s beating quickly. He has too many memories of Makoto and this beach to sort through them all right now. The few that stand out make his chest ache with both sorrow and happiness.
He walks toward Makoto being unintentionally quiet, but as expected, Makoto senses him and turns around to meet his eyes with a cheerful expression on his face.
“Haru!” That expression changes as soon as he notices Haru’s clothing choice. “What are you doing wearing shorts in this weather? You’ll get sick before school!”
“It’s fine. I’m not cold,” Haru lies, suddenly envious of Makoto’s sweatpants. His jacket looks thicker than Haru’s, too. He does his best not to shiver again, determined to keep a straight face as he sits down beside his best friend. “What are you doing out here?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I don’t know why, but I started to think about our first time at the beach. So I came here to be alone.”
Haru raises his eyebrows and immediately feels guilty. He’s imposing. His heartbeat echoes that word through his mind once again, calling him stupid with every thump. He opens his mouth to apologize for the intrusion.
Makoto smiles, immediately recognizing the misunderstanding. “That’s not what I meant. I always like your company, Haru. Actually, I’m glad we can spend our last night like this on the beach together.”
Haru thinks Makoto’s choice of words is a little strange. “Like this.” Like what, exactly? He makes it sound like they can never come back here once they leave. But then, he supposes, the two of them as they are now, exactly in this moment, won’t be back. He suddenly feels an emptiness at the thought of leaving his old self behind.
“Do you remember it?” Makoto snaps him out of his daze. “Our first time at the beach as kids?”
Haru’s heart hammers loudly against his chest. They were thinking the same thing, just moments ago in their rooms. He shouldn’t be surprised; it’s always been like that with Makoto. They share some connection that goes beyond friendship. Another memory leaks through his mind, and he hears middle-school Kisumi observing that Haru’s and Makoto’s hearts are connected.
“Haru?” Makoto suddenly says, the tiniest bit of concern pulling at his voice. Somehow he can tell that the memory Haru is lost in is not the one he has just brought up.
Haru smiles to reassure him. “The beach, right. You ate sand and got upset.”
“That’s what you remember?! I don’t even remember that…” Makoto smiles, unsure and embarrassed.
It’s a silly question, really, and Haru is almost offended by the implication that he has forgotten something so important. After all, it was his first time in the sea and the moment he really took notice of the idea of swimming. But Haru thinks there’s more to the memory than that. Some greater importance. Because Makoto was there. Is it really something as simple as that? Haru unzips his jacket a little, feeling unusually hot.
He follows Makoto’s gaze and stares out into the water. Between his and Makoto’s separate accounts of the events, he thinks they could probably piece together a complete memory. That is, assuming that day was as important to Makoto as it was to Haru.
* * *
It’s a perfect day for the beach. The sun is especially fierce, making the water look even more inviting. A light breeze runs through the air, strong enough to tug at the bottom of your clothes, but gentle in a way so as not to disturb the surface of the ocean.
Makoto walks through the sand with all the ease and grace one would expect to see from a four-year-old. “Squish, squish, squish…” he repeats as his feels the sand spread from his tiny feet. His mom holds his hand and walks with him slowly, her patience never wavering. If Haru could walk on the sand, then so could Makoto. That’s what he had decided, so that’s what he had done.
A little ahead of them, walking a little faster, Haru holds his mom’s hand as they head toward the water. He turns every now and then to check and make sure Makoto is still close. Just that is enough to keep Makoto from giving up.
They soon meet up with their dads just as they finish setting up protection from the hot sun, only a few meters away from the calm water before them. Makoto looks out into the gentle waves, his eyes gleaming like the sun on the water.
“Mommy, the water is pretty!” he calls out, showing her a big smile.
“Yes, Mako-chan, the sea is very pretty!” she returns his enthusiasm.
Makoto holds his hands in the air and mimics the way the sun glitters on the water. “It’s like this!”
“Yeah, it’s sparkly, huh?”
“Sparkly, huh…” he repeats to himself. “We can go in now?”
“In a few minutes. You and Haru-chan play in the sand and be patient, ok?”
“We’ll be very patient.” Makoto sits down beside Haru and his array of colorful plastic containers. He recognizes them from Haru’s last birthday not too long ago. “You’re making a sandcastle?”
Haru nods and passes over the green bucket. Makoto watches intently as Haru puts sand into his own blue pail and flips it over, revealing a neat and tidy mound. He follows along the best he can, but when Makoto tries to replicate it, his mound immediately crumbles.
“Oh no, I messed up.” He’s not sad, just disappointed.
“It’s ok.” Haru spreads out Makoto’s sandy failure, erasing it like it never happened. “You have to push the sand like this so that it all stays together,” Haru instructs.
The two of them work together on the blue pail, and when they flip it over, it stays intact. Makoto is delighted by his success. He notices Haru smiling approvingly and gets even happier.
Makoto sees an object out of the corner of his eye and stands up. “I know, I know,” he says quietly to himself as he wobbles over, picks something up, and wobbles back. Haru keeps his eyes focused on him the entire time and smiles when Makoto places the white shell at the base of their sandcastle. “There! We have to decorate our castle and make it nice to live in.”
“Who’s living there?” Haru asks, already knowing the answer but seeking confirmation.
“We are! We live here with our mommies and daddies,” Makoto points to the tower they completed together.
Haru looks at the tower next to it. “What about the other one?” He has no clue about that one, and he anticipates Makoto’s response.
“That’s, um… oh yeah, that’s where our cats live. That’s cat castle.”
Haru can’t help but laugh a little at the silliness of it all. He always finds himself laughing when he’s with Makoto, and he notices Makoto doing the same. But he’s probably always happy, whether or not he’s with Haru.
Makoto turns again to his mom. “Look, mommy. We made a sandcastle to live in!”
She beams, genuinely delighted by watching the two boys play together. “That’s wonderful! You did a great job, huh?”
“Did a great job, huh,” Makoto repeats as he turns his attention back to Haru.
They continue to play in the sand, making more mounds, digging moats, collecting decorations. Meanwhile, their parents get everything ready for their first time out in the sea – goggles, arm floats, and inflatable toys. Most importantly, Mrs. Tachibana has already started video recording the two boys. Makoto always looks happiest and most comfortable when he’s playing with Haru-chan.
Once they have their arm floats and goggles on, their dads take their hands to lead them into the water. Haru walks out confidently, as though he and the water are accepting each other. Makoto timidly approaches the edge and walks in slowly, his dad gently leading him in a little bit at a time.
Makoto gets the hang of it pretty quickly and meets up with Haru and his dad. The two boys float facing each other while their dads stand behind them, ready to offer support if they need it. It doesn’t take long for Haru to decide he’s ready to put his face under the water.
“Was it scary, Haru-chan?” Makoto asks as soon as Haru comes back up.
Haru shakes his head, but he can tell Makoto is still a bit wary.
“Did you see any sharks under there?” Haru’s dad jokes, eliciting a small squeak of fear from Makoto.
Haru immediately tries to reassure him. “There aren’t really sharks, Makoto. Here, if you’re scared, I’ll hold your hand.”
That’s all it takes for Makoto to gain the required confidence. The two boys go under together, just for a second. When they come back up, Makoto giggles, happy and proud about his accomplishment. Haru is also happy, glad that Makoto seems to be enjoying the water just as much as he is. It would be sad if he couldn’t share something like this with his best friend.
They both take sudden notice of someone swimming behind them. He moves fast, gliding quickly through the water like he’s being pulled by an invisible boat. It’s mesmerizing. Haru feels a tinge of jealousy; he wants to be able to feel the water like that, too.
“I bet Haru-chan could swim like that someday!” Makoto says, as though he’s reading Haru’s mind.
Haru nods, pleased by Makoto’s certainty. Both of us together, he thinks.
They play for a bit longer before leaving the water to return to their moms, who have been watching the whole time. Both children look noticeably sad when it’s agreed that it’s time to leave. Makoto quickly invites Haru over to his house so they can continue playing, but it seems the Nanases are all going to a family friend’s later on.
Mrs. Nanase can see Haru’s sad and tries to cheer him up. “They have a nice boy your age, too. Remember, Haruka? You played with him before.”
Haru’s not used to being told no. Or rather, he’s not used to asking for things in the first place. There has never really been anything worth asking for. He wants to try again, but another no would just mean a deeper disappointment. Perhaps it’s worth the risk for Makoto, though.
Mr. Nanase sees his hesitation. “Would you rather play with Makoto?” Haru nods. It’s not that he doesn’t like the other boy, but he’s not Makoto. “You like him best, huh?”
Not really, he wants to say, but his mouth won’t let him tell the lie. Instead he blushes and looks to the side.
Behind him, he hears Makoto’s enthusiastic, “I like Haru-chan best, too!”
Mr. Tachibana notices his wife still holding the camera. “Please tell me you recorded all that.”
She laughs and nods. “We’ll watch it later while the boys are asleep.”
* * *
While Makoto thinks about that day on the beach, he glances at Haru out of the corner of his eye and wonders how much of it he remembers. Or is he thinking of something else completely? When they leave Iwatobi, will they leave behind this memory, too?
He feels a tightness in his chest and suddenly stands up. “Haru. Let’s go swimming. Do you want to?” He laughs at the obvious question. “I mean, I know you want to.”
Haru looks up, slightly irritated by the absurdity. “You’re yelling at me about my clothes, when you’re the one who wants to jump in the freezing ocean? Don’t be crazy. We’ll die.” He pauses and looks back down. “Anyway, would you really be ok swimming out there? It’s dark.”
Makoto smiles reassuringly. “It’s fine as long as you’re with me.” He waits for Haru to look him in the eyes again. “Please, Haru. I want to swim with you again.”
A desperation, almost. It sounds like if they don’t swim together now, they’ll never be able to again. He can’t let that happen. They have plenty of memories of swimming together. Here at the beach, back at the swim club, in relays with friends. But somehow none of that feels like it’s enough.
Haru thinks about Makoto and can’t help but think about the present.
They’re both here, in this moment, wanting the same thing. The answer is simple, then. They’ll swim and be done with it and move on. Haru opens his mouth to state his agreement, but his rational self takes over just as the words start to leave his mouth. “We can’t.”
Makoto’s face falls. “But the water looks so pretty, doesn’t it? With the moon reflecting off of it like…” he smiles and holds up his hands, wiggling his fingers just like that day on the beach.
We can’t, Haru wants to iterate, but then a different memory comes spilling out.
“Not here. Let’s go.” He stands to face Makoto, just for a moment, before breaking into a jog. He knows that Makoto will follow him, because he’s more than aware of the face he’s making right now and the sincerity in his voice. It’s only a few words, but they hook strongly into Makoto’s heart and gently pull him along.
Haru suddenly feels light, like the wind could easily take him away. One last memory to hold on to, that’s all he wants. He runs faster, listening for Makoto behind him, trusting him to keep up. He probably already figured out where Haru’s taking them, but he shows no resistance and utters no protests, so Haru supposes it’s fine.
And then they’ve arrived. The Iwatobi Swim Club Returns. Its new pastel exterior keeps it from looking too eerie, even in the dark. The outside may have changed from when Haru and Makoto swam there as kids, but Haru can practically see its walls bursting at the seams, trying to hold in the sea of memories they have together. He hopes it can support one more.
They stop outside to catch their breath. Makoto is doubled over, hands on his knees, breathing hard. Haru had gotten carried away and run too fast.
“Sorry. It was cold and I wanted to get here as quickly as possible. Let’s hurry and get inside.”
Somehow Haru knows the door will be unlocked. He grabs the handle and pulls. It opens easily. They walk through the dark hallway and soon reach the pool. Makoto is immediately reminded of when they came here in middle school late one night.
“Haru, is this really ok?” Makoto finally speaks.
“Coach Sasabe told me stop by to swim. He should have been more specific.”
Makoto’s laughter is cut short when Haru nonchalantly takes off his jacket, walks to the edge of the pool, and dives in. Makoto has no time to stop him. A small splash, and Haru slips beneath the surface of the water. Makoto walks to the edge to watch him swim, his movements graceful and beautiful, as always.
Haru breaks the surface and shakes the water out of his hair before swimming over to where Makoto stands. “I thought you wanted to swim.” With me, specifically…
“I do!” I want to swim with Haru… “But it’s really cold outside! I don’t want my clothes to get wet.”
“Then take them off,” Haru says seriously before quickly disappearing beneath the water again. He kicks off from the wall, letting the water cool his suddenly heated face.
Makoto settles for removing his jacket. He tosses it aside before sitting on the edge of the pool and slipping in, his clothes becoming noticeably heavy with the water. It feels nice and familiar, but he’s not as calm as he should be. His heart beats so hard he’s certain that he can see ripples in the water every time it beats against his chest.
He has no idea why he feels this way. It’s not the first time Haru has made his heart go crazy. But he can’t connect the feeling with the reason.
Makoto stands in the water for a bit, careful to stay above the surface.
Haru stops in front of him once more. “You didn’t hesitate like this back in middle school, you know,” he blushes a little more and is thankful for the dim lighting the moon and streetlights provide as it filters into the room.
Makoto laughs, realizing that Haru remembers that night in middle school, too. Makoto wants to think that maybe that’s why he brought them here tonight. It’s nice that he and Haru share so many of the same memories. He could spend hours talking about the past with him. But that’s not what he wants to do right now. He’s very much in the present.
“We were kids then,” he replies, an excuse for his hesitation.
But Haru rejects it. “Right. We’re not kids anymore. So let’s swim.”
Makoto hesitates once more, and Haru can’t help but tease him as he remembers that first time together as children on the beach, sitting where they were earlier that night. In his mind, he speaks with confidence and a smirk, but the words come out in a soft whisper, and his expression is one of utmost sincerity. “If you’re scared, I’ll hold your hand.”
And then Haru realizes that he’s the one who’s scared. Scared of what he wants to do right now. Scared that this memory will become a bad one if he follows through with that desire. But if that’s the case, they can just let it sink to the bottom of this pool and leave it behind.
Makoto’s face softens; he’s elated. “You do remember the beach. I thought of those words you said to me a lot, Haru. I knew you’d always be there for me.”
Before Haru can get a closer look at the blush quickly appearing on Makoto’s cheeks, Makoto inhales and dips under the water, swimming away from where they stood. Haru follows his lead and swims up beside him. They complete a circle around the pool, not looking at each other, but feeling each other’s presence in the gentle disturbance of the water surrounding them.
Haru is a bit startled when he feels Makoto suddenly stop swimming. He turns to see him sitting on the bottom of the pool with his legs crossed. Makoto smiles and says something that Haru can’t understand, large bubbles floating up to the surface.
Oh, he gets it. Haru remembers when they were first learning to swim and getting used to going under and holding their breath. They’d practice together and sit on the bottom of the pool, shouting things to one another until they had used up every bit of air in their lungs. They’d shoot back up to the surface to see if the other person could guess what was said, laughing when they couldn’t understand the garbled words.
He swims closer to Makoto.
If you’re scared, I’ll hold your hand.
So will you hold mine? Haru wonders. He reaches out and takes Makoto’s hands in his own. Surely he’s waiting for Haru to say something back to him, something silly like, “I want mackerel.” Then they’ll rise to the surface and laugh about it just like they used to, and swim a little more before heading home.
But Haru doesn’t say anything.
Instead, he pulls himself closer and makes a different use of his mouth, pressing it lightly against Makoto’s. Haru thinks that even if he weren’t underwater at this moment, he would probably still feel a bit like he’s drowning. The kiss lasts only a second before Haru pushes off from Makoto's shoulders.
As Haru rises back to the top, he can hear the water sloshing in his ears, that single word surging through once more. And he truly deserves it. Really, how stupid are you? Things like memories, you can’t leave those behind, not forcibly. It’s not like leaving a poster on a wall or a book on a shelf. And Makoto will surely remember this. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Makoto quickly stands up and emerges from the water, standing directly in front of Haru. They immediately make eye contact, both unsure what to say.
Haru looks at Makoto and sees the past. He sees them playing together as children and growing up together into adults. He sees them building a blanket fort and baking cookies and having their first fight beneath the fireworks. They’re all important memories for different reasons, and he doesn’t want to forget any of them.
Haru looks at Makoto and sees the present. He sees his precious best friend, helping create the memories that he holds most dear. The reason he is who he is. The one who makes him feel like it’s ok to move to a new city to start a new journey. The one he just kissed without thinking about the consequences.
But Haru also looks at Makoto and sees the future. The two of them together, somehow in some way because that’s absolutely how it has to be. Supporting each other through every step of their lives. Making new memories together and constantly reminding each other of the old ones. Haru was worried about leaving his old self behind, but that can’t happen; with Makoto by his side, his old self will grow and change and become someone even better.
And all it takes is that one look to know he doesn’t want to forget this moment. He’ll dive into again and again. If he could, he’d pack it up in a box and carry it with him forever. And the smile on Makoto’s face says he feels the same.
As usual, they don’t need to say anything to understand each other. Makoto smiles wider and moves forward. Haru’s heart beats rapidly as he prepares for Makoto to kiss him back, a real kiss this time. But instead he wraps his arms around Haru. Somehow, this feels more intimate than a kiss, and Haru happily returns the embrace.
He thinks about that night in middle school again, as Makoto stood before him and bared his heart. He knows it’s a late response, but he needs to say it.
“Makoto,” he whispers into his chest. It’s only now that he notices the yellow and orange t-shirt. It’s one Haru himself has worn many times.
Makoto pulls away from the hug and smiles. “We should get back to our rooms.”
Haru knows exactly what he’s doing. There’s no doubt Makoto understands the words Haru wants to say, and he’s trying to save him the embarrassment of actually saying them.
He ignores his statement and tries again. “Makoto, I…” Why was it so hard to be honest with his feelings? He tries again. “That night in middle school, you said something to me. I never said it back.”
Makoto smiles and takes Haru’s trembling hand. “You did. In your own way. I never doubted it.”
That’s not enough, Haru thinks. It would be easy to accept Makoto’s words, but he can’t. Not again. One more new memory for both of them to hold on to. He repeats the hug, burying his face in Makoto’s shoulder, warmth somehow coming through the cold, damp fabric.
“Makoto, I love you.” He squeezes Makoto tighter, clinging tightly to both him and the words. He doesn’t think he’s ever meant something so sincerely before.
“I love you, too, Haru-chan.” Makoto immediately replies.
Haru nods. They stand holding each other for a little while longer. Haru thinks about every detail that happened tonight; he wants to make sure he doesn’t forget anything.
“Dryers!” Makoto suddenly shouts.
Haru is rightfully confused. Makoto explains that since he volunteered here as a coach, he remembers there are laundry machines they can use to dry their clothes. So, they climb out of the pool and wrap themselves in towels, sitting against the wall while they wait for their clothes to dry.
Makoto slips his hand under Haru’s and intertwines their fingers. “With everything packed away from my bedroom, it feels a bit lonely there. I know it’s late, but will you sleep over at my place?”
Haru places his head on Makoto’s shoulder and nods. “I’m surprised you didn’t ask me that before.”
Makoto laughs nervously. “Well, the futon you usually use is in Tokyo already, but we can share my bed tonight. If that’s ok?”
Haru nods again, positive that Makoto can feel his unrestrained smile and the heat from his reddened face. “Whatever happened to that bookmark you got at the aquarium?” Haru suddenly asks, desperate to change the subject.
Makoto laughs. “It scared me too much, so I left it in a library book.”
“I see…”
“That reminds me,” Makoto continues. “Why was your dad so happy about that dolphin poster he got you?”
“My dad?” Droplets of the memory drizzle down and bring another one to Haru’s mind. He was with his mom, so he didn’t see his dad’s reaction to the poster when he was a kid. But now it makes sense. “Do you remember what he used to say to us every time we’d leave to go swimming? He’d call out at the top of the stairs, ‘Go swim free, my little dolphins.’”
“That’s right! You were so embarrassed every time.”
“It was embarrassing. He would make dolphin noises at us, even during competitions.”
Makoto laughs sleepily, and Haru feels the weight of his head on top of his getting heavier as he drifts off to sleep.
Like water, Haru realizes that memories can easily change shape. Things can be added and taken away. And now, so much has been added to the memory that everything is overflowing all at once.
He squeezes Makoto’s hand, already knowing by the slow sounds of his breathing he is deep asleep.
Two dolphins – Haruka and Makoto – uniting to form a circle. It represents all the time they’ve spent together up until this very moment and all the time they’ll have from this point forward. Their relationship and the friendship at its core are timeless, lasting for an eternity. To Haru, that much is certain.
Haru yawns and closes his eyes, letting his memories wash over him. He thinks once more about the past, present, and future. He thinks about the various upcoming changes he and Makoto will get to experience together. And he thinks that maybe he will take that poster to Tokyo with him after all.