Until The Witch Dies

Section 6: First Tears

Translated by AmaLynne

Anna-chan’s mother was laid to rest in a cemetery about a five-minute walk from our house.

「It’s a magnificent tomb. Is this where your mother rests?」

「Uh-huh.」

I gently touch the headstone.

The processed stone, engraved with letters, is somehow inorganic and somehow warm.

Underneath this stone,『death』is sleeping.

「I know the truth, I do.」

「What is?」

「I know Mama doesn’t wake up anymore.」

Anna-chan said, without looking at me.

She said this quietly, without changing her expression.

It seemed as if she was holding back her overflowing sadness.

At that moment, I was taken aback.

I felt the inner strength of such a little girl.

I see.

Anna-chan knew.

That her mother had died.

That she would never see her again.

That she would not come back.

「Hey, Sis.」

「What’s wrong?」

「Can’t even a witch wake mama up?」

For a moment, I hesitated.

How should I answer?

But I didn’t want to lie.

「No. No one can wake up Anna-chan’s mother.」

I nodded quietly.

Anna stared quietly into my face.

「There are zombies, aren’t there?」

「Uh-huh.」

「Do you know what makes those things attack people?」

「I don’t know. Why?」

「Because you forced them to wake up when they were sleeping. They’re pissed.」

「So Mama will get mad if I woke her up too?」

「She will you know, so you can’t wake her you. God, too.」

「You sleep too much, mama.」

「She’s worked so hard. Let her sleep. That’s what people do.」

「What people do…」

Bringing the dead back to life.

In the history of magic, many mages have devoted their lives to the study of this.

But they couldn’t do it.

I was told by my master many times.

It is arrogant to bring people back to life.

Master said that magic is to know the flow of the world, to listen to the voice of reason, and to understand it.

So there are some things we have to accept.

「Even if I let the flowers bloom, Mama will not wake up. Still, do you want to make the flowers bloom?」

「Yes.」

「Why?」

「I’m sure, mama will be happy.」

Having lost both my parents when I was a small child, I do not understand the sadness and pain of losing loved ones.

Even though I am seventeen years old and know that I am going to die, I honestly don’t feel anything.

A little girl likes her knows『death』much better than I do.

That’s what I felt.

「Hey!」

Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me and turned around to see a man walking toward me, waving.

It was Hendy-san.

「I’m so glad I was able to join you.」

Hendy-san breathed on his shoulder as if he had come in a hurry.

「What are you doing here, Hendy-san?」

「I’m really curious, so I’ve delayed my afternoon appointment.」

「Get to work.」

Even at my words, Hendy-san smiles, as if he is troubled.

He’s a total no-good dad. No good, no good.

I needed to give him a push.

「Anna-chan. In the Orient, there is a tree called Someiyoshino.」

「Some?」

「Someiyoshino. The variety is cherry blossom. It is a flower that blooms in early spring.」

The pink snow that Hendy-san mentioned.

I realized what pink snow was when I found『it』among the medicinal herbs and herbs on the shelves.

What I found was a cherry herb.

It is an herb made from cherry petals.

It is usually used to make tea, but today I will use it differently.

「Let my voice reach you.」

I hold it gently in the palm of my hand.

I utter a twelve verse incantation.

「Abundance of the earth, abundance of the trees, hear the miracle and let the colors of the past come back to me, Illusions take shape, shapes show us dreams, dreams give us hope, miracles are here, and the end result is that we can see the colors from the east.」

The light around me gathers at my fingertips, and darkness fills the air as if night has come to the surroundings.

The gathered light envelops me and creates a dreamy scene, like a firefly shining in the night.

With my knowledge of trees, I can temporarily change their nature.

Even if there are no saplings or seeds here, it should be possible to construct the plants and trees in the area as pseudo cherry trees.

The source of all this is this cherry herb.

It was a miracle that science could never produce.

Power interferes with nature and changes the surrounding landscape.

Light fills the air, creating a spectacle that could never have been.

The cherry blossoms are full of color.

In the blink of an eye, the trees, which were covered in green hues earlier, transform their appearance into beautiful oriental flowers.

「Show me its beauty.」

I recited one last verse, and all at once, the world changed.

「Wow……」

With exclamations of admiration, Hendy-san and Anna-chan look up at the sky.

Pink snow.

Numerous cherry petals, so-called, were shaking down one after another.

The whole area was covered with cherry trees.

「Amazing……」

「It’s the magic of cherry blossom rebuilding. Though, it’s like a temporary illusion.」

I sniffed with pride, and Hendy-san quietly opened his mouth to say,「I remember.」

「It was a trip to the Orient we took before Anna was born. When I saw the petals falling all over the place… Iris said,『It looks like snow』.」 

「Mama?」

「Yes, she was smiling. She looked happy, very happy.」‡

At that moment, a silent tear rolled down both of their cheeks.

There is a clatter and I glance at the bottle in my pocket.

The bottle glowed with a quiet light.

The tears had fallen, spilling into the bottle.