Epilogue – The Events of Autumn

However, without quite knowing why, I felt that that fifth of October, filled with unease, had been a turning point.

From then on, my relationship with my curse changed a little.

In the past, I resented and resented my extraordinary memory, despising even the thought of utilizing my memory to benefit myself. Now was different. My curse was still undoubtedly a curse, but for some odd reason, I felt like it had been useful in protecting something precious to me. It was just a feeling though.

Therefore, I decided to accept just that much.

And with that tiny change in mindset, I was able to alter some small aspects of my life.

One day, I unexpectedly encountered Hamano Aria in one of the school’s hallways.

“I saw your exhibition at the cultural festival.”

As soon as she saw the identity of the speaker, her face broke out into a scowl. Given everything, that was only natural. The fact that she didn’t instantly walk away was more than I could ask for.

“It was really lovely.”

Hamano said nothing.

For the art club’s cultural festival exhibition, she’d painted a magnificent oil painting. I remembered seeing her art on display while Michiru and I had been touring the cultural festival.

“W-what was good about it?”

“The color. Viewing your painting under the morning light compared to the afternoon light creates two different impressions.”

“T-that’s enough…”

I’d been worried that had I misread her artistic intention, I might hurt her further, but seeing Hamano unable to contain herself and start talking, I was thankful that I had conveyed my feelings to her. If the old me was standing in my place, nothing would’ve come from this chance encounter.

“You don’t have to say any more. I’m glad that Aizawa-san saw my painting.”

“Yeah.”

After our brief exchange of words, we continued on our separate ways almost as if our meeting had never happened. I’d barely taken ten steps when I heard Hamano’s voice call out from behind, stopping me in my tracks. 

“Aizawa-san!”

When I turned around, I saw Hamano Aria standing precisely ten steps away from me, her feet planted firmly into the ground. The small artist’s words were filled to the brim with strength and determination.

“Please come take a look at my art again some time!””

In response, I gave a single, enthusiastic nod.

[space]

On a different day, after class, I helped a classmate, Kotani-san, find a book in the library.

As the two of us walked through the hallway, Kotani-san appeared deeply moved, even though I hadn’t done much to speak of.

“Thanks, Aizawa-san! Without you, I would’ve never found the book!”

“I’m glad we managed to find it.”

In our search for the book, I’d utilized my absolute memory. The book in question had been misplaced in the wrong bookshelf, and by coincidence, I’d known where it was.

Perhaps my method was unjust and dishonest. Perhaps my unique memory was truly something abhorrent, and perhaps someday, like a prophecy, I’d receive my punishment for abusing the power of a witch.

But Michiru had told me. She’d told me that it wasn’t a curse, nor a disease, but an amazing ability. So I’d puff my chest out with pride and use my extraordinary memory to help others.

“Aizawa-san, you’re a lot different from what I imagined.”

“How so?”

“U-um, well, you seemed almost too perfect and hard to approach… or at least, that’s what everyone says.”

So that’s what people thought of me, huh. I was a little disheartened.

“Then, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you.”

See you tomorrow– I loved those words. I wanted to repeat them over and over again. Even if today weren’t chosen, I would see them tomorrow again and retry today. However many times it took. …However many times.

I began to believe that I could change from a isolated, friendless creature into a functioning human being. Just a little, at least.

Yuuka had told me that I didn’t have to be useful to someone in order to live. But wasn’t that precisely why being useful to others was so precious? Not that Yuuka’s words had influenced me or anything like that. Because they most certainly had not.

Nevertheless, there wasn’t anyone who understood me.

I was admittedly lonely, but that was simply an unavoidable result. After all, I hadn’t told anyone about my unusual circumstances. I still lacked the courage to attempt something like that. But maybe, one day-

Thanks to the fact that I’d become a little more ‘normal,’ I received a reward.

One day, there came a knock on my door. An event that hadn’t occurred since I was ten years old- a span of twenty-five years.

“Ayaka.”

It was the voice of my father.

“Won’t you come live with us again?”

I was still holding the doorknob to the half-open door when those words reached my ears. My father, who looked a little more aged than before, reached through the doorway and took my stiff, frozen hand, his words sounding apologetic. My mind couldn’t process anything that was happening, and my thoughts were in a daze.

Once we entered the house, my mother stared at me, trepidation written all over her face.

Perhaps she thought I’d blame her. Perhaps she thought I’d scream something like ‘how dare you throw me away!’ But I only looked away, avoiding her eyes swirling with anxiety and fear.

She was brave, I thought. My mother had found the strength to face her daughter again. 

I stepped into my room for the first time in twenty-five years. It looked exactly like I remembered, left exactly in the same state since I’d been chased out all that time ago. No, rather- it hadn’t been ‘left in the same state’- even forgetting about how my smallest and most trivial possessions were still there, having been carefully preserved, the room was too clean to have been neglected. There wasn’t a single speck of dust anywhere in sight. Someone must have regularly cleaned the room.

“Ayaka… sorry.”

My mother, crying, embraced me. I suddenly felt my eyes begin to grow warm.

So, with as much sarcasm as I could possibly muster, I opened my mouth. “Father, mother- I’m home.”

And with that, we were even.

Obviously, such a blissful day wasn’t chosen.

But it wouldn’t be entirely correct to say that the events of that day had ceased to exist.

I knew how my parents truly felt.

One might argue that they had thrown my away. But it wasn’t because they hadn’t loved me. It was solely because there was no way for us to continue to coexist together as a happy family.

That’s why they were concerned about me. With my slight change in mindset, my parents became so concerned for my lifestyle to the point where they were willing to redo everything from the very beginning.

So I was no longer bitter.

The Twelfth of October A

Class had already ended, and I sat at my desk blankly staring into space.

I basked in the peaceful tranquility, absentmindedly recalling the day with my parents that ended up not being chosen. I held an open paperback book in my hands, but my eyes roved past the blocks of words and text without reading anything.

My mother’s courage. The courage to accept her child once more. Perhaps one day, I’d discover that courage as well.

I gazed out the window. The autumn sky was gray, barely visible above a layer of clouds, the humid air signaling an inevitable rain.

Like the weather, the air in the room was frigid, chilling my feet. Naturally, on such a gloomy day, everyone had headed home the instant class ended, leaving only two individuals.

“Are you not going home?” I spoke.

I really wanted to head home before the rain started to fall. I hadn’t brought an umbrella. I’d make sure to bring one on the following today though.

But since Michiru didn’t seem to have intention of leaving, ignoring her and heading home alone would feel a little lonely. The second hand of the analog clock above the blackboard never ceased its ticking, walking fruitlessly around and around again only to always end up back in the same spot. You might not know this, I silently told the second hand, but not every day is exactly the same, even if it might seem that way to you.

“Hey, Ayaka. So, um.” Two minutes, thirty-eight seconds, and seven hundred and fifty milliseconds later later- by the way, it takes a drop of water around two-hundred and fifty milliseconds to fall from my kitchen faucet into the sink- Michiru began to mumble hesitantly.

“You might think I’m weird for saying this, but-“

Her lips tightened severely, her cheeks flushed a healthy shade of red as they filled with determination, and at the pressure of her gaze fixed firmly on me, I felt my body grow hot and my heart begin to pound.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, Ayaka. But it’s not really something normal.”

Michiru’s hands tightened around mine, and the book I’d been holding dropped from my hands. I have to remember what page I’m on- but even as that thought flashed through my mind, I felt it would be an incredible waste to avert my eyes away from Michiru, even if only for the tiniest of moments, so ultimately, I found myself unable to tear my eyes away until the book had fallen shut onto my desk, its back cover facing me. 

“But, when I thought about saying it to you, for some reason, I didn’t think you’d find it unpleasant. It’s almost like this situation has happened before, and you accepted my words… would you believe me if I said this was deja vu?”

When the two of us had barely met, Michiru had boldly declared to me that she could use magic, and yet now, she sounded uncharacteristically hesitant, fumbling for words.

“Of course I’d believe you.”

In the past, it was a feeling I’d never known. But recently, I’d come to experience it for myself. Whenever I tried to help Michiru, or do something for her, a curious feeling of deja vu surfaced from the recesses of my mind. It was a strange sensation, and I couldn’t remember where such a feeling might originate from, nor find even a similar scene no matter how hard I searched my memories. It was such a feeling now that gave me an intuition as to what came next.

“Hey, Ayaka. I, like-“

I couldn’t wait anymore.

I covered Michiru’s mouth, which was still trying to force out her words. 

Just this once, it wasn’t something as unreliable as intuition, nor something as vague as deja vu, but something just as strong as that day in my absolute memory where we kissed-

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T/N: There’s a short chapter after this one, which is the last chapter in volume 1.

I have midterms this week, so the plan is:

Kino no Tabi -> Kimi ga Shinu Made Koi wo Shitai -> Midterms -> Unforgettable Witch (last chapter) -> Unforgettable Witch Vol. 2 Ch. 1

Oh, also. In case you missed it, this story now has a manga(!). On the other hand, you can’t view it on a browser (I think?) and you need to go through its app, which I also can’t seem to download because it’s region-based (or something?). So basically, if someone wants to provide the raws, I’d love to scanlate the manga, but otherwise, we’ll (me included) just never get to read the manga.

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