in okinawa, hoshino meets death thrice, each encounter carving away at who he was
the sea drags him under, salt filling his lungs, until a girl pulls him back. innocence is lost, left drifting in the tide. a venomous sting pierces his foot, pain seeping into his heart, hollowing him from within. at the cliff’s edge, despair calls to him, but a voice pulls him back from the brink. the darkness, however, remains
the traveler’s words echo
「人は三回死ぬって言うんだ。最初は身体が死ぬ。次は心が死ぬ。そして最後は魂が死ぬ。」
"they say a person dies three times. first, the body dies. then the heart dies. and finally, the soul dies."
after, yuichi says,
「彼はもう、僕たちが知っている彼じゃない。」
"he’s not the person we knew anymore."
hoshino returns, but pieces of him remain lost to okinawa.
